by Anna Vaughn
“Hey,” Laura said, standing in the doorway. “How was your day?” she asked as she stepped out onto the balcony and leaned in to kiss Emma.
Emma hadn’t even heard her come in. She’d been lost in her own thoughts.
“Okay… Productive but… Difficult. Damien called me, just after you left, and told me his wife, Catherine, was leaving him.”
“Oh no… What happened?” Laura asked as she sat down beside her.
“I don’t know the full story. It just happened last night so I don’t think he was ready to talk about it properly. He’s been back and forth a lot with our parents. He’s always swamped at work… I guess she just felt neglected.”
Laura nodded. “Do you need to go see him?”
“I offered but he says he’s okay.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Thank you,” Emma said, glancing over at her. “For now, I just have to be there for him. I imagine he’ll need someone to talk to eventually. He’s probably still in shock.”
“What do your parents think? They’ve always had good things to say about Catherine.”
“They don’t know yet. I think Damien’s hoping that it’s not final yet even though she wants him out by the end of the month.”
“Wow.”
“I know… Do you want a drink?” Emma asked. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“Stay here,” Laura said as she got up. “I’ll get it.”
Chapter 36
This Wednesday was just like any other Wednesday. Emma always went with Laura into Murrays in the morning and then met with her parents for lunch, spending the rest of the day with them until Laura was ready to go home.
She normally looked forward to spending the day with her parents but today was draining. She wished she could talk to them about Damien but she kept her promise not to tell them about what was going on.
Emma just hoped that in a week or two there would be nothing to tell, that Damien and Catherine would work it out.
They were back at their apartment in Malagueta and Emma went into the kitchen to open a bottle of wine.
“Red or white?” Emma asked Laura.
“White, please… Are you okay?” Laura asked, coming up behind her to wrap her arms around her waist as Emma poured out two glasses.
“Yeah. Just stressed. I wish I could tell my parents. I don’t like keeping things from them.”
“I know… He’ll tell them when he’s ready though.”
“Speaking of Damien,” Emma said as she answered her phone. “Hi.”
Emma took her glass of wine out onto the balcony and slid the door closed behind her.
“How’s everything there?”
“Not good…”
Emma could hear him sigh into the phone. “Is it work or…?”
“Everything… I think I need your help. I can’t do this on my own… running the business… I mean, the last year has been difficult but I was managing. Now…”
“I’ll be in Dublin tomorrow.”
“Em, are you sure? I know you’re busy getting everything set up there.”
“Yes, I’m sure. I’ll book a flight as soon as I hang up. We’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you.”
Emma could hear him crying.
“Mind yourself, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks. Night.”
Emma hung up and took a drink before going back inside to Laura.
“Everything okay?” Laura asked her from the couch. She had her feet up on the coffee table and had changed into her pajamas.
“No… He’s a mess. He was crying. He never cries… And I think he might have been drunk.”
“Come here,” Laura said, her arms open as Emma sank down into the couch and let Laura wrap her arms around her.
“I’m going to go home tomorrow. He can’t do this on his own… He’ll need help packing up his things.”
“Does he have a place to go?” Laura asked as Emma got comfortable in her arms.
“No but I haven’t rented my apartment out yet. I was thinking of selling it but now I think it makes sense for him to stay there until he finds something.”
“How long are you going for?” Laura asked as she lightly stroked Emma’s back through her top.
“A week. He’s struggling at work too… It’s strange… Looking after him. He was always minding me when we were younger even though I’m the older one. When I came out, he was the first person I told.”
“And now you’re taking care of him.”
“Yeah…”
“Are you okay?”
“How do you mean?”
“With your business… Is everything going to plan?”
“It’s going alright. I wish I’d started the process months ago but I wanted to spend as much time with my Dad as possible, help my Mum out. I was going to line up some meetings for next week but they’ll just have to wait til I get back.”
Laura nodded. “I’ll miss you,” she said softly as she leaned in to find her lips.
“I’ll miss you too… We haven’t really been apart for more than two or three days since I moved in with you.”
“No… Over a year ago now.”
“In some ways, it feels like so much longer, like I’ve always lived here… But other times I feel like I’ve only been here for a few weeks. That probably sounds strange…”
“No, I know what you mean.”
“I need to book my flight,” Emma said as she shifted her body so that she could reach her glass of wine. “Shower… Pack. I just want to sit here with you,” Emma said with a sad smile.
“Why don’t you book your flight and then meet me in the shower. I’ll help you pack in the morning.”
“I have to say I like the sound of that,” Emma said, leaning in to kiss Laura, parting her lips against hers. “Give me five minutes.”
Emma got up to turn on her laptop and book her flight for tomorrow. A few minutes later, she was in the bathroom, the shower door already steamed up as she undressed.
Emma stepped into the shower, standing underneath the spray as Laura wrapped her arms around her, dipping her head to meet Emma’s lips.
Emma’s lips parted against hers, their tongues easily finding one another’s in a slow, sensual kiss as the warm water massaged Emma’s back.
Laura broke their kiss to gaze into Emma’s steel blue eyes. “I can’t remember the last time we did this. In the shower, I mean.”
“This should be a weekly thing,” Emma said in a husky voice as she backed Laura up against the tiled wall, leaning in to kiss her neck, her thigh pushing up against Laura’s sex.
Laura moaned as Emma’s hand cupped her breast, her thumb brushing across her already hard nipples.
Emma’s lips found hers again in a searing kiss, her hands roaming across Laura’s body as she pushed back against her slick thigh.
Emma’s hand left Laura’s breast, sliding down her body, her fingers raking across her skin, over her hips until she reached her sex.
Her fingertips brushed through her folds, finding Laura’s sensitive bud, applying just enough pressure to tease her.
“Emma, please. I need you,” Laura begged between kisses.
“What do you want me to do?”
Laura’s hand moved through Emma’s hair, clutching it in her fist as she stared into her eyes. “Fuck me.”
Emma’s lips crashed into hers as she plunged two fingers inside of her. Laura moaned into her mouth as their tongue’s danced, her fingers digging into Emma’s back as her hips fell into a rhythm with Emma’s thrusts.
“I need more,” Laura gasped between kisses.
Emma lips parted against hers as she added a third finger, her hand outstretched, needing the tiled wall to support her weight as she pumped her fingers in and out as fast as she could.
Laura came hard and fast, clutching onto Emma as her hips bucked against Emma’s hand until she slumped back against the wall a
nd Emma pulled her into her arms.
“That was hot,” Emma whispered as she kissed Laura’s neck.
“It was.” Laura cupped her cheek as she leaned into kiss her, sliding her tongue across hers and reversing their positions.
Laura found Emma’s hands and pushed them above her head, pinning them against the tiles with her right hand as her left paid attention to each of her nipples, rolling them between her thumb and forefinger.
Emma’s hips inched forward, silently asking for Laura to move her hand down lower.
“I think you should be a bit more patient,” Laura whispered as she dipped her head to kiss Emma’s neck, trailing soft kisses across her clavicle and down to each breast, taking Emma’s hard nipples in her mouth and letting her tongue work its magic, knowing that she was driving Emma mad.
Emma tried to free her hands but Laura was surprisingly strong, her body weight leaning into the tiles, pinning Emma’s hands there.
“Going somewhere?” Laura teased in a husky voice before kissing her hard and Emma moaned into her mouth as their lips met again and again.
Laura’s lips parted against Emma’s as Laura’s hand left her breast and moved behind her to clutch Emma’s ass, pulling her into her.
Laura could feel Emma’s clit pulsating against her thigh. She could feel Emma pushing back against her in desperate need of her touch.
Laura released Emma’s hand so that she could finally enter her and with one swift motion she slid three fingers inside of her.
Emma’s back arched, her hands clasped behind Laura’s neck, holding onto her as Laura’s hand remained on her ass, firmly keeping her close as her right hand picked up the pace, thrusting her hard and fast, her palm slapping up against her clit with each stroke.
Seconds later Emma’s hips were bucking wildly against Laura’s hand as she came, clinging onto Laura as she rode out the wave of pleasure that flowed through her body.
“Definitely at least once a week,” Emma breathed as she slumped into Laura’s arms.
Chapter 37
Even after living in Spain for a year, Emma didn’t know if she’d ever get used to seeing such a clear blue sky so many days of the year.
Laura was driving her to the airport, a trip that Emma was becoming extremely familiar with. She was glad that she had the freedom to make these journeys home but at the same time she wished that she had someone to share this responsibility with.
When her parents needed help or her father was sick, Damien was always there to help. Now that he was in trouble and he didn’t want their parents to know, Emma was all on her own.
Of course, Laura offered to help but Emma knew she was insanely busy trying to keep two pubs going and still make time for the two of them.
Emma pushed her sunglasses on top of her head as they pulled up in front of the terminal building.
Laura got out of the car and took Emma’s carry on suitcase out of the trunk. A gentle breeze rippled through Laura’s gray shirt as Emma wrapped her arms around her.
“Call me if you need anything,” Laura said as she pulled away.
“I will.”
“And tell Damien I said ‘Hi.’”
“Okay.”
Laura kissed her softly on the lips and Emma waved goodbye as she wheeled her suitcase behind her.
***
As Laura drove back to Malagueta, she couldn’t help feeling worried about Emma. She was being pulled in too many directions.
She just hoped that a week in Dublin didn’t turn into a month. Laura knew Damien was going through a rough time in his life but Emma needed to look after herself too.
Even if Emma never said it, Laura knew she was worried about overseeing the Spanish branch of their company. She’d always had her brother beside her and now she would be doing it all on her own.
If Laura was honest with herself, she wasn’t just worried about Emma’s wellbeing. She was worried that after spending time in Dublin again, Emma would be homesick and want to return.
That kept Laura awake at night. She didn’t think she could go through that again: being in a great relationship and having it end in an instant because her girlfriend wanted to move to another country.
Chapter 38
Emma watched Dublin go by from the back seat of a taxi. The rain was there to greet her again as it always seemed to be when she flew back to Ireland.
Emma was going straight into the office. She need to see that Damien was okay, that he was at work, that he hadn’t gone off the rails.
She didn’t know what she’d do if Damien wasn’t okay. She couldn’t stay longer than the week that she’d planned. She technically could but she didn’t want Damien to lean on her too much. He needed to get his life back to normal as soon as possible and that meant Emma leaving next week.
Fifteen minutes later she was strolling down the halls where she’d worked for so many years. She waved hello to a few people that she passed on her way to Damien’s office.
She’d only been back for an hour and she could already feel her relaxed way of life that she had in Spain slipping away. She was back in the busy capital, back in their offices with phones ringing every few seconds and people rushing to and from meetings.
Emma loved her work but she was glad that she’d gotten away from this lifestyle. It was too rushed, too focused on making money, on finding new clients.
She just wanted to be happy and she had been since she met Laura and especially since she’d moved to Spain. The sunny weather improved her spirits, never mind seeing her parents several days a week and living with Laura.
Emma stood outside Damien’s door for a few seconds to see if she could hear anyone else inside. When she didn’t, she knocked firmly on his door.
“Come in.”
“Hey,” Emma said as she opened the door.
“Emma!”
Damien stood up, pushing his chair back and came around his desk to wrap her up in a hug, squeezing her tight.
“Thank you,” Damien said as he pulled away and Emma could hear the emotion in his voice.
“You know you can always call me,” Emma said as they both moved to sit down across from one another.
“I know,” Damien said as she returned to his desk. “Thank you.”
“So, what’s going on? You sounded stressed on the phone.”
Damien sighed as he ran a hand through his thick black hair. “As if my problems at home weren’t enough… Things have been a little crazy here. A new company has moved in and they’ve been chatting to a lot of our clients. I’m afraid that we might not be able to recover.”
“We need to hire someone to replace me here,” Emma said, not letting the nerves she suddenly felt affect her judgement.
Damien nodded. “Your clients… They’re considering leaving now that you’re not around… Would you consider splitting your time? Between Dublin and Malaga?”
“No,” Emma said firmly without thinking it over.
“Emma, my life’s falling apart around me. My wife’s left me. I’m going to be homeless at the end of the month…”
“You need to hire someone to replace me, take over the clients I brought in. You’re taking on too much work.”
“I don’t know if I can put that much trust in someone that’s not family, that hasn’t started at the bottom with us,” Damien said as he ran a hand across his face.
“Well, we need to figure something out… You can stay in my apartment for as long as you need by the way.”
“Thank you,” Damien said with a slight smile. “Will you at least consider splitting your time? Just take some time to think about it. You could maybe spend a month here three or four times a year. It doesn’t have to be fifty-fifty.”
“Okay,” Emma said softly. “I’ll think about it but I’m not making any promises… I want to go check on my apartment, clean it up a bit and then we can start moving your stuff in this evening.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“E
verything’s going to be okay. I know that it doesn’t look like that right now… But it will. You’ll get through this.”
Damien laughed softly. “I’ll have to trust you on that,” he said as a smile crept up to his steel blue eyes.
“Come by the apartment when you’re finished here. I’ll cook,” Emma said as she stood up.