They’d done slow and loving. Quick and dirty. Pressed up against doors. Bent over the kitchen counter. On the sofa far too many times to count already, when a night of watching TV would take on a life of its own. Once, a week ago, they’d even had sex inthe office right off the check-in desk, where Brynn had had just enough room to drop down on her knees in front of Hallie, who’d been sitting behind the desk when Brynn had walked in.
Why had Brynn walked into the room that day? She honestly couldn’t tell you. All she could remember was that Hallie had looked up and given her this lopsided smile that had made Brynn’s heart pitter-patter. The wanting had followed quickly after.
She loved their sex life. Was obsessed with it, even. But she was just as obsessed with the soft, tender moments in their relationship. Being around Hallie was like living in a feelings wheel that only had all the best emotions, and she rapid-cycled through them whenever they were together.
And since they spent most of their time together, Brynn hadn’t yet come off this ride.
But all their time together also meant that she knew things, like how responsive Hallie was to having her clit touched. Or the way that she made the absolute best sounds when she was close. And that, more than anything, when they had sex, she loved to feel the press of Brynn’s body, anchoring her in place.
Speaking of which…
She felt Hallie stiffen, Brynn finding her mouth to capture her moan in another kiss. She slid her tongue into Hallie’s mouth, following the same rhythm that her fingers were making.
When Hallie came seconds later, her whole body snapped, her back arching off the bed to press them closer together.
Brynn reveled in the moment as Hallie panted into her mouth, her whole body jerking against her as she carried her through her orgasm. It was, frankly, the most gratifying thing she’d ever experienced, being the cause of such simple, encompassing pleasure in another person.
Hallie took a few seconds to come down while Brynn kept her fingers pressed against her center, rubbing slow circlesthere. She loved the slightly dazed, blissed-out look on Hallie’s face, the calmest she’d been since they’d gotten out of bed this morning.
“Orgasms are good for stress relief,” Brynn said needlessly, since the evidence was clearly splayed out underneath her.
It took long seconds before Hallie answered. “Is that so?”
She smiled down at Hallie. “Want to go again just to be sure?”
They weren’t late, technically.
Well, they were five minutes late, but Brynn’s parents were even later. Which was really unlike them.
But she hadn’t been able to dwell on it because, as they’d walked up to the table, Reese and Sydney had already been smirking. Brynn had found it confusing until Sydney had gestured to Hallie to fix one of the buttons on her shirt. Brynn had turned toward Hallie and quickly redone the buttons; it had been her fault in the first place that they’d been askew.
Since they were having brunch on a weekday, the restaurant was sparsely filled. Reese had told Hallie in no uncertain terms that the inn could survive for a few hours without them. Whether Hallie was committed to a better work-life balance or not, Reese wasn’t going to let it go.
And Brynn sort of loved that. The weird balance of work and friendship that they were all finding amongst one another. They even had a group chat thread, which was something Brynn had never had before with a group of friends.
Granted, they were actually two couples, but they all had friendships outside of their relationships with each other. Sydney had even texted Brynn one-on-one the other day! It wasclear that she was making an effort to make Brynn feel included, and even if it was mostly because she was Hallie’s girlfriend now, it meant a lot.
When Brynn’s parents arrived seconds later, she and Hallie were both still standing. Her dad—luckily, since meeting her parents individually was probably better—was over at the host stand, no doubt to make it clear that he’d be picking up the check for the table.
“Hi, Mom. Everything okay?” Brynn asked when she leaned forward to hug her.
Her mom hugged her close, holding on to her for a few extra seconds than their already abnormally long hugs lasted. “We went to Boston Children’s Hospital this morning to volunteer.”
Brynn’s throat was instantly full. This was a big moment for her parents. Sure, they donated money to pediatric cancer causes, but she didn’t think that they’d been back to the hospital since her sister had died. Brynn, over the years, had volunteered there fairly regularly, even though it was something she didn’t talk to her parents about.
“How was it?” she asked softly, still in her mom’s arms.
Her mom squeezed her once more before letting her go. “Hard but good. I’m glad that we did it. And I’m glad that you gave us the push that we needed.”
Brynn blushed. Praise from her parents wasn’t uncommon, but this felt different. She felt like she had actually done something that warranted the pride evident in her mom’s tone. “You know me. Always here to bring down the hammer,” she joked at the same time that she wrapped her arm around Hallie’s waist and pulled her close. As much as she wanted to talk more about her parents’ day, right now, she was ready to introduce them to a very important person. “Mom, this is Hallie Thatcher. My girlfriend.”
Just saying the words made her heart swell with happiness. God, she was so lucky.
Brynn barely had the chance to whisper, “She’s a hugger,” before Hallie was pulled into the arms of Margie Fitzpatrick. Besides, calling the full-bodied embrace her mom leveled on Hallie “a hug” wouldn’t have done it justice.
Brynn held her breath, waiting for Hallie to shoot her a pleading look to be saved except… that didn’t happen. In response to her mom’s intense affection, Hallie leaned into the hug with her whole body, allowing herself to be wrapped up and squeezed so tightly that even Brynn could feel it in her own ribs.
“I’m so glad to meet you, Hallie. Brynn’s told us so much about you.”
