Page 15 of The Next Chapters

She was wearing a pair of sweatpants that she’d changed into once arriving home paired with the button-down she’d worn to work, with the sleeves unevenly folded up just over her elbows. This wasn’t an uncommon combination for Riley to change into after coming home for the day. But something about it always gave Gianna an extra sense of affection.

Mostly because she could remember this being how Riley would dress years ago, all the way back in college. When she returned home, she’d dress for comfort. Just like she’d tried to persuade Gianna into doing.

This love, this attraction that welled up inside of her, and even their literal routine – none of this was new. Their domesticity was unparalleled, even when they’d been friends.

Riley turned around, winging an eyebrow up at Gianna. “Just gonna stand there and watch me take care of the home, like some sort of housewife?” She smartly asked while dangling one of Gianna’s fresh-from-the-dryer tank tops from her fingers.

Her lips curled into the cutest smile, giving away her sardonic tone.

Of course, many things had changed from when they’d been only friends, too.

Namely…

Gianna stepped forward, cocking her head. “Listen, I’ve offered you the life of a kept woman over and over – is it my fault that you didn’t want to wait until I got home before you started the laundry?”

“Is it my fault that your meetings ran over schedule?” Riley shot back, giving the tank top still hanging from her fingers a little spin.

Gianna grabbed it from her and dropped it onto the counter. She used her other arm to wrap around Riley’s waist, pulling her right up against her. She reveled in the audible intake of breath Riley let out before she dipped down and slid her lips against Riley’s.

Immediately, she felt Riley melt against her and swallowed the hum that Riley breathed into her mouth.

Yes, this was different.

And even though it was far from new for them now, Gianna still felt the electricity dance down her spine at the contact. She could feel her blood buzzing through her veins as Riley deepened the kiss, brushing her tongue against Gianna’s, as she curled her fingers into Gianna’s hair.

After several minutes, she felt Riley gently pull back. Even after she broke their kiss, she leaned back in to brush her soft, plush lips against Gianna’s once more. Like she couldn’t get enough.

As always, it made Gianna’s stomach flutter, and her mouth tugged into a bright smile as she looked down at Riley. “Hello, love.”

“Hello to you, too,” Riley parroted, the grin on her face mirroring Gianna’s. “I take it your meetings went well?”

Gianna nodded. “Incredibly. I’ll tell you about it when we have dinner.”

As of the last year, since Worthy had been picked up for commercial lingerie outlets, her work pursuing her true passion in design had increased ten-fold. At this point, she worked more for Worthy than she did on anything for social media most days.

“First, I’d like you to tell me about your day,” she insisted. She slid out one of the stools and took a seat. She started folding the laundry Riley had already pulled out of the dryer.

She loved that Riley knew her well enough that she needed a little bit of decompression time from the long day of meetings before rehashing it all without needing to say it directly.

Riley nodded, taking in a breath as she launched into telling Gianna the most recent of her work escapades.

And even though Riley wasn’t in the midst of any upheaval or dramas at work, and this story was just a run-of-the-mill daily life update, Gianna found herself totally lost in Riley’s words.

Again, this was nothing new. She always found everything about Riley’s life worth giving her attention to.

But the vivid vision that formed in her mind’s eye as she listened… was relatively new. The vision of them coming home to each other at the end of every day, of doing their laundry together, listening to every mundane story – with another member of their family added.

The picture of herself bouncing a baby – their baby – on her lap as she sat here in this stool, while they both listened to the calming, soft cadence of Riley’s voice.

This vision had started about a month ago in various ways. It always started, though, in moments like this. Moments where she and Riley were living their normal, everyday life.

Then, so easily, she could see those moments transform. She could see having their child sitting at the counter while they cooked. She could hear multiple children running around in the living room while she and Riley snuck away for a make-out session in this very laundry room.

She could imagine the way the hallway shoe rack would look. Admittedly, they would likely need a new shoe rack dedicated to their children’s shoes, because theirs was already completely full. But she could see that, too.

And every time she had these images in her mind, they gripped her in a want so intense that it stole her breath away. It stole her focus, entirely.

“Do you remember how I wanted to have a whole herd?” She found herself saying, wincing, when she realized that she’d unthinkingly cut Riley off. “Sorry. For interrupting. I just.” She licked her lips, feeling her heart start beating double-time in her chest as she held Riley’s gaze with her own. “Do you remember?”

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