“Yes, that’s true,” Sophie agreed. “Can’t say I’ve missed it.”
“I haven’t either, although I do want to go in and do some Christmas shopping, maybe some sightseeing.”
Sophie gave her a skeptical look. “Sightseeing at Christmastime? Are you crazy?”
“I’m a sucker for all the decorations,” she said with a shrug. “It’s so different from what I grew up around in Miami, and apparently, I just can’t get sick of it. Want to come with me?”
Sophie shook her head in amusement. “Let’s see how the rest of our date goes first.” Then she grinned. “But yeah, you could probably convince me to come, as long as hot chocolate is involved.”
“Deal,” Jules told her, and then, because she couldn’t quite help herself, she leaned in for a quick kiss, annoyed with herself for the way her pulse raced…and not from arousal. What if someone saw them? She definitely had some work to do, but tonight was just for her and Sophie.
Jules tugged at Sophie’s hand, leading her in the direction of her apartment. They walked in a hushed rush, footsteps quickening as her building came into view. She used her key to let them in, and Sophie gave her another kiss before they climbed the steps to her apartment. Jules unlocked the door, and finally, they were inside.
“Can I take your coat?” she asked as she untied the belt on her own. She slipped out of it and reached for Sophie’s, moving to hang them both in the closet.
“Been waiting to do this,” Sophie said when she returned, sliding her hands down Jules’s sides. Her fingers traced the floral pattern on the dress, making goose bumps rise on Jules’s skin, and they had nothing to do with the temperature.
“Is that so?” She sank her hands into Sophie’s curls, drawing her in for a kiss. “Still want dessert?” she murmured against Sophie’s lips.
“I don’t know if you mean that literally or not, but either way, the answer is yes,” Sophie told her as she gripped Jules’s ass, pressing their hips together.
“Either. Both. Whatever you want.” A thrill ran through her as she absorbed the feel of their bodies together, the warm swell of Sophie’s breasts against hers, hot breath and roaming hands. It was unfamiliar and intoxicating.
“Show me your cards, Vega,” Sophie said, releasing her.
Jules walked to the refrigerator and took out the bottle of champagne and white bakery box she’d bought earlier, setting them both on the counter. “Just to warn you, I don’t cook, at least, not very well, so you should probably appreciate that I bought this instead of trying to be a romantic fool and make it myself.”
“A woman who knows her own limitations,” Sophie said as she joined her in the kitchen. “I have mad respect for that.”
“And I have mad respect for Maribel’s Patisserie.” She opened the box to reveal a variety of pastries.
“Damn, girl, you are speaking my language.” Sophie picked up a pink macaron and held it to Jules’s lips. She took a bite, and Sophie popped the rest in her mouth.
Jules opened the bottle of champagne, pouring two flutes as Sophie poked around in the box of pastries.
“So how is it that the woman who told me stories about baking with her grandma at Christmas doesn’t know how to cook?” Sophie asked as she accepted the flute of champagne Jules held toward her.
Jules gazed into the sparkling depths of her own champagne. “Well, I guess it’s mostly because I moved here for school when I was so young. I helped my mom in the kitchen, but I was pretty busy with classes and performances, and also…I’m just not good at it, no matter how hard she tried to teach me.”
“Well—spoiler alert—I’m not much of a cook either,” Sophie said. “So, no judgment here.”
They sipped champagne as they polished off a few more pastries. Anticipation and anxiety mixed in Jules’s stomach. Sophie seemed more reserved than usual tonight, letting Jules take the lead. And she was ready.Soready, despite her insecurities about this “first.” She wrapped an arm around Sophie’s waist, pulling her close. “I’ve been thinking about this all day…all week, really.”
“Same.” Sophie tapped her flute against Jules’s. “To tonight.”
10
They sat side by side on the end of Jules’s bed, champagne flutes in hand. Sophie felt a tingle in her belly that had nothing to do with the fizzy liquid she’d consumed and everything to do with the woman sitting beside her. In unison, they drained their flutes and set them on the floor.
“Finally, I get to fully explore this dress,” Sophie said, sliding a hand over the fabric covering Jules’s thigh. It was impossibly soft, just stretchy enough that it bunched between her fingers, begging her to give it a little tug.
She leaned in, capturing Jules’s mouth, kissing her the way she’d been wanting to all night, deep and searching. Their tongues met, mouths moving messily as they scooted closer, hands roaming and groping. She pushed Jules flat on her back, crawling on top of her. Sophie’s thigh nestled between Jules’s, andyes, this was what she’d been thinking about since the last time she was in Jules’s bed.
She pressed feather-light kisses across Jules’s chest as her hands slid over her dress, cupping her breasts before sliding lower. She gripped Jules’s waist as she grazed her teeth over the tender skin between her breasts, and then her hands were moving again, sliding over Jules’s thighs, relishing the freedom to touch her. Jules raised her knees, pressing herself more firmly into Sophie’s touch, eyes glinting in the dim light.
Tonight, there was none of the hesitance in her expression that Sophie had seen the first time they’d made out in her bed. Tonight, Jules looked like a woman who wanted to be ravished, andfuck, Sophie wanted to ravish her. Already a restless ache was building between her thighs.
It had been so long since she’d enjoyed an evening like this. Tonight, she wanted to take her time and explore every inch of Jules’s body. She wanted to make Jules’s first experience with a woman suitably memorable. Sophie wanted to make her scream, and then she wanted to lose herself completely in the pleasure of Jules’s touch.
