Ellie didn’t really want a drink. She very much didn’t want a drink right then. But if Mia did, if Mia usually had one when she got home from work, then Ellie would wait around and hold a glass until Mia was ready to have sex.

There wasn’t really a better way to put it than that.

Mia kicked off her shoes, and walked in her tights to the kitchen. She got two glasses from the dishwasher, and vodka from the freezer, and started getting everything organized on the counter. Ellie watched, and wanted Mia terribly for everything in that little process. The careless feet, the fetching glasses, the bringing Ellie here for sex. She didn’t know why she cared about any of that, but she did, a lot.

She watched Mia.

She didn’t know why she couldn’t concentrate on anything except Mia. She was still just standing there, stupidly, beside the door.

She should move. She should do something.

She looked at the floor, which was polished wood, and thought about her heels. She had enough of one she might make dents.

“Should I take off my shoes?” Ellie said.

Mia shrugged. “If you like.”

Ellie took them off. She left them next to the door, at the end of a line of others along the wall. She put her bag down too, just so she wasn’t having to carry it around. Beside Mia’s briefcase, leaning against a side-table.

She walked over to the kitchen. It was a side-part of the main room, separated by a waist-high counter. There were three bar-stools on Ellie’s side of it, so she slid onto the nearest one and kept watching Mia.

Mia had lined up the vodka and glasses on the counter. As Ellie sat down, she opened the freezer, got out a tub of ice, and started dropping cubes into the glasses.

Ellie sat and watched.

Mia was still in her work clothes, like Ellie was, which made Ellie feel a little better about having met so early in the evening. If Mia didn’t care what she was wearing, then Ellie shouldn’t either.

She looked at Mia’s clothes. She liked Mia’s clothes. A suit, with the jacket now off, and a button-up shirt undone enough that Ellie could see a little of Mia’s breasts.

Ellie sat there for a moment, wondering how Mia could look sexy, in basically the same clothes as Ellie, when Ellie just looked like she’d been at work.

Maybe it was just Mia, Ellie thought. Maybe she just couldn’t help it.

And maybe Ellie should stick to the not worrying when she’d only just told herself to stop.

Ellie looked at Mia, watched her scooping ice, and suddenly realized.

Mia had her shirt a little further open, that was all. Mia had opened another button or two than she would have had open at work, and that made all the difference.

Ellie wondered why she hadn’t done the same herself. It was such an obvious thing to make a work outfit sexier, and Ellie hadn’t thought of it at all. She’d been flustered, she supposed, and worrying, but it surprised her she hadn’t.

Now she wanted to open another button too. She wanted to do it without Mia noticing.

She put her hand on her neck, very carelessly, and rubbed for a moment. She waited until Mia was looking the other way, looking around for something to whack stuck-together ice with, then tried to undo the topmost button of her shirt.

It was stiff. She couldn’t manage, one-handed.

She waited.

Mia bashed the ice with a wooden spoon, then put a last few cubes into each glass. She turned around, and opened into the fridge, and looked inside.

Ellie reached up, and undid her button with both hands. She was quick. She was pretty sure it worked, that she was sitting there, all innocent again, when Mia glanced over.

“Do you want the vodka mixed with anything?” Mia said.

Ellie shook her head.

“Good,” Mia said. “Because we don’t have anything except water.”

She grinned, and closed the fridge and started pouring vodka into the glasses. She kept tipping, half filling them, putting in what would be two or three drinks-worth at a bar.

Ellie didn’t stop her. Ellie was still thinking about buttons, and wondering if she should undo another. She decided not. One more open than was right for work was all Mia had undone. One was sexy, Ellie thought, two was just showing your bra.

Ellie kept looking at Mia. She’d finished thinking about clothes, and buttons, but she was still looking at Mia’s chest.

Looking inside Mia’s shirt, she realized, while Mia poured the vodka. Looking at the smooth skin of Mia’s cleavage. Staring, without quite understanding why.

Ellie had never really been interested in breasts before, but now she was looking at Mia’s. She was so interested in Mia’s that she couldn’t look away.

Not for the first time, she thought, she was staring really obviously. It didn’t quite make sense to her.

It didn’t make sense, except that they were Mia’s.

Maybe she was just fascinated by Mia’s breasts, Ellie thought, because of who’s they were, and she should just accept that about herself, and stop worrying about every little thing that happened. Maybe she just liked cleavage, Ellie thought. Smooth warm cleavage, breathing slowly inside a shirt.

Or maybe she just liked Mia.

Mia looked up, and noticed Ellie’s stare. She looked at Ellie, and grinned, and kept pouring without looking at the glasses, which impressed Ellie a little.

“Are you okay?” Mia said.

Ellie nodded.

“You’re staring,” Mia said.

“Maybe. Do you mind?”

Mia shook her head. She finished pouring, and put the top back on the vodka bottle. She reached behind herself, and opened the freezer, and put the vodka and the tub of ice back inside, then slammed it closed.

She did all that while looking away from Ellie.

She picked up the two glasses, and came around the counter, and Ellie glanced down at her chest. Again.

Mia noticed. She stopped, and started to grin. “Seriously?” she said.

Ellie blushed again. She looked up, at Mia’s face.

“It’s fine,” Mia said still grinning, and held out one of the glasses.

Ellie reached out for the glass, but before she could take it, Mia moved her hand back, and kissed Ellie instead. Kissed her slowly, pushing forward with her body, pressing all of herself against Ellie, keeping her hands up and away so she didn’t spill either drink. It was a little awkward, with Mia’s hands full of glass, and Ellie stuck on the stool, but that didn’t seem to matter. Mia could kiss more with just her mouth than entire sex had been for Ellie with other people.

Ellie lost her breath. She didn’t really care. She slid forward to the edge of the stool, and put her arms around Mia, slid her hands up Mia’s back.

And Mia stepped back, still holding both glasses carefully, and grinned, and said, “Ready?”

And Ellie slowly nodded.

She was.

She really was, she thought, even if she didn’t completely understand what was going on. She wanted this, even while she was wondering how far she was going to go, and what she would feel as she did. Even while she was wondering whether it would be sexy or terrifying or confusing or something else, something good, she desperately wanted to find out.

She was looking forward to finding out.

“Yep,” Ellie said. “I’m ready.”

Mia smiled.

“Come on,” Mia said, and walked off down the hallway.