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“Tell me what you want,” Lila commanded.

“Just this for today.” The words left Heidi’s mouth before she’d even had a moment to think about them. “Just this.”

“Good.” Lila, tuning in to the moment, kissed her again, much more slowly than before.

Heidi thanked her silently for the intuition to calm things down. She skimmed her hands down Lila’s waist to her hips, and then took a risk and slid them around to Lila’s ass, kneading her before pulling her in closer. Lila groaned and nipped at Heidi’s lower lip.

“I like that,” Lila murmured before diving into the kiss again.

They stayed like that for easily an hour. Their lips locked together as they explored, as Heidi eased into the physical intimacy that she had craved for so long. Perhaps this was the issue with her and Ann, everything was so quick and routine, it was lacking the buildup, the emotional intimacy prior to being physical.

Her phone rang, distracting her. Heidi pulled away with a peck to Lila’s mouth. “I should answer that. I don’t want my partner to worry if I don’t.”

“Then answer.”

Twisting around, Heidi reached for her phone and brought it to her ear as she answered. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Ann responded. “I was just calling to check in on you.”

“I’m doing really well, actually.” Heidi moved to look at Lila and smiled. “I left the house for a bit. I’ll tell you all about it when you get home.”

“I should be home on time tonight. I’m not planning on going anywhere after work.”

“Good. I’d like to spend some time with you.”

Lila pressed a warm kiss to Heidi’s neck.

“Really?” Ann asked.

“Yeah. Like I said, I’ll explain when you get home.”

“All right. See you soon.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, too.” There was a slight hesitation in Ann’s voice, but Heidi ignored it. She was going to try something new, try to do something for the two of them.

Leaning in to Lila, she kissed her deeply. “I’ve got to get home.”

“I’m glad you came over today.”

“Me too. We’ll have to do it again soon.”

“Yes.” Lila’s grin reached her eyes. “Yes, let’s do that.”

Heidi left with a smile on her lips and a much lighter step. When she got home, she put her plans to action. She was going to be honest with Ann about what had happened that day. She’d never wanted to be deceitful, but it wasn’t just that she was with Lila. It was more than that. Heidi cleaned up the house and puttered around while the hours ticked by as she waited for Ann to return home.

As soon as Ann walked in the door, Heidi grinned. Ann gave her a suspicious look, but Heidi shook her head and patted the couch next to her in an open invitation she hoped Ann would take her up on.

“I had an interesting day.”

“Sounds like it. I’m not sure I’ve seen you grin like that in months.”

Heidi shrugged. Ann was probably right. It had been a particularly hard year so far, but she was determined to change that for the next one, which was coming up very quickly. As soon as Ann plopped onto the couch, Heidi sidled up next to her, curling her legs over Ann’s and halfway curling into her. Heidi pressed a kiss to Ann’s lips before settling her cheek on Ann’s shoulder.

“I met someone.”

Ann tensed before she took a deep breath and relaxed. “Oh?”