Emily’s breathing was heavy inside the elevator but she tried to control it so Bridgette wouldn’t notice. She was so nervous and even thought to herself, “Who needs a drink to go have a drink?” The elevator seemed to creep downwards and as much as Emily enjoyed the unspoken spark surging through the elevator she was starting to feel like she was going to explode if she didn’t get out of the elevator and quickly. Finally the doors dinged and Emily waited for Bridgette to exit first, even though her first instinct was to bolt through the doors and keep going.
Bridgette’s car was waiting outside the front of the building, and they jumped in the back and buckled up. Bridgette gave the driver the name of some bar called Tuttle’s On 3rd and Emily could only imagine how rich this place must be. The Assistant Vice President of Marketing for High Point probably drank martinis with names too French to pronounce, from gold glassware that was made by small elves in the enchanted forest. Emily smiled to herself as she looked out the window with humor. Bridgette had pulled her phone out and was answering work emails she hadn’t had a chance to get to since we were in the conference room all day.
“Ugh, I need a secretary for real!” Bridgette said rolling her eyes as she typed feverishly.
Emily smiled but didn’t respond; she wasn’t sure she knew what it felt like to be so busy that you don’t have time to answer your emails. The car came to a stop, and Bridgette smiled at Emily. They left their briefcases in the car and climbed out into the busy sidewalk. New York never slowed down, and Emily was shocked every time she noticed the streets crazy busy late at night, by now everyone in Nebraska was dreaming in their beds. Emily looked up at the front of Tuttle’s and stopped for a moment, slightly confused. The front of the building was plain and kind of dirty, Bridgette's Emily realized, Tuttle’s was a dive bar.
“Not what you expected?” Bridgette said chuckling. “I don’t like swanky restaurants. I like down home know your name bars and that is exactly what Tuttle’s is. It was the first bar I ever came to in New York and I’ve been coming here for almost fourteen years. Oy, I just showed my age.”
“No,” Emily protested. “I am relieved, this looks more like home than anything New York has offered so far. I like nice things, but swanky isn’t me.”
They went inside and grabbed a table in the back corner and ordered a pitcher of beer from the cocktail waitress. Emily already felt ten times better not having to watch her manners in some fancy bar where everyone made more in a year than Emily would make her entire life. The place was dusty, everyone looked like they were happy to be off of work, and no one seemed to give a damn about the two of them. It was exactly what Emily wanted, no one noticing her and she could just relax. At first she didn’t know if Bridgette and herself would actually have something to talk about but once they had poured the first beer and gotten comfortable, conversation seemed to come very naturally to them.
They spent several hours talking and laughing, both of them spilling more and more personal information as the pitchers flowed. Bridgette talked about her life and how she had worked so hard for her promotion and now ex-girlfriend, which Emily was slightly pleased to hear of, and how she yearned for something more. Something exciting and new, a change in her mundane routine is what Bridgette wanted because she felt like with all of her accomplishments she was missing something. She never said what exactly she was missing but Emily could tell she had reached a point where goals were met, achievements flowed in daily, and there was nothing left on her professional list. Now, the question would be what to do next?
Emily didn’t know how Bridgette felt about wanting more once you had reached as far as she had but she did understand the need to have a different life, to break out and be who you really are; Emily felt that way every day in Nebraska and then even in New Jersey at college. Emily realized her and Bridgette had more in common than just High Point and at that realization butterflies tickled her stomach. She sat back and listened to Bridgette’s stories about working at High Point, what it was like when she first started, and the hill she had to climb to get there. There were so many obstacles that Emily hadn’t even thought of that the road to the top looked like a steep and scary one. But for Emily steep and scary only meant more motivation, and with every word she became more and more determined to reach Bridgette’s place. However, with every word Emily also noticed she was getting closer and closer to wanting to reach other aspects of Bridgette and with the amount of beer she was consuming, her resolve was slowly disappearing.
They finished off their pitcher and looked at the clock; it was nearly midnight, and they both had an extremely early morning. Bridgette paid the tab, and they walked back out to her car. Emily looked over at the subway stop and realized she was only two stops from her apartment.
“Thanks for a great time,” Emily said trying to keep her balance. “I can totally take the subway, I’m only two stop from my apartment.”
“No, way!” Bridgette exclaimed, steadying herself on the roof of the car. “Besides I live like a block from here, I am making you come have one last drink with me and then I promise you can go home.” Bridgette flashed a charming smile at Emily and between the alcohol and the city night air, Emily couldn’t refuse her.
They pulled up in front of a brownstone just a block away like Bridgette had said. They climbed clumsily out of the car and as Bridgette searched for her keys Emily stood on the sidewalk looking up at the dark sky. The wind blew through Emily’s hair and before Emily knew what was happening she felt Bridgette’s hand slip around the back of her neck and their lips were touching in a deep but drunken kiss. The two stood embraced in city night, allowing all inhibitions to leave them, and just continue going with flow of the evening. Emily tried to tell her mind to stop what she was doing but she had never felt an attraction like this before. Between the success story, the beer, and the sheer sexiness of Bridgette, Emily was absolutely doomed to sink into the kiss that much harder. Bridgette pulled back and focused in on Emily’s face, her eyes growing dark, and her hands running down over Emily’s butt. Emily couldn’t move and all she kept thinking about was letting Bridgette take her right then and there, though a New York City street wasn’t very private.
A rush went through Emily as they stumbled up the stairs of Bridgette’s house and through the front door. The door wasn’t even shut before they began tearing at each other’s clothes. Bridgette pushed Emily up against the wall to slow the confusion a bit and ran her hands down Bridgettes body, grabbing the bottom of her skirt and hiking it up. Emily felt Bridgette’s knee push between her legs and Bridgette’s hands travelled up to Emily’s breasts.
Emily’s hips started to move as she began to grind against Bridgette’s knee. A small moan escaped her lips which made Bridgette’s breath deeper and heavier. Bridgette grabbed Emily by the waist and pushed her into the next room where she fell on top of Emily on the couch. Bridgette pushed Emily’s skirt up around her waist, pulled her panties off and started to lick Emily’s pulsing mound. Emily grabbed on to the edge of the couch and moaned loudly as Bridgette’s tongue moved over her.
Emily grabbed Bridgette’s head and pulled her up her body, moving her leg between Bridgettes’. Without a word they started moving in motion, the wetness of each other warming their skins. The rhythm became heavier and more precise as Bridgette ripped open Emily’s blouse and grabbed on to her breasts, using them as leverage to push harder. Emily breath became heavier in motion with Bridgettes, and as the heat intensified to it’s highest point, they exploded simultaneously, their mouths crashing together to muffle the sounds of ecstasy.
Emily fell backwards, the spinning of the room beginning again, and Bridgette collapsed on her chest. The exhaustion and the alcohol immediately took Emily and the last thing she felt was Bridgette rolling to the side and wrapping her arms around Emily’s waist. The room was completely dark and sleep overtook both of them.
Chapter Four
The rising sun peeked through the open blinds and Emily began to
stir. Her head was pounding, and she rolled over thinking she was in her bed at the apartment. Unfortunately, the couch is smaller than her bed, and Emily rolled off, landing face first on the ground. The thud was a quick wake up, and she turned her head to the side and rested her cheek on the soft shag rug under her face. Emily stared at the side of the couch and Bridgette’s hand which was dangling off the edge. She heard a giggle from above her and the night before came flooding back to her.
Emily replayed every moment of the evening in fast forward like a movie through her brain. A flood of emotions overtook her and she couldn’t decide whether she was embarrassed, excited, regretful, or smitten. She definitely remembered every single sweaty moment after they got into the house but falling asleep was not something she could recall. They had drank a lot of beer and from the sounds of Bridgette’s giggle, this wasn’t something she was too upset about. The fibers in the rug started to push into Emily’s cheek and she suddenly became aware of the lack of clothing she had been reduced to, though the shag carpet was soft on her legs.
She buried her face in her arm and turned over on her back. Bridgette peaked over the edge of the couch, her hair wildly strewn everywhere. Emily followed Bridgette’s eyes down to her blouse and groaned when she realized there were no buttons left, except for the one pressed into her forearm. One thing Emily didn’t ever learn how to do was sew so it was going to be an interesting trek back to her apartment with half a blouse. She wasn’t mad though, how could she be? There was this absolutely stunning woman, hair all over the place, biting her bottom lip, and looking at Emily like she was the most adorable thing she had ever seen. At that moment Emily might have been open to another romp around the room but instead she pulled her blouse closed and squinted up at Bridgette, realizing her mouth tasted like beer and pizza.
“Sorry bout that,” Bridgette said as she pounced up out of the bed and walked over to her purse which had been thrown on the floor haphazardly. “I am pretty sure we are going to be late.”
Emily sat up quickly, realizing she had meetings all day, then slowed her heart rate realizing she was with her boss. Emily’s mind ran wild; she couldn’t believe she made the mistake of getting involved with an older woman who was also her boss! She had worked so hard to not have any distractions since she was like seven years old and what does she do, she goes out the second day on the job and sleeps with her boss. Emily searched the room with her eyes trying to find the remnants of her clothes. What was she going to wear to work? Her apartment was pretty far from here and she couldn’t wear what she had on, it was kind of in pieces and smelled like a college party. Emily closed her eyes for a moment trying to knock the haze and panic out of her brain so that she could think clearly. Bridgette must have noticed the look of panic on Emily’s face.
“Hey,” she said sweetly. “Don’t freak out. I’m your boss remember. I’ll cover for you, and no one will know anything. I am an extremely private person. I don’t know what this is, but I figure we will figure it out as we go. No pressure.”
Emily immediately felt better. Though she was attracted to Bridgette, she barely knew her, and Emily had so much going on that she wasn’t sure she wanted that kind of distraction. Either way, Emily needed to get ready for work and get there before Eric realized she drank too much the night before. She got up, grabbed her things, kissed Bridgette on the cheek and ran out the front door, not giving her even a moment of time to protest. The city sidewalk was cool under her feet and though she knew better than to walk around New York without shoes, her only thought was to get to her apartment as fast as possible. She didn’t have time for the subway so she ran to the corner and flagged down a cab, grasping her shirt closed and trying to straighten her hair at the same time. She could see the cabbie snickering in the rear view mirror and Emily gave him the address shyly. She couldn’t even imagine what she looked like running out of a million dollar home and jumping in a cab, probably smelling like booze, sex, and body odor.
Emily made it to her apartment, changed her clothes, brushed her teeth, and was on the subway in record time. She realized she might only be five minutes late, even with checking through security. When Emily reached the building and walked up to Charles, the kind-eyed security guard, she reached down and realized she had left her briefcase in Bridgette’s house. A streak of panic ran down her spine, and she hurried up to the elevator. When Emily reached her desk, a sigh of relief pushed out as her briefcase, a cup of coffee and a muffin was sitting on her desk. Emily looked up as Bridgette passed her desk walking beside Eric; she looked over his shoulder and gave Emily a wink as she passed.
Eric hadn’t even noticed that Emily was late since it looked like her stuff was on her desk. Not only had Bridgette brought her things, made sure she had breakfast, and kept Eric busy, she had also made it look like I had been there for a while. Emily sat down at her desk and took a moment to calm herself down. She had been going at full speed since she left Bridgette’s house that morning and was going to get nothing accomplished if she didn’t make herself a plan. Emily took out her notebook and began jotting down a list of the things she needed to get done that day. She had neglected to make breakfast due to time restraints so she grabbed the muffin and bit into it. The chocolate hit her pallet immediately and she rolled her eyes backwards, forgetting what it was like to have real chocolate and real sugar every once in a while. Emily decided she wasn’t going to feel guilty about anything that had happened, including the chocolate muffin.
Emily checked her emails and then headed to the conference room where the team was assembled, but Bridgette wasn’t anywhere to be found. The day went off amazingly like the day before, and Emily didn’t see Bridgette at all except for in passing when she went to retrieve notes from her desk. Bridgette seemed to be in a very in-depth meeting in Eric’s office, and Emily didn’t want to disturb. The next few days went the same way except by Friday there was no coffee left on Emily’s desk and she didn’t see Bridgette at all. Her office was dark, and Eric had been in meeting after meeting all day.
Emily wondered where Bridgette had gone and if she had done something to make her keep her distance. She couldn’t imagine that someone as low on the totem pole as Emily could have any affect on the VP of Marketing’s daily schedule but she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that she hadn’t tried to contact her at all. However, it had been a great night but it was fueled by alcohol, a break up, and a hugely successful day at work so buyer’s remorse may have settled in for Bridgette. Either way Emily had to keep shaking the thoughts from her mind since she was attempting to be successful at her own career and not distracted by someone else’s.
At five on Friday, everyone called it a day and were glad to escape the office for a little R&R over the weekend. Everyone seemed to have big plans except for Emily, but she didn’t mind, sitting in her apartment reading a book sounded perfect for her. She gathered her things and took the elevator down to the lobby where Charles was standing, looking right at Emily holding a card.
“I was asked to give this to you,” Charles said as he handed the card to Emily.
“Thank you, Charles, have an excellent weekend,” Emily said as she walked out the front of the building. She opened the card suspiciously and read the inside.
Emily,
Turn right, go around the block and stop in front of the florist half way down. :)
There was no signature or name, just a happy face. Though Emily’s parents would have freaked out thinking it was a stalker Emily was curious so she took a couple of steps around the corner and peered out. There was a black car sitting at the curb and standing in front of it was Bridgette, but she looked different. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans, rolled at the bottom, flip-flops, and a black tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she had a black baseball cap pulled down to block the sun. She was smiling, and her eyes were wide with excitement.
Emily couldn’t remember the last time she had ever seen someone look so amazing in jeans
and a tank top. It looked like Bridgette was a completely different woman, and not just from the clothes. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement and a strange glow emanated from her. What in the world could have happened over the last few days that could have changed Bridgette’s whole sense of boredom into someone who looked like they were on top of the world? Emily had thought about Bridgette constantly while she was gone but more because she had imagined all kinds of horrible things like she got fired, or kidnapped, or had run off out of exhaustion of her life and joined some crazy circus. She giggled to herself slightly as she imagined Bridgette swinging form the trapeze, fifty clowns beneath her piling into a Volkswagen Beetle.
Emily walked towards her in relief that she was okay and that there wasn’t an axe murderer waiting to take her to his basement. As Emily approached, Bridgette began walking forward with her arms out. She hugged Emily tightly, and she smelled like suntan lotion and the beach. Emily looked at Bridgette with confusion and got into the car without questioning her. As the car pulled off, Bridgette took her ball cap off and let her long beautiful hair cascade over her shoulders.
The sun hit her hair and it sparkled like a shampoo commercial. The entire car smelled like a day at the beach and Emily half expected to see sand trails in the carpet. There was nothing else in the seats, just Bridgette and a small bag. Though with the amount of excitement she saw in Bridgette’s eyes she didn’t know if there was room for much more in the tiny sedan. Though it was different, this free spirited beach vibe seemed to fit her perfectly and Emily couldn’t help but smile at her. It seemed her mood was slightly contagious and Emily breathed in the smell, imagining herself sitting on a sandy beach, cold drink in her hand, and not a care in the world. Of course the sound of the city snapped her back into reality and she looked over at Bridgette as she began to speak.
One Little Letter: A Bad Boy, Second Chance Romance (Office Escapades Book 1) Page 52
