A/N Sorry for the very long wait! This chapter kicked my ass so it took me quite some time to get right. Hopefully you'll like it!
Chapter 15
Miranda woke up slowly feeling warm and comfortable. Immediately she knew that she had slept a lot longer than she normally did. Hesitantly she opened her eyes and saw the sunlight streaming into the room confirming what she had suspected. After taking in the sunlight Miranda took in her surroundings and almost immediately her eyes fell on the still form sleeping serenely beside her. The sight took Miranda by surprise momentarily having forgotten her stunning bedmate and looking at her now Miranda had to suppress a groan. Andrea had never before looked so beautiful and that was really saying something…
In an attempt to create some distance between them Miranda shifted trying to get out of the bed without waking the brunette, but by doing that she noticed the main source of the warmth she had felt when she woke up: Andrea's legs. And those legs were apparently entangled with hers which was unsurprisingly creating a lot of heat. Sighing silently Miranda realized that there was no way to escape the bed without waking Andrea and she didn't feel like disturbing the peaceful beauty sleeping beside her.
Once more she gave into temptation and studied the features of the woman lying next to her and again she groaned softly. It just wasn't fair. Why did she have to look so perfect in the morning? The sunlight that came from the window behind Miranda illuminated Andrea's beautiful face and her hair was mussed up making it look like she'd been very active during the night.
Miranda rolled her eyes at herself. Thinking about an active Andrea in bed was not a good idea. In fact thinking about Andrea like that while still lying with her in bed with their legs entangled was a very, very bad idea.
Suddenly Andrea stirred and Miranda went very still and closed her eyes pretending to still be asleep. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle another morning scene with a sleepy eyed Andrea looking all adorable and sexy. Andrea stirred again and Miranda hoped the younger woman wouldn't realize she was awake.
Andy opened her eyes and quickly closed them again when the offending sunlight reached them. She groaned mumbling to herself and shifting away from the light trying to duck under the covers, but when she felt a warm softness brush her legs her eyes snapped open again. In the blink of an eye she took in her surroundings and realized just who's legs she was brushing up against.
"Oh God," Andy mumbled slowly untangling her legs from Miranda's while holding her breath and praying the older woman didn't wake up. When she succeeded she practically jumped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom terrified her self restraint would snap since she knew she didn't have much left after the bathrobe incident yesterday.
"I'm never going to survive this weekend," Andy told her reflection while throwing some cold water in her face hoping to shock Miranda out of her system for a few seconds.
Meanwhile Miranda was still lying in the bed feeling strangely disappointed by Andrea's mad dash to the bathroom. She sighed. It shouldn't have surprised her. After all Andrea didn't like her in that way so waking up to find her so close by must have been a bit of an unpleasant shock. Hearing the shower run and knowing Andrea would stay in the bathroom for some time Miranda slowly got up, went to the phone and called the front desk.
"Good morning. This is Miranda Priestly and I was wondering if you had a room available yet."
"Are you sure?" Miranda asked feeling more than a little annoyed after hearing the negative response.
"Very well," she sighed resigning herself to the situation and hanging up the phone.
"Good morning," Andy greeted cheerfully as she stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed.
"Morning," Miranda greeted back trying to keep her eyes off of Andrea. "You don't have to wait for me to get breakfast," she said while grabbing her things and walking towards the bathroom.
"I don't mind waiting," Andy replied and Miranda nodded and disappeared into the small bathroom.
"I don't mind?" Andy asked herself incredulously while hearing the shower turn on and trying her hardest to keep her mind off of what was happening behind that door. "When did I become a masochist?" Andy wondered as her mind automatically drifted to a naked Miranda standing under the shower.
"God… I'm going crazy," Andy mumbled shaking her head trying to get the enticing pictures out of her head. She didn't need more incentive to barge into that bathroom she was already having enough trouble controlling herself.
"What are your plans for today?" Miranda asked after she had taken a sip of her coffee and trying her hardest to ignore how uncomfortable she felt around the brunette after sharing a bed with her.
"I think I'm going to try out the hiking trails around the hotel and the pool," Andy said trying to focus on her work. "And you?"
"I'm going to meet up with Anna and afterwards I'll probably try one of the spa treatments."
"You should," Andy agreed nodding enthusiastically happy that Miranda was going to do something relaxing. "The ones I've tried yesterday were great."
"I guess we'll meet up with each other for dinner then," Andy said after a moment of silence. "After all Anna did invite us again."
"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Miranda replied hesitantly unsure if Andrea really wanted to spend another evening with her.
"But I do, unless you'd prefer it if I left you alone with Anna?" Andy asked feeling a pang of hurt shoot through her.
"No, of course not. I just… You're not obligated to join us, Andrea. I wouldn't want you to just because you feel like you have to," Miranda said softly.
"I want to," Andy answered smiling slightly.
"Very well. I'll see you around dinner time then," Miranda said with a slight smirk after which she stood up from the table and went looking for Anna.
"Good morning, Miranda. How was your night?" Anna asked more than a little amused when Miranda just barged into her office.
"How is it that there are no free rooms in this supposed hotel of yours?" Miranda asked annoyed glaring at Anna who was just grinning back.
"This is a very popular place, Miranda. I believe that's why you sent your Andrea here in the first place."
"She's not my Andrea! And I really don't want to spend another night in the same room as her," Miranda barked.
"Why? Did something happen?" Anna asked sounding very interested and hopeful.
"No, it did not!" Miranda replied indignantly. "I'm not a teenage boy! I can control myself. And there's no way that I would force myself on someone."
"Oh Miranda…" Anna sighed. "You wouldn't be forcing anything. That girl wants you just as much as you want her."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh yes I do! I've seen the two of you together yesterday and I swear I've never seen two grown up women who were so damn oblivious!"
"Anna… Really, you're seeing things that aren't there. She's not interested in me like that. I would know if she was."
"God, sometimes you're so infuriatingly stubborn. I mean really the girl couldn't give you more adoring looks than she did last night," Anna said groaning. "And when your friends give you a golden opportunity you're too stubborn to take it! Nigel went through all that trouble to get you both here and the only thing you do is complain about how she's not interested in you. Something which you're not even sure of cause you never bothered to ask her! Why don't you just ask her out and find out once and for all if she's interested or not and I'm telling you now she is!"
"I… I can't," Miranda replied ignoring most of Anna's speech for the moment. She filed away the knowledge that Nigel did indeed meddle into her personal affairs for later when she was back at Runway.
"Why can't you?" Anna asked softly knowing there was more to this situation than just Miranda being stubborn.
"I'm… Afraid," Miranda whispered. "I couldn't handle her rejection, Anna. And I wouldn't survive losing her friendship."
Anna sighed realizing she wouldn't be able to get Miranda over her fear. The editor would have to do that herself.
"Okay, I'll stop pushing," Anna gave in and changed the subject to her hotel and Runway which Miranda appreciated greatly.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Emily grumbled at the incessant knocking on her door. "Serena!" She squeaked surprised when she saw her beautiful friend standing in her door opening.
"Emily," Serena greeted sending Emily a bright smile. "Can I come in?" She asked raising a perfect eyebrow at the stunned redhead.
"Yes… Yes of course!" Emily replied getting herself together and stepping aside to let her in.
"Eh… Can I get you something to drink?" Emily asked awkwardly when Serena was just sitting silently on her couch looking at her with those blue eyes of hers.
"You really don't need to," Serena replied giving Emily a look that had the redhead biting back a groan. Serena was obviously going to torture her again. "Come sit," Serena said grinning slightly and patting the space on the sofa next to her.
"Sure," Emily sighed and sat down on the couch trying to keep a respectable distance between herself and her lovely guest.
"So far away," Serena sighed. "You know I don't bite," she said winking and moving closer towards Emily.
"Right," Emily mumbled feeling like she couldn't take a lot more teasing before reaching her breaking point. "So why are you here?" She asked hoping Serena would do something other than staring and teasing.
"Well, I was bored and looking for some company so naturally I thought of my beautiful friend who also happens to have a night off. So I guess I'm here to be entertained," Serena grinned.
"Okay…" Emily said hesitating about what to do and knowing that more conversation would lead to more teasing. "Let's watch a movie then."
"Sure, pick one out. I'm sure I'll like it," Serena said feeling a little disappointed that Emily still hadn't caved under all her teasing. After all this time she was starting to doubt that the redhead liked her, but then she saw Emily looking at her when she thought no one was watching and those looks gave her the confidence she needed to continue on with her teasing. She knew she could just ask Emily out but she wanted Emily to be the one to make the first move.
Emily put on the movie and sat back down next to Serena who wasted no time to sit close to the redhead.
An hour later Emily was sure she was either going to jump Serena or melt. She had no idea how she had managed to control herself since Serena had draped herself all over Emily during the movie. Obviously choosing a horror movie was not a good idea. Right now Serena's face was buried in her shoulder and her hands were burning the skin just above her shirt.
"Should I turn the movie off?" Emily asked unable to keep the amusement out of her voice cause even though she was frustrated beyond belief watching Serena cringe and squeal every time something happened on the TV screen was funny and adorable.
"No, that's okay," Serena mumbled into Emily's shoulder making Emily suppress another groan. "I'm fine," she continued sitting up a little relieved that there wasn't anything gross showing for a change cause while she had had every intention of getting very close to Emily she hadn't expected to be watching a horror movie which was something she really hated since they usually scared the hell out of her. Just then a girl's throat got slashed and Serena squealed burying her face into Emily's chest making the redhead lose control for a moment and moan. Both women froze and hesitantly Serena looked up. When Serena's eyes met Emily's desired filled ones she completely forgot about the movie and when Emily's lips finally met hers all thoughts came to a stop. She moaned and eagerly kissed back hoping it would last forever.
"Well thanks for lunch, Anna. I'll see you tonight at dinner," Miranda said smiling slightly having enjoyed spending time with her old friend.
"You're welcome, Miranda. I'm just glad you finally found the time to visit me here. So what are your plans for the afternoon? I assume my staff will be safe?" Anna asked with a raised eyebrow knowing her friend well.
"They'll be fine," Miranda huffed with an eye roll. "I'm just going to enjoy a massage and maybe a nice walk in your beautiful garden."
"Good, then I'll see you tonight at dinner," Anna said. Miranda nodded and got up to leave but before she could walk out Anna spoke up again: "And Miranda, I really think you should try and ask Andy out. You two have never been closer. Literally and figuratively. She's not going to wait around forever you know and have you thought about what you're going to do when she finds someone else and starts to date?"
"Anna," Miranda sighed wishing her friend would leave it alone.
"I know. That was the last I'll say about it I promise, but do me a favor and think about it and I mean really think about it. I don't want you throwing away your chance at happiness. See you at dinner, Miranda."
Miranda sighed, nodded and walked out without another word and Anna knew the editor would be thinking about what she had said.
A few hours later an infuriated Miranda walked into her room feeling relief and disappointment flood her when she saw it was empty.
"God I'm going crazy," she mumbled to herself feeling even more irritated at the conflicting emotions raging inside her. 'And it's all Anna's fault,' she petulantly thought to herself. Her stupid friend shouldn't have put all those thoughts inside her head. She shouldn't have given her hope or reminded her of what she stood to lose if Andrea did find someone to date and love. Miranda sighed. She didn't ever want to think about someone else touching her Andrea. She shuddered and resolutely decided to think about something else before she really did go insane. She grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom to get dressed for her walk.
A few minutes later she heard the door open and close so she hurriedly buttoned her blouse and walked out of the bathroom intending to tell Andrea she was going for a walk. She knew she needed it to clear her mind before talking to the younger woman again.
"Andrea, I…" She started only to fall silent forgetting the rest of her sentence and momentarily forgetting to breathe. The reason for her stunned reaction was standing in the middle of the living room looking very sheepish and nearly naked. Andrea was wearing nothing but a small black bikini and a few errant water drops that dripped from her wet dark hair. Behind her on the floor lay a towel that she had clearly dropped.
Miranda blinked, her mouth drying and her mind on nothing else but the delicious sight before her. Andrea was dressed in a wet black bikini and nothing else.
Blushing immensely bit her lip and murmured: "thought I was alone" as an explanation.
Miranda nodded hearing the words but their meaning not registering. She felt like she was going to have a meltdown. Being in such close quarters to her secret and unrequited love had been pure agony and then the conversation with Anna had left her feeling a bit raw but this... This was really pushing it. Miranda licked her dry lips as she watched a water drop make its way across Andrea's body disappearing in between the valley of her breasts. And with the disappearance of that drop the last of Miranda's control slipped.
She rushed forward and in the blink of an eye she had a very shocked looking Andrea in her arms and unwilling to waste anymore time she leaned in and kissed Andrea with all the pent up frustration and passion she had been feeling.
To say Andy had been shocked was an understatement. She had returned to her room after a short visit to the pool and believing she was alone she had dropped the towel with the intention of grabbing some clothes and getting dressed before Miranda returned to the room, but then Miranda had walked out of the bathroom surprising the hell out of her. After which Miranda had surprised her even more by flying towards her and kissing her. Miranda was kissing her! And not just a peck either. Miranda was obviously very intent on ravishing her lips and after finally catching up with what was happening Andy kissed back putting everything she felt for the editor into the kiss.
After minutes of kissing a flushed Miranda pulled back feeling a little surprised to see that she had managed to get Andrea between her body and the wall, but her surprise soon turned into shock when she realized Andrea had kissed her back. They had been kissing!
"You kissed back," Miranda murmured astonished.
"I did," Andy replied hesitantly smiling softly.
"I… Why?" Miranda asked unable to stand not knowing any longer. She had to know why Andrea had kissed her.
"Because…" Andy hesitated afraid to give the wrong answer and get hurt, but then she saw the vulnerable look in Miranda's eyes and her hesitation disappeared. "Because I love you," she confessed softly looking into Miranda's blue eyes and softly cupping her cheek. "I love you."
Miranda's knees nearly buckled at those words. Relief and gratitude flooded her and an overwhelming happiness swept through her body.
"Oh Andrea, I love you too. So, so much," Miranda nearly sobbed kissing Andrea with abandon.
Andy kissed back moaning when Miranda's hands began to wander. Slowly they made their way toward the bed and with a small push Miranda pushed Andrea onto the bed intending to ravish the young brunette like she had wanted to for so long, but then she hesitated. Andrea still looked incredibly sexy wearing only her black bikini, but Miranda knew she couldn't continue even though she really, really wanted to.
"Is something wrong?" Andy asked hesitantly looking up at Miranda with her big brown eyes.
"No, darling. Nothing's wrong. It's just… I want to wait. I know I'm going to sound terribly old fashioned, but I've waited so long for this and I want it to be perfect. I want to take you out on a date first and I…"
Andy interrupted Miranda's speech by kissing her soundly.
"I love you, Miranda. And you're not old fashioned. You're a romantic," Andy said grinning. "It's very cute," she giggled kissing Miranda's nose.
"Cute?" Miranda repeated in a mock indignant tone. "I'm not cute!"
"Yes, you are," Andy argued smiling brightly feeling incredibly happy. "And you're sexy too so if you truly want to wait I suggest you get off me and let me get dressed," Andy continued blushing slightly.
"Right," Miranda said looking down at the bikini clad body beneath her. "That's probably a good idea," she said backing away slowly. "I'm was planning on going for a walk. Would you like to join me?"
"Sure, just give me five minutes to get dressed," Andy said grinning before grabbing her clothes and running into the bathroom.
"So… Say it," Anna said with a ridiculously large grin when Andy went to the bathroom.
"Say what?" Miranda asked faking ignorance and indifference.
"Come on. Say it!" Anna groaned impatiently not wanting to lose her window of opportunity. "Tell me I'm right. Tell me you finally did something with your Andrea."
Miranda remained silent.
"If you don't say it I'll just have to keep on teasing even when your lovely girlfriend comes back."
"Anna," Miranda groaned in warning.
"Come on. Just give in already. You know I'll do it if I have to," Anna threatened.
"Fine! You were right! Happy now?" Miranda asked grinning slightly.
"Are you?" Anna asked suddenly serious.
"I am," Miranda said nodding. "I really am. I mean I have no idea how this is going to work, but I want it to. I want her for as long as she'll have me."
"Forever then," Andy whispered softly into Miranda's ear having heard the last part of the conversation.
"That'll do," Miranda replied softly giving Andy a brilliant smile which the brunette returned.
"Well good. I'm happy for you two!" Anna said enthusiastically.
"Yes, you've made that perfectly clear," Miranda replied with an eye roll.
"Oh Miranda, you're insufferable sometimes. I have no idea how you're going to survive her," Anna said to Andy with a grin. "And I have no idea how I'm going to keep myself entertained around here when you leave tomorrow."
"I'm sure you'll manage, Anna. I'm sure you have other friends to torture."
"Of course I do, Miranda. But none of them are as fun to tease as you are," Anna said winking. "But anyway it's getting late and I know you two are going to leave early tomorrow so you can spend Sunday afternoon with the twins so thank you for dinner," Anna continued hugging Miranda. "And when you guys come back I'll tell you some stories about that one," she told Andy pointing at while hugging the brunette.
"I can't wait to hear them," Andy said grinning mischievously.
"I can," Miranda said practically dragging Andrea away from Anna.
"Bye guys. I'll come say goodbye tomorrow morning!" Anna called after them.
"Miranda! That was kind of rude!" Andy scolded grinning.
"Yeah well, it was necessary. Hopefully she'll forget about telling those stories," Miranda mumbled blushing slightly. The elevator arrived and she quickly got on pulling a still grinning Andrea with her.
"Are you blushing?" Andy asked utterly charmed by seeing this rare side of the editor.
"No," Miranda mumbled but the pink on her cheeks became a little more obvious.
"You are," Andy grinned softly cupping Miranda's cheeks. "You're adorable," she sighed happily kissing Miranda tenderly and hugging the older woman closely to her.
Blue eyes blinked open slowly. For a moment she felt completely disoriented not recognizing her surroundings but then she looked down and saw the red hair splayed across her stomach and she felt Emily's soft breath ghosting over her stomach creating goose bumps.
Serena smiled. Her being here, in Emily's room with the both of them naked, meant that last night had really happened, that it hadn't been a dream. Emily shifted disturbing Serena's thoughts.
"Mmm… Good morning," Emily mumbled not opening her eyes but tightening her hold on Serena's waist.
"Yes, it is. A very good morning," Serena replied grinning like mad and running her hands through Emily's hair.
"So… No regrets?" Emily asked sitting up and looking Serena in the eyes.
"None. And you?"
"Definitely not!" Emily said with certainty laying back down and cuddling into Serena's side. "So what does this mean?" she asked hesitantly.
"It means we'll do this again some time, but next time we'll have dinner or something first," Serena replied. "It means I love you," she continued after taking a deep breath hoping she wasn't saying too much too soon.
"You do?"
"I do."
"I love you too," Emily replied pulling Serena's naked body tightly to her. "I just never thought you… And I mean with all the teasing… Wait a minute! Why the hell didn't you just ask me out? Why did you torture me with all the teasing?"
"Why didn't you ask me out?" Serena countered quietly. "I'll tell you why. You were afraid and so was I. I mean I did see that you were attracted to me, but I wasn't sure you wanted to be and I definitely wasn't sure if it was more. I needed you to take that first step, Em."
"We wasted so much time by being so bloody stupid," Emily said sighing.
"I know, but we finally figured it out and now… Now we can make up for some of that lost time," Serena said grinning wickedly and rolling on top of Emily who responded enthusiastically.
Meanwhile Miranda lay in bed watching Andrea once again. Only this time the younger woman lay closely beside her, almost on top of her with her head buried into the older woman's neck.
"I never want to wake up alone again," Miranda whispered.
"Me neither," Andy replied sleepily surprising Miranda.
"You were supposed to still be asleep," Miranda chided.
"I'm sorry. Wasn't I supposed to hear that?"
"You… I just don't want to go too fast. I don't want to push you into something you're not ready for."
"Miranda, we've been dancing around each other for months. You're not going too fast. I promise. And you're not pushing me into anything. I want to be with you. I've wanted to be with you for a very long time. When I said forever yesterday I meant it. I mean I know we still have a lot to figure out and we'll take it slow and get it right, but I do want forever with you, Miranda."
Miranda smiled.
"Forever," she repeated. "I can do forever," she said confidently emphasizing her words with a kiss.
Two days later Nigel walked towards a very busy photo shoot mumbling to himself.
"Damn it Miranda!" He muttered when the photographer shot him another smile. "Can't believe you did this."
Nigel knew he should have expected retaliation from Miranda but he had hoped to avoid it since his plan had worked and got her together with Andrea. No such luck apparently. He hadn't even known that Miranda knew about his crush on world famous photographer Flynn Cohen. Now it was obvious she did and it was obvious she wanted him to spend a lot of time with Flynn because she had put him in charge of all the shoots involving Flynn for the next few months. And since Flynn was very good that were a lot of shoots he was going to be working on. Nigel groaned when Flynn called him over. He really should have learned by now: Don't mess with Miranda Priestly.
The end.
A/N Thank you to everyone who has read and commented on this story!