Page 84 of February

“I know we’re stopping, but can I just…” She reached under Monica’s shirt and rested her hands against her soft, warm skin. “I need to be close to you. I felt it all night. I hated that you were on the other side of the table at the restaurant. Then, you dropped me off, and I missed you being near me. I feel like I need to touch you.”

“Come down here,” Monica said and tugged on Bridgette’s sweater until Bridgette was hovering over her.

“Demanding,” she teased.

“Just kiss me,” Monica told her.

Bridgettewas the one to comply silently this time. She lowered herself farther and pressed her lips against Monica’s, reveling in it. When Monica let out a little adorable moan in response, Bridgette moved her lips to her neck and slowly kissed her there, not asking for anything but needing to touch as much skin as she could tonight if they weren’t going to go much further than this. Monica’s hands went under her shirt and onto Bridgette’s back. She, apparently, wanted the same thing. Then, Monica’s legs made a move to part, and Bridgette shifted from straddling her to settling between her thighs instead.

“If you don’t want sex tonight, you’re definitely giving me the wrong signals,” she noted, moving her lips back to Monica’s.

Monica smiled into the kiss and replied, “Can’t control yourself?”

“I’m about five seconds away from rolling down into you, so no,” she replied.

“Rolling sounds good,” Monica told her in a tone that was a touch lower than it had been just a second before.

“You’re killing me,” Bridgette said as she pressed her forehead to Monica’s.

“You don’t just want sex, Bridge.” Monica cupped her cheek. “You want it all, don’t you? I’ve read your cards. I’ve seen the sketches. You want love. You want everything with someone.”

Bridgette nodded slowly and said, “My whole life.”

“I like that about you,” Monica replied. “You’re a bit of a mystery in that way.”

“Mystery?”

“Dry, sarcastic, seemingly an asshole, but you wear your heart on your sleeve and just want someone to come home to.”

“Seemingly an asshole?” Bridgette lifted an eyebrow.

“I saidseemingly. And you’ve got to admit that youwerean asshole to me when I first got here.”

“Maybe I just thought you were hot and was nervous around you, so that’s how it came out.”

“You thought I was hot?”

“Ithinkyou’re hot, yes,” Bridgette replied, putting an emphasis on the present tense. “And I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“The asshole thing.”

“I think you’ve more than made up for it.”

“I plan to, at least,” she said before she reconnected their lips. Then, she rolled her hips down, causing Monica to gasp, unprepared for the motion, and she added. “But we can wait. I’m good withthisfor now.”

“How long, though?” Monica asked as she pulled out of the kiss and ran a hand through Bridgette’s hair.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to rush into this with us because I’m going back to New York, but I don’t want to not have this with you, either.”

“So, you’re finally admitting that there’s athisnow?” she teased.

“It’s hard for me, Bridgette,” Monica told her.

Bridgette recognized that the make-out portion of the night was on pause now, so she rolled onto her side and faced Monica instead, letting her know it was okay for her to continue down this path.

---