DISCLAIMER: The Hollows and its characters/inhabitants are the property of Kim Harrison. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Long Live The Night
By Janine
We'd made it through a round of drinks, appetizers, another round of drinks and our main course before I realized that we were on a date.
It took another glass of white for me to admit to myself that I was having a good time.
I was wearing the expensive perfume Ivy had gotten me, so my scent wasn't effecting her, and the warmed red wine she had been sipping sparingly throughout the night had her pleasantly relaxed. She had smiled more over the course of dinner than she had in the past two weeks, and her voice was low, rich and smooth like melting chocolate and it was just as sweet to my ears.
Ivy, I realized, as she pushed the piece of cheesecake she had ordered into the middle of the table so that I could have some too – even though I had tried to pretend like I didn't want dessert – was a good date.
When the cheesecake was gone, the bill was paid, and our glasses were empty, Ivy rose and moved to stand beside my chair. As I rose she retrieved my jacket from where it had been hung beside the table, and held it for me to slip on. I realized then that she knew that I had figured out what the night really was, and as her fingers lingered by the buttons of my jacket, I held still and lifted my eyes to hers. Her eyes widened slightly, and her pupils expanded a little, but then she looked down and carefully buttoned my jacket, her fingers lingering on the material for a moment once she was done before she moved away from me to put on her own coat.
The ride back to the church was filled with good music, and light, meaningless conversation that gave me the pleasure of listening to Ivy's silken voice while also allowing my mind to wander. About halfway through the ride home I gave up on trying to think, and turned my head to the side so that I could gaze at Ivy's enigmatic profile while she drove.
She opened the car door for me when we arrived home and I couldn't help but smile at her. I was surprisingly relaxed considering I'd just been on a date with my female roommate, partner and best friend, and her gentlemanly overtures flushed me with a rush of affection. Ivy, despite what other people may have thought, was a very sweet, very thoughtful person, and I was lucky to have her in my life.
We walked to the door side by side, and after the second time the backs of our hands brushed together, I slipped my fingers between hers so that I was holding her hand. Ivy glanced down at our joined hands, staring at them for a moment, and then without a word looked away, turning her head to the side so that all I could see was a curtain of dark hair with golden iced tips. She moved quickly, but not quickly enough that I didn't see the look of surprise and then pleasure on her face before she turned away from me.
"Rachel," Ivy said softly as soon as the front door was closed, her fingers tightening nervously around the ones I still had entwined with hers.
I'm sure that what she was going to say was absolutely riveting, but I didn't give her a chance to continue. What I did do was push up onto my toes and press my lips to hers, gifting her with a soft, lingering kiss.
"I had a good time tonight," I breathed out, lowering the pads of my feet back to the ground.
Ivy stared at me and I smiled at her. I then reached for the zipper of her jacket and drew it down, pulling the coat off of her before reaching to the side to hang it up, and then repeating the process with my own.
"Rachel," she said, having gathered herself a little by the time I had hung up my jacket and turned back to face her.
Instead of responding verbally to her, I reached out and took her hand in mine again, grasping it firmly before I started to tug her down the hallway that led to our bedrooms and I didn't stop until we were both in mine.
When the door to my room was closed I placed my lips against Ivy's again. Her lips parted, opening herself up to me, and as my tongue slipped inside of her, a delighted sound emerged from me. Ivy echoed my sound of pleasure, and as I deepened our kiss, her arms slipped around my waist, holding me tightly against her.
The need for air eventually pulled us apart, but we tried to stay as close to each other as possible. She dipped her head down and I leaned forward until our foreheads were resting against each other. A blissful smile touched my lips and when I meet her eyes through my lashes, she looked dazed, but hopeful and returned the happy expression.
I joined our hands together again and began to tug her further into the room towards my bed.
I'd had a good time that night, and I wasn't at all ready for the night to end.
The End