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After that first shift from hell, Victoria was exhausted, filled with a bone-deep weariness and a desire to run away and never come back. It was a familiar desire, one her mother had inspired in her more than once. She was usually able to silence it, but this time she almost listened.
And yet… and yet, there was something about the Pitt that was… exhilarating, if she had to pick a word for it. Something that made her feel like no matter how far she might run, something (or someone) would inevitably pull her right back to where she started. It was a heady feeling, and one she didn’t want to let go of anytime soon.
As she figured out ways to make use of the materials they had on hand during the MCI, innovating in ways even her mother hadn’t considered to save lives, Victoria thought maybe, just maybe, she might end up being good at this.
Of course, the next shift started everything all over again and then the next, each one with its own challenges, and yet no shift matched up to that first terrible one. And now, she was somehow in her last year of medical school and back in the Pitt. It was starting to feel like home in a way nothing else had, and maybe that should have scared her, but it only seemed right. She had friends here, mentors, people she could count on, and also Dana who was… well, who was something.
It was a nebulous something too. Something like a best friend and yet more, which was not something she’d ever expected to find in someone older than her mother. Sure, Victoria was friends with the other interns and residents, good friends actually, but Dana was the first person she thought of when she needed to talk or wanted company to sit in silence with for a few minutes. Dana was the first person she thought of, period.
Victoria knew she was nothing special, that Dana filled that role for a lot of people, and yet she couldn’t help but feel special. The way Dana looked at her, the way Dana’s hand felt on her back, the brush of Dana’s fingers along her cheek as Dana moved a piece of Victoria’s hair behind her ear and the goosebumps they left in their wake… Well, all that felt special. Like something just between the two of them.
Victoria’s crush– was it a crush? She didn’t know what else to call it, even if she’d never had a crush on a woman before — started not too long after the shift from hell.
If she were being honest with herself, it probably started much earlier than that.
When Dana wished Victoria “many, many Utahs in her life” with her warm arm around Victoria’s shoulders, it felt like the first spark of something more, even if Victoria also felt something for Mateo. She could have a crush on more than one person at a time, okay? If it made her feel like she was out of breath constantly, then at least there was always oxygen aplenty in the Pitt. Not like she was actually taking any of that oxygen. Of course not. Instead, Victoria had gotten used to feeling off-balance at work. Why was everyone here so beautiful?
But she digressed. If she could pinpoint exactly when the spark she felt for Dana began to fan into a flame, it would have been on one of the rare days they’d actually had a few minutes for lunch. The break room had been crowded, and there had only been one seat left if it could even be called a seat– it was more like a sliver of couch– next to Dana.
Victoria went to turn around and sit at one of the stations to eat – she was never behind on homework, but she thought maybe she could read even further ahead — when Dana spoke.
“Come on in here, Javadi. You can sit next to me.”
Victoria turned back, catching Dana’s smile. It made her feel even more breathless. “Oh, okay. I wasn’t sure if there was enough room.”
“There’s plenty, especially if you don’t mind being close. I don’t bite, I promise.” Dana patted the couch, and there was a command inherent in that action. One Victoria wanted to obey.
Victoria could tell Dana was teasing her, so she tried to tease back as she sat down almost in Dana’s lap. “What if I wanted you to?”
As the words came out quietly, Victoria froze, not having meant to say that — she’d been hoping to say something about Dana being plenty biting when needed and instead, well… — and stared down at her food, her face hot.
There was a pause as Dana seemed to consider her before patting Victoria’s thigh. “That’s a very different conversation, sweetheart. Now eat, while you still have the chance.”
Victoria tried not to shovel her food down while all she could focus on was the feeling of Dana’s thigh alongside hers, warm through both their scrub pants, and the scent of her. Something warm and sweet with hints of vanilla and lavender, mixed with the smell of smoke. All Victoria wanted at that moment was to be even closer, to bury her nose in Dana’s neck and inhale. She put that thought out of mind and forced herself to relax, listening to the gossip around her and trying to forget her constant awareness of Dana’s presence.
As she finished her food, Victoria dared to glance up and met Dana’s approving eyes.
“Good job, Javadi. Don’t want to see you end up on my floor again. Let’s get back out there, I think there are a few cases on the board that’ll be perfect for you.”
Even the reference to her first day, to the fainting that still followed her every time Trinity called her Crash, which now sounded more affectionate than anything else, couldn’t put a damper on Victoria’s mood.
Dana told her “good job” and thought there were cases that were perfect for her. Her and not anyone else!
The praise made her feel flushed, light, and ready to jump up and down. Her mother’s visit to the E.D. later that day barely bothered her, and as she met Dana’s approving eyes afterwards, Victoria couldn’t help but smile.
It was little instances like that — words of encouragement, moments of talking in the bathroom and learning more about Dana, eating lunch together, their hands brushing when they both reached for a syringe — which fueled the embers of Victoria’s crush fully into a fire that she couldn’t put out even if she wanted to.
And she really didn’t want to.
So what if Dana was so much older than her? It wasn’t like anything was going to happen anyway. Dana was married with children around Victoria’s age, and there was no harm in looking, surely, Victoria assured herself.
So what if she’d made herself come while thinking of Dana telling her “good job” and calling her “such a good girl?” It wasn’t like anyone needed to know. Victoria liked to think she was good at keeping her thoughts to herself. Well, at least she tried to. Her face often wasn’t the most cooperative when it came to that endeavor.
It didn’t feel like something she could talk to anyone about either. She loved girl talk, now that she was a part of it, and she enjoyed hearing about Samira’s something with Abbot, Trinity’s back-and-forth with Ellis, and whatever Mel had going on with Langdon. But whenever they asked about her, Victoria stammered and didn’t know what to say. Everyone assumed she was still crushing on Mateo, who she’d gotten over months ago. He was still handsome and kind, but he was also with McKay, and that had gotten rid of her crush relatively quickly.
And he wasn’t Dana. Somehow, that now felt like the most important part.
Victoria knew at this point Dana was her best friend at work, even if she wasn’t Dana’s.
She’d heard Antoine and Larry teasingly calling them “Dana and her duckling,” probably in reference to how much she stayed by Dana whenever she had the opportunity. Victoria wasn’t a fan of that nickname. It felt like she got stuck with all the wrong nicknames in the Pitt.
She heard others start calling them the same, and finally, Victoria brought it up to Dana while the two of them were sitting in the stairwell together during a short lull.
“Have you heard what they’re calling us?”
Dana glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, and Victoria continued with no further prompting, her voice an agitated whisper, “Dana and her duckling.”
Dana chuckled, shaking her head.
“I don’t like it,” Victoria said.
Dana turned fully to face her and looked at Victoria over her glasses. “What’s the matter? You don’t mind being mine, do you?”
Victoria swallowed and her, “No,” came out as a whisper.
“There’s a girl.” Dana’s voice was low and approving in a way that made Victoria shiver.
Before Victoria could process that, there was an alert for an incoming trauma, and the two of them were up and back in the Pitt.
If she had something new to add to her fantasies that night, something that made her have to bite her pillow so as to not to wake up her parents, then that was her business.
They didn’t have too many nights out with the whole E.D., or at least most of it with someone always needing to cover, but tonight was one of those nights.
They were celebrating Dr. Robby’s birthday, and Victoria had never seen her attendings so drunk.
She already knew this would be something everyone would pretend never happened the next day. There’d been a few days like that over the past two years.
Dr. Collins was perched on Robby’s lap, drinking a beer, while Victoria could see Samira in a corner playing pool with Dr. Abbot behind her, ostensibly to show her how to make a certain shot.
Trinity and Parker were making out in a different corner, and Victoria, well… she was somehow sitting on Dana’s lap. Oh, she knew how she’d gotten there; Dana had pulled Victoria onto her lap when the booth was too crowded, and with Dana’s hands still absentmindedly resting on her hips, Victoria was in no hurry to go anywhere even now there was more room. It just didn’t feel real.
Dana didn’t seem to mind, so Victoria was still here, trying not to visibly react to the feeling of Dana’s muscular thigh between her legs and to not grind against it.
Getting yourself off on your friend’s thigh was outside the boundaries of friendship, right? It felt like it probably should be.
Dana’s hands on Victoria’s hips tightened for a moment before she easily lifted Victoria off her lap. Victoria felt herself shiver at that quiet strength. It was so hot.
“Going for a smoke break, Javadi. Keep the booth warm for me.” She patted Victoria’s shoulder and headed out the door.
Victoria watched her go, unsure what to do. There was no one left in the booth at the moment, and while she’d never joined Dana for a smoke before, she wanted to do so now. She took a gulp of liquid courage and nodded to herself, following Dana outside.
It wasn’t hard to locate her. Dana was leaning against the wall of the bar, her face illuminated by the street lights, the neon “Welcome” sign, and the glow of her cigarette. It made her look ethereal and Victoria tongue-tied. She felt like she was about to ski down a mountain at top speed.
Victoria was standing in front of Dana before she could blink and caught Dana’s amused smile when she exhaled before her lips wrapped around her cigarette again. Victoria took in every detail, not having expected something like smoking to look so hot. Then again, this might’ve been one of those things where it was only hot because it was Dana.
Dana was wearing red lipstick tonight, and it left marks on her cigarette. Victoria wanted those marks on her, wanted them everywhere.
“You just gonna stand there, Javadi? Or do you want one?”
Victoria shifted from foot to foot, clenching and unclenching her hands in her pockets, before coming to a decision and nodding.
Dana blew out more smoke. “Use your words, Javadi. Not going to give you a potentially bad habit like this without you asking for it.”
Victoria spoke without thinking. “You can call me Victoria, you know.”
Dana laughed. “Yeah, I know, sweetheart. I was waiting for you to ask.” She paused and made deliberate eye contact. The moment lingered. “Victoria.”
Victoria felt frozen, her brain replaying Dana saying her name. It sounded even better than she’d hoped, and she never wanted to hear Dana say ‘Javadi’ again.
Dana held out a cigarette, and Victoria reached for it, their fingertips brushing.
“You ever smoked before, Victoria?”
Victoria shook her head, mimicking Dana and placing the cigarette between her lips.
Dana lit it with her lighter, leaning in and keeping eye contact as she did so.
Victoria looked away nervously and inhaled deeply before exhaling and coughing at the taste and feel of the cigarette smoke in her throat.
Dana smiled at her, fond eyes visible in the low light. “It takes practice. You might have to join me for a few more smoke breaks to get the hang of it, and I don’t think you really want to do that to your lungs.”
Victoria shook her head and tried to take one more unsuccessful drag, before putting the cigarette out and throwing it onto the ashtray on top of the garbage.
She could see herself joining Dana for more smoke breaks, but she couldn’t see herself smoking any more cigarettes. Victoria knew she shouldn’t feel dejected, but it wasn’t easy given how badly she’d fumbled this.
Dana blew out more smoke. “Come here, Victoria.”
Victoria stepped closer without even thinking about it. She was used to Dana always being right and following what she said without question. Dana was the charge nurse for a reason, after all.
When they were inches apart, Dana reached out and brushed a strand of Victoria’s hair behind her ear, like she always did after it fell in Victoria’s face during shifts, before grasping Victoria’s chin and tilting her head up. Well, that was new. It felt like they were past established boundaries, and Victoria had lost her footing, not sure what was up and what was down. The only thing she could feel and see was Dana.
“Do you want a real taste, sweetheart?”
Victoria bit her lip and nodded. Dana brushed her thumb over Victoria’s lip, soothing away the bite marks before letting her thumb rest there for a moment.
“Open your mouth, Victoria.”
Victoria opened her mouth as wide as possible, not wanting to fail a test she didn’t even know she was taking.
They breathed together, sharing the same air, while music thumped from a neighboring club and someone laughed down the street. Victoria wondered what they looked like to any passersby before deciding she didn’t care.
Dana took a drag of her cigarette and shifted somehow closer. For a moment, Victoria wondered if Dana was going to kiss her. But Dana only saw her as a friend anyway, maybe another daughter… there was no way.
At Victoria’s nod, Dana exhaled the cigarette smoke directly into Victoria’s mouth, and Victoria inhaled deeply.
“There you go, sweetheart. Straight from the source.”
Victoria nodded, feeling lightheaded. It was Utah all over again.
“Now that you’ve got a taste, you won’t be smoking again, will you?”
Victoria shook her head, unable to summon words.
Dana caressed Victoria’s bottom lip with her thumb one more time before pulling away. “I don’t mind if you join me on my breaks, but you need to take good care of yourself. Or I’m gonna have to take care of you.”
Victoria rasped, “Yeah,” wondering if and hoping Dana would keep her word and take care of her, whatever that entailed. She’d take anything at this point.
“There’s a good girl; why don’t we go inside? You can sit back down on my lap, keep me warm?”
Dana’s praise made Victoria feel flushed and light.
She hadn’t had enough praise growing up, could still hear her mother’s voice in her head. Asking her why she had gotten this grade instead of that, why she wasn’t up to some arbitrary standard her mother had set for her at birth she’d never been able to meet. It felt like the line was constantly moving out of reach.
Dana’s praise, the way her voice lingered on good when she called Victoria a good girl, drowned out some of that. It felt like a lifeline, stopping her from drowning and allowing her to float. She felt buoyant and happy every time Dana said something nice about her. All she wanted was more. Maybe Dana’s good would eventually outweigh all of the bad?
Victoria pushed her thoughts away and nodded. That was a friend thing, right? Keeping someone warm?
She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on convincing herself like this.
There were more moments like that, which made Victoria question and wonder if she was imagining things or not. Her friendship with Dana continued to feel like a nebulous something more that she couldn’t put a finger on. Victoria had to keep reminding herself Dana was married, and even if she weren’t, why would she be interested in Victoria?
Dana grasping her hips to move her out of the way of a flailing patient, Dana whispering in her ear in the lunch room even when she didn’t need to, Dana making deliberate eye contact with her while smoking, Dana walking her to her car after a long shift and pressing a kiss to her forehead before telling her to get home safe. Those were all platonic things, right?
Victoria felt more confused and more aroused by the day. She’d ended up buying a vibrator because her fingers, even three of them, just weren’t enough anymore. The vibrator, even as it made her come while she sobbed Dana’s name into her pillow, also wasn’t enough by virtue of the fact that it wasn’t Dana.
At this point, Victoria needed Dana. She needed her so much. But she was resigned to the fact that she would never have her, and that was something she would have to live with.
She guessed she lived at a metaphorical high altitude now.
Today was a particularly difficult shift with more people they couldn’t save, and on top of that, her mother was driving her crazy.
Victoria tried multiple times to get it through to her mom that she was here due to her own knowledge and skills and that she’d prefer for people to see her as her own person, instead of solely Dr. Shamsi’s prodigy daughter, but it never seemed to work. Instead, it only made her mom more overbearing, even louder somehow in her desire for Victoria to become a surgeon. Only a surgeon.
Her mom cared about her. Victoria knew that, she told herself that, but her way of showing it was asking Victoria challenging questions or pressuring her to take charge in front of the residents and her attending, and it made Victoria want to scream.
She ended up on the roof. Didn’t they all end up on the roof at one point or another?
She hadn’t been up there long, standing on the safe side of the railing, when she heard the door open behind her.
Victoria kept staring out at the skyline, already sensing who might have come to join her.
She was proven right when Dana spoke. “Didn’t think I’d see you up here, Victoria. You’re in Abbot’s spot.”
“I thought it was Robby’s.”
Dana came up alongside her. “It’s both of theirs. It’s not meant for you. I don’t come up here, do I?”
“No,” Victoria quietly replied.
“And you’re supposed to be my duckling, aren’t you?”
Victoria smiled, not registering anything but ‘my.’
“Yeah… I’m yours.” Victoria’s last words were barely audible, but she knew Dana heard them. She had the sensitive ears of an experienced nurse.
“That’s right, so why don’t you listen to me and step back a bit?”
Victoria had taken two steps back before her brain caught up with her body.
Dana’s fingers threaded through hers, and she clasped their hands together. “Stay with me, Victoria. Alright?”
“I wasn’t going to jump or anything. I just needed to think, and this was the only quiet place that came to mind,” Victoria said.
Dana rubbed her thumb over Victoria’s knuckles. “I know you weren’t, but when you need to think, you come to me. You don’t come up here. Do you understand, kid?”
“Yes,” Victoria breathed out.
“Yes, what?”
Victoria hesitated before replying, “Yes, m—... Dana.”
Victoria bit her lip, hoping her almost-slip wasn’t noticeable. She wasn’t certain now what she was going to say, ma’am or Mommy – something she’d never been allowed to call her mother – but it ultimately didn’t matter, not right now.
That was a problem for future Victoria.
One glance at Dana’s thoughtful face showed she’d caught Victoria’s almost-slip, but she was kind enough not to bring it up.
“Good girl.” Dana squeezed Victoria’s hand. “Alright, you’re coming home with me.”
Victoria didn’t protest. If Dana said Victoria was going home with her, then that’s what was happening.
There was nowhere else she’d rather be anyway.
Dana’s home fit her, lived-in and yet welcoming. It was cozy and warm as well as surprisingly empty.
Victoria took in her surroundings with inquisitive eyes as Dana busied herself in the kitchen, putting the kettle on to boil.
The quiet was comfortable and Victoria didn’t want to disturb it, but she had to ask. “Is your husband here?”
Dana hummed. “No, he’s not.”
Dana didn’t seem inclined to elaborate, and Victoria wasn’t sure why it was so important to her, but she needed to know. “Will he be here?’
Dana’s eyes crinkled up at the corners when she smiled, and Victoria wished she could trace those lines with her fingers.
“No, he won’t. It’s just you and me tonight, Victoria.”
Something about that felt momentous. Maybe because she’d never truly been somewhere she and Dana couldn’t be interrupted before.
Dana continued, “While we wait for the kettle to boil, why don’t you come sit with me? I think we could both use a sit after that shift.”
Dana motioned over to the couch and Victoria followed, watching Dana sit down with her thighs wide.
Victoria went to sit next to her, but Dana shook her head and patted her thigh. Victoria didn’t hesitate, sitting down on Dana’s lap, but this time she did what she’d wanted to do last time. She sat down facing Dana, who grinned at her.
“Look at you, sweetheart. Feeling bold, huh?”
Victoria looked down shyly. “You bring it out of me.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?”
Victoria swallowed and shifted, ready to pull back, when Dana’s hands clasped around her hips.
Dana tilted her head and looked at Victoria for a moment. “Did I say you could move, Victoria?”
Victoria shook her head.
Dana went on. “Then what spooked you? I thought we’d moved past baby deer ages ago.”
When Victoria didn’t say anything, Dana nodded as though Victoria had confirmed something with her silence. “I see. Is it because I referred to us as friends?”
Victoria bit her lip, unsure how to answer. She’d wanted Dana to be more than her friend for so long, but could she tell her?
“We are friends, aren’t we?” Under her teasing, Dana sounded a bit hurt.
Well, that wouldn’t do. Victoria’s answer this time was quick. “Yes, of course.”
“Then, what is it?”
Victoria took a moment to gather her thoughts, knowing it would all come bubbling out quickly anyway despite her efforts.
Sure enough, her words came out thick and fast. “Well, you know, when I said I felt like Mateo was like a human Utah and that I couldn’t concentrate or get my bearings. That I couldn’t catch my breath, no matter how hard I tried. And you told me, you wished me many, many Utahs in my life, and then we became friends and… well, you’re my best friend, Dana, but I want… well, I want… I…”
Dana was watching her indulgently. Like she’d wait all day for Victoria to get the words out. Victoria wished other people in her life, her mother, would be more like Dana.
“What do you want, sweetheart? You can say it.”
“I want…” Victoria exhaled before taking a deep breath and continuing, taking courage in the way Dana’s fingers were tracing patterns on her thigh. “I want to be more than friends. I know you said you wished me many Utahs in my life, but I don’t want any more… I only want you.”
Dana smiled at her, eyes fond. “Finally, sweetheart. Thank you for putting us both out of our misery.”
Victoria could only stare at her, eyes wide. “What?” Had Dana just said what Victoria thought she had? She couldn’t have.
“Kid, do you think I act like this with everyone?” Dana raised an eyebrow.
When Victoria still looked uncomprehending, Dana took Victoria’s hand in hers. “Victoria, you had to make the first move. I’ve loved being your friend, more than anything, but I’ve been giving you signs I wanted to be more for months. But think of what it looks like; I’m so much older than you. You should be with someone like… Mateo or Shen, not me.”
“But I don’t want them. I want you, Dana. Nobody else.” Victoria made sure she sounded as confident as she did when spouting details about obscure diagnoses. She’d never been more sure in her life.
“Yeah?”
Victoria hadn’t seen Dana look so unsure before, and she didn’t want to see it again.
“Yeah, and you’re so gorgeous. It’s just, well… I’ve never…” Victoria couldn’t say the words out loud.
“I know, honey. I’ll teach you. We’ll start right now, would you like that?”
Dana’s fingers continued to almost absentmindedly draw patterns on Victoria’s thigh, providing a constant reminder of Dana’s presence, as if Dana’s thigh between her legs wasn’t enough, while Victoria tried not to move.
Victoria nodded eagerly, ready to follow Dana’s lead.
“Okay, sweetheart. What do you want to do first?”
Victoria knew Dana could read her confusion from her face because Dana continued, “I’ll teach you anything you want to know, make you feel good. But you need to tell me what you want. I always like to see you use that big brain of yours. So?”
Victoria nodded slowly and thought for a moment. It was an easy decision to make. “Can you kiss me first? Please.”
Dana shifted closer, and Victoria ground down unconsciously on Dana’s thigh. Dana smirked at her. “We’ll get to that later. But first… your wish is my command.”
Dana pressed kisses to Victoria’s cheek, jawline, nose, and forehead before moving to the other side of her face to do the same. Everywhere but where Victoria wanted her most.
Victoria whined, grinding down on Dana’s thigh. This time very intentionally.
“What is it, honey?” Dana brushed her lips over Victoria’s ear before tugging briefly on the lobe with her teeth. Victoria shivered, and she could feel Dana’s smile. “Use your words, Victoria. Be a good girl for me, and tell me where you want me to kiss you.”
Victoria gasped as Dana sucked lightly on her neck. “Oh! My lips, Dana… please, please, please.”
“Of course, sweetheart. All you had to do is ask. All you ever have to do is ask.” Dana said the last words quietly, but Victoria heard her all the same and made a mental note.
Dana met Victoria’s eyes and smiled. Before Dana could kiss her, Victoria gave into her earlier impulse and lightly traced the tips of her fingers over Dana’s crow’s feet. Dana only looked at her quizzically.
Victoria smiled in return and with a little laugh, said, “I’ve wanted to do that for ages.”
Dana laughed too, looking fond. “Sweetheart, you never cease to surprise me.”
And with that, Dana kissed her. And it was better than Victoria ever imagined.
Dana started soft, and Victoria felt like Dana was trying to ease her into the kiss, guiding her into it slowly like coaxing a deer closer for feeding, but Victoria wasn’t having that.
She wasn’t going to let their kiss be anything but all-consuming, so she kissed Dana hard, tasting her chapstick and that ever-present smoke. All she wanted was more. She wanted to taste Dana on her tongue for hours afterwards.
Victoria was in the middle of something she never thought would happen, and for all she knew it might not happen again, so she wanted everything. She didn’t care if that made her greedy. She had a feeling Dana might like that.
Victoria traced the outline of Dana’s lips with the tip of her tongue, seeking entrance to her mouth, which Dana granted easily. Victoria pushed herself closer to Dana, caressing her hands over Dana’s sides and deepening the kiss.
But Victoria wasn’t in control for long. Dana lazily massaged her tongue over Victoria's, making her slow down as she caressed her fingers through the fine hairs on Victoria’s neck before pulling lightly on her ponytail. Victoria liked that more than she’d ever expected.
They could have kissed for minutes or hours, Victoria would never know for certain, but the kiss ended sooner than she would’ve liked.
Dana rolled her tongue over Victoria’s one last time before pulling away, pressing another brief kiss against Victoria’s lips and ignoring Victoria’s protesting noise as she tried to follow after Dana.
Victoria opened her eyes slowly to meet Dana’s.
Dana smiled at her before glancing down. “So wet for me already, sweetheart. Just from a little kissing?”
Victoria nodded, wondering if she was currently leaving a wet spot on Dana’s thigh and finding herself unable to care. There was nothing she could say at the moment, so she hoped Dana could read her face as well as she always did.
Victoria wanted Dana to do something, anything. She needed it.
“That’s my good girl.”
Victoria shivered at Dana casually calling Victoria hers. Nothing had ever felt more right.
Dana put her hands back on Victoria’s hips and lifted her up a bit before slowly lowering her down, moving her thigh in just the right way to make Victoria moan. Dana did it again, and Victoria rolled her hips.
“I can tell you want to ride my thigh, honey. That’s what’s making you feel good?”
Victoria quickly nodded again. Dana felt so good.
“Use your words, Victoria. I know we’ve talked about this.”
Victoria murmured, “Yes… please, Dana. Let me ride you?”
Dana leaned back against the couch casually, lounging like a queen on her throne and looking like she was about to watch T.V. except Victoria could feel that Dana’s intent gaze hadn’t left her.
“Use me then, sweetheart.” When Victoria didn’t move, Dana’s next words coaxed her to do so. “Go on, Victoria. All I want is to see you get yourself off. You deserve it, you’ve been so patient. My patient girl.”
Victoria squirmed, feeling hot and trying not to let on how much wetter she’d just gotten.
There was a moment where neither of them did anything, and Dana looked content to caress her thumbs over Victoria’s hips for hours without moving. Victoria swallowed hard before grinding down on Dana’s thigh tentatively. It wasn’t enough. She ground down harder, shifting her hips as she rubbed herself against Dana’s thigh at a quickening pace.
“You’re doing so great for me, honey,” Dana praised, her fingers venturing under Victoria’s scrub top to ghost over her stomach. “Have you been thinking about this for a while? Did you think about it in the bar? Just plopping yourself down on my lap and making yourself come?”
Victoria gasped, choking off a moan as she settled into a rhythm that brought her closer and closer to the edge.
Dana shifted her thigh in a way that pressed against Victoria just right and leaned in. “Let me tell you a secret, sweetheart... I would’ve let you.”
Victoria rolled her hips one last time before coming at Dana’s words. It felt like time froze as she went still, coming harder than she ever had when she was getting herself off. She moaned out Dana’s name, feeling like Dana’s hands on her hips were the only things keeping her from falling off a cliff.
Dana shifted to pull her closer, resting Victoria’s head on her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’ve got you, Victoria. Let yourself go, and I’ll always be here to ground you.”
Victoria drifted hazily, enjoying Dana’s closeness, before coming back to herself and meeting Dana’s eyes.
“There’s my girl. Welcome back, Victoria. You were so good for me, soaked through your pants and everything. We’ll have to get you out of those clothes sooner rather than later. I have some pajamas that should fit you nicely.”
At that, Victoria realized how wet she still was. It was as though now she’d had a little of Dana, she couldn’t get enough. She was greedy.
Victoria was about to reply, but the kettle boiled, breaking the moment.
Dana continued to stroke Victoria’s hair, and when Dana spoke, Victoria could hear the smile in her voice. “What say you and I have some hot chocolate? Then we can get you cleaned up before we get a bit dirty again.”
Victoria focused on the last words. “Dirty again?”
Dana laughed. “Oh, honey. You didn’t think I was done with you just yet, did you? We have all night. And I intend to make the most of it.”
Victoria shifted in her seat, watching Dana plop marshmallows in both of their mugs before putting whipped cream on top. Victoria couldn’t help but notice that one of the mugs had more whipped cream and wondered who it was for.
“You want some cinnamon?”
“Huh?”
Dana chuckled. “You want some cinnamon for your hot chocolate, Victoria? I know it’s not for everyone, but I’ve always liked it.”
Victoria tucked some of her hair behind her ears. “Oh, uh, yes… please. Thank you.”
“A girl after my own heart.”
Victoria felt warm at the evident fondness in Dana’s voice.
Dana sprinkled some cinnamon on top before sliding over the mug with more whipped cream to Victoria. “There you go, honey. Made it extra sweet just for you.”
Victoria smiled. “Thank you.”
Dana pulled a chair out and sat down facing Victoria, her knee brushing Victoria’s as she rested a hand on her thigh.
The two sat in silence for a few moments, and it was the most peaceful Victoria had felt all day. Dana circled her thumb over Victoria’s thigh, and the constant warmth of her hand was grounding.
Dana took another sip of her hot chocolate before speaking. “Can’t tell you how many times I’ve imagined you in my kitchen, letting me take care of you.”
Victoria didn’t know what to say. Could she admit that she’d imagined herself reading on the couch with her feet in Dana’s lap, resting her head on Dana’s shoulder while watching T.V., cuddling in bed together, or taste testing Dana’s cooking? The hundreds of little moments she’d imagined with Dana had felt so far out of reach before today. What could she say that didn’t reveal her heart?
Victoria took a deep breath. If there was anyone she could trust to handle her heart with careful hands, it was Dana Evans.
“I always want to let you take care of me. If I’d known what your kitchen looked like, I would’ve imagined myself here a hundred times already.” Victoria swirled her spoon around in her mug, watching the last marshmallows finish melting, before exhaling and continuing in a whisper, “I’ve imagined myself in your bed more times than that and wished I got to see what you look like when you first wake up.”
Victoria met Dana’s encouraging eyes and was relieved to see Dana smile fondly at her. She felt like she was floating in a bubble of happiness she hoped never popped.
“Glad to know we’re on the same page.” Dana moved her hand up slightly, resting it on Victoria’s inner thigh. Victoria tried not to shift in her seat. Dana continued, “How’s that hot chocolate coming along?”
Victoria hastily took another sip. “It’s really good! Thank you. I like the cinnamon.”
“I had a feeling you would… Now, what do you say we finish our drinks and then we can take some showers? You must be a bit uncomfortable by now, and that’s the last thing I want… God, I want to do so much with you.”
Victoria felt her face heat. “What do you mean?”
Dana smiled at her and said like a confession, “I mean that on a day that we’re not both tired from a shift, we could spend hours kissing. All we’d do is kiss. You’d sit on my lap in the kitchen while I fed you breakfast before I ate my own.” Dana wiggled her eyebrows and Victoria laughed.
Victoria listened with bated breath as Dana continued, “We could explore each other, learn exactly what each other likes. It’d take hours, and we’d enjoy every minute of it…” Dana smirked, leaning in further as though about to share a secret. Victoria could feel goosebumps breaking out on her skin. “I could make you come as many times as you could handle. Take you to the edge over and over before holding you close while you fell over it. Would you like that?”
“Uh-huh.” Victoria hadn’t known it could be like that.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart? Cat got your tongue?”
“Umm…uh, that sounds really nice.” Victoria was hoping that would’ve come out sounding composed. Instead, she sounded wrecked.
“I bet it does. It sounds really nice for me too. You done with that cocoa?” Dana asked.
Even if Victoria hadn’t been done with it, there was only one answer she could give. “Yes.”
“Alright then, why don’t we take some showers. You wanna go first?”
Victoria didn’t realize until then how much she’d been hoping they’d shower together.
Dana was well-practiced in reading her expressions and stroked Victoria’s thigh consolingly. “I want us to wash off the day, so I can have you in my bed. If we showered together, it wouldn’t be fast enough for my liking… We can always shower together another time. Okay?”
There was only one place Victoria wanted to be in that moment and it was Dana’s bed, so she nodded quickly. “Okay.”
Dana clapped her hands. “Good, so you wanna go first?”
“No, you can.”
“Alright then, I’ll warm it up for you,” Dana said with a smile.
Victoria finished buttoning the pajamas Dana had left her for after her shower. They were soft, warm, and smelled like Dana. No one could blame her if she’d spent some time smelling them before putting them on, right? Right.
Victoria exited the bathroom and stopped. Dana was sitting in bed in a tank top, glasses perched on her nose, while she read a book. Victoria stared at Dana in glasses, a sight she always found attractive in the E.D. but not something she was usually able to spend much time looking at, before taking in the muscles of Dana’s arms. She’d always known Dana was strong, most nurses were, but Victoria hadn’t expected her to have such defined biceps. She wanted to bite them.
“You comin’?” Victoria must have given herself away or Dana had known she was there all along because only then did Dana look up. “Oh, look at you. You look good in my clothes, sweetheart.”
Victoria summoned boldness from somewhere. “I’d like to, please. Come, that is… And not as good as you.”
Dana laughed, placing her book on the nightstand. “That’s my girl… And you’ll come as many times as you please, Victoria.” Dana patted the bed next to her. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Victoria scrunched her toes into the carpet to center herself before walking over and seating herself in Dana’s lap, facing her. She didn’t wait for Dana to say anything else before leaning in to kiss her. Dana met her halfway, but kept the kiss chaste.
Victoria whined when Dana pulled away. “Hey, hey, hey, sweetheart. I know it may not be sexy, but let me talk to you for a second and then you can kiss me until you bruise me. Alright?”
At Victoria’s slow nod, Dana stroked Victoria’s hair. “Good girl, you’re so good for me. Okay, I wanted you to know we don’t have to do anything tonight. We can just kiss, cuddle, and sleep if you want. If you want more, then we can do whatever you want. But if at any point you’re uncomfortable, then you need to tell me. As my student today, you can’t be shy about participating in my class.” Dana smirked at her own metaphor, and Victoria smiled in return.
There was only one answer Victoria could give. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, that’s good.” Dana kissed Victoria’s forehead. “You want to do more than kissing tonight, honey?”
Victoria wanted to laugh but held it in. Like that was ever in question. Instead, all she said was, “Yes, please.”
“So polite. I wonder if you’ll keep those manners with my fingers inside you.”
Victoria shivered, grinding down on Dana’s lap. She could already feel herself getting wet again, and they hadn’t even done anything yet. “Oh.”
Dana took her glasses off — Victoria resisted the urge to ask her to keep them on — placing them to the side and leaning back against the headboard. “I’m so honored to be your first time, sweetheart.”
“I’d like you to be my only time,” Victoria said without hesitation.
“Thank you for telling me, and we can discuss that later. Now, where were we?”
Victoria was kissing Dana again almost before Dana finished. She couldn’t get enough. She wanted to be as close to Dana as possible, learn all the secret parts of her.
Victoria gasped into Dana’s mouth as Dana grasped Victoria’s hips and moved her closer, running her hands along Victoria’s sides before cupping her jaw and deepening the kiss. Victoria wondered if both their lips actually would be bruised tomorrow. She liked that idea more than she’d admit to anyone but herself.
Dana brushed her lips against Victoria’s one last time before kissing Victoria’s cheek and then her jaw, making her way to Victoria’s ear. Dana pressed a kiss to it before pulling lightly at it with her teeth. Victoria moaned wantonly, shifting in Dana’s lap and searching for friction. Dana lifted Victoria up from her lap and had her on her back before Victoria could blink. Dana was so strong, and it was so hot.
Dana shifted down the bed, making sure Victoria’s head was on a pillow and lifting Victoria’s legs up to put a pillow under her butt. Victoria felt exposed as Dana sat back to survey her. Victoria did likewise, her attention caught by Dana’s hard nipples that were visible through her tank top. Victoria wanted her mouth on them.
“Look at you, sweetheart. Haven’t ever had someone so pretty in my bed.” Dana caught Victoria’s eye and winked.
Victoria laughed before answering seriously, “Well, there’s you.”
Dana was the prettiest person Victoria had ever known.
Dana smiled. “You’re very sweet. Now, let's get those shorts off.”
With no further prompting, Victoria tried to push her shorts down quickly without success. She fumbled for a minute before giving up and flopping back against the pillow.
Dana laughed, and Victoria couldn’t help but laugh too. Is this what everyone meant when they said sex was supposed to be fun? She could get used to this.
Dana looked fond as she leaned in to give Victoria a quick kiss. “Honey, let me help you. That’s what I’m here for, you know. Let me take care of you. I can tell how much you need it.”
Dana helped Victoria pull her shorts down and off, using one arm to lift Victoria’s legs and butt and making it look easy, before stopping.
Victoria attempted to gauge Dana’s reaction to her decision to not wear any underwear.
Dana smirked and raised an eyebrow.“Sweetheart, you’re full of surprises.”
“I try.”
“I know. You always do. Spread your legs for me, honey.”
Victoria followed directions well; she always had, and on top of that, she’d always been a good student. Some might say “the best in her class,” and Victoria certainly wanted Dana to think so. She spread her legs and without prompting, moved her hand down to spread herself open for Dana’s gaze.
“There’s my good girl. Always exceeding expectations… And with such a pretty cunt too.”
Victoria gasped, and she could feel herself get wetter at Dana’s words. She never would have been able to imagine Dana saying something so filthy, and now she wanted to hear it again and again.
“You like when I talk dirty to you, sweetheart?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good to know.” Dana put Victoria’s legs on her shoulders and smiled up at her before winking. “Don’t be afraid to show me what you like.” And with that, Dana’s tongue was on her.
Victoria moaned at the feeling of Dana swirling her tongue around Victoria’s clit before flicking it against the hood. Dana lapped at Victoria’s wetness, causing her to grind her hips down on Dana’s face as she tried not to tighten her thighs too much around Dana’s head. Even so, she couldn’t help doing it a little. It felt so good. Dana felt so good.
Dana pulled back to meet Victoria’s eyes. “Bring me as close to you as you need, honey. That’s it. I’m not going anywhere.”
Dana leaned back a little so she could stroke her fingers over Victoria’s inner thigh before her index finger circled Victoria’s clit in the exact way she liked. Dana pulled Victoria’s hips down harder against her face before delving her tongue in and out of Victoria’s entrance, again and again, and Victoria was gone. She came harder than she ever had in her life, and it felt like she was flying as her legs shook. Her breath hitched, and she tensed and moaned, staring up at the now blurry ceiling as time seemed to slow. She gasped out Dana’s name as she dissolved in pleasure.
Dana continued lapping at Victoria through her orgasm, dragging it out while circling Victoria’s clit with her fingers. Victoria came again, her thighs tightening around Dana’s head as she moaned before pulling back to rest her head on Victoria’s thigh. Victoria met Dana’s eyes languidly.
“There you are. How you doing, sweetheart?”
Victoria summoned words from somewhere. “Good…”
“Good, that’s good. You were so fucking perfect for me, and you taste even better. So good… Mmm, I want to taste you during every shift, think about you coming on my tongue while looking up at the board. Only to go home and taste you again… I’m already looking forward to it. Would you let me?”
Victoria couldn’t help her small moan, and her voice was shaky when she replied, “Always.”
“What a good girl, always so damn perfect for me.”
Victoria felt breathless and flushed; her heart was pounding, and she could already feel herself becoming aroused again. Of course, Dana noticed.
“That’s it, honey. I’ll tell you you’re good, that you’re perfect, every day if you let me, especially when it makes you this wet.” Dana held up her hand to show Victoria how wet her fingers were before licking and sucking on them, while maintaining eye contact.
Victoria felt like the pillow she was on might be permanently damp after this.
She watched in fascination as Dana pulled her fingers out of her mouth with a satisfied pop before smirking up at Victoria. “You ever finger yourself, sweetheart?”
Victoria nodded.
“With how many fingers?”
“Three.” Victoria was impressed by how steady her own voice sounded, given she felt the exact opposite.
Dana looked proud. “Impressive. Do you want to try three of mine?”
Victoria’s nod this time was almost frantic. “Yes… yes, please. Thank you.”
“Haven’t managed to fuck the politeness out of you yet, huh? Let me see what we can do about that.”
Victoria bit her lip as Dana pressed kisses to her inner thigh, moving slowly towards where Victoria wanted her most. Dana brushed a kiss over Victoria’s clit before caressing her fingers over Victoria’s folds, moving from top to bottom and gathering her wetness. Dana circled Victoria’s clit with her finger, rubbing it slightly, and Victoria’s breath hitched. Dana pressed the palm of her hand against Victoria’s mound to provide her some much-needed friction as she rubbed her index finger around Victoria’s entrance, letting it enter her teasingly before pulling back out.
At Victoria’s whine, Dana entered her without further prompting, moving her finger gently in and out. “Like that?”
Victoria nodded, moaned shakily, and pushed further into Dana’s hand, grinding down.
Dana curled her finger inside her. “So wet for me, Victoria. You said three, so I’m gonna give you another. What do you think?”
Victoria nodded quickly, eyes wide. “Yeah.”
“Oh, look at you, no please or thank you. Now we’re getting somewhere, huh?”
Dana added a second finger, and Victoria couldn’t help but squirm. Dana’s knuckles were bigger than hers, and she already felt so full. She wasn’t sure if she could take three, but she really wanted to try.
Dana’s skilled fingers moved in and out of her, making Victoria keen as Dana hit a spot inside her that Victoria was only rarely able to find. Dana focused on it, and Victoria rocked her hips, feeling her pleasure building and building. She was a live wire, ready to spark into flame.
“Is two enough for today, honey? Or do you still want three?”
Victoria moaned. “I’ve… never felt… so full, but I want… another.”
“Alright, sweetheart. I know you can take it, but tell me if it’s too much.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s my girl. Take a deep breath now.” Dana slid a third finger inside Victoria, and Victoria stilled. It was on the verge of being too much, but it also felt like not enough all at the same time.
Dana only had enough time to crook her fingers before Victoria fell over the precipice again, waves of fire overwhelming her. It felt like she was skiing down a double black diamond without being able to stop. Exhilarating and terrifying all at once. Victoria came hard, tightening around Dana’s fingers as she moaned, “Fuck, Dana, fuck, oh my god.”
Victoria shattered into pieces, and it was only Dana’s fingers still inside her and her other hand on her thigh that kept her together.
When she was present again, Dana slowly pulled her fingers out, and Victoria gasped at how empty she felt. Dana must have been able to read her mind because she threaded her fingers through Victoria’s before sitting up and pulling her close. Before she had a moment to think, Victoria was on Dana’s lap with her head resting against Dana’s breast, and there was nowhere else she would rather be. She was more comfortable than she could ever remember being.
Dana kept holding her hand. “Doing okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, doing great.”
“Glad to hear it. You done for tonight? I want to make sure you get enough sleep.”
Victoria shook her head, looking up and making sure Dana could tell how serious she was when she spoke. “No… What about you?”
Dana brushed some of Victoria’s hair behind her ear tenderly. “It’s enough for me that you came. I don’t need to.”
“But what if I want you to?”
“Well, that’s different. I’m yours in whatever way you want me,” Dana said matter-of-factly.
Victoria considered the possibilities. “Whatever way?”
“I can see that big brain of yours working. How do you want me?”
Victoria pushed past any remaining shyness Dana hadn’t fucked into nonexistence. “Can you take off your tank top? I want to see you, and then maybe I can… eat you out? If you’d let me… please.” She really hoped Dana said yes. Then again, Dana tended to say yes whenever she asked. It was a potent feeling.
“Of course, sweetheart. Why don’t we change positions? I’ll sit back against the headboard again, take my top off, and then I’m yours for the taking. I’ll even guide you through it, teach you everything you need to know. Sound good?”
“Yes, it sounds amazing.”
Dana smiled at her and brushed her thumb gently over Victoria’s cheek before lifting Victoria off her lap.
Victoria scooted farther down the bed to watch avidly as Dana stood and pulled off her tank top before sitting back down against the headboard in just her underwear. Victoria hadn’t even realized Dana wasn’t wearing any bottoms this whole time, but that was beside the point. Dana was basically naked in front of her, and Victoria didn’t know where to look. She felt overwhelmed. This wasn’t where she thought she’d be when she’d woken up this morning.
Dana stretched her arms over her head, and Victoria focused on her breasts. Victoria wanted nothing more than to touch them.
“Well, are you just going to look? That’s fine if that’s all you wanted to do, but I figured you wanted my shirt off for a reason,” Dana teased.
“No, and I did. I want to touch you… Please.”
“That’s my girl. Then touch me.”
Victoria moved closer and tentatively reached out to cup Dana’s left breast. It filled her hand as Victoria ran her thumb over Dana’s peaked nipple.
“There you go,” Dana murmured. “Now hold both, don’t want the other one to feel neglected.”
Victoria reached for Dana’s other breast and circled her thumbs over both of Dana’s nipples at the same time. She couldn’t help but want more. She always did with Dana.
“I can see you want something, sweetheart. Use your words and ask me.”
“I want to put my mouth on you. Can I?”
“Of course you can. Have at it.”
Victoria didn’t need to be told twice, fastening her mouth around Dana’s nipple and sucking before swirling her tongue around it.
Dana exhaled. “That’s it. Suck a little harder.”
Victoria didn’t hesitate to do so. She’d never question her charge nurse.
Dana moaned. “Good, good girl. Keep going and switch sides.”
Victoria pulled back for a breath and moved to Dana’s other breast, licking and sucking until Dana pulled her head back gently. Victoria made an objecting noise.
“Alright, honey, that’s enough of that. I’m a little sensitive tonight. Otherwise, I’d let you play with me for as long as you like. Why don’t you do some more exploring, huh?”
Victoria nodded, though knew she didn’t look happy about it.
Dana chuckled. “Go on, baby, I have a lot more to teach you tonight.”
“Yes, m—” Victoria stopped herself again just like she had on the roof, not really sure what word was going to come out of her mouth but knowing there was only a 50/50 chance it would’ve been ‘ma’am.’
Victoria again ignored Dana’s thoughtful expression and pressed kisses to her ribs before kissing down her stomach. When she reached the waistband of Dana’s underwear, she looked up at her for permission.
“Go on, they’re only getting in the way at this point.”
Victoria slid the cotton underwear down slowly as Dana helpfully lifted up her butt. Victoria pulled them off completely and dropped them, uncaring where they fell. All of her attention was taken by Dana.
Victoria stared. “And you called me pretty.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, sweetheart.”
Victoria looked away with effort to make eye contact with Dana. “What should I do?”
Dana put on what Victoria liked to think of as her teacher voice. She’d heard it several times tonight. “Why don’t you start by giving me a kiss down there?”
Victoria kept her eyes locked with Dana’s as she lightly kissed Dana’s clit and then down her slit, lingering at her opening before tentatively sticking out her tongue to lick her. To Victoria’s surprise, it didn’t taste bad, and even if it had, she would have put up with anything if she could hear the noises Dana was making again.
Dana rolled her hips and ground down slightly against Victoria’s tongue before she stopped herself. “That’s it. Keep licking me, make circles with your tongue if you can. I’ll let you know what I like.”
Victoria followed instructions, making those circles with her tongue, lapping at Dana’s wetness, and noting Dana’s reactions as much as she could, like they were something she’d be quizzed on at the end. Dana seemed to particularly enjoy when Victoria paid attention to her clit, so she focused on licking it before doing the same to her folds and swirling her tongue around Dana’s entrance.
Dana moaned loudly. “Oh, right there, sweetheart. That’s it.”
Victoria pulled back to take a much-needed breath before trying to copy Dana’s actions from earlier, which included talking. Even if she wasn’t sure she’d be any good at it, she still had to try. “You’re so wet, Dana. I could spend all day down here and you wouldn’t mind, would you? It’d make me so happy.”
Dana bit back another moan. “And you can already tell that I want nothing more than to make you happy, huh, sweetheart?”
Victoria nodded, secure in that knowledge.
She then decided to try something she’d read about, blowing air on Dana’s clit before fastening her lips around it, sucking lightly, and circling her tongue again.
Dana gasped, rolling her hips. “Yeah, just like that. You’re so good at this. Put your tongue inside me, sweetheart. That’s all I need.”
Victoria moved down, continuing to lap at Dana as she went before delving her tongue inside her. Dana’s breath hitched, and true to her word, it only took Victoria speeding up the pace of her tongue for Dana to come.
Victoria kept licking Dana through her orgasm, wanting to do the same things Dana had done to her. It seemed only fair to reciprocate, and it would prove she was paying attention.
Dana ran her fingers through Victoria’s hair as Victoria pulled back.
“Look at you, you’re a natural. Barely needed any instructions…. You’re so smart, sweetheart. I’ve never had a better student,” Dana said tenderly.
Victoria knew that if they hadn’t worked such a harrowing shift and if she hadn’t already come four times, then she’d be ready to go again at Dana’s words. But that wouldn’t be happening tonight. She rested her head on Dana’s thigh, suddenly exhausted, as Dana continued to stroke her hair. Victoria could feel her eyes start to droop.
Dana interrupted Victoria’s dozing. “You’ll be able to go to sleep in one minute, sweetheart. Let me just clean us up a bit.”
Dana sat up and carefully lifted Victoria’s head off her thigh and placed it on one of the clean pillows, which smelled like vanilla and lavender. Victoria watched her pad naked to the bathroom with half-lidded eyes.
Dana came back with a warm, wet washcloth she used to clean Victoria. She then did the same for herself before throwing the wet pillow on to the ground.
Dana leaned in and helped Victoria move farther up the bed before laying down herself. Victoria shifted closer and laid her head on Dana’s breast, resting her hand on Dana’s stomach. Victoria idly mused, in the way of the very tired, if she could leave an imprint of herself on Dana for all to see if she tried hard enough.
Dana kissed the top of Victoria’s head and ran her fingers through her hair soothingly. They were both quiet for a few moments, and Victoria could feel herself starting to fall asleep, but there was one question she had to ask beforehand. “Will this just be for tonight?”
Dana seemed to know exactly what she needed to hear. “You think I’m going to let you go now, sweetheart? You’ve got another thing coming.”
“Oh, good,” Victoria breathed with relief.
“Go to sleep, honey. I’ll make you breakfast, and we can talk more in the morning.” Dana continued to caress Victoria’s hair, scratching her nails gently against Victoria’s scalp. Victoria pushed her head further into Dana’s hand reflexively, unknowing how much she resembled a satisfied cat.
As Victoria drifted off to sleep, the last thing she heard was Dana adding in a quiet voice, “And we’ll need to explore that ‘m’ word you’ve almost said a few times now too.”
Victoria was too warm and comfortable to worry about that right now — it felt like she was finally accustomed to Utah’s altitude and could breathe again — and she slept better than she had in years.