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The other half of her was far too worried about how the Darlington party was going to go to even entertain the idea.

“You look fantastic,” said Jem, standing back so that Ellie could see herself properly in the mirror.

“Thanks to your beautician and nail lady and all the rest of it,” Ellie said, barely recognizing the person in the mirror.

“Where are your shoes? I want to see the whole look.”

Ellie scooted off down the hall to her own room, patting Constable who lay curled up on her bed, before picking up the shoes and going back to Jem’s.

“Not bad,” Jem said when she put them on. “Nice heel.” She tilted her head. “Weren’t you going to wear jewelry?”

With a sigh, Ellie went back down the hallway and picked up the earrings she’d planned on wearing, fixing them in her ears as she went back to Jem’s.

“Nice,” Jem said. “But your neck looks a little bare.”

“Shit,” said Ellie. “Almost forgot.” And she went back to her room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed to search through her jewelry box she could see that all this was ridiculous. But then it had been ridiculous for a while now. Despite living together, she and Jem had separate rooms. Sure, they spent the majority of nights in Jem’s bed, but they still had separate spaces. And on nights like tonight it was a pain in the backside.

More than that though, it seemed to Ellie like one last hurdle.

More than anything she wanted to push the commitment, she wanted to clear this last obstacle and finally be living together properly. Yet something was holding her back and she didn’t quite know what. Perhaps the idea that Jem hadn’t suggested it yet, or the fact that Jem might prefer things this way. Or, and her heart shook a little at this, maybe Jem didn’t quite feel as committed as Ellie did.

All of which added up to the fact that as silly as it was, Ellie just hadn’t had the guts to raise the conversation, which after almost six months was almost unbelievable.

“Finally,” she muttered, dragging a necklace out of the bottom of the box.

She trotted off back to Jem’s room where Jem fastened the necklace around her neck and let her hand stray to Ellie’s bare shoulders, then the tops of her arms until Jem was pressing herself against Ellie’s back. “You look delicious.”

“Are you sure?” Ellie asked doubtfully. All this was more than she’d ever done, more than she’d ever worn, and she wasn’t exactly comfortable.

“Everyone’s eyes will be on you,” Jem promised.

“Not what I need.”

Jem shook her head and let Ellie go, turning her around. “It’s all going to be absolutely fine,” she said in her familiar drawl. “The party is planned to the last sandwich, you’ve all worked terribly hard, you have nothing to worry about. What on Earth could go wrong at this point?”

“The caterers might not show up.”

“They’ve already shown up and have been working the venue since lunchtime.”

“Or no one will come.”

Jem rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s coming. Calm down, El. You’ve got this. Now, your car will be here in five minutes. Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

“And have you be early enough to start interfering with things?” Ellie said. “No way. You have to arrive with everyone else so that you can get the full experience and then report back.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jem said with a twitch of a smile.

Ellie felt her stomach flip and put her hands on Jem’s waist. “Sometimes, I can’t believe I’m allowed to kiss you,” she murmured.

“You’re very much allowed,” Jem said, leaning in closer.

Ellie squeaked. “But not now, I’m not. Can’t ruin my lipstick. I’ll see you there, alright?”

“Good luck,” Jem grinned, letting her go again.

Heels clacking on the hallway floor, Ellie left Jem’s room, wondering if they’d ever get to the point where it was their room rather than just Jem’s.