time together

#100ways note: Today’s excerpt continues from yesterday’s scene: Elena just wants to spend time with Jess, even if it’s doing laundry. It moves things forward and (I couldn’t avoid it anymore) gives away a plot point at the beginning of the sequel novel We Fit. So, if you haven’t read We Three, you might be surprised.

“Lead the way.” 

Despite wanting to kiss Jess, or just take her hand, Elena took a step back, gesturing for the blonde to move in front of her. She knew the way to the younger woman’s room here at the hotel, but she was trying to give space the blonde seemed to want.

While Jess walked ahead of her, Elena traced the lines of her body with longing. Jess’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see you. To talk to you.You haven’t answered a text.”

“The holiday season only just finished. I’ve been swamped with work.”

“I know, that’s why I haven’t … Yesterday was Three Kings Day. I thought maybe, the season was finally over?”

“It’s my day off, yeah.” 

As Jess turned to put the key in her door, Elena finally could see her profile; she exhaled and smiled. “I was hoping that.”

The key turned in the lock and then the door went in a few inches. It stopped and Elena was pinned by green eyes.

When Jess said nothing more, Elena inhaled and nodded at the door. “I thought we were going to get your laundry?”

“You really want to watch me do laundry?”

“I don’t mind.” Elena gambled and reached out, placing her hand on Jess’s on the knob. “I’d offer to let you do it at my place, but I’m thinking that’d probably be a ‘no’.” She released Jess’s hand before it could be pulled away.

“So you’re not here to convince me to move in with you?”

“I took you at your word. You seemed pretty firm when you declined.” Elena wondered where this was going, but at the same time, she was grateful just to be connecting with Jess once again.

Jess didn’t speak while moving around her room. First she straightened the bed, pulling up the white sheets and then the cream cover, smoothing everything as she went. She popped and fluffed the pillows and set them back against the headboard. Finally she collected clothing items from the floor beside the bed.

She disappeared into the bathroom emerging with several small pieces, including a bra and several damp panties. She tossed all the clothes in a bag suspended in a collapsible frame in the corner by the 3-drawer chest, then pulled the bag out, tugged and tied off the drawstrings.

“That’s it,” the blonde said turning to Elena with the bag slung, Santa-like, over her left shoulder. 

Elena stepped off the wall where she had been leaning. That hadn’t taken long. The contents of the bag seemed like a single load. “Take your sheets? Fill out a second load?”

“The sheets belong to the hotel. They do ‘em in the industrial laundry at the end of each day. Mine go in once a week on Mondays. So they’re already clean.”

“Oh.” Elena nodded. “All right. The car’s out front. Anything else you need?”

Jess went to the dresser, opened the top drawer and shoved her hand to the back, coming up with a hand full of quarter rolls. “Can’t forget these.”

Seeing the green eyes light up in her direction, Elena nevertheless bit her tongue to keep from again offering her home’s washer and dryer. One load would take no time at all and then Jess would be requesting to be dropped off again. If they went to the house, they could do something else together. Despite that, Elena brightly returned the smile then said, “All right. Let’s go.”

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So what do you think? Leave a comment.

~ Lara