Page 93 of In Her Own Way
“Rowena is fine with Tillman and me staying there for a while. Not that I don’t want to move in with you,” Victoria said, releasing Jessica. She wiped at the tears in her eyes and on her face.
Oh, no. Is this a rejection?Jessica’s hopes were falling.
“I won’t…I can’t be a burden to you,” Victoria said, looking off toward the city skyline. “I need to find a job first.” She turned back around, and Jessica’s heart lifted as she saw a small smile creeping up Victoria’s face. “Job first, apartment hunting for both of us after that.”
“But I have an apartment.”
“It’s not good enough for you,” Victoria said firmly. Ooh, Jessica had begun to recognize that sultry Domme tone. “I want something better for you. Something better for us when we begin our lives together.” She leaned down and kissed Jessica once. “Baby, I love that you have your independence with your apartment, and if you want to keep it to have a getaway, you absolutely can. I’m okay with that.”
Jessica didn’t say anything; she was still stuck on Victoria calling her ‘baby.’ It was so sweet. And her hair was ruffled from the cold December breeze up this high.
“In the least,” Victoria continued, “we can talk about it when we get back home. Okay?”
“Hmm?” Jessica said, knocking herself out of her fangirling moment. “Oh. No, need. I would love to go apartment hunting with you.”
“Good,” Victoria said with a quick nod, indicating the matter was settled. “You need better hiking shoes.”
Jessica looked down at her worn out sneakers. But they were so comfy. “Okay,” was all she could manage because she was positively putty in Victoria’s presence and that dominant demeanor.
“Come on,” Victoria continued. “Let’s head down after you get some good pictures. We need some selfies, don’t we?”
After Jessica took some photos, they headed back down the steps, this time Victoria led the way. “I put in an application at the elementary school where I used to work,” Victoria said. “But the principal called me this morning and said, although they’dlove to have me back, there was simply no opening. She’d keep my app on file, though, in case anything opened up.”
“That’s a good sign, babe,” Jessica said, trying out the new pet name. Yes, it had just the right ring. Of course, she’d be trying out other pet names in the near future.
“Yeah, I guess.”
At the bottom of the stairs, Victoria turned and offered her hand chivalrously. Jessica took it as she melted into the mulched walkway. How had she gotten so lucky? Right place, right time, maybe?
“And I need to get back to Erin’s,” Victoria said and held her hand as they walked the rest of the way around the loop and back to the pickup. “I have to get the last of my stuff.”
Victoria stopped walking and turned to face her. “Christmas is less than two weeks away. Will you be going home to see family or something?”
“Funny you should say that,” Jessica said and relayed the conversation she’d had that very morning with her mother.
“Ah, I see. And you know about my family. So, we have an invitation to spend Christmas Day with Shasti and Madison. I’m supposed to ask if you can come.”
“Yes,” Jessica said so quickly that Victoria jumped.
“C’mon, let’s go home,” Victoria said and grabbed her hand. “We’ll have just enough time to get some lovin’ in before we have to head over to Rowena and Minjung’s for dinner.”
“Will this lovin’ involve my hands bound to the headboard?”
“And your ankles bound at the bottom,” Victoria said. “And my strap-on finding warm, slick places to visit.”
Jessica picked up the speed, dragging Victoria behind her.
~~~
A few weeks later, Christmas had come and gone, and Jessica and Victoria sat in Erin’s apartment in Indianapolis. Thepickup was loaded with the last of Victoria’s boxes, and they were finally resting and visiting with Erin.
While Victoria sat manspreading on one side of the couch, Jessica sat on the other, pumping Erin for information and juicy tidbits about Victoria’s childhood.
“Seriously,” Erin said, “she was such a tomboy, playing with my brothers all the time. But she always made time to play board games with me.”
“She tried to get me to play dolls,” Victoria said with a grimace, “but that never worked out.”
“She’d make them into MMA fighters and pop their heads off,” Erin said with a laugh.
