Disclaimer: This story was inspired by Sam Smith's album In the Lonely Hour. The title of each chapter comes from the song it was inspired by. It was originally written as fanfiction, but I switched up the names and such of the characters. I don't own any rights to Sam Smith or his album. The story contains adultery and LGBT themes. Later chapters will contain NSFW material. I'll mark the chapters appropriately. Let me know what you think!
Chapter One - Not the Only One
Chapter Two - Make it to Me
Latch
It had been two weeks since that night at the bar. She still hadn’t mentioned the pregnancy to him. She didn’t want to deal with her emotions. So she buried herself in her work and successfully distracted herself from her feelings towards Alexander. The Monday following her night out, she had received a text from him. It told her he would be there in twenty minutes and for her to wear the outfit he gave her the night prior.
She knew the text wasn't meant for her. Surprisingly, having the proof in her hands, didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. She had a feeling that he realized his mistake. He was acting extra cautious around her the next day. She couldn’t deal with it, so she went on as if she never saw the message. The idea that he wasn’t caught seemed to relax him.
She had spoken to Liz many times, of course. She sought her advice on whether it was right for her to keep the pregnancy from him, despite the growing distance between them. She agreed that he had a right to know, but she felt that this shouldn’t be what keeps them together. She still loved him and wanted to try to get through to him again. She just wanted to be sure that they were staying together for the right reasons.
And then, there were those green eyes that she seemed to be picturing more and more lately. She didn’t know what it was about the blonde, but she attributed it to her loneliness seeking attention. For that reason, she refrained from giving in and visiting the bar again. However, after two weeks of focusing on nothing but work, she was getting a little stir crazy. She knew Liz was on a date with Maxwell tonight, so she opted for something else that always calmed her.
She decided to drive to the beach for an evening stroll. Once she was close to the sand, she removed her heels and took in the feeling of the sand between her toes. She loved the beach. She didn’t care much for it when it was crowded, but in the evening when it was near empty, it was a great escape.
She had walked about a quarter mile when she saw a jogger coming in her direction. Not really in the mood for pleasantries, she took to watching the waves glide over her feet as the jogger passed by. Her plans were quickly spoiled, however, by the sound of a familiar voice.
“Nice night for a stroll... Or a jog.” The runner was slightly out of breath. Regina whipped her head around and couldn’t believe her luck. For a moment, she just stood there looking into those green eyes, unable to speak.
“And...You don’t remember me...” the blonde stated with a slight disappointment in her voice. Regina finally shook herself out of it.
“Um, yes... Of course. The bartender.” Emma sighed in relief at this and smiled.
“Julia.” She officially introduced herself.
“Daena.” She introduced herself as well.
“Daena... I like it.” Emma continued to smile at the brunette. “So, do you come here often?” She winced at how much it sounded like a cheesy pick-up line. “For walks, I mean.” She tried to recover. “It’s just, I live a couple houses down from here and I would’ve remembered seeing you before. Then again, I usually take my runs in the morning, but I had a late start today and… I am totally rambling... Sorry.” Daena smiled at the sheepish look on the blonde’s face.
“No, I don’t get the chance to come as often as I would like.” She replied. Emma nodded at the response.
“Well, I was actually on my way back to the house for dinner. Would you like to join me?” Emma noticed the way Regina shifted uncomfortably. “Just a friendly dinner. Not a date or anything. I mean, I find you very attractive, obviously, but I know you’re going through a lot right now and I would never take advantage of that. I just thought, maybe I could do something nice for you, maybe put a smile on your face. You have a beautiful smile... Which I’m sure you already knew that. So, yea, I’m just gonna stop talking now...” Julia finally took a breath, hoping her cheeks weren’t as flushed as they felt.
“Sure.” Daena replied against her better judgment.
“Yeah?” Julia asked. Daena nodded. She found the blonde’s awkwardness adorable.
“Okay. Let’s go then.” Emma grabbed Regina’s shoes and led the way down the beach to her home.
Julia told her to make herself at home while she took a quick shower. When she came back down, she found Daena making herself at home in the kitchen. She stood in the doorway and watched the brunette work as if she had been cooking here for years.
“I was supposed to be cooking for you...” Julia said. Daena jumped slightly.
“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind. I actually love to cook and you did admit to having no idea of what to make.” The brunette explained as she started prepping ingredients on the counter.
“True, but I was supposed to be doing something nice for you.” Julia pouted adorably.
“Having someone around to cook for would be a very nice change. You could help me.” Daena offered.
“I guess.” Julia sighed dramatically.
“Good, you can cut the potatoes for me.” she instructed with a smile. “And put that lip away before I bite it.” The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop herself.
“Is that a promise?” Julia teased back playfully and leaned towards the other woman, pout still in place. Before she knew it, Daena stepped to her and, true to her word, claimed her lip between her teeth. Julia gasped as the teeth were used to pull her lip in between plump red ones. She groaned when the brunette beauty began to suck on her lower lip. She couldn’t resist any longer. She leaned in further to claim those beautiful lips. Daena moaned softly and allowed Julia to deepen the kiss. They broke apart when they needed air. There was a moment of silence, as they began to fully realize what had happened.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” Daena was trying to process everything. She gave in to temptation way too easily. “I should go...” She began to walk out of the kitchen.
“Don’t.” Julia gently grabbed her hand to stop her. “Please stay. I meant what I said. I don’t want to take advantage of you and I won’t take that as an invitation to try to go further. You call the shots.” Julia bit her lip as she waited for Daena to respond.
“I should really stay away from you.” Daena replied softly, still a bit out of breath from that amazing kiss. Julia smiled.
“Okay, then we’ll stay on opposite sides of the kitchen, eat on opposite sides of the table, and sit on opposite sides of the couch when we watch a movie later.” Julia seemed very proud of her brilliant plan. Daena chuckled softly and returned to her spot in the kitchen.
“Okay.” She agreed with a small nod.
The plan worked flawlessly, until it was time to watch a movie. Daena picked a side of the couch and sat down while Julia popped in a movie. Julia sat down on the opposite side and the separation lasted for about five minutes before Daena made her way across the couch and curled into the blonde.
“I just...miss being able to do this.” She explained.
“Okay.” Julia nodded her understanding. She wrapped her arm around the brunette and sometime later during the movie, they both fell asleep curled up on the couch together.
Now I've got you in my space
I won't let go of you
Got you shackled in my embrace
I'm latching on to you
- Sam Smith