Page 121 of The Snowball Effect

Regan blinked awake – drowsy and still not sober, judging by the way the room spun a little.

Apparently, she was in the living room, and there was a pop-up on the TV that askedAre you still watching?Through the windows, she could see that night sky was still pitch-black.

Slowly, she slid her gaze from across the room to herself.

Regan had fallen asleep on this couch many times before. But she’d never been as comfortable as she was right now.

She wasn’t surprised thatshe’dfallen asleep, but she was a little surprised that Emma also had. Rather than both of them sitting up and leaning into each other as they’d been in Regan’s last fuzzy memory, they’d both repositioned themselves. Emma was laying on her back, and Regan on her side, wedged snugly and comfortably between Emma and the back of the couch.

Emma’s blanket now covered them both, and her arm was slid underneath Regan, pulling her in snug against her side. Not an inch between them.

She traced her gaze over the contours of Emma’s face, bathed in the dim light coming from the television. Emma was always so… formidable. Solid and strong and opinionated, with those slashing cheekbones and wary eyes.

In sleep, like this, that softness that she’d slowly been revealing to Regan reflected in her face. She’d never seen Emma look so relaxed.

A voice in the back of Regan’s brain told her that she should wake Emma. That they should both go to their own rooms. That they should let this cuddling session be pushed to the same place in their minds that their kiss lived in. A place that it seemedEmma was able to totally forget, but one that Regan had been reliving constantly.

She slid her hand from where it was resting – on the perfect curve of Emma’s hip – up, ready to shake Emma’s shoulder and do just that.

Yet, Regan couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Her hand felt so cold after breaking contact with Emma’s body, and Regan just knew that her very being would feel the same way, as soon as this was over. And she wasn’t ready for that. Achingly, needily, she was so not ready for this feeling to be over.

“I’m in trouble,” she finally admitted as she stared at Emma, listening to the very quiet – nearly nonexistent – snores that escaped her.

She was in deep, deep trouble, and it was high time Regan admitted it to herself.

Because this feeling wasn’t merelyattraction, and it definitely wasn’t platonic.

It was much, much more. More than she’d ever felt for anyone before, which was a realization that both thrilled her and terrified her.

Slowly, gently, she laid her head back on Emma’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Dealing with this realization in the middle of the night, still tipsy, was not a good idea.

Besides… Regan stroked her hand back down, ever-so-softly over the curve of Emma’s waist, feeling both thrilled and calmed by the contact. If this was the only time she’d ever have like this with Emma, then she wasn’t going to waste it.

eighteen

“… Emma? Hello? Em?”

Emma snapped her gaze to her gram, who was waving a hand in front of her face, a blush already creeping up her cheeks. “What? What did you say? I’m sorry.”

Gram arched a look at her, filled with undeniable amusement. “I said that I’m really proud of you for coming here today. I know it isn’t always easy, being around your mother.”

“It’s… not,” she admitted, though her gram already knew. “But today isn’t so bad. Granted, we’ve only been here for thirty minutes.”

On the other hand, she’d been at Kimberly’s house now for thirty minutes, and her stomach wasn’t cramping to the point where she felt sick. In fact, Emma hadn’t experienced much anxiety at all – which was highly unusual. And all because her focus was locked on something – someone – else.

Unthinkingly, her gaze slid back across Kimberly’s expansive backyard. The birthday party was in full swing – every table was decorated, along with the streamers and banners and fairy lights. There were unicorn likenesses everywhere, including several giant floats in the pool that Everly and her friends hadbeen jumping on under the watchful eye of a lifeguard that had been hired for the day.

Emma had led her gram to one of the shaded patio tables as soon as they’d arrived. Her focus, however, had been fixed on one particular person located across the yard.

Regan had really come through with the baked goods for the party. She’d made three different flavors of cookies – all customized with sparkles and sprinkles to fit the theme – as well as immaculately decorated unicorn cake pops. The cake itself had been carried in by Ted, and Emma knew from pictures that Regan had sent her yesterday that it looked amazing.

Currently, Regan was chatting animatedly with a small group of parents that had flocked to her as soon as she’d started setting up. Her full lips – unbelievably soft, Emma couldn’t fucking forget – were moving a mile a minute, before curving into a smile.

Emma knew she couldn’t actually hear Regan’s boisterous laugh all the way across the yard with the sounds of all of the kids running around and screaming, but shesworeshe could.

“I’m still so proud of you,” Gram’s voice cut into her thoughts, making Emma wince.

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