Page 108 of Derivation

Gabi smiled and gave her a nod.

“And I want to make this campaign so successful that our business explodes, so I’ll need someone who can be okay with me putting in some long hours until I get a bigger team to help me handle things a little better.”

Gabi gave her another nod.

“And I’d love to push you on the swing right now and maybe go home after that.”

“Right now?” Gabi asked, and her smile fell.

“Well, in a minute.” Sarai cupped her cheek and leaned in. “First, I want to do this.”

She waited several heartbeats, giving Gabi an out, but when Gabi didn’t pull back, Sarai pressed her lips gently to hers, and they stayed there, in that moment, not moving at all, until finally, Sarai began moving her lips against Gabi’s. She kept the kiss slow, running her thumb over Gabi’s cheek as they pressed together over and over again. Then, Gabi’s hands tightened in Sarai’s sweater, and Sarai felt her tongue requesting entrance, which she happily granted, wishing she had something to lean back against because standing up while kissing Gabi felt almost impossible on her wobbly legs.

“I want to live in the present with you, too,” she stated and went in for another kiss.

Gabi kissed her back, and their tongues danced for a long minute before Gabi dragged hers across her bottom lip, making her moan.

“God… I could’ve been doing this for eleven years? I change my mind – I think I would’ve preferred us getting together then.” Gabi chuckled. “You can really kiss. And that moan you just let out… God, Sarai.”

Sarai laughed and pulled Gabi in for a hug, resting her lips against Gabi’s neck.

“In that dream of yours, we no longer talk, apparently.” She kissed Gabi’s neck and dragged her lips up to Gabi’s ear. “And I like this version, where we’re still kissing, better.”

“Do you know why I said that we wouldn’t be talking?” Gabi asked, lifting Sarai’s sweater and grazing her hands over Sarai’s back.

“Why?”

“It would’ve been too hard, Sarai. I couldn’t be with you like that and then see you with someone else one day.”

Sarai pulled back a little to look at her and replied, “We literally live together now, Gabs.”

“I know. I’m not worried about that.” Gabi cupped her cheek and kissed her sweetly. “I told you, I’m ready for you now. I think you’re ready for me, too. We can acknowledge the fact that we’re also roommates who sometimes work together and say that if something happens between us, we can be mature adults about it. But I’ll take this over anything else, so if it’s us or me living at that house, I’ll move out, Sarai. I mean it. This is what I want more than anything.”

Sarai kissed her again, letting their kiss progress slowly and naturally until it built, and Gabi moved her lips away from hers to put them on Sarai’s neck instead.

“We’re on a playground,” Sarai said with a smirk.

“Yeah. It’s empty. No one is paying attention to us.”

“We’re, like, twenty yards away from a food truck.”

Gabi stopped and looked at her.

“Do you want to go home now, Sarai?”

“Yes.”

“We can make out in the car at some deserted spot before we do that so that our roommates can’t interrupt us.”

“Are you trying to have that car sex you’ve, apparently, always wanted?” Sarai laughed.

“God, no. If we ever do that, it will not be for our first time. And I just want to keep kissing you now.” Gabi tugged on the hem of Sarai’s sweater before her fingers found the belt loops and she pulled Sarai in even closer and kissed her softly. “I don’t want to get interrupted by Arlowe or Enya. Or, hell, even Violet or Stella if they’re there right now.”

“We can always just go to one of our rooms,” Sarai suggested, and when Gabi tilted her head, she added, “I’m not ready for that. Not tonight, anyway. Soon. But I do want to fall asleep next to you before we do that. Is that okay?”

“You want us to sleep in the same bed tonight?”

“Yes.”