Page 28

Dinner at Jessica’s house at seven. That was all she’d been thinking about since yesterday at the opening. Excitement had carried her through the day, and before she knew it, she was leaving the flat and making the journey across London. Rosie had put on one of her best outfits and done her make up especially. She was feeling good, sexy, and nervous as hell. Because tonight she was going to tell Jessica how she felt about her and say yes to being in a relationship, if that was what Jessica still wanted. So, no pressure.

Rosie stood on the platform in the underground station. She hadn’t been very available to Jessica these past few months. Maybe that had made Jessica have second thoughts about them. Maybe she just wanted to be friends now.

By the time she got to Jessica’s front door, Rosie had convinced herself that she should wait a little longer before talking to Jessica about this stuff. Maybe it was still too soon. Jessica was still going through a lot with her family, even if it was in a healing way. Didn’t she need time and space to process all that?

The door swung open. Jessica stood there, hot as fuck and as beautiful as sunlight. She smiled, looking Rosie up and down. “Hi.”

“Hi, Jess.” Rosie stepped inside.

Jessica leant forward and carefully kissed Rosie’s cheek, and then the other. “Come through.”

Rosie’s legs felt disconnected from her body as she followed Jessica through her wonderfully exquisite home to the kitchen. There was a candle lit on the dining table, soft and atmospheric lighting, and emotive piano music playing in the background. The vibe was very different to the last time she was here. Last time, she felt like an employee over stepping boundaries. This time, she felt like she was someone in Jessica’s life being warmly welcomed into Jessica’s inner sanctuary. “It’s lovely in here.” Rosie put the bottle of champagne she’d brought on the kitchen island, next to the one already there. “For our proper celebration.” Rosie smiled, feeling her whole face light up in pure happiness, wanting to lean over and pull Jessica in for a full body hug, but she held back.

“Thanks, Rosie.” Jessica looked at her with such affection. That was the only way to describe it.

“Not that I’m suggesting we drink two bottles of champagne on a Sunday night. I’d be ill tomorrow.”

“I would be too.” Jessica smiled. Her eyes were sparkling tonight. “Maybe you could come back over, and we could attempt the second bottle some other time?”

“Would love to. I’m all for taking things slow.”

Jessica held Rosie’s gaze for a second longer before picking up the bottle. She cheered as she popped the cork. Smiling softly, she poured them each a glass.

Rosie relaxed, remembering how easy it felt to spend time just the two of them. Their fingers brushed as Rosie took the flute and it sent a buzz of excitement right around Rosie’s entire body.

Jessica held up her glass towards Rosie, locking eyes with her. “To you.”

Holding her gaze, Rosie held her glass up too.

“You did it! Congratulations, Rosie.”

Taking a sip, Rosie watched Jessica do the same, feeling high, as if she was outside herself looking in.

“Now you get to enjoy the full stress of being solely accountable on your projects and having to answer to the senior leadership team.”

Rosie laughed. Jessica was being so warm and open. “Thank you, Jess. I’ll look forward to that privilege.”

“How do you feel about it? Now that you’ve had some time to digest it?”

“Principal Architect. I’m still getting used to it. I can’t really believe I got to this level.”

“Believe it, baby.” Jessica’s eyes went wide, as if she hadn’t meant to say it and it’d slipped out.

The world stopped. Did Jessica Frost just call her baby? Rosie pretended she hadn’t heard, much to save Jessica’s blushes. “And here’s to you, Jess.” She held up her glass again. “Yesterday was very beautiful on a number of levels.”

Exhaling as if in relief, Jessica nodded. “Thanks. Yep, good times.” Jessica took a large drink of champagne before setting her flute on the island.

There was a dish in the oven and a delicious smell of fresh basil in the kitchen. The table was set. Rosie was so happy to finally be invited inside Jessica’s home and to see her like this. It felt like a huge step forward for them.

“I have a surprise for you. Come this way.” Jessica picked up her glass and led Rosie further into her home.

Her lounge was like a high-end hotel suite, perfectly curated to make you feel like you were sitting in luxury. There were two more candles going, one at either side of the mantlepiece. Rosie could picture Jessica coming home from work and relaxing here each night.

“Take a seat.” Jessica pointed to the main sofa facing the fireplace.

Rosie sat down, putting her glass on the table beside the sofa, next to a gorgeous lamp. Once she got comfortable, she looked up to find Jessica hovering beside the television mounted on the wall above the fireplace. It looked like she was ready to show Rosie something and was a bit nervous about it. “Am I getting a strip tease?”

Laughing, Jessica threw her head back. “No. I’m giving you a PowerPoint presentation on my feelings for you. Images only.”

“What?”

“Sit back and enjoy. At least I hope you will.”

Rosie sat there, stunned. “You made a slide deck?”

“I want to be able to communicate my feelings for you and this is the best way I know how to communicate. It’s what I do. So, here goes.” Jessica switched on the screen. An image of the front of the office appeared next to the title The Architecture of Us Volume One.

“Aw, the title.”

“Don’t laugh.”

“I’m not, I love it.”

“I was working on the design for The Roses at the time when you joined the company so the fact that I remembered your first day is nothing short of a miracle.”

Rosie laughed. “Charming.”

“You sent out an introduction email to the whole company that read like a justification about how qualified you were for the job.” The next slide cut to an image of said email. She pointed to red circles around the phrases over the moon to be here and Happy Pride! at the end of the email. “This was very sweet. I was having a bad day that day and it gave me a reason to smile, so thank you.”

Rosie just sat there, in awe of what she was being presented with.

“You joined the team meeting on your first week and blushed when saying a few words about yourself. You came across as timid and I wanted to shake some backbone into you.”

“I was intimidated. I’d landed my dream job, and everyone was so clever and accomplished. I felt out of my depth.”

“It showed. But I could see you had a bit of steel in you and that it was only a matter of time before you toughened up.”

“Thanks for believing in me.”

Jessica moved to the next slide, which was a picture of a hotel. “I remember the first time we spoke properly, one on one. It was at the team-building day not long after you joined. When we were making dreadful small talk, our eyes met and I felt like you saw me for a second, and I saw you. It was so strange. And highly inappropriate for me to feel something like that for a member of staff. I shut it down.”

“I did see you. I felt like we had a moment too, but it was the most surreal thing. I didn’t know how to explain it.”

A building appeared on the next slide. It was one Rosie had helped on. “You suggested we add more height to the windows to keep with the regency theme. It worked. That was the first time I could see you had vision.”

“I was surprised you guys went with it. I wasn’t even working on that project.”

“Yes, but you spoke up for something you believed in. That’s what mattered. And it was a good idea.”

Rosie sat on the edge of her seat. This was fucking amazing.

The next slide cut to a picture of two random women kissing in a city background. “You know that time I saw you outside the office kissing that woman? I couldn’t get it out of my mind for some reason.”

“You liked watching me kiss—”

“Look. I’m speaking. For the rest of my presentation, I’ll ask you to please mute your microphone. I’ll be taking questions at the end.” Jessica smiled, affectionately, her eyes sparkling.

Rosie mimed zipping her mouth shut and sat back on the sofa. She sipped some gorgeous champagne and put her glass back on the table.

Jessica did the same, then continued. “Right. Now to more recent events.” The briefing document for Clydebank showed up on the next slide. “Rich recommended you. He was so right. You were nervous when I briefed you that first day. I couldn’t work out why. But you were also very enthusiastic, and I had faith in that. I was hoping you would do well, and you did.”

The next slide was an image of the site in Clydebank before any work took place. “Our site assessment. You were late and unprepared. I felt strongly about doing it myself. I think I was possibly being a bit of a micromanager. Rich told me off. I realised I had to let go of the reins and trust you. Which I did, even though it was very difficult for me.”

Rosie snorted and raised a prominent eyebrow. That was all.

A picture of Rosie’s design response to the initial criticism from the steering committee and feedback from the first engagement session appeared. “It was excellent. You listened and you used your knowledge perfectly. I was very impressed.”

The office floor popped up on screen. “We had a chat one night at your desk. I enjoyed talking to you. I felt like I was going out of my way to find reasons to talk to you back then. I was thinking about you a lot. I even trusted you enough, instinctively, to tell you about my connection to the town. I can’t believe I did that.”

An image of the art piece they bumped into each other while at Jessica’s friend’s exhibition appeared next. It was next to a picture of the golden section and screenshot of a ticket stub for the exhibition. “This night.” Jessica shook her head. “Is when I felt we started to really connect. I loved bumping into you. I would have asked you out on a date if you hadn’t been an employee.”

Rosie grinned and did well to not say anything because she was dying to go over there and hold her close.

The next slide was a screenshot of some of their text messages. “We started talking all the time. I found myself feeling very connected to you, mentally, emotionally, intellectually. You drink an excessive amount of water each day and are easily the most communicative person I’ve ever met about your thoughts and feelings.”

An image of the Airbnb appeared next. “That night we had dinner in the Airbnb was perfect. You began to feel like my safe place. I was torn because I’m your boss and I wasn’t sure if I should let us get as close as we did. But I did allow it.”

The next one was a picture of Rosie on site in Clydebank in her site gear and hard hat, taken by the social media team. “You looked so fucking hot in this.”

Rosie laughed out loud, then covered her mouth. A bolt of electricity shot straight to her centre.

Jessica tapped through to a picture of the town from her viewpoint at sunset. The place she took Rosie to the night they kissed. “Talking to you opened me up to feeling things again. The questions you asked helped me connect with my past. I don’t know, maybe it was something about the way you made me feel safe enough to go there, that I did.”

A washing machine appeared next.

Rosie smiled.

“Our first kiss.”

Rosie licked her lips, wanting so badly to kiss Jessica again right now.

“It was a beautiful kiss. I wanted you so much that night. I don’t know how I managed to pull myself away. Our connection was starting to threaten things at work. I was scared of the power you had over me. I pulled back, I think.”

“You did. I felt it.”

Jessica crossed to the other side of the fireplace, much like a prosecutor winning a case in court. “And then we had to deal with that shithead MP. You challenged me that Saturday in my office. It pissed me off at the time, and I loved it. It was exactly what I needed to hear, and you had the guts to say it to my face. That’s when I knew you would be good for me.”

A flattering photograph of the town hall appeared next. “Your support enabled me to do that, that night. I hope you know that?”

“You were incredible.”

Jessica paused. “And then.” An image of their hotel room appeared. It must have been taken from the hotel’s website. “This beautiful thing happened.” Jessica puffed out her cheeks before taking a deep breath.

Rosie waited for Jessica to say more, but instead she moved on.

Jessica clicked onto the next slide which had some more of their messages. “As soon as I found out about the promotion, I had to tell you. The boundary with work was getting uncomfortable. Your promotion felt like it was being compromised. I totally understood that you wanted to hit the timeout button. I’m so glad we were able to communicate about it. Whether we get together or not, having you in my life is very important to me. Although I’m not going to lie, you have no idea how much time I’ve spent staring at your messages, re-reading them and wishing you were mine already.”

“I honestly can’t believe that you, Jessica Frost, ever sat with my messages like that. That you feel this way is literally crazy to me.”

“Well, it’s true.”

Rosie shook her head. “I used to dream about you and wonder what you were like. I could tell you were totally my type. But you were my boss and all I could do was be polite and professional. Keep my distance. I’d get all flustered when you walked by. I felt like you barely noticed I was at your company. Now I know that you did, it’s incredible.”

“This is the last slide.” It was a stunning photograph of Clydebank on the day of the opening. “Our story is bound up with this project. The whole experience has been very rewarding for me. I’m so pleased it was the vehicle for you to move your career forward, too.”

Rosie nodded, her heart feeling so full of love and gratitude.

Jessica clicked back to the start of the slide deck. “So there you go. Obviously, I haven’t been able to capture everything. This is just a tiny snapshot of the moments that built us, I think, at least from my perspective.” Jessica switched off the screen and walked over to her. She stood right in front of her and then got down on both knees, holding eye contact.

Rosie’s heart pounded as she sat forward and opened her legs to invite Jessica further into her space.

Jessica inched closer, putting her hands either side of Rosie’s legs on the edge of the sofa. “What I’m trying to say is that I want to be with you, Rosie. I want to wake up next to you every day, be the person you turn to when you need a hug. I can imagine us living together and making the most mundane activities feel like fun, because when we’re with each other, everything feels so right. I want to see who you are when you’re not at your best and love you through it all. I want to grow with you. You’ve turned my life around already. We agreed to wait, and if you want to keep waiting, I will. You need to green light this relationship. Until then, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here, in whichever way you want me. Close friend, your person, your boss. Whatever. What matters to me is that you know how much I care about you, because I do, very much.”

Rosie cupped Jessica’s face in her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. Jessica’s whole heart was in her hands, it felt, and all Rosie wanted to do was love her back with all of her being, until the end of time. “I have a confession to make.”

“What?” Mild concern reached Jessica’s eyes.

“Before we started on the Clydebank project, I did some digging into you. It wasn’t the first time I had googled you either. But this time I scoured the internet trying to find out if you had a link to Clydebank. I managed to find an article in the local paper about your drawings being selected for the train station. I also saw an article about your dad going to prison. I knew you were from the town right from the start. I’m so sorry.”

Jessica blinked, quite a few times. “You did?”

Rosie nodded, hoping Jessica wasn’t creeped out. “Is that awful?”

“You stalker!” Jessica said with a smile.

Rosie let out a nervous laugh. “I was being thorough. I was terrified about working with you. I had already read every interview you’d ever done, and you were always so private. I needed something to go on, and I had a hunch.”

“I kind of like that you did that. You always notice small things about me. I feel very seen by you.”

“I do see you, Jessica Frost.”

“And I see you, Rosie Patterson.” Jessica smiled, softly.

Rosie inched forward towards Jessica’s lips, glancing back and forth between Jessica’s eyes and her mouth, pausing when she got right next to her lips. Rosie breathed Jessica in, feeling lightheaded and deeply grounded. She closed the last bit of distance between them and put her lips on Jessica’s. Kissing slowly, Rosie caressed Jessica’s jaw and neck, feeling like she might cry from how tender the kiss was.

Rosie pulled up from the kiss, nuzzling her nose against the side of Jessica’s, before pulling back so she could see her eyes. Rosie smiled, slowly, feeling such joy in her heart. “I want this to begin. I don’t want to wait another second to be with you. I want you.”

The smile that broke out on Jessica nearly broke Rosie’s heart, it was that beautiful. “Damn, I nailed that presentation.”

Rosie felt a tear form at the corner of her eye, releasing pent-up tension. She blinked it away, hopefully. “I was on my way over here to say the same thing, I mean, not nearly as romantically as you, but I was going to declare my love for you, at some point in the evening. Somehow.”

“You were?”

Rosie nodded, smiling.

“I love that.”

“It’s so lesbian, right?”

“So lesbian.”

“Jess, your presentation was so sweet. I wish I could have recorded it. I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life. What’s volume one? Do you have another slide deck?”

“I thought you could do the next one?”

“I would fucking love to.”

“I thought you might.”

“Tonight, I was going to say that I don’t care about what anyone says about us. I don’t care what anyone says about me. I know who I am and my journey to my promotion and that’s all that matters. I feel like I earned it. It matters to me that we weren’t together when it happened.”

“It is true, and if it matters to you, it matters to me.”

Rosie held Jessica’s waist. “You’ve helped me believe in myself. I don’t know if that was me getting a favourable advantage or not, but it has been part of the privilege of knowing you, Jess, and I just wanted to call it out because it is also true.”

“You’re the one who put the work in but I’m happy I’ve helped you in some way.”

Rosie brushed some of Jessica’s hair behind her ear. “I’m in love with you, Jessica Frost, and I have been for a very long time. The more I got to know the real you, the deeper I fell. I don’t want to waste any more time not loving you properly, like how I’ve been longing to, for so fucking long. Thank you for waiting for me to feel ready to be with you. I’ll never forget it.”

Jessica’s eyes glistened as she listened to what Rosie had to say. “You did what you had to do. I was happy to wait. I’d wait forever for you. I just want to be in your life.”

“You are my life, Jess.” Rosie cupped Jessica’s face again, as a single tear ran down the side of Jessica’s cheek. “You’re melting, my ice queen.”

“All your fault.” Jessica swallowed, hard, diverting her eyes to one side. “I’m even drinking more water during the day because of you.”

“I’ll take it.” Rosie beamed.

A few moments passed where Jessica seemed to gather herself. She tilted her head and leaned forward, finding Rosie’s lips, softly. A quiet passion took over as Rosie got lost in her warm embrace. Every movement of Jessica’s lips against her own turned Rosie on. It was like their true energy together was finally clicking into place, one kiss at a time. Rosie loved kissing Jessica so much. She could not get enough of it. She dug her fingers into Jessica’s back, pulling her even closer, as the intensity of their kiss built further. Rosie bared her neck as Jessica kissed the side of it while opening her legs wider to draw Jessica in closer.

Jessica’s kisses were hungry, seeking, liberated. She arched her body as Jessica pulled her towards her and ran her hands up the length of her back, possessively. Jessica took off Rosie’s clothes, starting with her top, stripping her until she was in her underwear. Rosie unclipped her own bra and thew it off to the side.

With hazy eyes, Jessica licked her lips, staring at Rosie’s breasts.

Reaching for Jessica’s top, Rosie gripped the fabric. Jessica put her hands on Rosie’s. “Not yet,” she whispered, before lowering her head and kissing Rosie’s breast. The contact of her mouth sent a wave of electricity coursing through Rosie’s body, reverberating in her centre. Jessica took her time with Rosie’s breasts, slowly licking her nipples, each one, back and forth, working Rosie up into a frenzy of wetness and want. She traced her fingers along the inside of Rosie’s leg, reaching the top of her thigh and then moved back down, all while kissing her breasts. Rosie moaned, needing this release to come soon, needing her touch so fucking much, holding onto Jessica’s upper back. She smelled so good. Jessica kept going that bit higher to Rosie’s pussy, but never quite making contact. Jessica lowered her delicious mouth down her stomach while spreading Rosie’s legs to their widest.

She leaned back on the sofa, feeling weightless and hot. Needy.

Jessica took Rosie’s underwear off, slowly tugging the fabric along her skin. Her touches were soft and loving. Sitting on her knees, she hooked her hands under Rosie’s thighs. She licked the outside of Rosie’s pussy, ghosting her mouth, her breath, over Rosie’s clit before pausing to really look at her.

Rosie fucking loved being on full display for Jessica like this, especially given how much she felt Jessica wanted her. The feel of Jessica’s mouth encircling Rosie’s clit made Rosie’s head fall back. She moaned, quietly, already feeling like her whole pussy was hot, swollen and so wet. Jessica took her time, licking and kissing, in no rush at all while Rosie ached for release. Jessica lapped her up.

Rosie bit down on her lip a little too hard, hurting herself by accident, before easing off. Her legs started to quiver and shake. Jessica caressed Rosie’s body and reached for her breasts, still in no apparent rush. She moved her hands to the inside of Rosie’s legs, brushing her fingers up her legs again, but this time, she went right up to Rosie’s pussy, pausing at her entrance. She met Rosie’s eyes and held them while she put two fingers inside her and licked her clit at the same time. It was the single most intimate thing Rosie had ever experienced.

On the edge of coming, Rosie burned for release, with every lick of Jessica’s tongue and thrust of her fingers. Her breathing quickened with Jessica’s thrusts, her juices all over Jessica’s fingers and lips. Her heart felt complete and whole, giving herself to her like this. Her orgasm ripped through her like a giant wave, pulling her into Jessica’s mouth, pulsating and powerful and warm. Jessica licked her more gently as the ripples subsided, her fingers deep inside.

Stroking Jessica’s hair, Rosie felt a wave of love and emotion take over her. They’d had sex before, but this time felt the most special, like the start of something real. She pulled Jessica up to meet her at eye level and kissed her gently, tasting her own juices on Jessica’s lips. The kiss seemed to pause time. Tugging at Jessica’s clothes, this time there was no protest. She lifted her top, feeling her fingers make contact with Jessica’s skin. The feeling caused goosebumps on them both.

Jessica gently pulled her off the sofa and lay her down on the floor, never letting her hands leave Rosie’s body. It was comfortable enough on the rug as she watched Jessica take off all of her clothes, in total awe of this magnificent woman in front of her. When she was fully naked, the look of love in Jessica’s eyes, mixed with pure want, sent shivers down Rosie’s spine. She straddled Rosie before lowering her body. Her pussy made contact with Rosie’s upper thigh before it was moved to touch directly on Rosie’s clit. She stroked Rosie’s face as she let the full weight of her body take her place on top. Gazing into her eyes, Jessica rolled her hips gently into Rosie, each roll sending shivers and electricity directly to Rosie’s centre. A second orgasm was highly likely as Jessica fucked her slowly, building tension, kissing her lips, her neck, and thrusting with more force and rhythm as time went on. Heat spread through Rosie’s body. Jessica’s skin was warm and perspiring. Being fucked by Jessica Frost was the most incredible experience of her entire life so far.

Rosie felt Jessica’s breath against her neck. Jessica moaned, as if she was about to lose control. Her whole body tensed up, as she slid her body over Rosie’s, creating the most pleasurable whole-body experience. She felt like Jessica’s plaything, in the moment, and the thought of that made her feel like coming. There was so much heat and wetness and unexplored territory between them. Rosie pulled Jessica closer, edging them closer, as Jessica tightened her grip with her legs. Jessica built and built, fucking Rosie so hard, until she came, powerfully and loudly on top of her. Her whole body released so much tension with each judder and shudder. It was the most beautiful thing Rosie had ever seen.

Heart racing, Rosie took a breath as Jessica relaxed on her while breathing hard. The weight of Jessica’s body felt incredible. They lay like that for some time with Rosie stroking Jessica’s back as Jessica lay on top of her, as if being together like this was the most natural and comfortable thing in the world. The moment was so precious. It felt like Jessica was finally giving herself fully to her, finally opening up and letting Rosie see exactly who she was.

Jessica lifted her head an d smiled at Rosie with such unguarded tenderness. “I love you, Rosie Patterson.”

Rosie smiled back, certain she would never stop. She wrapped her arms around Jessica, pulling her in as close as possible, mind-blown that the woman of her dreams was now hers. There was nothing Rosie wanted more than to love this woman with all of her heart for the rest of her life. Fantasy had become reality, and the best thing was, reality was better than anything Rosie could ever have imagined.