IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?

WORTH 17

Some part of Louise had always known that her marriage was falling apart, and perhaps that was why she had buried herself so deeply in her work that she hadn't even noticed it until Niki left and her side of the garage was empty. The hurt hadn't even registered. It took weeks of truly being alone for Lou to realize the hole Niki's absence left in her life. But a simple realization wasn't enough to bring Niki back or save the marriage, so she had stopped trying entirely.

Until she decided to start. To try, to care and actually convey her feelings. When Niki began to cry because of her gift, her heart had felt incredibly light and heavy at the same time. When Niki said that she still loved her, Louise had felt near faint with relief and happiness. She really thought she had lost Niki forever. Niki was her lover, her best friend and her partner. What would she do without her, forever?

The ride home was silent. Louise's phone was still off, because she didn't want to be bothered by calls from work, even though a part of her still itched to see if everything was alright. She violently snuffed that part out. She had instructed Kiara to take care of as much as possible, and if she couldn't, to transfer anything to her father. It was his company to begin with.

Though they were silent, there was so much hanging in the air between them. Lou couldn't stop staring at Niki, at the sharp line of her jaw and nose, her soft lips and dash of freckles all over her skin. She'd forgotten what it had felt like to actually want Niki, and to feel that again was freeing. Niki noticed her staring and turned her head, but Louise didn't shy away. She did blush, though. Niki smiled at her in amusement.

"Are you blushing because your wife caught you staring?"

Lou swallowed thickly. She really felt like they were back to when they'd first started dating. All of the feelings were fresh and alive and the ache deep in her tummy was insistent.

"No," she scoffed, but Niki laughed, because she knew it was a lie.

"What would you like for lunch?"

The morning had gone by so quickly. Lou was absolutely exhausted from her rushed flight out and then back into the country, and then her mad dash to get to Rachel’s office in time. She'd barely had more than a couple hours of sleep, and even then, they'd been fitful.

"I'm not in the mood for anything exotic."

"Hm." Niki pursed her lips. "Pizza?"

"Pizza can do."

"And a movie?" Niki shot her a hesitant look. "Maybe some cuddling?"

Lou's heart skipped a beat. "That sounds perfect."

When they arrived home, Lou fed the dogs while Niki ordered food. When she was done, she dropped down on the couch and started searching for a movie. Niki joined her soon after, the dogs settled down outside in their kennel.

"Twenty minutes," Niki told her. "Then we can dig into the best pizza in town."

Lou couldn't smother a smile. "What movie would you like to watch?"

Niki leaned in close until they were pressed together, squinting at the TV. She took the remote and selected something. "Heard this one is really good," she said, cheeks slightly tinged pink. Lou lifted a brow.

"Below Her Mouth? Sounds... erotic."

Niki gave her a cheeky grin. "Maybe it is."

Lou's stomach fluttered. She would give anything to have Niki's lips at certain places, but the no s*x rule was still in place, so she had to behave no matter how insufferable Niki became. Rachel insisted that, even though they had made a massive breakthrough, being so intimate too soon could bring their hopes too high, and if anything happened to disturb the sudden peace, they would crash horribly. Lou understood it, but her body didn't.

The movie was actually incredibly erotic. Louise had to squeeze her thighs together, and she wondered idly why Niki had decided on this movie specifically. Did she want something to happen? Was she just being an ass, as usual? Deciding to get a little payback, Louise pulled Niki's hand onto her lap and then started to caress her long fingers. She traced the dips of her knuckles, the protruding bones at her wrists and the veins along the back of her hand that were sticking out slightly. She delighted when Niki shivered.

On screen some action was being had, and the heat in the room was increasing. Lou's mouth was absolutely dry, but she didn't want to get up to drink something. Instead she caressed Niki's fingers, enjoyed the solid feeling of her body, and then gasped when Niki suddenly tilted her head and kissed her.

Niki's kiss conveyed everything Louise was feeling deep in her chest. It made her heart stutter and her knees weak. She couldn't stop herself from pushing Niki down until she was straddling her, kissing her with so much passion that her entire body burned. When she pulled away, she brushed her hair out of her face and gulped in heavy breaths.

"We probably shouldn't do..." Niki started, face flushed, "... that."

Louise knew she was right. They couldn't let themselves get so worked up. If they broke Rachel's solid rule of no s*x, they could throw all of the completed steps out of the window. Yeah. That made complete sense.

They met halfway, lips and tongues meeting, and Lou groaned when Niki's hands slipped underneath her shirt, covering her breasts. She still had her bra on, but just feeling the contact through the material made her n*****s hard and her lower regions soaked.

"I forgot what this feels like," Lou gasped against Niki's mouth.

"Me too," Niki groaned. Her hands were almost all over the place. It was like she was trying to touch her everywhere at once.

When the doorbell rang, they startled away from each other like they were horny teens caught by their parents. It took a second to remember the pizza, and when they did, they laughed. Louise could feel her entire body tingling, but now that they were sitting up and trying to regain their composure, she decided that they really did need to stop.

Niki seemed to agree, because when she returned from getting the pizza, she kept some distance between them. Things weren't awkward, at least, but they were charged. They change the movie, ate in silence, but the whole while they kept glancing at each other.

Louise really hated Rachel's dumb rule.