Don't Say Goodbye

by Bridget Essex

  “I’ve been waiting for this for awhile,” said Max, up on her elbow too, then. She kissed Fiona’s smiling mouth, kissed the skin of her neck, drank in the beautiful scent of her, the heat of her, as she began to kiss down Fiona’s chest again, as Fiona lay down, breathing out, as Max set out to learn every square, beautiful inch of her.

  They had both been waiting.

  And the time had finally come in that single, beautiful winter’s night.

  Chapter 12: Bright

  Sometimes now, when the work-day was particularly God-awful, Max would count down the moments until she could leave and make her way to the cupcake shop.

  A fact that Sam would never, if he lived to be one hundred, cease giving her grief for.

  “Oh, my God, if you don’t get that self-satisfied smile off your face, I’m going to start seeing it in my nightmares,” said Sam, that next week, the very last day of work before they got off for Christmas. Surprisingly (and not usual for a call center), the employees of Wellworth got off Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after Christmas. A gift that didn’t exactly make up for the terrible working conditions or the moodiness of their boss...but it was still nice.

  Max already knew exactly what she’d be doing for every moment of those days. Which is why she was smiling in what Sam had concluded was a “self-satisfied” way. And maybe it was.

  Max’s grin deepened as she winked at Sam and leaned back in her chair. He was currently holding his coffee cup, grinning and shaking his head as he stared down at her. He stood on one foot, leaning against the carpeted cubicle wall, an eyebrow up as Max leaned back, folding her hands behind her and glancing up at him with one brow raised.

  “Hey, you can’t even start with me. Remember, you’re the one who said that I was too lonely, that I needed to get a girl. And you know what, Sam? I concede—you were absolutely right. But it needed to be the right girl,” sighed Max happily, her chin in her hands as she took off her headphones, running her hand through her short hair. She was still surprised when she realized how short her hair was when she touched it, but it was always a pleasant surprise.

  Sam was grinning at her.

  “I think I’ve found the right girl for me, too. Did you ask Santa for the both of us?” he asked, his mouth twitching as he tried to suppress his smile. He did suppress it, though, as he frowned a little and said softly: “So…Jo?”

  “Well,” said Max, leaning a little back in her chair. “She’s perfectly happy for us. We actually got a Christmas card addressed to the both of us and sent to the shop. It was from Jo and Lori, so…maybe she’s found her perfect match, too. She must have asked Santa for all of us,” she said, trying to keep her face serious.

  “You know, she does own a delivery business,” said Sam thoughtfully, and with a wink. “Aren’t all delivery people closer to Santa? Isn’t he the ultimate delivery guy?”

  Max laughed at that, tilting her head back and letting out a belt of genuine laughter. Max had been laughing so much more lately. It was because she was so happy, and she had a reason to smile.

  Sam seemed to sense that, in that moment, for he leaned forward, and his face became serious again. “Max, can I be perfectly honest?”

  “Sam?” said Max, crossing her arms and gazing up with an indulgent smile at her friend. “When are you anything but?”

  He grinned at that, but then he lowered his voice again. “I have to tell you…I’ve never seen you happier,” he said then, his mouth twitching into a smile, too. “And you know what?”

  “What?” asked Max, a single brow lifting.

  “It’s about damn time is what,” said Sam grinning.

  “Yeah,” said Max, stretching overhead, staring up at the dull florescent lights that had, once, seemed to dictate the direction of her entire life. She had always had such a weight on her shoulders when she was beneath those fluorescent lights. But now? She hardly seemed to notice them. She no longer cared that she went to work at a call center that didn’t exactly fulfill her. Because maybe she didn’t need to be fulfilled by a job when she had someone so amazing waiting for her.

  And she was about to open up Bellaflora Cards and Things, a little online business that Fiona was helping her put together.

  And she had a very good feeling about that…

  The entire drive to Florabella Cupcakes, Max whistled along to the Christmas carols that were turned up as loud as could be in her car. She’d taken a little something from the office holiday party decorations that day, and she knew it would make Fiona smile…

  Fiona greeted her at the door covered in flour and wearing her usual pretty pink apron and holding a cupcake by way of greeting for Max. Fiona’s smile was warm and bright, and she wrapped her arms tightly (including the hand holding the cupcake) around Max’s neck, and drew her down for a big kiss. Fiona tasted of cupcakes, of frosting and sweet, everlasting possibility. Max gazed down at this incredible woman, this incredible woman wrapped tightly in her arms, and she couldn’t believe (as she couldn’t believe every moment of every day) that this woman was hers.

  But somehow, impossibly, she was.

  “Here, honey, what do you think of the flavor?” asked Fiona a little mischievously as she brought the cupcake around and shook it under Max’s nose. Max took a tentative bite as Fiona held it out to her and considered the flavor.

  It was vanilla, and it was spicy. And it was wonderful.

  Just like Fiona.

  “Perfect!” Max murmured, picking Fiona up and twirling her around. Fiona laughed with delight until she was set back down and then she had an eyebrow up, too.

  “What do you have?” she asked, and Max ducked her head sheepishly, drawing the sprig of real mistletoe out of her pocket. “Sam insisted we get it at the office this year, which was actually totally inappropriate if you think about it, but Sam’s such a sucker for holiday decorations, if you’d believe it,” she chuckled, holding it out to Fiona. “But I took a little sprig of it. I thought it’d made you happy. I know you’ve been looking at all of the florists shops for mistletoe, and they’re all sold out.”

  “Well, you know why I’ve been looking at all of the florists shops for it,” she said with a wink. Fiona took the sprig of mistletoe and stood on tiptoes, nestling it behind Max’s ear, and in her short hair. “And you make me happy,” she whispered, and then she wrapped her arms around Max again, drew down her face and kissed her deeply.

  Somewhere in the background, on Fiona’s little boom box, a song began to play about falling in love and wishing for someone in a winter’s snowfall.

  And Max grinned against Fiona, pulling the woman closer until they stood together, every inch of their bodies pressing against one another, almost as if merged, Fiona’s breasts against her breasts, her hips against Max’s hips. The soft fabric of Fiona’s apron strings gently touched Max’s hands as Max held on to Fiona tightly, as if she’d never let go.

  Happiness rose in Max like the desire that Fiona always inspired, the heat that only Fiona could quench and the heat that Fiona made burn through her. Though it was cold, though the wind blew, though the door stood open to the dark night, it didn’t matter. Because here they stood, on the darkened floor of a new, prosperous cupcake shop, two wedding cakes waiting for their Christmas weddings in the back, and one future stretching ahead of them, as bright as the sun.

  The song played on, the two women kissed, and snowflakes danced gracefully through the air around them, silent and soft and bright.

  The End

  More from Bridget Essex:

  - A Wolf for the Holidays: Mandy’s not having a great December. Her lackluster girlfriend has given her a massive dog--who looks a lot more like a wolf than a dog--as a gift. But all problems seem minor when she wakes up to a gorgeous, naked woman stealing jeans out of her dresser...a woman who swears she’s a werewolf. A warm, holiday romance!

  - A Knight to Remember: Holly, a librarian, is starting to believe that love is impossible to find. But one night, during an
unusually vicious storm, magic and romance appear in Holly’s backyard in the form of a mysterious, gorgeous woman…wielding a sword.

  - Wolf Town: Amy moves to the strange little New England village, Wolf Town--but she finds more than a fresh start when she begins to fall in love with the daughter of the Wolf Town patriarch...who also just happens to be a werewolf.

  - The Sullivan Vampires: A beautiful, romantic series that follows the clan of Sullivan vampires and the women who love them. Advance praise has hailed this hallmark series as “Twilight for women who love women” and “a lesbian romance that takes vampires seriously! Two thumbs up!”

  - Big, Bad Wolf: During a terrible snowstorm, Megan thinks she sees a wolf. But when beautiful, hungry-eyed Kara comes into Megan’s life, she brings more danger than a pack of wolves.

  - The Protector: Elizabeth Grayson doesn’t want a bodyguard, but when her life is put in danger, her father hires mysterious Layne O’Connell to keep her safe. And Elizabeth is beginning to fall for the woman who was charged with keeping her alive.

  - Dark Angel: Cassandra Griman was in the wrong place at the wrong time when her life is saved by an angel. But first impressions aren’t everything, and the captivating woman who saved her life is no angel. Can love save the soul of a vampire?

  These and more are available now.

  Sign up to be notified when Bridget releases anything new!

  About Author Bridget Essex

  My name is Bridget Essex, and I write about werewolves, vampires and lady knights; about two strong, courageous women who fall deeply in love with one another, living love stories that transcend time. I’m married to the love of my life, author Natalie Vivien.

  I’m best known for my Knight Legends series, stories about women knights, real world hi-jinks and love stories that are out of this world. My Sullivan Vampire novellas are a popular series lauded as “TWILIGHT for women who love women,” and I have several other series and stand-alone novellas, and I’m always putting out something new. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when I release something!

  You can find out more about my work at http://BridgetEssex.wordpress.com I’d love to connect with you on Facebook! Friend me on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008329511329&ref=tn_tnmn

  Learn more about Rose and Star Press, publishers of lesbian romance and fiction of distinction, at http:///www.LesbianRomance.org