Mia’s apartment was in a newish building not far from the middle of the city. It wasn’t a tower, just three or four stories in a street full of three or four stories, but it was a nice area and the street had trees.

Ellie was quite impressed.

Mia drove into an underground garage, and parked, and then spent a minute looking for things in her car, finding her phone, getting her bag, and then getting another, a briefcase, from the back seat.

She looked like a completely normal person, doing completely normal things. Not someone Ellie was obsessed with. Not someone who could make Ellie feel what she felt. And also, Ellie suddenly thought, not the video-game playing floor-sitter Ellie was used to seeing at her place.

Just someone getting home from work.

Mia looked up, and caught Ellie watching. She grinned for a moment, then slowly stopped grinning, and just looked at Ellie, terribly seriously.

“What?” Ellie said.

Mia shook her head.

“Tell me,” Ellie said.

Mia shrugged. “Just, we’re here. Finally.”

“Almost here,” Ellie said, and Mia nodded.

Without quite realizing she was, Ellie had been leaning towards Mia. They kissed, and kept kissing.

“Um,” Ellie said, after a moment. “Just so you know. I’m going to right here if we don’t get out the car.”

“Yep,” Mia said.

“I don’t really care right now,” Ellie said. “I’m just saying so you know.”

Still kissing, Mia reached over, and opened Ellie’s door. She pushed it, so it swung.

“Go,” she said. “Because same.”

Ellie was pleased. She liked she could make Mia feel that way too. She turned, and swung her feet out the car, and got out before she changed her mind.

And Mia just watched, unmoving, almost as if she was changing hers too.

Ellie stood beside the car. She was on the side nearest the lifts, so she waited where she was. Mia came around the back of the car, and probably didn’t even mean to, but she walked close to Ellie, so Ellie said, “Hey,” and caught her arm, and kissed her again.

Mia looked surprised, then pleased, then just desperate.

They kissed some more. They kissed a lot more, most of the way to the lift.

They kissed standing beside the car, while Mia pushed on her remote to lock it, and then reached around Ellie and tug the handle to make sure it was done. They kissed behind a concrete pillar halfway to the lift’s door, and even though it was only thirty steps, they stopped to kiss anyway. They kissed as Mia pushed the button to call the lift down, and kissed as they waited.

Mia’s mouth felt hungry on Ellie’s. It was warm, and soft, and her kisses felt as frantic for Ellie as Ellie felt for her.

Mia seemed to be running out of hands, and seemed not to want to have no hands. She kept shifting her briefcase and bag and the keycard for the lift from one hand to the other, and using the free hand to touch Ellie’s face, then seeming to feel something about to slip and letting go of Ellie to grab whatever it was she was about to drop.

All while kissing.

In the end, Ellie took the briefcase away from her, and it worked better after that.

The lift arrived, and a bell chimed, and Mia whispered, “Stop, okay? I will just fuck you here if we don’t stop this now.”

And Ellie, utterly thrilled she’d turned Mia on that much, just grinned. She grinned like Mia was always grinning at her, and Mia seemed to understand.

“Yep,” she said, “That,” and pulled Ellie into the lift.

Mia swiped her access card, and they went up, standing side by side, not touching.

Mia glanced over, and saw Ellie still holding her briefcase, and held out her hand. Ellie shook her head, and said, “I can,” and Mia nodded and smiled.

After that they didn’t look at each other. So they didn’t accidentally start kissing again, Ellie thought. That was why Ellie didn’t look, and from Mia’s careful stare at the lift’s doors, it might have been the same for her, too.

Ellie hoped it was.

They went up to the third floor, and Mia said, “Here,” and got out.

Ellie followed. She stayed back, out of Mia’s reach, just in case.

There was a tidy hallway. There was a clean front door. There was a sunny apartment behind it, with white walls, and ikea furniture, and some clutter, a few things scattered on the coffee table or piled in corners, but not so much as to make it seem messy.

Actually, it seemed expensive, Ellie decided, and given how close they were to the city, it probably was. The rent was probably far more than Ellie’s.

Ellie looked around, almost curious. Desperately horny, but a little curious too. She knew Mia shared with other people, but that was about all. She almost wanted to see who Mia would chose to live with. Some were students, from what Mark had said.

Ellie looked, and then started to smile.

Mia was taking off her coat, hanging it up. She saw Ellie’s face. “What?” she said.

“Mark always makes it sound like your place is full of, like, hippies and with tagging all over the walls.”

Mia seemed confused, rather than anything else.

“Don’t you live with art students?” Ellie said.

“One,” Mia said. “But his girlfriend’s an accountant and she pays the bills.”

“Oh,” Ellie said, and had no idea what else to say.

Mia turned around and looked at her.

“Want a drink?” Mia said.

Ellie nodded.

“Want anything else?” Mia said.

Ellie looked up. “Like what?”

Mia put down her keys and bag and kissed Ellie again. Kissed her like she must have been waiting too all the way up. She slid her hand just inside the back of Ellie’s collar, and stroked her neck, and twisted the fingers of her other hand into Ellie’s fingers, so she was holding Ellie’s hand and somehow stroking too, in a way that was achingly sensual.

That touch meant a lot to Ellie. As if kissing while holding hands was more intimate than just sticking their tongues into each other’s mouths. As if by holding her hand, Mia was saying they were friends and whatever else, something more, not just people about to fuck.

Ellie really liked that idea.

Mia kissed her, and Ellie tingled. She shivered all over. She put her hands on Mia’s arms, and stroked gently, and kissed back.

“Is anyone else home?” Ellie said, after a moment.

“Don’t think so.”

“Could you check?”

“Nope,” Mia said, and kissed her some more.

“I want you,” Ellie whispered, a little later.

“I know,” Mia said, and then suddenly stopped kissing.

Ellie didn’t know why. She looked at Mia, worried.

“We will,” Mia said. “Okay? This time we will, I promise.”

“Now?” Ellie said, despite herself.

“Patience,” Mia said. “Want a drink?”

“Kiss me,” Ellie said. “Please?”

“Drink,” Mia said, grinning slightly, and stepped back far enough she was out of Ellie’s reach.

Ellie nodded, disappointed.