Page 100 of Derivation

“Yes, you can,” Sarai replied with a little laugh.

“Okay, I am really sorry, but I have a bug report,” Arlowe said, walking into the kitchen, holding up her phone. “Minor issue, but Mitchell was on call for support, and he just texted that I need to fix it. I was trying to wait for you two to finish, but my computer is–”

“In the garage. Yeah, go.”

Sarai hooked her thumb in the direction of the garage.

“And for the record, I would’ve stayed in my room all night were it not for this text. I’m not an asshole.”

Arlowe hurried past them and into the garage.

“Bedroom instead?” Gabi asked.

“Huh? What?” Sarai asked, taken aback by the word ‘bedroom.’

Gabi laughed and said, “I was asking if you wanted to go to one of our rooms and watch something in bed, but your reaction tells me that you’d probably prefer the couch.” Gabi stood. “Come on, babe. I’ll get the ice cream. You find something for us to watch.”

“Can you get us something to drink, too?”

“Yeah. I’ll meet you in there.”

Sarai stood up and walked into the living room, where she sat in her usual spot and turned on the TV.

“How long do you think Arlowe will be in there before she has to leave and probably interrupt us again?” Gabi asked when she walked in with the ice cream and two sodas.

“At least an hour,” she replied.

Gabi sat down next to her, set the ice cream in her lap, and said, “I think we might have just escalated to feeding each other because it’s easier.”

She held out the spoon to Sarai.

Sarai smiled over at her, took a bite, and said, “I’m good now. It’s all yours.”

She patted Gabi’s thigh, and Gabi took another bite before she placed the ice cream on the coffee table.

“I’ll put it away later,” she said and moved into Sarai’s side. “Arm.”

Sarai lifted her arm, wrapped it around Gabi’s shoulders, found something that they could agree on, and when she set the remote down, it hit her: she was holding Gabrielle Durand. Gabi’s arm moved over her stomach, and not for the first time that night, Sarai wished that she hadn’t worn a dress because had she worn a shirt or a sweater, Gabi’s hand could’ve slid under it and rested on her bare skin, which she wanted desperately.

“Are you okay?” Gabi checked.

“Just regretting this dress choice,” she replied, deciding to be honest.

“What? Why? You look amazing in this dress.”

“Because I was just thinking about how good your hand could’ve felt on my stomach if I were in a shirt.”

Gabi rested her head on Sarai’s shoulder, and her hand moved down to Sarai’s thigh, where she cinched up the dress a bit before she settled her hand there and dragged her thumb over Sarai’s skin.

“How’s this? A good-enough substitute?” Gabi asked.

“Uh… Yeah. Yup. Good… Enough.”

“Oh, hey. You two are still out here?” Enya asked as she walked down the hall.

“Yes. It’s only been a few minutes, Enya. Did you fall asleep in Arlowe’s room?”

“I thought I was out for a while because I woke up, and she wasn’t there. I figured you two would be in bed already.”