Page 117 of Derivation

“Good morning,” she said and kissed Sarai’s collarbone.

“It’s Sunday, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Because that means we don’t have to get up for work,” Sarai replied, smiling as she opened her eyes to look up at her.

Gabi, who was lying on her side, propped up on her elbow and smiled back down at the naked woman next to her. This whole thing was still so unbelievable to her. How had she gone from getting a new job in a different town, being nervous about making the massive move, not finding a place to live, to seeing Sarai Kaplan in a bar after all these years, and now, being able to call Sarai her girlfriend?

Then, a sound from just outside Sarai’s door gave her thoughts a pause, and she looked up to ensure that Arlowe – because it would be Arlowe and not Enya – hadn’t decided to walk right in without knocking, when both of them were still lying naked and barely covered up.

“I locked it after I came back from the bathroom,” Sarai told her. “We’re fine.” She wrapped her arms around Gabi’s neck and pulled her face down to her. “And good morning.”

They shared a sweet but way-too-brief kiss, and Gabi rested her forehead against Sarai’s for a moment because she didn’t want to move. Yesterday still felt a little like a dream, kind of like the feeling she’d get after taking a midday nap, which wasn’t all that often these days. She’d wake up, wonder for a second where she was, check the time to see how long she’d been asleep right after she’d figure that out, and she’d be groggy for an hour or so, but the whole previous evening and night felt like it had happened in a dream that she’d been having a lot recently. In fact, the only way she knew for sure that they’d actually spent their entire Saturday night making love was because they hadn’t bothered to put their clothes on to fall asleep.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, running a thumb over Sarai’s swollen bottom lip.

“I am, but I’m not moving just yet.”

“I can make you something and bring it back here. We can eat in bed.”

“If I’m not moving, you’re not moving,” Sarai said with a little laugh.

Then, Sarai shifted, giving Gabi an indication of what she was hoping for, so Gabi moved on top of her and settled between Sarai’s spread legs before there was a noise outside the door that sounded like someone mumbling.

“Just Enya, reciting words in another language to herself like a totally normal person on a Sunday morning,” Sarai said with a soft smile.

“So, no regrets?”

“What?” Sarai asked, taken aback slightly. “About last night? No way. You thought I’d–”

“I wanted to check. You said you wanted to take things slow, but when I woke up and saw you lying there, looking so beautiful, I just needed to make sure that I hadn’t somehow convinced you to go faster than you’d wanted.”

“No, Gabs. No convincing was necessary last night. I wanted to be with you. When I said I wanted slow, it was because I wanted to make sure that we could do this. We’re still getting used to things, but I know we can now.”

Gabi nodded and pressed her lips to Sarai’s for a soft, slow kiss.

“Are you a fan of morning–”

“Obviously, yes. I’m the one who wanted you on top of me. Now, shut up and kiss me,” Sarai interrupted, making Gabi laugh before she finally did shut up and kissed her.

Her hand snaked down between their bodies where she found Sarai wet and likely a little sore because they hadn’t stopped touching each other until around three in the morning. Gabi hadn’t ever had that much sex before, and her body was sore, too, but they’d waited so long for this; she wasn’t about to stop now.

As she brought Sarai higher, using her fingers against her clit, she thought about how improbable her new relationship really was. This town wasn’t a big one. The city next to it was. Yes, it was growing, but when she’d last known Sarai, the woman had planned on living in New York, LA, Boston, or San Francisco. Chicago had been a maybe. She’d wanted a job in marketing with a big company.

When Gabi had gone to MIT, she remembered thinking about reaching out to Sarai because if she’d landed in Boston or even New York, they could’ve met up for coffee or drinks or something. She hadn’t, though, and it had been, in part, because of her father’s death and the fact that her mother had needed so much from her back then. School had been intense on top of all of that, so she’d put that plan behind her, finished school, gotten a job, stayed there for a while, and then, Chase had mentioned a new opportunity at his company in what was becoming the new Silicon Valley of the East Coast. Now, she was listening to Sarai Kaplan, her girlfriend, come down from another orgasm that Gabi had provided, and she was so happy. She knew it was the beginning, and things could always go wrong or end, but this, what they’d started, felt so right to her.

“Up here,” Sarai said through her heavy breathing and pressed her fingertip to her lips as she lifted both eyebrows. “Please.”

“You want me up there?” Gabi teased.

“Yes, I do.”

Gabi smirked, climbed up Sarai’s body until she had a knee on either side of her head, and Sarai gripped her hips and lowered her to her waiting mouth. They hadn’t done this last night. They’d gone down on each other, yes, but neither of them had sat on the other’s face, and when Sarai began licking her, Gabi really regretted not doing this the previous night, too. This way, she could control the pressure and the sensations she wanted a little better, so she lifted an inch or so and moved her hips back and forth because she wanted Sarai to just barely touch her to start.

“You’re driving me crazy,” Sarai said and gripped her hips a little bit harder.

“You’re driving me crazy. That’s what I want, though. Don’t stop.”