Where to start 12/?
The reason why I'm posting this chapter now is really simple. I forgot I had it ready and checked with my beta (thank you). Yes my memory is incredible. I think it was ready a month ago.
I have a slow weekend and figured it would be good to update this story.
I'm spending this afternoon with my grandfather (I swear one more fudge and a cookie from him and I will start screaming) so I have some time.
Anyway, I hope you'll like this chapter. Some things are changing in Erica and some are new for Margaret. There's some action (a little one - it's me writing) and... hmm... that's all. :P
Ok so here goes“Kevin asked me if you’re dating someone.” Julia entered Erica’s living room and sat in the armchair.
Erica didn’t stop; she went to the kitchen and grabbed something to drink for them. She walked back to Julia and sat on the couch giving Julia one bottle of beer. “What did you tell him?”
“That I don’t know anything about that, and that you’re the kind of woman who’s not dating.” She smirked, perfectly knowing that she was annoying Erica.
Erica sighed and opened her bottle. She stopped herself from giving any other expression that could satisfy Julia.
“Come on Erica, when was the last time you were on a date?”
Erica shook her head. “In Seattle.”
“With Callie?”
Erica nodded, taking small a sip and suddenly stopping her movements.
Seeing that, Julia shifted on her spot. “What is it?” She knew Erica wasn’t saying everything.
“I… I went out with Laura two times.” She grimaced.
Julia laughed at the memory of the three of them in Erica’s kitchen in the middle of the night. “I thought you’d just met a few times and there was nothing more. It was very Laura.”
“We kissed once, but later she just started to annoy me to no end. I guess it was my fault.” Erica shrugged.
“Nah, Laura gets all cocky and annoying from time to time.” Julia smiled. “So, do you wanna go on a date?”
“What?” Erica’s eyes widened.
Julia rolled her eyes at Erica’s expression. “Not with me. I wouldn’t go on a date with you even if you paid me.”
Erica stood up and took her empty bottle. “Yeah, right!” She snorted and walked to the kitchen.
“I’m serious!” Julia yelled after her friend.
“Uhmmmm.” Erica muttered, not convinced at all.
Julia jumped quickly from the armchair and followed Erica. “What makes you think I would?”
The blonde smirked knowing that she pushed the right button. “Because you would. If I asked you to go on a date with me, you would say yes.” She shrugged.
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Julia crossed her arms.
“Oh, admit it already. Yes, we are friends, but if circumstances were different you would say yes.” Erica stated with her hands on her hips.
Julia looked at her for a moment and sighed. “Fine! Maybe you’re right.” She admitted. “But! I’m not the only one who would go out with you. So don’t think it’s something special.” She turned on her heels and walked back to the living room.
Erica smiled at her friend’s reasoning and went after her just so she could push some more buttons.
***
Erica drove her car carefully, occasionally glancing at Margaret sitting on the passenger’s seat. She was trying to figure out “plan B” for their date. Erica had decided to let Margaret in. At least a little… for now. The smaller woman took her to so many places and showed her so many things that were important for her, so Erica decided it was time for her to share something back. The moment she knocked at Margaret’s door she thought it was a bad idea. What if that was something Margaret was not hoping for? That’s why she quickly needed a plan B.
They stopped at the lights when Margaret noticed a billboard with some views of a few American cities. “Have you ever been on Space Needle in Seattle?” She asked, still looking at the billboard.
Erica leaned closer so she could see what Margaret was looking at. The light changed to green and she focused back on the road. “I wanted to go there once, but when I finally got some time to do that I figured there should be something more exciting to do in that city.”
“Like what?” Margaret asked skeptically.
Erica smiled, knowing she was caught. “Like, not going there?” She answered dismissively.
The smaller woman laughed. “Are you afraid of heights?”
“Well, I’m not sure. When I was a kid I pretty much lived in a tree” She smiled widely. “When I went to high school I was afraid when I looked down from my sister’s apartment in Chicago. She lived on the 4th floor I think. After that I never had to climb anywhere, or look down more than 2 floors.”
Margaret nodded. “And you never tried to find out if you still had it?” She laughed. “Sorry, it sounded like you had some kind of disease.”
Erica chuckled. “I wanted to go and do that when I was in London. But this London Eye was moving too slow, and I don’t know… maybe I was more afraid that I would get bored there.”
“I didn’t know you were in London.” Margaret sounded excited.
“There was a medical convention four years ago.” She shrugged. “I only went there for three days. Didn’t see much, but I liked what I saw.”
Margaret shifted on her seat and turned so that she could face Erica. “Where are you taking me?” She smiled cheekily. Erica looked briefly at her friend. “There’s this place not far from the city. I was a student at Johns Hopkins University, and sometimes when I wanted to get out of that place, I went there.”
“You wanted to get out of the hospital?” Margaret joked with fake surprise in her voice.
“I managed to drive my attending to madness. He discovered I was basically living there and forced me to go out more often.” Erica turned right after they passed a few signs informing they were leaving Baltimore. “So, I took my books and found this place.”
Margaret smiled. “You still didn’t tell me what kind of place it is.”
Erica looked at her again and took her hand. “It’s called Tail. It was a part of Baltimore in early 40’s. It looks like a really small town. There are only two streets and a big park. It pretty much looks the same as it did when I was there as an intern. And as far as I know, nothing changed much there since the 50’s.”
The brunette was observing Erica as she was telling all this to her. It was the first time Erica had told her about herself so much. For someone else it could look like there was nothing important in what the blonde surgeon was telling, but for Margaret it meant so much. So far, Erica had only told her that she had lived in Seattle and that her ex was there. She was more open about her family, but even with that subject, she wasn’t too talkative. Margaret leaned closer to Erica, still holding her hand. She kissed the taller woman’s cheek and whispered to her ear. “Thank you for telling me all this.” She kissed her again and moved back to her previous position.
Erica finally pulled her car to a stop and turned the engine off. Margaret looked around when they got out of the car. There were only a few cars on the main street. On their left, near their car, there was a grocery store which really looked like it was from the 50’s. At least on the outside. Old Pepsi and 7up adds still hanging on the door, and few others behind the big windowpane. She looked further and noticed a Post office sign. Two ladies were sitting in front of it, listening to the radio. She turned to see the other side of the street where there were a small restaurant and an electronics shop, which probably was closed now.
Erica walked to Margaret and turned her in the opposite direction they had come from. “There’s a park there, and behind this building there is a church.” She motioned to the small building with a Veterinary Clinic sign on it. “So, where do you want to go first? Are you hungry?”
Margaret shook her head. “Not yet. Can we see it all?”
Erica couldn’t help but laugh at the younger woman’s excitement. “Yeah, we can see it all. Come on.” She took Margaret’s hand and started to walk.
“So, you lived in a tree, huh?” Margaret asked and moved closer to Erica.
“We had a big plum tree in our backyard. I just liked sitting there. My mother thinks that’s why I have a superiority complex. Because I was looking at everyone from above.”
Margaret laughed heartily and moved her left hand to Erica’s waist. “Is that alright?” She asked blushing lightly. Erica pulled the younger woman closer by doing the same thing. “Yes.” She answered quietly.
About an hour later they made a full circle around the town. Margaret took some photos during their walk. At first Erica didn’t notice when the brunette took her camera from the bag and started taking pictures, but after she impudently stopped in front of the blonde and took her picture, Erica reacted.
“You know, that’s not nice.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t like it when someone is taking my picture.”
Margaret looked at her and suddenly kissed her slowly. After a few seconds Erica couldn’t help herself and deepened the kiss. Erica’s hands moved higher from Margaret’s waist and stopped on her shoulder blades. Margaret dropped her bag on the ground and her camera on it. She cupped Erica’s cheek with her right hand and with the hand left placed on her neck, she pulled Erica closer. When Erica felt her knees becoming weak she took a few steps forwards, guiding Margaret carefully. None of them wanted to break the kiss. Erica slowed her steps a few inches from the wall behind the small building near the park.
Margaret leaned back against the wall which allowed Erica to sneak her right leg between Margaret’s. The smaller woman moaned quietly, sliding her fingers into Erica’s long hair. Her left hand wandered down under Erica’s jacket. Feeling the warm hand on her stomach, Erica slowed their kiss even more. She felt a big hot wave rushing to her own hands, face and her center. She gasped when she felt how aroused Margaret made her. Her heart skipped a few beats and she pulled lightly from the other woman.
They looked at each other for a short moment. Faces flushed, breaths quick and smiles getting bigger. Margaret cleared her throat gently. “I… hmm… I don’t want to ruin the mood, but…” She paused and smiled shyly. “Do you think that maybe we could eat something?”
Erica was about to say something when Margaret’s stomach grumbled loudly, causing the younger woman to blush furiously. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled to Erica’s shoulder, embarrassed that it had happened at this moment and, as a matter of fact, for the second time since they had known each other. The older woman could only laugh. She bent down, and took Margaret’s bag and camera.
“Nice try.” She smiled and motioned with the camera between the two of them.
Margaret sighed at Erica’s movement. “Can we make a deal?” She asked and extended her hand for her camera.
“What kind of deal?”
“I’ll show you these pictures at home. If you don’t like them you can delete them.”
Erica smirked and gave Margaret her camera back. “Fine. Come on. Let’s eat something.”
They sat in the small restaurant. The Jukebox played some old songs in the background. Both women were so focused on their conversation and food that they barely noticed anyone else in the restaurant. Erica told Margaret a little more about the times she spent in Tail and discovered that she was enjoying it. Seeing that she was able to make the younger woman laugh with her simple stories made her feel a lot better about this date. She didn’t talk about anything else that wasn’t related to this place. To her own surprise she discovered that she wanted to tell more, but there still was this line that Erica was afraid to cross.
Erica didn’t share a lot of her life with Callie. She really preferred listening to the other woman; besides she knew that she was helping her that way. Callie visibly came back to her better form. For Erica it was so obvious that she just needed to talk to someone, get rid of every bitter feeling she had in her chest. And Erica was there for her. As much as Callie claimed Sloan to be her friend, she only could count on him when sex was involved. Yes, Callie was living with Yang but… ehh… she didin’t even want to go there.
Erica didn’t want to compare, but she couldn’t help herself. It wasn’t hard to notice that with Margaret some things were easier. The talk was a lot easier, mostly the part that involved her private life. And safety. Yes, she felt safe with the younger woman. The fact that half of the steps in their relationship were made by Margaret, allowed her to think that everything would be alright.
I have a slow weekend and figured it would be good to update this story.
I'm spending this afternoon with my grandfather (I swear one more fudge and a cookie from him and I will start screaming) so I have some time.
Anyway, I hope you'll like this chapter. Some things are changing in Erica and some are new for Margaret. There's some action (a little one - it's me writing) and... hmm... that's all. :P
Ok so here goes“Kevin asked me if you’re dating someone.” Julia entered Erica’s living room and sat in the armchair.
Erica didn’t stop; she went to the kitchen and grabbed something to drink for them. She walked back to Julia and sat on the couch giving Julia one bottle of beer. “What did you tell him?”
“That I don’t know anything about that, and that you’re the kind of woman who’s not dating.” She smirked, perfectly knowing that she was annoying Erica.
Erica sighed and opened her bottle. She stopped herself from giving any other expression that could satisfy Julia.
“Come on Erica, when was the last time you were on a date?”
Erica shook her head. “In Seattle.”
“With Callie?”
Erica nodded, taking small a sip and suddenly stopping her movements.
Seeing that, Julia shifted on her spot. “What is it?” She knew Erica wasn’t saying everything.
“I… I went out with Laura two times.” She grimaced.
Julia laughed at the memory of the three of them in Erica’s kitchen in the middle of the night. “I thought you’d just met a few times and there was nothing more. It was very Laura.”
“We kissed once, but later she just started to annoy me to no end. I guess it was my fault.” Erica shrugged.
“Nah, Laura gets all cocky and annoying from time to time.” Julia smiled. “So, do you wanna go on a date?”
“What?” Erica’s eyes widened.
Julia rolled her eyes at Erica’s expression. “Not with me. I wouldn’t go on a date with you even if you paid me.”
Erica stood up and took her empty bottle. “Yeah, right!” She snorted and walked to the kitchen.
“I’m serious!” Julia yelled after her friend.
“Uhmmmm.” Erica muttered, not convinced at all.
Julia jumped quickly from the armchair and followed Erica. “What makes you think I would?”
The blonde smirked knowing that she pushed the right button. “Because you would. If I asked you to go on a date with me, you would say yes.” She shrugged.
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Julia crossed her arms.
“Oh, admit it already. Yes, we are friends, but if circumstances were different you would say yes.” Erica stated with her hands on her hips.
Julia looked at her for a moment and sighed. “Fine! Maybe you’re right.” She admitted. “But! I’m not the only one who would go out with you. So don’t think it’s something special.” She turned on her heels and walked back to the living room.
Erica smiled at her friend’s reasoning and went after her just so she could push some more buttons.
***
Erica drove her car carefully, occasionally glancing at Margaret sitting on the passenger’s seat. She was trying to figure out “plan B” for their date. Erica had decided to let Margaret in. At least a little… for now. The smaller woman took her to so many places and showed her so many things that were important for her, so Erica decided it was time for her to share something back. The moment she knocked at Margaret’s door she thought it was a bad idea. What if that was something Margaret was not hoping for? That’s why she quickly needed a plan B.
They stopped at the lights when Margaret noticed a billboard with some views of a few American cities. “Have you ever been on Space Needle in Seattle?” She asked, still looking at the billboard.
Erica leaned closer so she could see what Margaret was looking at. The light changed to green and she focused back on the road. “I wanted to go there once, but when I finally got some time to do that I figured there should be something more exciting to do in that city.”
“Like what?” Margaret asked skeptically.
Erica smiled, knowing she was caught. “Like, not going there?” She answered dismissively.
The smaller woman laughed. “Are you afraid of heights?”
“Well, I’m not sure. When I was a kid I pretty much lived in a tree” She smiled widely. “When I went to high school I was afraid when I looked down from my sister’s apartment in Chicago. She lived on the 4th floor I think. After that I never had to climb anywhere, or look down more than 2 floors.”
Margaret nodded. “And you never tried to find out if you still had it?” She laughed. “Sorry, it sounded like you had some kind of disease.”
Erica chuckled. “I wanted to go and do that when I was in London. But this London Eye was moving too slow, and I don’t know… maybe I was more afraid that I would get bored there.”
“I didn’t know you were in London.” Margaret sounded excited.
“There was a medical convention four years ago.” She shrugged. “I only went there for three days. Didn’t see much, but I liked what I saw.”
Margaret shifted on her seat and turned so that she could face Erica. “Where are you taking me?” She smiled cheekily. Erica looked briefly at her friend. “There’s this place not far from the city. I was a student at Johns Hopkins University, and sometimes when I wanted to get out of that place, I went there.”
“You wanted to get out of the hospital?” Margaret joked with fake surprise in her voice.
“I managed to drive my attending to madness. He discovered I was basically living there and forced me to go out more often.” Erica turned right after they passed a few signs informing they were leaving Baltimore. “So, I took my books and found this place.”
Margaret smiled. “You still didn’t tell me what kind of place it is.”
Erica looked at her again and took her hand. “It’s called Tail. It was a part of Baltimore in early 40’s. It looks like a really small town. There are only two streets and a big park. It pretty much looks the same as it did when I was there as an intern. And as far as I know, nothing changed much there since the 50’s.”
The brunette was observing Erica as she was telling all this to her. It was the first time Erica had told her about herself so much. For someone else it could look like there was nothing important in what the blonde surgeon was telling, but for Margaret it meant so much. So far, Erica had only told her that she had lived in Seattle and that her ex was there. She was more open about her family, but even with that subject, she wasn’t too talkative. Margaret leaned closer to Erica, still holding her hand. She kissed the taller woman’s cheek and whispered to her ear. “Thank you for telling me all this.” She kissed her again and moved back to her previous position.
Erica finally pulled her car to a stop and turned the engine off. Margaret looked around when they got out of the car. There were only a few cars on the main street. On their left, near their car, there was a grocery store which really looked like it was from the 50’s. At least on the outside. Old Pepsi and 7up adds still hanging on the door, and few others behind the big windowpane. She looked further and noticed a Post office sign. Two ladies were sitting in front of it, listening to the radio. She turned to see the other side of the street where there were a small restaurant and an electronics shop, which probably was closed now.
Erica walked to Margaret and turned her in the opposite direction they had come from. “There’s a park there, and behind this building there is a church.” She motioned to the small building with a Veterinary Clinic sign on it. “So, where do you want to go first? Are you hungry?”
Margaret shook her head. “Not yet. Can we see it all?”
Erica couldn’t help but laugh at the younger woman’s excitement. “Yeah, we can see it all. Come on.” She took Margaret’s hand and started to walk.
“So, you lived in a tree, huh?” Margaret asked and moved closer to Erica.
“We had a big plum tree in our backyard. I just liked sitting there. My mother thinks that’s why I have a superiority complex. Because I was looking at everyone from above.”
Margaret laughed heartily and moved her left hand to Erica’s waist. “Is that alright?” She asked blushing lightly. Erica pulled the younger woman closer by doing the same thing. “Yes.” She answered quietly.
About an hour later they made a full circle around the town. Margaret took some photos during their walk. At first Erica didn’t notice when the brunette took her camera from the bag and started taking pictures, but after she impudently stopped in front of the blonde and took her picture, Erica reacted.
“You know, that’s not nice.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t like it when someone is taking my picture.”
Margaret looked at her and suddenly kissed her slowly. After a few seconds Erica couldn’t help herself and deepened the kiss. Erica’s hands moved higher from Margaret’s waist and stopped on her shoulder blades. Margaret dropped her bag on the ground and her camera on it. She cupped Erica’s cheek with her right hand and with the hand left placed on her neck, she pulled Erica closer. When Erica felt her knees becoming weak she took a few steps forwards, guiding Margaret carefully. None of them wanted to break the kiss. Erica slowed her steps a few inches from the wall behind the small building near the park.
Margaret leaned back against the wall which allowed Erica to sneak her right leg between Margaret’s. The smaller woman moaned quietly, sliding her fingers into Erica’s long hair. Her left hand wandered down under Erica’s jacket. Feeling the warm hand on her stomach, Erica slowed their kiss even more. She felt a big hot wave rushing to her own hands, face and her center. She gasped when she felt how aroused Margaret made her. Her heart skipped a few beats and she pulled lightly from the other woman.
They looked at each other for a short moment. Faces flushed, breaths quick and smiles getting bigger. Margaret cleared her throat gently. “I… hmm… I don’t want to ruin the mood, but…” She paused and smiled shyly. “Do you think that maybe we could eat something?”
Erica was about to say something when Margaret’s stomach grumbled loudly, causing the younger woman to blush furiously. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled to Erica’s shoulder, embarrassed that it had happened at this moment and, as a matter of fact, for the second time since they had known each other. The older woman could only laugh. She bent down, and took Margaret’s bag and camera.
“Nice try.” She smiled and motioned with the camera between the two of them.
Margaret sighed at Erica’s movement. “Can we make a deal?” She asked and extended her hand for her camera.
“What kind of deal?”
“I’ll show you these pictures at home. If you don’t like them you can delete them.”
Erica smirked and gave Margaret her camera back. “Fine. Come on. Let’s eat something.”
They sat in the small restaurant. The Jukebox played some old songs in the background. Both women were so focused on their conversation and food that they barely noticed anyone else in the restaurant. Erica told Margaret a little more about the times she spent in Tail and discovered that she was enjoying it. Seeing that she was able to make the younger woman laugh with her simple stories made her feel a lot better about this date. She didn’t talk about anything else that wasn’t related to this place. To her own surprise she discovered that she wanted to tell more, but there still was this line that Erica was afraid to cross.
Erica didn’t share a lot of her life with Callie. She really preferred listening to the other woman; besides she knew that she was helping her that way. Callie visibly came back to her better form. For Erica it was so obvious that she just needed to talk to someone, get rid of every bitter feeling she had in her chest. And Erica was there for her. As much as Callie claimed Sloan to be her friend, she only could count on him when sex was involved. Yes, Callie was living with Yang but… ehh… she didin’t even want to go there.
Erica didn’t want to compare, but she couldn’t help herself. It wasn’t hard to notice that with Margaret some things were easier. The talk was a lot easier, mostly the part that involved her private life. And safety. Yes, she felt safe with the younger woman. The fact that half of the steps in their relationship were made by Margaret, allowed her to think that everything would be alright.