“All of this is different.”
“It is,” Lea agreed. “And you know, J, I think I’ve always been a little bit in love with you.”
Shock rang through Jewel’s chest. Her lips parted in disbelief as her eyes widened. “What?”
“I had a lot of hopes and dreams five years ago when I met you, and when you showed no interest—and no inkling of being interested in women in general—I let it drop.”
“You loved me then?” She could hardly fathom it. She’d been completely oblivious to it the entire time. “I can’t believe it.”
“Oh, believe it. The dreams I had about you do not do the real thing justice, however.” Lea trailed her hand down Jewel’s front. “The bell’s going to ring soon.”
Jewel snorted and took what she’d gone in there to get. Their lips touched, far more intentional and passionate this time than before. She curled her fingers around the back of Lea’s head, tangling them in her hair as she held on tightly. Their tongues dashed together for a brief second before they both heard the door open.
Slowly backing way, Jewel shook her head at Lea. “You’re sneaky.”
“As are you, my friend.”
Laughing, Jewel squeezed Lea’s wrist one last time before letting go and stepping back to give them more space before they were discovered. She grabbed her lunch bag, gripping the handle tightly. “See you tonight?”
“Yes!” The glimmer of hope and enthusiasm in Lea’s tone was unmistakable.
At least this week was off to a better start than the last one. Maybe they could keep this up so long as they kept talking and Jewel kept the open invite to her house. Brushing her fingers down Lea’s arm, she took the door back toward the lab while Lea moved into the classroom on the other side of the hallway. Hope surged in her own chest, and Jewel had never felt more confident in a relationship than in that moment.
* * *
They had spent every night together for the last two weeks. It was either at Jewel’s house or Lea’s house, but together they were. Jewel smiled at the thought as she pulled onto Lea’s street. Whatever was happening between them, it felt so good and so right, in a way it hadn’t ever felt for her before. Jewel parked her car and got out. That bag she’d insisted on packing had come in handy more than once.
She let herself in, opening the door to Lea’s house and calling out as soon as she stepped inside and shut it. “Lea? It’s me.”
“In the kitchen,” she answered.
Perfect. Jewel set her bag by the door and shucked her jacket and shoes. She had four more weeks to the spring concert, and it had been busy every day so far. It was only going to get worse. If they hadn’t been staying at each others houses every night, Jewel had no doubt that it would have been extremely difficult for the two of them to make time for each other. It had been that way every other year she’d taught, and it had been that way last spring with Brady.
Jewel stepped right up to Lea, spinning her and pushing her into the counter so they faced one another. “Hey there.”
“Right back at you.” Lea held a spatula in her fingers tightly, giving Jewel a curious glance.
“Mind if I…?” Jewel dropped her gaze to Lea’s mouth.
“Never.” Lea’s lips twitched upward slightly.
That was Jewel’s cue. She pressed forward, cupping the side of Lea’s face to drag her closer. Their mouths touched, tongues tangled in a passionate kiss. She didn’t want to stop. She never wanted to stop. Lea was an addiction for her, and she honestly wasn’t sure how she’d made it through the last five years without this dimension in their relationship. They’d talked endlessly one night about all the dreams Lea had had five years ago but then given up on. They’d tried out more than a few of those dreams already.
Jewel reached around and gave Lea’s butt one really good squeeze before backing away. “What are you cooking? Smells delicious.”
“Just some roasted vegetables and chicken. Nothing too fancy.”
“Well, it smells amazing.” Jewel kissed her cheek. “Did you want wine?”
“I could manage a small glass, I think.”
Jewel moved toward the fridge to see if Lea had any white wine left from the other night. She returned with two glasses, one for each of them, and set them down next to Lea on the counter. “I was thinking, since the concert is coming up and all that, what if I left some clothes here? That way I wouldn’t have to be going back and forth as much. It’s only going to get busier for me.”
She didn’t have to be looking at Lea to see how tense she was. Nothing about this conversation was going to be easy. Lea drew in a long breath, turned slowly, and eyed Jewel up and down.
“I thought we’d talked about that.”
Jewel pressed her lips together tightly. “We did, but I’d hoped you’d changed your mind. It’s not exactly easy to find time to swing home, grab clothes, show up here, and somewhere in there wash them all and put them away.”