Debra’s face heated so fast that she had to pretend she was inspecting a price tag just to avoid eye contact with another shopper.Jesus, Debra.She grabbed the first jumper she found and marched towards the changing rooms with her head down.Once she was safely inside a small cubicle, she stared at her reflection.
She looked…different today.
She looked like someone who had been kissed so deeply that she hadn’t stopped thinking about it since. Someone who had been chosen, and certainly someone who was no longer bracing for the parts of Billie she wished she’d never witnessed.
Debra shoved her coat off and pulled the jumper over her head. It was fine. Plain, comfortable, nothing to write home about. It was something Billie would approve of.
But the second she imagined walking into Billie’s flat wearing it with lace beneath it, her stomach flipped. Because Billie would know. Not right away, but eventually. Debra could picture it.
There would be a moment—maybe while Billie was cooking, or while Debra was curled up on the couch—when Billie would glance at her and her expression would become noticeably more focused. She’d cross the room and touch Debra gently, andDebra would feel the instant switch from safe to hungry. That warning in Billie’s touch, even though Debra would know exactly what Billie was thinking.
I’m trying to behave, Debra. Don’t make it harder.
God, she needed to get home and prepare for tonight. She needed to get Billie out of her head long enough to function like a normal human being. But that was easier said than done, because the effect Billie Brown had on her was like nothing she’d encountered before.
She exhaled a slow breath, suddenly flustered all over again.
You don’t have time for this! Sort yourself out!
She quickly removed the jumper and slid her coat back on. She would buy it, then she would be on her way out of there.
Moments later, Debra wandered into a lingerie shop almost by accident.Almost. When she stepped inside, it felt as though every woman in there could somehow tell exactly what she was doing…what she was thinking. It felt as though Billie had followed her in as a shadow and the entire shop was scented with anticipation.
She drifted through slowly, her fingers grazing satin and lace. She wasn’t looking for anything outrageous. She didn’t want a costume; she wanted something that felt like her. Something elegant and sensual, and in Billie’s eyes…entirely devastating.
And then she found it. A deep burgundy set with lace cups and a matching brief with delicate detailing that made Debra’s mouth run dry. It wasexactlythe kind of thing Billie would undo with trembling fingers. It wasexactlythe kind of thing Billie would pause over, her breath catching as those eyes darkened when she realised Debra had worn it for her.
She picked it up and paused. Then she picked up a second option. Black lace and slightly more daring. Debra just stood there holding both sets, caught between two versions of herself. The Debra who’d been careful for decades, and the Debra whowanted to walk into Billie’s place tonight and say ‘I’m yours’ without using a single word.
You’re allowed to crave someone without shame.
Debra took both sets to the till, and as the woman folded them into tissue paper, she felt giddy and terrified all at once. This wasn’tjustlingerie. It was hope. It was a decision. It was Debra saying yes…not just to Billie’s body, but to Billie’s life.
When she left the shop, bags in hand, she glanced at the time on her phone and her stomach fluttered again. She still hadhoursto go.
Hours until seven, and hours until Billie opened her door and looked at her as though she’d been starving foryears.
Debra hugged her coat closer and started the walk back to her car, already thinking about what the night had in store for them. Billie’s hands, and the realisation that they were both ready for something more.
And Debra couldn’t wait.
Billie had checkedthe clock six times in ten minutes. Not because she didn’t trust it, but because she didn’t trust herself. Her place felt different tonight. It felt too quiet and too loud all at once. The silence pressed in around the edges of her living room, stretching between the couch cushions and the glow of the lamp like it had a pulse of its own. She’d tried to fill it with noise…music first, then the television, then the coffee machine. Now here she was, two forgotten coffees in, panicking.
If Debra arrived and Billie was already overstimulated and already a mess…
No. Tonight has to be right.
She needed Debra to walk into her home and feel wanted, not swallowed up in Billie’s anxieties. She wanted everything to run smoothly, only to end up with Debra in her bed, where she would one hundred percent remain until the morning.
No other woman has ever been in your bedroom, let alone your bed!
Billie exhaled and rolled her shoulders back. She needed to reset her posture, and she needed to do it quickly.This is ridiculous.She’d faced down boardrooms and investors and women who thought they could buy her attention with money and entitlement, and she’d neveroncefelt like this. Tonight, it felt as though her body was vibrating with anticipation, and her blood had been replaced with something sparkling and dangerous.
She crossed into the kitchen again, even though she had no reason to. The chopping board was clean, and the knife was set neatly beside it.Everythingwas organised because if Billie Brown could control anything, it had always been her environment. But the longer she stood there, the more it became obvious that she wasn’t doing any of this for the food. Not really. She was doing it for Debra. And worse…she was doing it because she wanted Debra to stay.
That realisation curled low in her stomach. Billie pressed both palms to the counter and lowered her head for a second, squeezing her eyes shut.
It’s just dinner.
