Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nicole rarely ever admitted to being jealous.

The last time she did so, was when Bridgette told her all about how Trick never made her pay for anything and gave her princess treatment without her having to ask for it.

Nicole’s feigned nonchalance when exclaiming “wow, I’m so jealous,” conveyed about 20% of just how jealous she actually was. And it wasn’t that she didn’t think Bridgette deserved every bit of luck coming her way… on the contrary, as Bridgette’s best friend, Nicole wanted nothing but the best for her.

That didn’t mean that actively witnessing how her best friend fell in love with a guy who actually treated her right, didn’t leave her with a sour taste on her tongue. Because she wanted that. She wanted someone who treated her like Trick treated Bridgette.

And she used to believe she’d dated mostly decent guys. Guys who’d pay for dinner, who took her on cruises… but there was just something about the way Trick treated Bridgette that made Nicole feel like she was missing out.

That was, until she’d accepted Ruby’s semi-casual offer to take her out to lunch.

The memory of Ruby’s stunned expression when Nicole accepted her invitation never failed to make the blonde chuckle.

“Ugh, it’s officially been 3 months since my last real date. What a tragedy,” Nicole groaned as she made her way into the kitchen. The comment was meant as bait for Ruby, but there was no way of knowing whether she’d take it or not.

Pickles hummed, “and you’re not getting any younger, Nicole, so you should really get on that.”

Nicole stopped in her tracks and gasped, while shooting Pickles an offended glare. “Listen, I could get a date any day of the week, alright? That’s not the issue-“

“So what is?” Ruby deadpanned. “Your fear of commitment?”

Nicole gasped once more, “I beg-“

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I poke a sensitive spot?” Ruby cut her off. “You’re the very last person who’s allowed to complain about a lack of dates, Nicole, and you know it.”

Feeling both threatened, turned on and enticed at the same time, Nicole crossed her arms and shot Ruby a pointed glare. “Has it ever occurred to you that I have standards? And that maybe, the person I’d want to ask me out hasn’t done so just yet?”

Ruby merely glared at her for what felt like an eternity, her knife raised as though she were about to continue chopping onions, as the corners of her mouth twitched like they were actively suppressing a cheeky grin.

Nicole felt her cheeks burn up as Ruby leisurely looked her up and down, which shouldn’t be as hot as it actually fucking was.

“Do you want me to ask you out, Nicole?” Ruby asked in a sultry tone.

Completely ignoring the fact that there were other kitchen staff present, Nicole found herself swallowing thickly as she gave a singular nod before admitting. “Perhaps I do…”

Ruby’s smug grin grew wider, “Nicole, can I take you out to lunch next week?”

Lunch wasn’t the type of first date Nicole usually expected, but she made an exception for Ruby. This was, after all, her first real date with a girl.

And that was what terrified Nicole most of all.

Because she’d never dated women.

Even though she’d known she was bisexual since the day she got ambushed by a completely unexpected crush on one of her best friends when she was 16.

But she’d never gone further than second base with any woman, regardless of how badly she might have wanted it. The few times she tried to go further than innocent kisses and touches, during her college years, she’d been confronted with the fact that she’d been making out with drunk straight girls.

Drunk straight girls, who were super into making out with her – but always cowered at the thought of going any further than vanilla second base. And that series of experiences had fucked Nicole up quite badly.

Somehow, she’d gotten the impression that the only people who truly wanted her – who truly lusted after her – were men. So she threw herself into that world.

And seducing men was laughably easy, compared to seducing women. Like, it took Nicole the bare minimum effort to get a guy into bed with her. And for a while, that was fun and satisfactory.

Until it wasn’t, and she grew bored of how every straight guy was the same as the one she’d taken to her bed the week before.

And then there was Ruby.

Bold, flirtatious, gorgeous Ruby.

It took Nicole about three days to find herself absolutely obsessed with the new line cook. But she didn’t let it show. She was well-versed in hiding her fascination for her coworkers, and she worked overtime to try and hide her interest in Ruby.

Then Ruby began to show interest in Nicole, and that was the fucking end of her. Nicole had done a stellar job at handling any interaction with Ruby as though it was nothing, until the day Ruby decided to flirt with her.

It’d taken Nicole every bit of restraint and every fucking damn technique to keep calm.

But the truth was, Nicole wanted Ruby. Bad.

And most of all, she wanted Ruby to want her. She wanted Ruby to ache for her. She wanted Ruby to beg on her knees for a chance at dating her.

Then came the Christmas party, and Nicole’s third wine had gotten to her head – which had led to her and Ruby making out in the dry storage.

Had she been sober, Nicole would’ve shown a lot more restraint – but those wines really unleashed something in her. That was, both the wines and finally getting a taste of the sous chef she’d spent months yearning for.

Some minutes into their heavy make out session, Ruby’d pulled away for air and cupped her face with both hands – thumbs softly caressing her warm, blushing cheeks.

“Look, Nicole, I really like you- I want you to know that-“

“Well, I really like you too-“ Nicole mumbled in response, before leaning in to capture Ruby’s lips once more.

“No I- Nicole, listen-“ Ruby pulled away a little more, as Nicole attempted to close the gap between them. “I’ve made the mistake of falling for straight girls before, and I’m not about to make that same mistake again…”

“What are you-“ it took her a little longer than when she was sober, to process what Ruby was saying. “Wait, are you- are you implying that I’m straight?”

Ruby frowned at the offended tone on Nicole’s tongue, her hands still cradling Nicole’s face as she glanced down at the blonde with a confused frown. “I mean- aren’t you?”

Nicole searched Ruby’s dark eyes for a moment, trying to decipher whether or not she was serious, and once she figured out that this was a genuine question being asked – Nicole burst into a fit of giggles. “I- o my god. Ruby, I really thought you’d have a good gaydar!”

Ruby frowned, “wha-“

“I’m bisexual, you idiot,” Nicole huffed, with a roll of her eyes. “There’s nothing straight about me. So, if that’s what you’re worried about-“

Ruby’s mouth was on hers before she could finish her sentence.

Four weeks later, Ruby asked her out on a lunch date.

And it was… surprisingly comfortable.

They’d decided on one of the food court places at the mall – to soothe Nicole’s pending anxiety of engaging in anything too formal before she was sure she wanted to commit – and it’d turned out to be quite good.

More than anything, the company had been utterly divine.

Working up to the date, Nicole had convinced herself that she only fancied Ruby in her chef coat – but that whole idea went out the window the moment she spotted Ruby in her casual Sunday fit.

There was just something about the way her whole look screamed ‘I didn’t put in any effort’, while at the same time, it was very clear that she’d put in a lot of effort, that really did it for Nicole.

And then there was the look on Ruby’s face, the moment she spotted Nicole by the food court. There was something so deeply satisfying about the way Ruby’s eyes darkened as soon as she laid eyes on Nicole, and how she focussed on Nicole and Nicole alone from the second she spotted her, that had Nicole weak at the knees.

They greeted each other with a semi-awkward hug – both clearly wanting something more, but neither confident enough to actually go for it.

Lunch passed all too comfortably. Nicole was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Ruby, especially outside of work – but conversation just flowed naturally. They got pokebowls and settled at one of the food court tables, where they spent the next two hours completely enthralled with each other.

It wasn’t until one of the guys from the food court cleared their table that they snapped out of their little bubble.

“Shit, what time is it?” Ruby asked.

Nicole checked her phone, “a little after 3 in the afternoon. Why? You got another hot date to get to?” she tried her very best not to sound jealous, but judging by Ruby’s grin – she’d failed.

“Would you be jealous if I did?” Ruby purred in a teasing tone.

Nicole shot her a glare. “I’d be offended.” She firmly stated. “I’m not the type of girl you ditch for another date.”

“Oh really?” Ruby hummed amused. “Then do tell me what type of girl you are?”

Nicole rolled her eyes and settled back in her seat for a moment, getting comfortable with the silence that lingered between them. She then cocked her head slightly and took her time looking Ruby up and down – before her dark brown eyes found Ruby’s.

Her piercing gaze quietly lingered on Ruby’s for a moment – testing her, to see if she had the guts not to look away.

And most fortunately, Ruby’s dark brown eyes continued to pierce Nicole’s gaze – regardless of how long the glare lasted.

Eventually, Nicole answered Ruby’s previous question.

“I’m the type of girl you take on a lunch date at a mall, to then take her shopping and buy her whatever she desires,” Nicole purred, as a sweet grin curled up on her lips. “I’m the type of girl you treat like a princess.”

“I see…” Ruby hummed with a grin. “You’re lucky I like treating my girlfriends like princesses…”

“Girlfriends?” Nicole hummed, one eyebrow raised as she glanced at the woman sitting across from her.

Without saying a word, Ruby got up from her seat, stepped around the table, reached out, cupped Nicole’s cheek – then leaned in and kissed her.

And Nicole’s hands immediately latched onto the back of Ruby’s neck as she pulled her closer whilst deepening the kiss. She could feel Ruby grin against her lips as she deepened the grin, which merely encouraged her to get more intimate with the kiss.

When Ruby finally pulled away, they were panting – their foreheads pressed together.

“Is that your way of asking me to be your girlfriend?” Nicole mumbled softly.

Ruby chuckled. “Would you say yes?”

“Maybe”

“Good enough for me,” Ruby hummed, before pecking Nicole’s lips softly. “Nicole Ashley Brown, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Ew, gross, never say my full name ever again,” Nicole complained, before pulling away slightly, so their gazes met. “And yes, I’ll be your girlfriend… even though this is so lame.”

“You love it when I’m being lame,” Ruby chuckled, and she shut Nicole up with a kiss before she could answer with a snide remark.

They ventured into the mall after lunch, fingers intertwined and soaring on the adrenaline of new love.

‘Oh, I have to stop by Sephora real quick. I’m almost out of some of my skincare items,” Nicole said, whilst lightly pulling Ruby towards Sephora.

Despite her experience with dating femmes, Ruby’s knowledge of Sephora was down to the bare minimum. While she was a sucker for having a girlfriend who had a 10 step night time routine, she herself kept to one type of moisturizer and one type of make-up remover.

Which was why she happily followed Nicole around the store, as she looked for her favourite skincare products. When one of them seemed to be out of stock, Ruby simply asked her what item she was looking for, then asked an employee if they still had that particular item in stock in the back.

The employee was kind enough to go check and, low and behold, returned with the item clutched in her right hand. “We just so happened to have this last one in stock! I usually don’t go through this amount of trouble just to find one product, but I could tell you’re not getting it for yourself,” the woman glanced at the aisle where Nicole was comparing lipsticks.

“Ah, yes, it’s that obvious isn’t it?” Ruby awkwardly chuckled, whilst accepting the item from the employee. “Look, this means a lot, thank you for your trouble.”

“You’re welcome! I hope she appreciates it.”

“As do I,” Ruby hummed, before making her way back to Nicole. She couldn’t withhold herself from wrapping her arms around Nicole’s waist from behind, pulling her closer and placing a sweet kiss on the blonde’s cheek. “How’s the lipstick hunt going?”

Nicole relaxed against her for a second, a soft moan escaping her lips when Ruby kissed her cheek, before she turned to face Ruby – never struggling her way out of Ruby’s embrace.

The slight pout on Nicole’s lips was so adorable that Ruby couldn’t resist the urge to lean in and peck her lips. Though slightly annoyed, Nicole still kissed her back. When Ruby pulled away, arms still firm around the small of Nicole’s back, she glanced down at the blonde. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m stuck between these two lipsticks I want to get,” Nicole sighed, before holding up two lipsticks that were very similar in shade. “They’re both matte, which I love, but one is more nude and the other is more pinkish. What do you think?”

“I mean, I always like you more nude-“

“Ruby!”

Ruby chuckled as Nicole slapped her chest lightly and shot her a knowing glare. “I’m being serious! Which one do you like more?”

“Why not get both? They look stunning on you-“

“I can’t afford both-“

“I’ll pay for them.”

Nicole’s eyes widened slightly and she bit down on her lower lip in that deeply irresistible way that Ruby couldn’t say ‘no’ to. “You’d do that for me?” Nicole’s tone was dripping with seductive undertones and Ruby didn’t give a fuck.

"Of course," Ruby purred, while leaning in to steal a kiss from Nicole's pouty lips. "Oh, and I convinced one of the employees to find me this thing in the back" Ruby grinned, whilst triumphantly holding up the cleanser Nicole had been looking for.

Ruby despised how her heart swelled at the sight of Nicole's eyes widening in adoration, and she considered herself weak for how giddy she felt being on the receiving end of one of Nicole's genuine smiles.

"How- where did you get this? Sephora employees never go through the trouble of looking in the back-"

"Well, this one did... though I have a feeling that she solely did it for you."

"For me?" Nicole exclaimed, sounding genuinely surprised.

"I mean, she returned from the back with the cleanser and told me that she hoped you would appreciate it," Ruby awkwardly explained.

Some part of her had expected Nicole to scowl and cuss her out, but the very opposite happened. 

Instead of scowling, Nicole's lips curled up into a gorgeous smile - her hands reaching out and curling at the back of Ruby's neck as she pulled the sous chef closer. Before Ruby could speak, Nicole closed the gap between them and captured Ruby's lips in a heated kiss. 

The type of kiss that could convince Ruby to buy Nicole anything she'd like, if this was the reward she'd receive.

"I do so very much appreciate it, baby."

Ruby felt a shiver run down her spine, when Nicole called her 'baby'.

Which made her aware of the fact that she was in no way, shape, or form ready to date someone like Nicole.

And at the same time, she couldn't wait.

She was trembling with excitement.

And if dating Nicole meant buying her make-up from Sephora, then Ruby was absolutely, 100%, in.

Even though, deep down, she knew that dating Nicole required far more than buying her make-up and clothes, but it was a start.

Besides, Ruby was too far gone to not do whatever it was that Nicole were to ask from her…

Chapter Text

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not!”

Nicole shifted in the passenger seat of Ruby’s car, to get a better look at the woman behind the steering wheel. Her lips twitched to a smirk as she said “so you’re telling me that your first day on the job, you found out that restaurant had a rat infestation, and you didn’t immediately turn on your heels and ran?”

“Worked there for six months,” Ruby admitted with a snort, her dark eyes sparkling with amusement as they shifted from the road ahead of them for a moment, to catch a glimpse of Nicole and the look of absolute disbelief on her face.

“You’re such a terrible liar, Ruby!” she exclaimed, to which Ruby held up a singular hand in silent defence.

“I’m not lying!” Ruby exclaimed, while focussing her gaze back on the road. “Look, I was 16,  it was my first restaurant job and I was hired to wash dishes for little to no money.”

She could practically feel Nicole’s glare from the passenger seat. “I’ve still not heard a reason why you shouldn’t have quit on your first day,” Nicole claimed.

“It was Chicago, alright? The entire neighbourhood I grew up in was rundown and full of rats. Nothing new seeing a couple of them running about the restaurant,” Ruby shrugged.

“That’s disgusting,” Nicole exclaimed, followed by a small shiver. “I can’t believe you worked there for six months.”

Ruby shot her a quick grin, “it was my first job, alright? I was real proud that I was working for what little money I made! That, and my uncle got me the job so I’d have gotten a lot of shit at home if I’d quit on my first day.”

Nicole chuckled, “there it is, the good old ‘family member doing you a favour by getting you a job that you never wanted in the first place’. You sound like Nico.”

“Hey, I wanted that job, alright? And it was alright for the most part, the rat thing just really sucked,” Ruby told her, while driving up the parking lot outside of her apartment building.

After Nicole successfully dragged Ruby into three more stores, Ruby had been the one to suggest they go back to her place for some… downtime. It’d taken Nicole a great amount of restraint not to be too eager in her somewhat casual acceptance of the offer.

They’d dropped her car off at her place first, then took Ruby’s car to her apartment – which happened to be a mere 10 minute drive from where Nicole lived. How very convenient…

As they got out of the car and Nicole followed Ruby into her apartment building, she couldn’t help but feel nervous. Nervous about the prospect of finally being more intimate with Ruby, of finally getting her well and truly alone-

A thought both thrilling and terrifying.

A nauseating fear of not being what Ruby expected in bed, of her lack in experience with women showing, of her lack in experience being the reason that Ruby would change her mind- it flooded her whole being as they waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor.

This was so out of Nicole’s comfort zone. It’d been ages since she last felt like this when it came to sex. Usually, sex was the part she knew she excelled in. Nicole was used to feeling confident in bed, knowing that she was very skilled in that department.

But that was when it came to sex with men.

And here she was, deeply eager to rip Ruby’s clothes off and explore every inch of her skin – while terrified out of her mind at the very same time.

The elevator doors slowly opened after what felt like 10 minutes, and the moment they closed, Ruby’s hands were on her waist, pulling her closer. Before Nicole could even register what was happening, Ruby’s lips crashed down on hers and all doubt faded from her mind.

Nicole couldn’t stop a soft moan from escaping as Ruby practically threw herself on her, but she wasn’t complaining. Her arms immediately wrapped around the back of Ruby’s neck and she eagerly responded to the kiss, whilst pulling the sous-chef closer.

“One sec,” Ruby mumbled as she pulled back slightly, to Nicole’s chagrin. In one swift movement, Ruby reached out, pressed whatever fucking button and immediately closed the gap between them once again.

The heat of the kiss caused them to stumble backwards, until Nicole’s back pressed against the cold elevator wall, while Ruby deepened the kiss in a way that made her see stars. Like, literal stars. And that shit didn’t usually happen to Nicole. Hell, this was nothing like any other kiss they’d previously shared.

Nicole answered Ruby’s eagerness with equal passion, her fingertips tangling themselves in the roots of the short hairs in the nape of Ruby’s neck.

“You drive me absolutely fucking insane, you know that?” Ruby whispered against her lips, making Nicole’s gut twist with joy and need.

Nicole pulled away slightly, so she could look Ruby in the eye. And what she saw in the dark eyes staring back at her was enough to make her feel more turned on than she’d ever been in her life. The mix of hunger, adoration and near worship for Nicole, reflected in Ruby’s eyes, was more addicting than any substance.

Nicole could drown in the way Ruby looked at her.

And she couldn’t help but toy with it. Test how far she could take it.

Nicole bit down on her lower lip, eyes still locked on Ruby’s – who looked like she was about to lose her shit at the sight of Nicole biting her lip. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nicole purred in an all too innocent, all too sweet, tone.

“You don’t hm?” Ruby whispered as she leaned closer, until her lips ghosted over Nicole’s – which had Nicole eagerly chasing her lips as Ruby pulled back when she did so. “You’re by far the most difficult woman I’ve ever dated.”

“Why thank you, I take that as a compliment,” Nicole hummed sweetly.

Ruby’s lips were back on hers a second later, and Nicole immediately gave in once again. She could feel Ruby’s smirk against her lips, mere seconds before she felt Ruby’s teeth take hold of her lower lip.

Nicole couldn’t help but moan at the sensation, especially when Ruby ever so lightly tugged on her lower lip before letting go.

The elevator doors opened before they could continue their heated make-out session, and Ruby pulled Nicole out into the hallway by her hand.

Feeling drunk off whatever the fuck Ruby had just done to her, Nicole followed the taller woman down to one of the apartments at the far end of the hallway. Ruby turned to her when they stopped in front of apartment 489, stole a quick kiss from her, then dug her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door for them.

“Oh, just a quick warning, I do have a cat,” Ruby told her as she turned the key in her lock. The way she said it made it sound like 6 bulldogs were about to pounce on her, and Nicole simply shot her an unimpressed glare.

“So?” she asked. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“Nothing, just- Chappy’s very particular about who he does and doesn’t like. Just wanted to give you a head’s up,” Ruby told her.

Nicole shot her another semi-annoyed glare. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I love cats. Cats love me. I mean, I have a cat myself so I think I know how to-“

“Wait, you have a cat?” Ruby interjected, making it sound like Nicole had just told her she’d been to the moon twice.

“Yes? Lots of people have cats, Ruby, it’s not that weird.”

“No, I know. I just- I hadn’t really thought about it before,” Ruby answered. “What race is your cat?”

Nicole sighed impatiently, all too eager to find out whether her expectations of what Ruby’s apartment looked like were correct. “A ragdoll. Now open that damn door, so we can finish what we started.”

“God, I love it when you’re bossy,” Ruby grinned, before letting them into her apartment.

The industrial vibe of the place was just as she’d expected it, but it was far more organised and tidy than Nicole expected it to be. Compared to this place, her apartment was an absolute mess.

And truth be told, Nicole hadn’t expected Ruby’s apartment to be this… stylish. She’d expected more greys and whites and those lamps and throw pillows that scream ‘I have no sense of style’.

Maybe she’d just dated too many guys whose apartments looked like that.

Ruby’s place felt… surprisingly homey. Her main colour themes were deep red, burned orange and a plum purple vibe. Making her way down the tiny hallway that led them to the living room, Nicole noticed how the walls of said hallway were littered with all sorts of photographs.

They passed the frames too quickly to get a good look at them, but the general vibe seemed to be that these were photos of Ruby with her family and friends.

And for some reason, knowing that Ruby was close enough to her family that she’d willingly put their pictures up on her walls, made Nicole ache with that familiar feeling of having missed out on the experience of a loving family growing up.

She supressed the sinking feeling the moment she felt it bubble up in her gut, and expertly pushed it as far as she possibly could.

Stepping into the living room most definitely helped. Nicole took a moment to glance around and take it all in, absorbing every little detail that surrounded her. One thing Nicole wholeheartedly believed in, was the theory that someone’s apartment revealed the person’s true self.

Before Nicole could get a good vibe check on the living room, however, she was distracted by a rather loud, tragic meow that echoed from the hallway on the other side of the living room. The meows grew louder as they came closer, and Nicole spotted Ruby shooting her an apologetic look from the corner of her eye.

Ignoring the pained apology Ruby silently expressed, Nicole simply waited for the source of said meows to make his way into the living room. And before too long, a rather small, yet very vocal, black cat rounded the corner into the living room.

His meows came to an immediate halt the moment he spotted Nicole, and he froze in the doorway.

Being no stranger to cats and the weird ass behaviour they were known to display, Nicole slowly crouched down and extended her hand. A small, endearing smile played on her lips as she tried to call the cat towards her.

“Well, you must be Chappy, aren’t you?” Nicole purred. She could practically feel Ruby’s eyes following every move she made, which only made her more determined to convince this cat that she was a friend. “Aren’t you a handsome boy! Why don’t you come over here, so I can give you some scratches?”

Ruby spoke up beside her, “oh he doesn’t really-“

But before she could finish her sentence, Chappy toddled over to Nicole’s outstretched hand, sniffed it, thought about it for a moment, then bumped his head against Nicole’s knuckles.

“He doesn’t really what?” Nicole teased, while scratching beneath Chappy’s right ear. “He’s an absolute sweetheart! Why did you warn me about him?”

Watching from a distance, Ruby was struck with awe about the fact that Chappy – the pickiest cat she’d ever met – warmed up to a new person so very quickly.

“Well, because- like I said, Chappy’s not really an easy cat.”

“I call bullshit,” Nicole decided, and by this point, she’d gotten back up and was cradling the cat in her arms. Something he usually never allowed from anyone. Not even from Ruby.

But by some fucking miracle, Nicole was allowed to cradle the damn cat like a baby and Chappy looked like he could care less.

Looked like Chappy was just as in love with Nicole as Ruby was.

“He’s an angel, Ruby. How dare you put a disclaimer on him,” Nicole scolded her, while nuzzling Chappy’s nose against her cheek.

Ruby, still shocked by the fact that Chappy was allowing Nicole to manhandle him like this, could only watch how the two bonded. She felt her lips tug at an endearing smile, when watching her girlfriend and cat bond.

“I’m gonna be real with you. I’ve never seen Chappy be like this with anyone, including myself,” Ruby told her.

Nicole, cheek to cheek with the black cat she was still cradling in her arms, glanced back at her. “What can I say? I have a way of wrapping men around my finger, and it looks like Chappy’s not immune to my charm either.”

Despite Nicole making a joke of this, Ruby remained serious and she stepped closer to give Chappy some head scratches as Nicole held him in her arms. “I know you think this is a joke, but I’m damn serious. Chappy really is picky when it comes to who he does and doesn’t like.”

Nicole looked up at her, a teasing grin playing on her lips, “is this your way of telling me that I’ve passed the test?”

“I mean, in a way-“

Nicole frowned lightly, “wait, are you telling me that some of your relationships didn’t work out, because Chappy didn’t approve?”

Ruby shot Nicole a knowing glare and continued to scratch Chappy’s chin, as she admitted, “Chappy hated Cheyenne.”

A soft snort escaped Nicole’s lips, before she glanced up at Ruby. “That tells me Chappy’s got good taste. I mean, Cheyenne is a fucking psycho.”

“Oh absolutely,” Ruby agreed, before taking Chappy from Nicole’s arms – earning her a whiny response from both woman and cat.

“Why would you do that?” Nicole complained.

“So I can do this,” Ruby said, before closing the gap between them and capturing Nicole’s lips in a hungry kiss. Surroundings completely forgotten, Nicole immediately deepened the kiss as her arms curled around Ruby’s neck. Simultaneously, Ruby’s hands found the small of her back and pulled her closer as they stumbled back towards the couch.

In between messy kisses and soft moans, Nicole found herself straddling Ruby as she was perched up on her lap. All of the anxiety Nicole previously experienced had vanished, as Nicole eagerly kissed down Ruby’s neck – being sure to mark her route as she sucked a series of dark bruises into the skin of Ruby’s neck.

Ruby, having her hands on Nicole’s ass, squeezed hard as Nicole marked her territory.

“Do you have any idea how fucking hot you are?” Nicole whispered against the purple mark she’d just sucked onto Ruby’s neck.

Ruby’s calloused hands firmly squeezed her ass before humming, “I’m not sure, perhaps you should show me.”

Those words had Nicole pulling away slightly, and she settled in Ruby’s lap – bewildered curls, hiked up skirt and dilated pupils. “Let me tell you one thing, Ruby,”

Ruby, hands still on Nicole’s ass, couldn’t do anything except meet the determined dark brown eyes belonging to Nicole Ashley Brown. “What is it baby?”

Nicole gave a slight tug on the short hairs at the nape of her neck, pulling her closer just a tad. She then leaned in, nipping at Ruby’s lips without ever touching them, before pulling back once again.

“If you don’t fuck me right fucking now, we’re breaking up.”

Ruby couldn’t help but grin and quip, “already?”

To which Nicole shot her a firm glare. “Keep this up and you’ll find out what it’s like to break up with me, without ever getting the chance to fuck me.”

Nicole barely had the chance to finish her sentence, when Ruby pounced on her again. The kiss was messy and heated – everything they were yearning for.

Ruby’s fingers slipped beneath the hem of her top and mere seconds later, the piece of fabric was discarded somewhere on the floor – leaving Nicole in a skirt and her best push-up bra.

“Holy fucking shit, Nicole,” Ruby mumbled, while taking in the sight of her.

“I know,” Nicole purred sweetly. “How about I blow your mind a little more?”

Without waiting for an answer, she reached behind her back and unclasped her bra – before tossing the thing to the side.

And Ruby’s response of complete and utter admiration was, 100%, worth it.

“One would think you’ve never seen tits before,” Nicole teased.

Ruby shot her a knowing glare, as her hands gradually made their way from Nicole’s waist – up to her tits.

Something about the lack of verbal commentary somehow made Nicole feel more nervous than she usually would. So, she cupped Ruby’s cheek and made her meet Nicole’s curious gaze. “Good enough for you?” Nicole asked, for lack of better words.

Ruby huffed, then semi-chuckled, and only then seemed to catch on to the fact that Nicole was feeling somewhat insecure.

Immediately, Ruby took hold of Nicole’s face and pulled her in for a kiss.

The moment Ruby pulled back ever so slightly, she told Nicole, “how can you even fucking ask that?”

Feeling vulnerable and somewhat misunderstood, Nicole asked, “what do you mean?”

Ruby sucked in a deep breath, took a couple seconds to glance over the half-naked woman in her lap, then looked up at Nicole and said, “I know you won’t believe me, but I’m so dead fucking serious when I say that you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever dated.”

Any other person would deny that statement or make it about anything but themselves.

Not Nicole, though.

Nicole loved being adored, complimented, rewarded and celebrated.

And Ruby telling her that she was the most beautiful woman she’d ever been with… that unleashed something inside of her.

Nicole closed the gap between them as soon as Ruby stated that she was the most beautiful woman she’d ever dated. A deep moan escaped her throat when Ruby’s hands finally found her tits.

And all was lost from the very second Ruby’s lips closed around Nicole’s left nipple. While Nicole revealed one of her most sensitive spots, she simultaneously granted Ruby knowledge of and access to her most vulnerable spots.

“Ruby, I really need you to fuck me right fucking now,” Nicole panted against Ruby’s neck, about 15 minutes into their heated couch make-out session.

Before Ruby could give in to Nicole’s demands, their heated make-out session on the couch was interrupted by the insufferable jazz tunes of Ruby’s phone, which was buried away in the corner of the couch.

Both groaning with annoyance, Ruby did end up reaching out to dig out her phone from the couch cushions.

Nicole’s lips found Ruby’s before she could even reach for the phone, however. “Ignore it.” Nicole urged.

Unable to not reciprocate Nicole’s kisses, Ruby gave in for a mere moment. “I gotta see who’s calling me-“

Nicole was scowling now, and something about a topless scowling Nicole in her lap, turned Ruby on even more.

To make up for nothing, Ruby stole a quick peck from Nicole’s lips, before shooting a glance at her phone – only to be disappointed by the sight of the caller id.

“Who is it?” Nicole asked with feigned curiosity.

Ruby glanced back up at her, just as annoyed as she probably was. “It’s fucking Joey.”

“Oh no. Don’t fucking pick up. Just let it go to voicemail,” Nicole tried.

“I can’t. I only just got promoted and I want to prove myself,” Ruby sighed, her gaze lingering on the phone that kept screaming at her. She looked up at Nicole, who shot her a disapproving look, then sucked in a deep breath and picked up the phone.

Much to Nicole’s chagrin.

“What the fuck do you want from me, Joey?” Ruby’s words were harsh.

As Ruby’s phone call with Joey continued, Nicole found there was no fault in making the call a bit more challenging for her girlfriend. Which was why, 30 seconds into the conversation, Nicole kissed down Ruby’s jaw before sucking a dark bruise onto her girlfriend’s skin.

To make this even more awkward, Nicole ran her fingertips down Ruby’s bare stomach and ever so slightly dipped them below the waistband of her underwear.

“I’m just saying, I- Jesus-“

“You Jesus?” Joey repeated in a rather unimpressed tone. “Alright, listen, I just gotta know if you can come in or not. And it’s not a question.”

As soon as Nicole picked up on what Joey was asking of Ruby, she leaned in closer and purred into Ruby’s ear, “choice is yours, baby. Either go into work and spend your evening cooking for people who don’t deserve it, or you could spend the evening eating me out and fucking me until I beg you to stop.”

Ruby removed the phone from her ear for a second, shooting her a warning glare. “Nicole, I fucking beg of you. Don’t.”

Nicole shot her an innocently sweet smile. “Don’t what?”

Ruby pressed her phone to her ear again, and said “yeah, sure, I can come in. I’ll be there in 20.”

Nicole, still topless and ridiculously horny, shot ruby a merciless glare. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me-“

Ruby sighed, her hands finding Nicole’s waist as she held her steady on Ruby’s lap. “Look, I usually wouldn’t do this-“

“You’re ditching me for work! You’re ditching me for fucking Bistro Huddy!” Nicole exclaimed. Ruby could tell that she’d been well and truly been offended.

Before Nicole had the chance of crawling away from Ruby’s lap, however, the sous-chef pulled her back in and kissed her fiercely. The type of kiss Nicole couldn’t resist. And it didn’t help that Ruby’s calloused, practiced fingers explored Nicole’s tits, as the two women allowed themselves to get lost for a moment in each other’s embrace.

Ruby pulled away from the kiss eventually, her eyes full of regret, “I’m not ditching you for work, alright? I wouldn’t have said yes if it wasn’t an emergency. But apparently Pickles has been sent home with food poisoning and Joey’s desperate for someone to save the fucking day.”

Nicole huffed, “never expected Joey to be the one to cockblock us.”

Ruby pecked her lips with a chuckle, before getting up from the couch – to get ready for her impromptu shift at Bistro Huddy.

While Ruby got ready, Nicole put her bra and top back on – before smoothing out her hair in front of the mirror in Ruby’s hallway.

“Oh, by the way, could we keep this between us for now?” Nicole called out to wherever Ruby was hiding.

A mere second later, Ruby showed up in the doorway that led into the hall. “You talking about our relationship?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Nicole nodded. “I just- I want this to just be our thing for a while… you’ve seen how those idiots turn into a pack of hyenas, as soon as they figure out that two members of staff are dating each other. Just look at how they reacted to Amber and Joey!”

Ruby gave a nod in agreement, quietly relieved that they could figure this whole dating thing out before the staff had the chance of mingling into the chaos.

Chapter Text

Nicole was fuming.

She still couldn’t believe Ruby had blown her off for work. Work.

And like, it wasn’t that she couldn’t understand Ruby wanting to prove to Joey that she was worthy of the sous-chef role and everything, but cutting their date short right when they were about to take things to the next level was… something Nicole couldn’t possibly understand.

After Ruby’d dropped her off at her apartment building, Nicole denied Ruby the kiss she’d leaned in for and simply exited the car, slammed the door behind her and stormed up to her apartment.

About 10 seconds after slamming the front door behind her, she got a text from Ruby saying:

From: Ruby (;
Again, so so sorry for this. Hope you understand. X.

‘Hope you understand’?! What was she, a middle aged mom from the suburbs – whose husband claimed to be ‘working late’ for the 5^th time that week?!

Before she could type a distant, sarcastic response, she got another text from Ruby.

From: Ruby (;
Let me make it up to you tonight.

Oh, the fucking audacity of this woman.

She skipped out on their date and just casually expected to be forgiven if she knocked on Nicole’s door after her shift? Absolutely the fuck not.

Outraged about the two texts she’d received from Ruby, Nicole found herself pacing up and down her living room – trying to come up with the perfect response. It had to be direct and crystal clear, without being too on the nose. Not too sarcastic, but definitely with a ‘this won’t stand’ attitude.

And that was when an idea popped into her head, on how to make Ruby pay for blowing her off.

It was absolutely diabolical, but a perfect form of punishment for the crime committed.

Smug grin curling up on her lips, Nicole typed out her response and hit the ‘send’ button before she could change her mind.

From: Princess
I’m gonna make you wish you were dead.

Yeah, screw her for quoting one of her favourite movies of all times – How to lose a guy in ten days – but it felt like the only suitable answer to Ruby’s texts.

Not wasting another second, Nicole opened Spotify, and selected one of her playlists titled ‘Hot girls getting ready for a slutty night at the club’ – which she usually only played when getting ready to go out with friends.

She tapped a random song – Don’t cha, by the Pussycat dolls – and blasted it on full volume while making her way into her bedroom.

Next step to her plan was to find the sexiest pair of lingerie she owned, which wasn’t easy. Nicole’s set of drawers next to her vanity had two drawers filled to the brim with lingerie sets she’d purchased specifically for any type of scenario that might just end in her getting naked with whoever it was she’d decided to take to bed.

The third drawer was just as stuffed with underwear, however, this was the shit she wore to work and when she was out and about on her days off. The comfy cotton panties that never matched whatever bra she was wearing that day.

She’d mentioned it to Bridgette once, who confirmed that she, too, did this. Like, it was a universal thing most girls did – Nicole was sure of it.

Rummaging through her drawers full of expensive, matching, sexy lingerie, she was determined to find the sluttiest, most irresistible combo she owned.

And sure enough, after about 15 minutes of tossing silk and lace pieces of fabric around, she’d found what she’d been looking for.

The set didn’t give the vibe of this being the sexiest lingerie she owned, but Nicole knew the magic it worked once she put it on.

It was a burgundy red push-up bra and a matching thong, both almost entirely made up of see-through lace. The thong had another string attached to it that sat around her slim waist perfectly.

Nicole quickly shoved all the heaps of lace and silk, she’d tossed onto the floor, back into the drawers and changed into the pair of lingerie that would help her get that sweet, sweet revenge on Ruby.

Admiring herself in her full-length mirror, after changing, Nicole couldn’t help but grin proudly at the thought of her brilliant plan.

And the confidence boost she got from seeing herself in this particular set of lingerie was an added bonus.

She’d forgotten how confident she felt in this set and how it amplified her best assets. Her tits never looked better than they did in this bra, especially with the very faint shadow of her nipples through the lace – and the thong did something to her ass that science couldn’t begin to explain if they tried.

She looked hot. Ravishing, even. And if Ruby’s response to seeing her tits for the first time had been any indication to just how attracted the chef was to her – this might just actually kill her.

And she fucking deserved it.

Nicole repositioned her floor-length mirror, putting it at the foot of her bed.

She’d taken more than enough lingerie selfies and nudes to know the exact angle for the mirror that would make her look her best, while remaining anonymous.

She then dimmed her bedroom lights slightly, even giving them a bit more of a sensual, warm glow, before climbing onto her bed and positioning herself.

Since Ruby was at work with the world’s nosiest people, it was absolutely essential that her face and hair weren’t in the picture. She had to make it look like it was some tinder hook up sending her a spicy photo.

Knowing Ruby, she’d already switched out Nicole’s name for some nickname in her phone.

She toyed with a couple different positions, before settling on sitting up on her knees – legs spread far enough so she was nearly squatting on her pine green duvet. She thanked her cheerleading days for the flexibility she still maintained.

She’d put her long curls up with a clip, so they weren’t showing, and as one hand took the picture, Nicole let the other dip just below the waistband of her thong - her lace-covered fingertips suggesting what was to come.

Nicole took a series of photos, every single one just a tad different than the other, but ended up going with one of the first photos she’d taken.

Staring at the screen, it felt a bit surreal that this was actually her. Without her face and hair visible, it could just be any insanely hot woman.

If she were more of a narcissist, she could get off on just studying that photo.

Alas, she had more important business to attend to.

Settling back against the heap of throw pillows propped up against her headboard, Nicole nearly purred with excitement as she attached the chosen photo to a new text and typed out:

From: Princess
Just so you know, this is what you’re missing out on.

Nicole couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of Ruby seeing that photo and having to suffer through the rest of her shift with that image burned into the back of her mind.

Just as she deserved.

Nicole tossed her phone onto the bed and made her way over to her wardrobe, having half a mind to change into her most comfortable outfit, when she decided against it and pulled her favourite silk robe from its hanger.

The floral robe was one of the most expensive items of clothing she owned and worth every damn penny. Parading around her apartment while wearing it made her feel like she was on The real housewives of Beverly Hills and she absolutely loved it.

Slipping the soft silk over her arms, while wearing her best lingerie, made her feel like she was on top of the world. For the first time since Ruby decided to ditch her for work, Nicole felt like herself again.

She tied the robe around her waist, slipped into her favourite pair of fluffy green slippers, and pulled the clip from her hair – allowing her long curls to cascade down her back while she ran a hand through them and admired herself in the mirror.

Somewhere behind her, she saw a screen light up – and she practically dove at her phone the second she noticed.

With a heart beating a million beats a fucking second, Nicole snatched up her phone and – low and behold – Ruby had texted her.

She actively ignored how her stomach twisted and tightened with glee and excitement, as soon as she saw Ruby’s name pop up on her screen.

Heart beating in her throat, she quickly opened the text.

From: Ruby (;
What the actual fuck.

As soon as she read that text, a whole series of new texts came in.

All of them from Ruby.

From: Ruby (;
You are the absolute fucking worst.

God, you’re such a fucking asshole.

Here I am, already feeling bad about blowing you off, and you send me this?!!!

You were right. You’re actively killing me rn.

Like, what the actual fuck, Nicole?!

I’m 3 tickets behind, bc all I can think of is all of the ways I want to ruin you after my shift.

You’re not getting away with this, princess.

Nicole felt herself grin from ear to ear while reading the series of texts. That was exactly how she’d hoped her little plan would work out.

Feeling like pushing even more buttons, Nicole typed out a response.

From: Princess
I think I already got away with it.

Take another good look at what you fumbled, all because you wanted to impress a man.

That last one was definitely pushing it, but Nicole was on a roll now.

There was a bit of a pause after Nicole’s responses, but Ruby’s responses came through after a couple minutes.

From: Ruby (;
You have no idea what you just started.

You just let your bratty mouth snap at me, princess. You’ll regret it later tonight.

From: Princess
Is that a threat or a promise?

From: Ruby (;
Both.

I’m going to ruin you, Nicole.

I get off at 11. I’ll be at yours by 11:20.

My advice to you is that you make sure to hydrate, before I get there.

The mere thought of Ruby punishing her for teasing her during her shift was such a fucking turn on. Biting down on her lower lip, Nicole flipped onto her back as she thought of a response.

Ruby displaying this dominant side to her was doing a lot more to Nicole than she’d expected. Especially since Nicole was used to being the dominant party in bed. Well, that was when she slept with men.

There was something so satisfying about dominating a man in bed. When sleeping with men, Nicole felt the deep need to show her partner that she was the one calling the shots, That she decided what would and would not be happening.

Men had the tendency to try and force her into submission, and Nicole’s asserted dominance stopped them from even trying in the first place.

Hell, that’s why she didn’t do blowjobs.

Blowjobs forced her into submission by default. Like, the couple times she’d done it, it’d always felt so humiliating. Especially when they tried to push her head down and – just no.

She simply always had the upper hand in sex.

Until Ruby, apparently.

Something about the tone of Ruby’s texts and the way those words made her gut tighten with delight, told Nicole that her need for dominating during a sexual encounter was about to be overruled.

And it surprised her just how thrilled she was to figure out just how dominant Ruby was in bed.

In an attempt to drive Ruby to further madness, she opened her camera once again and focused on her long legs stretched out on her bed – showing her from her waist going down.

She kept a sharp eye on the view the camera was catching, while slipping her fingertips beneath the waistband of her thong once again. Only this time, just a little further – far enough for her middle finger to brush over her clit.

Nicole took the shot, analysed it for a moment, decided she liked it and attached it to a new text – with the words:

From: Princess
I’m already getting started. Hope you don’t mind.

The response was immediate.

From: Ruby (;
Don’t you fucking dare touch yourself.

Be a good girl, Nicole. I know you can be.

You’re not touching yourself before I get to your place. Understood?

Jesus Christ.

When did she develop a praise kink?

Nicole normally hated that sort of talk.

But now? Coming from Ruby? Nicole felt more turned on than she had been in years.

The temptation to allow her fingers to slip further and make herself cum solely by picturing all the things Ruby would do to her, was… nearly impossible to ignore.

But something about that demanding tone and the ‘be a good girl, Nicole’, made her decide against it.

Instead, she simply responded with;

From: Princess
Understood.

Frustratingly horny and annoyed, Nicole pushed herself up from her bed and dragged herself to her kitchen – where she poured herself a generous glass of wine, before settling on her couch for a Gilmore girls rewatch, until Ruby would show up at her door.

Ruby had been regretting her decision to come in for work from the very second she told Joey she’d be there.

In the moment, she’d felt too much pressure to try and prove herself, to say ‘no’. Despite having a topless Nicole in her lap whilst having the conversation over the phone.

It’d taken her everything to not give in to the temptation of hanging up on Joey halfway through the conversation and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in bed with Nicole… but the crippling anxiety of wanting to prove that Joey hadn’t made a mistake by promoting her, got the best of Ruby.

She blamed it on her years of being the only woman in the kitchen and barely getting any recognition for all the shit she did for the kitchens she worked in.

She was used to her hard work going unnoticed.

What she wasn’t used to, were promotions to sous-chef.

Especially as a result of her almost quitting, to go run her own kitchen. And then there was the whole thing of Joey begging her to stay while on his knees…

Which wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for Nicole.

Seeing Nicole get all defensive over her, demanding all sorts of things from Joey in Ruby’s name… that’d been one of the most important signs that tipped Ruby on the idea of Nicole maybe having romantic feelings for her.

Anyways, the whole sous-chef promotion had Ruby all determined to prove that she deserved the title. Some part of her was terrified that it could be ripped from her hands at any moment, as so many opportunities had in the past, which was why she felt this insane drive to prove her worth.

Which meant she’d even go as far as coming in on her day off, despite being in the middle of a heated make-out session with the most gorgeous woman Ruby had ever laid eyes on.

And Joey hadn’t even fucking thanked her.

Coming into work, Ruby’d already been in a foul mood – which was fully credited to Nicole rejecting her goodbye kiss when Ruby had dropped her off at her place, followed by the blonde slamming the car door behind her - perfectly summing up what mood Nicole was in as she stormed away from the car.

In an attempt to smooth things out between them, Ruby had texted her another apology and a peace offering.

She’d nervously awaited Nicole’s response the entire drive, and finally received a response when she pulled into the parking lot behind the restaurant.

While silently judging herself about how ridiculously nervous she was as she opened the text, Ruby’s dark eyes flew past the words that made her stomach drop.

From: Princess
I’m gonna make you wish you were dead.

What the fuck did that even mean!?

Worst of all, Ruby found she was actually intrigued and somewhat excited to figure out whatever the fuck this meant.

To make matters worse, she felt this flutter deep down in her gut, every single time she read ‘princess’, when receiving a text from Nicole.

She’d changed Nicole’s contact info as soon as Nicole had angrily stormed out of the car – to honour the server’s request of keeping their relationship a secret for now.

That was, if there was still a relationship to speak of.

Judging from that last text, Ruby wasn’t entirely sure.

There was no time to dwell on it, however, because her shift was starting and Joey’s phone call promised nothing but absolute fucking hell.

Which proved to be true.

About 45 minutes into her shift, they’d managed to work through the worst heap of tickets and things were finally slowing down enough for Ruby to venture into the dry storage for all of the produce she’d run out of within half an hour.

When she returned to her station with her arms full of vegetables, she immediately knew something was up. It was Nico’s stupid fucking grin that gave it away.

“What?” she snapped at Nico, whose grin grew even wider.

“Nothing, nothing!” Nico denied at first, holding up both hands like he was being held at gunpoint. “Just thought you might wanna know that you got a text from someone named ‘princess’ with a picture and something like ‘this is what you’re missing out on’.”

Ruby nearly dropped her eggplants, and very quickly tossed all the produce onto the counter before reaching for her phone.

Nico chuckled at the sight. “Oh, I see. You got yourself a new girl, Ruby-sous?”

“Something like that,” Ruby mumbled as she opened the text she’d gotten from Nicole.

She then nearly dropped her phone onto the floor.

The picture Nicole had sent her left Ruby nearly gasping for air, brain short-circuiting, palms sweating, eyes widening and impossibly turned on.

She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen. Staring back at her was, without a doubt, the best nude she’d ever received. And it wasn’t even a nude. Which made it so much worse, because this left so much to the imagination that it drove Ruby insane from the very second she laid eyes on Nicole’s diabolical lingerie photo.

Seriously, how the fuck was this woman even real?

No one looked that good in any photo – without it being heavily photoshopped.

Except Ruby could tell the photo wasn’t photoshopped. At least, not noticeably… but she had a feeling Nicole wasn’t the type to photoshop a picture that was meant as bait. Knowing her, she’d feel a lot more satisfaction knowing that she’d hooked someone with an unedited photo, than one she’d spent hours modifying to her every desire.

Her awed state didn’t last long, however, because Nico’s voice beside her snapped her out of her gawking after a couple seconds.

“Holy shit, Ruby. You’re hitting that!?”

And of course, that was the moment Joey decided to return from his round of inventory.

“Hitting what? Why the fuck aren’t you two prepping for our second rush?” Joey snapped at them.

Before Ruby could respond, Nico opened his mouth whilst pointing at Ruby’s phone. “Joey, you’ve got to see the tits on this girl Ruby is dating.”

“You’re disgusting, Nico,” Ruby snapped at him, feeling both defensive of Nicole and weirded out by the fact that Nico – and now Joey – had seen Nicole in lingerie. Even though neither of them knew it was Nicole they were ogling.

Joey was looking over her shoulder before she could close the chat, and let out an impressed, low whistle.

“Damn, Ruby. That’s a fucking smoke show you got right there. Are those real?” Joey commented as Ruby quickly locked her phone and slid it into the pocket of her jeans.

Nico chuckled from his section of the kitchen, in response to Joey’s question. “They looked real to me.”

“Shut the fuck up and stop objectifying my girlfriend,” Ruby bit at them.

“Holy shit. You for real? Girlfriend?!” Nico quipped. “Can’t wait to watch when you break that news to Nicole.”

Ruby shot him another glare, “she had her fucking chance, alright? She’s got no right to be mad about it. And you both need to stay out of my fucking business.”

“Hey, hey hey, any shit you get up to in my kitchen, I have the right to know.” Joey called out to her. “And that includes the nudes your girlfriends send you,” Joey snapped. “Don’t want us to see? Fucking check your phone on your break.”

Ruby shot him a glare, “How about I remind you that this is my day off and you were desperate for me to pick up a shift, because your kitchen was going to shit?”

Somewhere behind Joey, Nico connected the dots. “Ohhhh, shit! You totally ditched your girl because Joey asked you to come in for work, didn’t you?”

“And I’ve been regretting it from the second I said yes,” Ruby mumbled through her teeth, while focussing her anger on the lettuce beneath her knife.

“Just focus on doing your fucking job,” Joey yelled at both of them, before turning to Ruby. “And I better not catch you day dreaming about being in between your girl’s thighs, while you’re still in my kitchen, alright?”

Unfortunately for Joey, Ruby’d been picturing herself buried between Nicole’s thighs from the very moment she stepped through the backdoor of Bistro Huddy.

By 11:32, a rapid knock on Nicole’s front door jolted her to her feet.

She’d been on the verge of falling asleep for the past 20 minutes, but that knock immediately sent a rush of excitement and thrill through her entire system.

Nicole quickly fluffed up her curls, readjusted her robe and then finally ventured out into her small hallway, to leisurely open her front door.

The sight on her doorstep made her mouth water in an instant.

Standing before her was Ruby, bandana in her left hand, chef’s coat in her right. She was wearing a leather jacket over a simple black tanktop and jeans. Her expression was difficult to read, but the one vibe it screamed was ‘frustration’.

A sweet little innocent smile curled up on Nicole’s lips as she took in the sight before her. “You made it… I wasn’t sure you would. You know, because you have a habit of ditching me f-“

She never got the chance to finish that sentence, because Ruby lunged forward and shut her up with an aggressive kiss.

Nicole’s response was immediate. A strangled moan escaped her throat, swallowed by Ruby’s hungry kisses, and her arms wrapped tightly around Ruby’s neck as Nicole kissed her back just as eagerly.

She pulled Ruby into her apartment and quickly slammed the front door shut behind her.

As they stumbled into the living room, both women lost themselves in their primal need for each other. Teeth clashing with teeth, tongues messily battling for dominance and both desperate to prove that they were the one most starved in this equation.

As they made it to the living room, Ruby cupped Nicole’s face with both hands, her fingertips firm against her soft, flustered skin – and she pulled back for a moment. Nicole found herself panting slightly, as her dark eyes found Ruby’s and she leaned in again, to chase Ruby’s lips.

This time, however, Ruby pulled back further – denying Nicole the kiss she so desperately wanted.

“You are such a fucked up, needy little princess, Nicole. Seriously,” Ruby hissed at her, dark eyes intensely focused on Nicole’s. “Sending me that photo was downright cruel, and you know it.”

Feeling no desire to back down, Nicole merely shot Ruby a wide-eyed look of innocence. “I thought you’d appreciate it…”

“Bullshit. You wanted me to suffer at work as punishment for blowing you off.”

Nicole’s innocence melted into a satisfied little grin. “And it looks like I succeeded-“

A small, almost cruel, smile played on Ruby’s lips. “Just so you know, Joey and Nico saw the picture too. They were lurking over my shoulder when I opened it. Just thought you’d like to know.”

Part of her had already expected something like that to happen, hence why she didn’t have her face and hair in the picture. But still, something about Nico and Joey seeing something that was solely meant for Ruby’s eyes made Nicole even more angry than she already was.

“Well, looks like I made everybody’s night, then,” Nicole casually stated, to which Ruby’s grip on her jaw tightened.

Without saying a word, Ruby forced her to back up until her calves hit the couch – and Ruby pushed her to lay back as she crawled on top of Nicole. Still holding her cheeks, still maintaining eye contact.

And it was the hottest fucking thing Nicole had ever seen.

Without saying a word, Ruby urged her to lay back on the couch – only to then settle between her legs and lean in until their lips ever so slightly brushed past each other.

“You didn’t make my night, Nicole,” Ruby breathed against her lips, her voice low and pending with frustration and anger. Nicole swallowed thickly to try and hide how much this turned her on. “You made my night a living hell. Sending me photos that have me spiralling and fucking up every dish I make. Making things worse by having an attitude when texting me.”

Nicole tried to lean up and kiss her, but Ruby pulled back immediately.

“We haven’t even been dating for a whole fucking day, and you’ve already managed to get on my last nerve,” Ruby hissed against her lips, before pulling away a little more – to get a good look at the woman beneath her. “I was right earlier today, when I said you’re the most difficult woman I’ve ever dated.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed slightly and ran down her chest, all the way to her toes and back – full of intrigue, fascination and adoration.

When Ruby’s gaze found hers once more, Ruby continued her previous claim and said, “but by fucking God, you’re also the most gloriously beautiful and intriguing woman who’s ever been mine.”

And finally, Ruby indulged her in another kiss.

One full of fire and passion – mixed with bottled up frustration and a need for control.

Nicole eagerly meets Ruby’s kisses with equal passion, her fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of Ruby’s neck, as the chef’s fingers untie her robe.

The moment the silk revealed that she was still wearing the lingerie from the photo she sent earlier that day, Ruby damn near lost it. Her darkened gaze leisurely soaked up every inch of the woman beneath her, while Nicole basked in the glorious feeling of being so openly admired.

“I figured you’d want to witness it in person,” Nicole purred, as she allowed Ruby to openly admire her.

Ruby swallowed thickly and nodded in response. “Damn fucking right about that,” she mumbled, as her eyes raked over Nicole’s lingerie-clad body. “There is, however, one sight I’d prefer over this one.”

A slight frown creased Nicole’s eyebrows, “which is?”

Ruby’s eyes found hers as a wicked grin played on her lips, “I’d much rather drown in the sight of having you beneath me, completely naked.”

Nicole was sure she’d never been this turned on in her whole entire fucking life.

The blonde grinned up at Ruby and purred, “that can be arranged…”

Before she could close the gap between them, Ruby pulled her up from the couch and wordlessly took her to the bedroom – where she finally kissed Nicole once again.

By the time Ruby had Nicole on her back, pressed into the mattress, she’d successfully unclasped Nicole’s bra. Ruby deepened the kiss as her skilled fingers swiftly peeled the bra from her chest and tossed it aside without a single care where it would end up.

Pulling away slightly, Ruby’s gaze wandered to Nicole’s tits – and her response was near identical to the one she’d displayed that afternoon. Ruby’s dark eyes widened slightly, then darkened, and her fingers gradually made their way up – until she’d reached Nicole’s right tit.

“God, you’re so fucking obsessed with my tits,” Nicole stated in a slightly teasing, though accusatory, tone.

Ruby chuckled, then leaned in and closed her lips around Nicole’s right nipple. This immediately drew a low moan from Nicole’s lips, and her grip on the nape of Ruby’s neck tightened ever so slightly.

She could feel Ruby grin against her skin, and she was about to make a smart comment about it when she felt Ruby ever so lightly bite down on her nipple – which nearly drove her insane.

Nicole gasped sharply at the bite, her back arching a little and fingers tugging on the hairs she had some sort of grip on.

Ruby let go of her nipple a second later, earning her a disappointed mewl from Nicole.

When she looked up, she noticed Ruby’s satisfied grin when finding her dark eyes. “In case you hadn’t picked up on it, your tits deserve a fucking award. It’d be a crime not to worship them like a gift from the Gods, every time I see them.”

Nicole could cum solely from Ruby describing her like this.

“You’re so obsessed with me, it’s embarrassing,” Nicole quipped, only to then close the gap between them and pull Ruby into another heated kiss. When she pulled back after a couple minutes, she added to her previous statement. “And I am so in love with you.”

The words spilled from her lips before she could consider them, leaving both her and Ruby stunned for a moment – mid make-out, still frustrated and suddenly caught in a way more vulnerable situation than they’d accounted for.

Before Ruby got the chance to say it back or make everything awkward by changing the subject, Nicole pulled her back in for a passionate kiss.

Anything to avoid Ruby responding to that slip of the tongue. That little moment of honesty on Nicole’s end.

She tried to tell herself that Ruby’s enthusiastic kisses were just as good as hearing her say the words ‘I’m in love with you too’ – but this wasn’t the first time Nicole actively lied to herself.

Still, Ruby’s intoxicating kisses were more than useful to take her mind off her little slip up just then.

As their kisses grew more and more heated, Nicole’s hands found the hem of Ruby’s shirt and she quickly tugged it over her head before tossing it aside. Ruby was wearing a black sport’s bra underneath her tank top and somehow, it was the hottest thing Nicole had ever seen.

Ruby’s lips found their way to her neck, and very quickly figured just where Nicole’s weak spots were located. Once again, she could feel Ruby grin against her skin whenever she pulled a lower moan from the blonde’s throat when sucking on a particular spot.

“Ruby, please,” Nicole moaned as Ruby’s lips sucked yet another dark bruise into her skin, while her hands explored her tits.

Ruby hummed softly against her skin, before purring, “you gotta wait your turn, princess. I warned you, didn’t I?”

“I don’t wanna wait,” Nicole whined, and she tried to drive her point home by grabbing a hold of Ruby’s right hand and dragging it down, in between her legs. She barely managed to get halfway there before Ruby freed her wrist from Nicole’s grip and used that same hand to firmly get a hold of Nicole’s jaw.

In doing so, she forced Nicole to look her in the eye. The smug grin on Ruby’s lips made Nicole’s gut tighten. “Look at you. So impatient, so needy… Fuck, I never thought I’d have the one and only Nicole Brown squirming beneath me, and yet – here we are-“

“Ruby, just fuck m-“

“Here’s how this is gonna go, princess,” Ruby cut her off, as her grip on Nicole’s jaw tightened. “You’re going to be a good girl and do as I say. You’ll allow me to make you pay for what you did to me while I was at work, and you won’t come until I allow you to. Understood?”

Nicole couldn’t help but retaliate just a little.

“God, you’re so fucking possessive.”

Ruby’s grip tightened further, and she forced Nicole to look her in the eye. “Understood?” she repeated, to which Nicole then nodded.

“Understood.”

Ruby’s scowl melted to a smug grin, “good girl.”

Her lips were on Nicole’s a second later, and she immediately lost herself in the kiss. Ruby’s lips gradually kissed down her cheeks, her jaw, her neck, down to her tits – where she took her time sucking several dark bruises onto her skin and teasing her nipples until she had Nicole squirming beneath her.

Eventually, Ruby’s lips leisurely worked their way down Nicole’s abdomen, while she slid Nicole’s ruined thong down her long legs and tossed it aside without care.

A shiver ran down Nicole’s spine when her eyes met Ruby’s, as the sous-chef parted Nicole’s legs with a grin.

“God fucking damnit,” she heard Ruby curse, as the woman settled between her legs. Nicole glanced down out of pure curiosity, and noticed Ruby grinning up at her. “You’re so pathetically wet for me already, baby, and I’ve barely even started.”

Nicole’s right hand reached out and her fingers tangled in Ruby’s short hair, as she spoke up. “Then you best get to work, handsome.”

Nicole realised how gravely unprepared she was for Ruby’s skills in the bedroom the very moment Ruby’s tongue parted her folds for the first time.

She’d been eaten out plenty of times before, but always by men.

And she could tell from the first fucking second, that getting eaten out by a lesbian was an elite experience that couldn’t be topped.

Ruby’s tongue running through her folds, followed by her lips closing around her clit before giving a light, experimental suck – had Nicole crying out with her back arched and her fingers tightly entangled in Ruby’s short bob.

Ruby’s tongue flicked over her clit, earning her a loud moan from the woman beneath her. Ruby’s arms curled around her thighs, and she pulled Nicole’s right leg over her shoulder – before really diving in.

Nicole almost forgot how to breathe. Never in her whole fucking life, had she felt this during sex. She couldn’t even really explain it. It felt so overwhelming and deeply satisfying at the same time. Ruby seemed to instantly pick up on every little noise she made and adjust what she was doing according to the volume and intensity of Nicole’s moans.

Within minutes, she was dangerously close to that delicious edge of her orgasm.

And that was when Ruby pulled away – leaving Nicole on the verge of her first orgasm, extremely horny and, now, excruciatingly frustrated.

“Ruby, what the fuck!?” she spat as her head snapped up and she met Ruby’s mischievous grin when glancing in between her spread legs.

Ruby pressed a soft kiss to her left thigh, “I thought I’d made myself clear earlier? This isn’t your playground, princess. It’s mine. I decide the rules, and I believe I told you that you don’t come until I allow you to, correct?”

Nicole huffed, “please you-“

“I believe you promised me you’d be a good girl?” Ruby interrupted.

For once, Nicole didn’t have a clever comeback to a smart remark. All she had was a throbbing clit, a desperate need for more of Ruby and no choice but to do as she was told.

She sat up slightly, leaning in until she could kiss Ruby – who hesitantly allowed it. Nicole could taste herself on Ruby’s tongue, and that somehow turned her on even more. “I’ll be so good,” Nicole whispered against her lips. “I’ll be so good for you, baby. I’m sorry I talked back.”

She could feel Ruby shiver at the low purr of her voice as she whispered those sweet promises against Ruby’s lips.

Nicole’s lips ventured down to Ruby’s neck, pressing light kisses onto her skin – before eventually sucking a dark bruise onto her pulse point. As Nicole’s lips explored her neck, Ruby’s fingers found their way in between Nicole’s thighs and she ran them through her folds before slowly rubbing lazy circles on Nicole’s clit.

“Ruby, baby-“ Nicole whined.

“Don’t baby me, Nicole,” Ruby hissed into her ear, lips brushing past her earlobe as her fingertips lightly circled Nicole’s clit. Just enough to keep her needy and wanting, but far too light to work her towards any sort of edge. “You behaved like an absolute brat today, and it’s about time someone punished you for it.”

Ruby’s lips crashed down on her own once more, just as she sunk two fingers deep inside Nicole’s pussy – earning her a high-pitched cry from the blonde. Nicole immediately deepened the kiss, desperately kissing Ruby as she chased the orgasm she’d been denied earlier.

She kept kissing Ruby, until the curl of Ruby’s fingers inside of her became too much to bear – and she collapsed back onto the mattress, moaning Ruby’s name.

Ruby crawled back on top of her, carefully observing every tiny movement – soaking up every moan, cry and whimper. Nicole felt like she was about to lose her fucking mind, as she crawled back towards that sweet edge to her orgasm.

And once again, Ruby withdrew just seconds before she could tumble past that sweet edge and plunge herself into the bliss of release.

Nicole’s head shot up and she glared down at Ruby once again, “wh-“

“Did I say you could come?” Ruby deadpanned, interrupting whatever protest was about to spill from Nicole’s lips.

Biting down on the inside of her cheek, to keep herself from talking back, Nicole eventually said, “not yet, no.”

“Exactly,” Ruby agreed with a nod, her lips curling up to a grin. “Now tell me… do you want to come, pretty girl?”

Nicole couldn’t help but nod, “please, Ruby, baby.”

But Ruby didn’t let on just yet. “And do you think you deserve it? After what you put me through today?”

“I do, yes,” Nicole whimpered, wide-eyed look of innocence meeting Ruby’s unrelenting gaze. “But most of all, I think that you deserve it.”

That particular turn of events caught Ruby by surprise. A slight frown flashed over her features as she glanced up at Nicole. “What?” was all she mumbled.

Eager to reel in the bait, Nicole’s wide-eyed look of innocence persisted while she softly purred. “You’ve been working so hard to get me to the edge, baby. I can tell you want to watch me fall apart… I mean, just picture how satisfying it must be to finally be the one to make me come,”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed slightly, “I know what you’re doing, Nicole.”

“Perhaps, but I meant every word,” Nicole continued in a sweet tone of voice, her gaze meeting Ruby’s. “Or perhaps I can convince you by informing you that you’re the best sex I’ve ever had.”

Now this triggered something in Ruby, but Nicole could tell she wasn’t there just yet.

Ruby’s grip on Nicole’s thighs tightened, as her gaze bore into Nicole’s.

“I’m sure you’re convinced I am just saying that to get my way… but I’m serious,” Nicole continued in that same low purr – sporting a soft, adoring smile. “I’ve barely gotten a taste of you and already, I can tell you’re the best I’ve ever had.”

Without warning, Ruby buried herself in between her thighs once again – tongue spreading Nicole wide open in the most delicious way possible.

Ruby’s strong arms tightened around her thighs, as she expertly worked Nicole towards her orgasm once again. Except this time, she didn’t pull away when Nicole neared that glorious tumble into the abys.

As her moans and cries became more breathy and higher in pitch, Nicole glanced down at Ruby – in between her legs, only to find that Ruby’d been watching every little response on her part this whole time.

Nicole’s dark eyes immediately found Ruby’s, and she found herself quietly asking Ruby for permission to finally let go. The silent question was flawlessly received on Ruby’s end, and she offered Nicole a singular nod of approval – all whilst her lips remained attached to Nicole’s clit.

Finally having permission to let herself go, Nicole’s fingers tightened their grip on Ruby’s hair as a final flick of Ruby’s tongue sent her into that familiar, blissful sensation of her first orgasm.

What was new, was the intensity of it all. Nicole was no stranger to finishing during sex, but it always came with an expected wave of pleasure that died out after a couple seconds. It was always the same, and that was what she’d expected this time around as well.

Except this time, her orgasm washed over her with such intensity that entirely took Nicole by surprise. She cried out Ruby’s name as she came, her toes curling, back arching and head spinning.

Instead of one wave of pleasure, they just kept coming. It started with the familiar tightening low in her gut, followed by that familiar wave of warmth and pleasure that she’d experienced before when she slept with someone, except the waves of pleasure just kept coming.

A second wave followed the first one, taking Nicole by surprise – pleasantly so – only to be followed up by several others, which completely overwhelmed Nicole and had her tugging at Ruby’s hair to signal that it was all a bit too much.

Once it all somewhat died down, Ruby crawled back on top of her as Nicole stared up at the ceiling – wide-eyed and still slightly panting. Ruby kissing her parted lips was what pulled her out of her daze.

She kissed her back deeply, before pulling back as she wrapped her arms around Ruby’s neck. Nicole’s fingertips ran down the sous-chef’s nearly bare back, as her dark gaze found Ruby’s. “Holy fucking shit,” was all she could say.

She could tell by the look in her eyes, that Ruby felt proud and overly confident, but Nicole barely had the breath to tell her that.

Ruby grinned down at her, eyes twinkling with glee, “that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Ruby admitted, before stealing a quick kiss from Nicole’s lips.

“I don’t know what the fuck you did, but I’ve never come like that before,” Nicole hummed against Ruby’s lips. “Am I allowed to return the favour?”

Ruby’s grin broadened and she kissed Nicole once more. “How about we do that tomorrow? It’s quite late and I’ve gotten my fill just by watching you,” Ruby mumbled against her lips.

Nicole huffed into their series of sweet little kisses, but didn’t argue.

“Fine. But at least take off your jeans before we go to sleep,” Nicole insisted softly.

Ruby chuckled in response, stole one more kiss, then got out of bed to take off her shoes, socks and jeans.

Once she was merely dressed in her boxers and a sport’s bra, she crawled back into bed with Nicole – who’d gotten comfortable beneath the covers by then.

Still completely naked, Nicole curled up to Ruby as soon as she got settled into bed with the blonde. Ruby’s arms snaked around Nicole’s waist and pulled her closer – as though they’d been doing so for years already.

Nicole noticed how Ruby swallowed thickly when she pressed her bare tits against Ruby, and grinned gleefully.

She slung one leg over Ruby’s legs and leaned in to press a soft kiss to Ruby’s neck. “Can I ask you something?” Nicole asked.

“Anything,” Ruby hummed.

“You mentioned you’re from Chicago, right?”

Ruby nodded, “hmm.”

Nicole nuzzled her nose against Ruby’s collarbone. “So, how’d you end up in LA?”

There was a three second silence between them, followed by a low groan on Ruby’s end. “It’s- that’s a really embarrassing story.”

Nicole perked up slightly and pushed herself up on one elbow, glancing down at Ruby with a look of intrigue in her eyes. “Well, now I really have to know.”

Ruby glanced back at her, “it’s not as entertaining as you’re probably picturing right now. It’s just… stupid and embarrassing on my end.”

Nicole leaned in and captured Ruby’s lips in a searing kiss, before pulling back. “Please, tell me?” she purred sweetly.

It took Ruby one second of looking into Nicole’s eyes as she put on that sweet voice and offered those irresistible wide eyes – right after kissing her like that – causing Ruby to cave immediately.

“I- I moved to LA, because I U-hauled with this girl I’d been dating for 2 months,” Ruby admitted with a deep sigh, curiously eyeing Nicole to try and calculate her response.

Nicole’s expression went from surprised, to pitiful, to amused. She burst into a fit of giggles that were far too adorable for that particular moment.

“O my god. You really are a hopeless lesbian,” Nicole giggled, much to Ruby’s chagrin. “I want to know everything.”

Ruby rolled her eyes, “you’re such a shit stirrer,” she told Nicole, before elaborating on the story. “Alright, fine. Look, here’s the story, alright? About two months before I was due to graduate from Culinary school, I met this girl at the only lesbian bar in Chicago. We hit it off and I fell for her, hard and fast. Long story short, we started dating and as my graduation got closer, she asked me about my plans for my future. I told her I didn’t have any, because I didn’t, and that was when she told me that she was moving back to LA right after I’d graduated, and she invited me to come with her. And I did.”

The entire time Ruby’s talking, Nicole couldn’t help but grin. Not necessarily because of the story, but because she was so eager to learn everything there was to know about Ruby. And hearing about this life event from years prior, just made her feel more connected to Ruby.

As Ruby finished her story, she shot Nicole a mildly nervous glare – obviously anxious of her response.

Nicole couldn’t resist the urge to lean in slightly and brush the tip of her nose with Ruby’s a couple times, before placing a soft kiss on the tip of Ruby’s nose.

“That’s the gayest shit I’ve ever heard, and I’ve had a best gay friend for years,” Nicole purred softly, before stealing a kiss from Ruby’s lips. “How long did the two of you last?”

Ruby grinned at Nicole telling her about her best gay friend, and couldn’t help but ask, “does this best gay friend know that this is going on?”

Nicole chuckled, “I mean, he’s known I’m bi since I met him, and I’ve told him that I was crushing on you-“

“Hold up, you’ve told people you were crushing on me?” Ruby asked, and she propped herself up on both elbows, shooting Nicole an intrigued grin.

“Oh shut up! I only told him, cause I thought he’d have some advice for me. You know what he said?” Nicole chimed with mild annoyance lingering on her tongue.

Ruby grinned back at her, “what?”

With a roll of her eyes, Nicole answered, “he looked me dead in the eye and went ‘girl, I wish I could give you any sort of advice, but lesbians are a whole other league. I’ve never understood them and never will, so my advice to you is to keep flirting and see what happens.”

“Wow. Terrible advice,” Ruby deadpanned, to which Nicole agreed with a nod.

“Right?! I should’ve known, though. The only useful advice he’s ever given me was related to sleeping with men,” Nicole stated, accompanied by another eyeroll.

Ruby chuckled, “that tracks,” she admitted, before nudging Nicole’s bare shoulder with her nose. “Still, you told someone about your crush…”

“O my god, you’re making it sound like we’re in high school,” Nicole groaned. “Look, I just needed someone to vent to, okay? And Bridgette and Amber were out of the question, because they know you. I could’ve told Sascha, but she comes in too often so she would’ve figured it out eventually. And all of my other friends I’m not close enough with to tell them about something this… vulnerable.”

Ruby leaned in and kissed her softly, “you’re adorable.”

“I hate you,” Nicole huffed, as she pulled back. “Look, I just- I don’t have the best track record with women and I was… god I hate admitting this, but- I was feeling a bit insecure.”

Ruby’s eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise, “you? Insecure?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh about it all you like,” Nicole sharply remarked with a roll of her eyes, but Ruby didn’t play along with her attempt at playing it off like it was a casual thing.

Ruby’s right hand ran up Nicole’s arm, followed by her lips pressing a series of light kisses from her elbow to her shoulder. “You wanna tell me about that track record?” she softly tried.

Beneath her lips, Nicole’s muscles stiffened for a moment, before they softened once more. Rubys curious gaze found hers, and Nicole sucked in a deep breath before speaking up.

“So, I figured out I also liked girls when I was 16 and accidently developed a huge crush on one of my best friends,” Nicole began.

Ruby flinched slightly, “ah shit, that’s always a terrible way of figuring out you’re not straight.”

Nicole shot her a knowing glare, “don’t I fucking know it,” she agreed. “Anyways, I decided to ignore it and continue as I’d always done – except no one told me life’s a lot more difficult once you’ve kinda come to terms with your sexuality. Especially when you’re a cheerleader and you spent most of your days surrounded by hot girls in short skirts.”

“Yikes, that must’ve sucked,” Ruby hummed, pressing another kiss to Nicole’s shoulder. “And you never wanted to try and make a move on another girl back in high school? Not the best friend, I mean, but like – another girl you were attracted to?”

“Of course I wanted to, I just didn’t have the guts to actually do it. Believe it or not, but our high school had zero out of the closet lesbians – and I was way too scared of losing my reputation to try it out… that, and I was also attracted to boys.” Nicole sighed. “And I was quite young when I figured out that boys are laughably easy to wrap around your little finger.”

Ruby hummed and nodded in understanding, before grinning up at her, “I mean, if I’m to believe my straight friends, men are stupidly easy to seduce.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, “So fucking easy. But like, that was half the fun. Men are fun to toy with and to use for a good time, but I’ve never… I don’t know, it’s stupid-“

“Hey, don’t do that,” Ruby told her, when Nicole cut herself off from what she was going to say. Using her index finger, Ruby forced Nicole to look her in the eye – and said, “it’s not stupid. Your thoughts and feelings, however ridiculous or irrational they might be, are never stupid. Now tell me what you were gonna say.”

Nicole was so head over heels in love with this woman that she felt she might burst.

“Fine,” Nicole sighed. “What I meant to say is that… I know most lesbian women are put off by the idea of dating a woman who’s only ever dated men, but I- I’ve never really felt a genuine connection to any man I’ve dated. Not even the ones I’ve been in relationships with for years.”

Ruby, patient and kind Ruby, simply listened and nodded – before brushing a stray curl behind Nicole’s ear. “Why do you think that is?” she asked.

Nicole felt like she could burst into tears at any moment. And she hated crying in front of literally anyone. This was all Ruby’s fault. Ruby and her stupidly adorable smile that lingered on her lips as she listened intently to whatever story Nicole was telling her.

Ruby, who gave her all the space she needed to tell her story, and asked questions on ‘how’ and ‘why’ she responded in a certain way. Ruby was genuinely interested in getting to know Nicole on a whole deeper level than any guy she’d ever dated. Hell, she couldn’t recall the last time anyone had been this interested in getting to know her. Friend, lover or otherwise.

And this was the literal first day they’d been dating.

Nicole couldn’t bear look Ruby in the eye as she answered, solely because she feared she might actually burst into tears if she did. So, she looked away while answering, “I know everyone thinks I’m this cold-hearted bitch, and I am most of the time… but I’ve always had very close relationships with my girl friends.”

From the corner of her eye, she could see Ruby’s lips twitch to a smile, as she nodded in agreement. “I can tell by how protective you are over Bridgette and Amber. You’re a really good friend to them, Nicole. You have their back, you look out for them, you trust them and in return they trust you-“

“I know, I know all that- what I’m trying to say, though, is that the thing that always confused me about my sexuality… is knowing that what I crave most in a relationship is the type of friendship I have with Bridgette and Amber, combined with the familiarity that comes with being attracted to a man – who very clearly also happens to be attracted to me.”

“I get that,” Ruby nodded, and her lips curled into a most teasing, irresistible grin as she asked, “and where does that put me?” before pressing another kiss onto Nicole’s bare shoulder.

Without hesitation, Nicole took a hold of her chin, forcing Ruby to look into her dark eyes. “It puts you in the perfect position,” Nicole softly admitted, before leaning in to steal a soft kiss from Ruby’s lips. Ruby eagerly deepened the kiss, and Nicole allowed her to for a little while.

Eventually – Nicole pulled away for a moment, not yet finished with her story. “Another reason why I was nervous to really make a move on you, is because my experiences with women, before you, are a fucking disaster. It’s all based on my college years, where every single attempt at getting a hot sorority girl back to my dorm would end with her admitting she just liked kissing girls and had no intentions of going any further than that.”

Ruby snorted, “so you were baited by the straight girls?”

“So baited!” Nicole exclaimed, “And it really fucked me up! I thought college would be the time I could finally explore my sexuality and try my hand at dating women – only to be continuously gaslit by bicurious straight girls.”

A light chuckle escaped Ruby’s lips, and Nicole immediately swatted her arm, “how dare you laugh at my tragic story?”

“No, it’s not-“ Ruby chuckled once again, and looked at her. “I just think it’s funny that I spent so many months assuming you were straight.”

“Well, that’s on you.” Nicole snapped back.

Ruby stole another kiss from her lips and brushed the tip of her nose with Nicole’s while saying, “to be fair, you are very straight passing.”

“Blame the patriarchy,” Nicole deadpanned. “Look, I just wanted to tell you that the reason it took me so long to get my shit together, was because I was afraid of being rejected. I’d already had my share of straight girls rejecting me-“

Ruby raised an eyebrow, “when have I ever given you that vibe?”

“You haven’t,” Nicole groaned in frustration, accompanied by an eyeroll. “I just wanted to say that those experiences have kinda like fucked me up on the long run. That’s why making a move on you felt like I was climbing Mount Everest.”

A soft chuckle escaped Ruby’s lips, and she couldn’t resist stealing a small kiss from Nicole’s pouting lips, “I understand, baby. And don’t you worry, you were well worth the wait… and I am not planning on letting you go, now that you’re finally mine.”

Nicole rolled her eyes again, “sure, I bet you say that to every girl you sleep with. How long did you say you were with that girl you moved to LA for, again?”

“I never told you how long we were together… but if you really must know, we were together for a little over a year.” Ruby informed her.

Despite her attempts at hiding her jealousy and her possessive tendencies, Nicole couldn’t help but let a little bit shine through as she took a firm hold of Ruby’s jaw and made the woman look her in the eye.

“As long as you know that I am planning on the two of us lasting far longer than you and your longest relationship ever have,” Nicole stated.

Ruby shot her an unimpressed glare, “you have no idea of the length of my longest relationship.”

“So tell me,” Nicole urged.

Ruby toyed with the idea of not telling her, but the determined look in Nicole’s eyes convinced her it’d be far more fun to let her know the truth.

“My longest relationship was 2,5 years,” Ruby informed her plain and simple.

Nicole didn’t move a muscle, didn’t flinch, didn’t back away or run off – she simply blinked and nodded. “Alright. So we’ll last for 2,5 years at least,” she simply stated, like she’d just decided to cut sugar out of her diet or something. “Why did the two of you break up? You and the 2,5 year girl, I mean.”

Despite the fact that she’d expected the question, having to think about those last moments with the woman who fucked her up for a good while was… difficult, to say the least.

Nicole spotted the hesitation immediately. Ruby could tell that she’d caught on, just by the way her eyes widened for a second as the realisation dawned on her – followed by a slight narrowing of her eyes as she seemed to catch on to the fact that whatever it was this person had done, it’d left Ruby severely damaged.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Nicole softly told her, cutting through her endless stream of intrusive thoughts.

Ruby snapped out of it thanks to her, and immediately sought out the trusted dark eyes of the woman who owned her heart and soul. She was met with the kindest gaze she’d ever seen from Nicole.

Kind, considerate, careful- that gaze alone had Ruby falling in love with her all over again.

Nicole’s right hand found her cheek, and she instinctively nuzzled her nose into the palm of Nicole’s hand – breathing in her signature perfume.

Nicole smelled of jasmine, lilies and rain on a summer day.

“I want to tell you… I just don’t think I’m ready yet,” Ruby whispered into her hand.

“I understand,” Nicole mumbled, before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

Ruby glanced back up at her and didn’t waste a second to capture Nicole’s lips in a hungry kiss. Nicole’s eager lips answered hers like she’d been starved for months.

And as the kiss grew more and more heated, Nicole found she felt more secure after opening up to Ruby. It made her wonder, just how much better this could possibly get, the more they learned about each other.

Chapter Text

Ruby was an early riser. Always had been, always would be.

Didn’t matter what day of the week it was, whether or not she had to go to work that day, she always woke up around 7 in the morning.

And she was used to waking up to the sound of soft purrs on her left side, thanks to Chappy occupying the empty pillow beside her head. The two of them had settled into a routine of Chappy joining her in bed the moment she got comfortable underneath her heap of blankets.

The cat would jump up on the bed, march up and down the length of the mattress a couple times  - pretending to look for the comfiest spot, like he didn’t sleep on the empty pillow next to Ruby’s head every single night – and eventually he’d always circle back to that very pillow, which now had a Chappy shaped dent in it.

So when Ruby woke up that morning in the absence of those comforting purrs, it took her a couple seconds to figure out why there was no purring.

Her drowsy state of confusion immediately dissolved, however, when she felt a very warm, very naked Nicole cuddled up to her. Judging by the soft sound of her steady breaths, Nicole was still fast asleep.

Out of fear that this was all a dream that would be over as soon as she opened her eyes, Ruby kept her eyes shut for just a little longer – allowing herself to bask in the absolute thrill of feeling Nicole pressed up against her, arm slung over Ruby’s torso and left leg nearly trapping Ruby on her side of the bed.

Lying on her back, basking in that glorious moment, Ruby’s left hand instinctively found Nicole’s bare back. Without opening her eyes, Ruby’s fingertips softly traced every line, every bit of warm, bare skin on Nicole’s back.

Nicole let out a soft sigh against her neck, since she’d buried her face in the crook of Ruby’s neck sometime during the night.

Yet another new discovery about Nicole. She was a cuddler.

And on top of that, she also happened to be an excellent source of heat for Ruby – who naturally ran cold. Hell, that’s why she slept under a pile of blankets back at her place.

Now, she’d learned that there was no need for extra blankets when she shared a bed with Nicole – because the woman was like her own personal heater. It was nice. Comfortable. And having Nicole’s tits pressing against her bare skin was a very very lucky added bonus.

As Ruby’s fingertips drew little pictures on Nicole’s back, Ruby quietly marvelled about just how soft Nicole’s skin was. And not just on her back. Everywhere. As far as Ruby could tell.

Ruby loved that about her. Nicole was soft, warm and curvy where Ruby was more hard muscle, calloused hands and cold skin.

Her fingers slowly traced their way to the curve of Nicole’s hip, then down to the dip of her waist – lining out Nicole’s hourglass figure with the lightest of touches. Quietly admiring the woman sleeping half on top of her.

It was only then that she finally dared open her eyes and she immediately glanced down – to figure out whether this was real or not. And it was.

Holy fucking shit, this was real.

Ruby drank in the sight of Nicole in all her naked glory – the sheets were bundled around her hips, leaving her uncovered from the waist up. She couldn’t see Nicole’s face, since it was buried in the crook of Ruby’s neck, but the sight of Nicole curled around her was making her feel all sorts of ways. Ways she’d not felt in a very long time.

She eventually dragged her gaze from the stunning side before her, and she reached over to the nightstand to grab her phone. The bright light nearly blinded her, and she made quick work of lowering that shit to a level that was bearable at 7 in the morning.

Trying to scroll through her messages with only one hand proved to be a challenge, but Ruby refused to stop tracing Nicole’s curves with her left hand.

After checking her texts, she very quickly opened the schedule Terry had sent them on Friday. She’d only really glanced at it at the time, since her schedule was pretty much the same every single week.

The only reason she actually checked the schedule was to see when Nicole was working. Not that Ruby didn’t know her schedule by heart… but Nicole had the tendency to move shifts around or just rid herself of them all together.

On a regular week, without Nicole rearranging the whole damn schedule, Ruby knew Nicole worked Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Taking another good look at the schedule for that week, it looked like her and Nicole’s shifts perfectly lined up.

Ruby tried not to be too excited about it.

Especially because work was the one place where they wanted to keep their brand new relationship a secret, for now. And despite it being Nicole’s idea, Ruby wholeheartedly agreed.

She’d seen how everyone lost their shit when Joey and Amber first started dating, and then came Trick and Bridgette… Yeah, the very last thing Ruby wanted was for any of the Bistro Huddy employees to start mingling in their very fresh relationship.

Especially because Nicole had more than a bit of history with some of their male colleagues, and Ruby really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Brad’s mingling, that would undoubtedly start from the moment he found out Ruby was officially dating Nicole.

Best to keep it between the two of them for now.

According to the schedule, Ruby’s Monday shift started at noon and Nicole wasn’t expected to start until 4 pm.

She glanced at the time. 7:37 am.

Her gaze travelled back to the stunning woman in her arms, who probably wouldn’t be up before 10.

Ruby had seen Nicole on the rare occasion where she had to work an early shift, and that’d been all the proof she needed to be able to conclude that Nicole was not a morning person.

She spent another 15 minutes gently tracing her fingertips along Nicole’s bare skin, admiring her in silence. She could spend hours doing just that, but when her phone showed that it was 8 am, Ruby forced herself to get up.

Which was easier said than done.

Nicole had practically entangled herself with Ruby, and getting out of her embrace was no easy feat. It took a great deal of patience and rearranging of limbs, while trying not to wake Nicole, before she finally managed to slip out of bed without disturbing the princess.

Ruby grabbed her phone from the nightstand and quietly snuck out of the bedroom.

It wasn’t until she quietly closed the bedroom door behind her, that she came to the realisation that she hadn’t paid attention to a singular detail in Nicole’s apartment when she pounced on Nicole as soon as she appeared in the doorway.

This was the first time she actually got a decent view of the place, and Ruby took her time absorbing the apartment Nicole called home.

The first thing that caught her eye were the amount of pastels all around her. Nicole’s living room walls sported a pastel green shade, which repeated itself in small details all around the living room. A pastel green throw pillow on her couch, a painting, a silly piece of décor.

It was subtle but tasteful, just as she’d expected from someone like Nicole.

Ruby wasn’t sure why, but she hadn’t expected Nicole’s apartment to be so… cosy. For some reason, she’d always picture her living in a well-organized, spotless apartment.

This place, was anything but that. And thank fuck for that.

It wasn’t messy, by any stretch, but it was lived in. There was the occasional dirty wine glass or mug on a side table, a discarded fluffy blanket on the couch, a skirt carelessly tossed onto a lounge chair in the corner, a very pretty cat on the windowsill-

Wait a fucking minute-

Ruby’s wandering gaze shot back towards the windowsill, where a very pretty, well-groomed ragdoll cat was inspecting her from a distance.

Nicole had mentioned having a cat, but the intensity of the previous night had completely erased that knowledge from Ruby’s brain when she stormed in and practically pounced on Nicole.

She couldn’t even recall a cat being there. Or perhaps she’d been so aggressive that the poor thing had fled the very moment Ruby barged in.

Feeling like she had something to make up for, Ruby carefully approached the cat with an outstretched hand. “Hi there, aren’t you a pretty girl?” she whispered, unsure how friendly the cat was.

It wasn’t like Nicole had told her anything about the cat, only that it was a ragdoll.

She technically didn’t even know if the cat was a girl, but the creature looked as feminine as cats possibly could look.

Once she was close enough for the cat to sniff her hand, Ruby anxiously awaited the cat’s verdict.

Pretty little cat took her time sniffing every inch of Ruby’s hand, before finally gracing her with a steady head bump against Ruby’s knuckles.

A grin spread on her lips, as she provided the cat with some scratches behind her ear and beneath her chin.

Judging by the loud purring, Ruby had successfully gotten into the cat’s good graces.

As her fingers ran through the cat’s long, thick fur, Ruby noticed how impossibly soft and smooth it was. The type of soft and smooth that informed her that Nicole put a lot of time and effort into caring for her cat.

A thought that made her feel lightheaded with adoration.

Ruby crouched down to the cat’s level, while still providing some good scratches. “Alright, little lady, Nicole’s still sleeping and we want to keep it that way, understood?”

The cat answered with a high-pitched meow, like she’d picked up on everything Ruby had just told her.

“Good girl,” Ruby chuckled, and she gave the cat a last scratch before indulging herself in more of a deep dive of Nicole’s apartment.

She curiously looked around the living room and discovered some hidden gems amongst all of the stuff that had nothing to do with Nicole as a person.

To start, Ruby came across a particular frame on the far end of the wall across from the couch. But instead of the frame displaying a photo, it appeared to be a diploma. Of a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA.

Curiosity got the best of her, and she got closer to the framed Bachelor’s degree to find out more details.

And those revealed a whole new piece of Nicole lore that Ruby didn’t know the existence of, until now.

Who’d have fucking guessed that Nicole Ashley Brown had a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, from UCLA?! Ruby wasn’t sure which was more shocking, the fact that Nicole had a degree in Marketing – which felt very off-brand for her – or the fact that Nicole had never mentioned anything about this, ever.

Ruby was fairly sure no one at work knew about this.

Still puzzled about the whole Marketing degree, Ruby continued her snooping and came across a side-table that had a bunch of framed pictures on display.

What stood out to her immediately, was the lack of family photos. There was a wide range of pictures showing Nicole with a bunch of people Ruby had never seen before, but they all seemed to be about Nicole’s age.

There were no pictures of her when she was younger or with any group of people that looked like they could be her family.

Nicole had mentioned from time to time that she wasn’t close with her family, especially her mom, but to have about 20 framed pictures on a side table and not a single one being in the company of her family? That told Ruby a whole lot about Nicole’s relationship with her family and painted a very vivid picture of what her childhood must’ve been like.

Moving on from the living room to the kitchen, Ruby couldn’t help but scowl at the sight. Granted, being a chef meant that she was very adamant about keeping her kitchen spotless, but Nicole’s kitchen was an absolute disaster.

The pile of dirty dishes told Ruby that she probably didn’t have a dishwasher, and who could fucking guess when she’d last done a good deep clean of the place.

Ruby made a mental note to clean the fuck out of this poor excuse of a kitchen before Nicole woke up. But first, she needed a shower.

Since the apartment wasn’t that big, finding the bathroom was easy.

She found a stack of clean towels in one of the cabinets and she couldn’t help but curiously peek into each of the three cabinets above the sink.

It’d been a while since she’d dated a femme, but seeing the insane amount of hair and skin care products that Nicole owned reminded her what it was like.

Deciding not to linger, Ruby took off her underwear and turned on the shower before stepping in without giving it a second thought.

Huge fucking mistake.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” she cursed as soon as her skin came into contact with the absolutely scolding hot water. She jumped back out of the shower as quickly as she’d hopped it, and carefully reached in to lower the temperature to about half of what it previously had been.

What the actual fuck was wrong with Nicole that she felt the need to shower at such an insane temperature? How did she not have third degree burns all over her body from that ridiculously high temp?

Ruby let out a deep sigh and ran her hands over her face as she looked around in search for shampoo or anything that closely resembled it.

Lucky for her, Nicole kept an insane collection of hair care products in a corner of the shower.

It took Ruby a good five minutes to figure out which bottle to go for, because there were about 8 billion of them in that little corner.

Nicole owned about 6 different types of shampoo, 3 different types of conditioner, 2 different hair masks, body scrub, shower gel, something called shower foam? Why would one person need this many hair and body products?

Though, to be quite honest, Nicole did always smell amazing. Ruby wasn’t sure if that was the products or just Nicole being blessed with good genes – but if her smelling as fantastic as she always did meant that Ruby would have to put up with a bathroom stacked with all types of skin and hair care products – she’d happily allow it.

After smelling each shampoo on Nicole’s shower floor, Ruby found the one that was most familiar to her. The smell of jasmine filled her senses as soon as she opened the cap on the bottle.

She had half a mind to go for that one, then decided against it. Jasmine was a scent specifically tied to Nicole, and she didn’t want to ruin that by using Nicole’s signature shampoo.

So she ended up going with a generic type of shampoo, because what difference did it make?

She used the pink loofa hanging from a hook on the wall to scrub herself clean with whatever the fuck this ‘shower foam’ was. It sounded fun, and it came out of the can like a small cloud.

And it smelled amazing.

Once she was all clean and dried off, Ruby found herself debating whether or not she’d put her underwear from the night before back on – or perhaps she could sneak into the bedroom and try to find a pair of- actually, never mind.

From what little Ruby had seen of the underwear Nicole owned, she’d rather kill herself than put on a thong – and she probably wouldn’t fit into those flimsy little thongs.

No disrespect to said thongs, though. They looked absolutely fantastic on Nicole… and Ruby liked to keep it that way.

So she put her sports bra and boxers back on, before venturing back towards the kitchen. On her way there, she spotted – what looked like – a t-shirt on a chair in the corner of the living room. After snatching it from the seat, she concluded that it was, indeed a t-shirt.

A size too small for Ruby’s broad shoulders, but it’d have to do until Nicole would eventually come crawling out of bed.

And before that were to happen, Ruby busied herself by tidying up the kitchen after making herself a coffee.

About halfway through her deep clean, she caught the faint buzzing of her phone somewhere on the counter. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was a facetime call from her brother – Rob, or Robbie, as they all called him.

That guy had a habit of facetiming her whenever he felt like it, no matter the time of day.

And Ruby had a habit of always picking up.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” was how she greeted her older brother.

She heard his low chuckle before she saw him. There was a couple seconds of facetime having a hard time establishing the connection, but she eventually got a clear view of her brother – who was sipping something from a mug while settled back on the couch.

A very familiar looking couch-

“Hi there, little sis. It’s been a while since we’ve done this, so I figured I’d hit you up and see how you’re doing,” her brother said.

Ruby couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “we facetimed four days ago Robbie, it’s not been that long. By the way, are you at our parents’ place right now?”

Robbie let out an awkward chuckle, clearly feeling caught by her, “well, yeah. I uhm- Rachel kicked me out last week, so I’ve been staying here for the time being.”

Ruby’s face fell when hearing the news that her brother got kicked out by his latest girlfriend. Again. She shot him a sharp glare through the phone and asked,  “what did you do?”

“Hey, hey, I’m a victim here, alright? She was all kinds of craz-“

“Just tell me what the fuck you did, Rob, because I know you and your tragic track record of failed relationships,” Ruby interrupted his pathetic rant.

Robbie let out a deep sigh and ran a hand over his face before finally admitting, “alright, fine. I may have accidentally cheated on her. Twice.”

“I fucking knew it. You’re such a fucking idiot, you know that?” Ruby told him. “And how the fuck do you accidentally cheat on someone? That’s not a thing!”

Robbie groaned and rolled his eyes again, “I know, I know, I know. I’m a fucking idiot. Look, I already got a tsunami of shit from nonna, okay? I don’t need you to lecture me as well.”

Ruby let out a huff, “since you’re still allowed to sleep on our parents’ couch, I’d say nonna’s not scolded you enough.”

Robbie shot her another annoyed glare through the screen, “oh trust me, she pulled out every fucking trick in the book to try and convince mom and dad that they shouldn’t let me into their house for at least a year.”

A classic move on her nonna’s part, and Ruby hadn’t expected anything less.

Her 92 year old nonna immigrated from Naples, Italy to LA when she was 20 and head over heels in love with this American boy she’d met when his family spent their summer in Naples.

Following his sweet promises of a happy, prosperous life overseas, she’d left everything she’d ever known and followed him to America. Only to spend the rest of her years complaining about anything and everything America did wrong.

That woman ran their family like a president ran his country. Ruby knew no better than the fact that her nonna’s opinion was the most valued one within their family. The woman was an absolute fucking boss, and Ruby respected the shit out of that.

Growing up in a family ran by a bossy Italian woman shaped Ruby into the woman she was today. Since she was a little girl, her nonna would encourage her to never take any shit from anyone – especially men. To never be afraid of taking up too much space, no matter how hard society might try to force her to make herself smaller – just because she was a woman.

Ruby had very little memories of her grandfather, who’d been married to her nonna until he died when Ruby was only 7. But what she did recall, was the fact that her grandfather had little to no say in any type of decision that was to be made.

Ruby was quite sure that she wouldn’t have lasted in male dominated kitchens as long as she had, if it hadn’t been for her nonna raising her to never apologize for being right and encouraging her to be vocal about her existence and her right to be working in a male dominated field.

For a brief moment, her thoughts drifted to the idea of introducing her nonna to Nicole.

There was no doubt in Ruby’s mind that the two would hit it off right away.

And Ruby was both thrilled and terrified of the destructive force of nature they could become.

Focussing on her conversation with her brother, Ruby shot him another judgemental glare, “and she is absolutely right. What you did was fucked up, Rob, and Rachel did the right thing kicking you out.”

“Hey, whose fucking side are you on Rubes?” Robbie snapped back at her.

Still unimpressed, Ruby raised a singular eyebrow as she said, “Rachel’s, of course. In what fucking world would I be on your side in this scenario, Robbie? You cheated, again. Now face the fucking consequences like the adult you are.”

“Wow, that’s just cold. And I thought my little sister was supposed to have my back-“

“I would, if you stopped cheating on your girlfriends.”

Robbie huffed, “like you’ve never cheated-“

“I haven’t,” Ruby snapped at him, a bit more angry than she initially intended, but he hit a particularly painful spot. “And you know damn well why I’m getting so wound up over it.”

That seemed to shut her brother up for a moment, and he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck while trying to come up with anything else they could talk about.

And he found his change of subject in the unfamiliar kitchen Ruby was roaming about.

“Did you get a new kitchen, Rubes?” he asked after a couple minutes of silence. “Or is- oh shit… wait, are you seriously cleaning a kitchen that’s not yours? Do you do this with every one night stand?”

“Jesus, Robbie, way to get all up in my business,” Ruby groaned, and she closed a cupboard after putting the clean mugs away. She sucked in a deep breath, let a heavy sigh escape her lips and finally had the guts to face the camera and her brother. “If you must know… I’m cleaning my girlfriend’s kitchen.”

As expected, Robbie’s eyes widened at the word ‘girlfriend’ coming from Ruby’s lips. “Oh shit! Rubes, that’s fucking amazing! Are you for real? Like, this is a girlfriend girlfriend?”

“What other level of girlfriend is there, you idiot?” Ruby snapped back at him.

Robbie shrugged, “I don’t know, you might have a whole other system for this shit in LA. You’ve been there so long, I doubt you even remember what Chicago looks like.”

“Yeah, yeah, I haven’t been home in too long, I know,” Ruby mumbled, knowing damn well that her family was dying to see her. “I’ve been toying with the idea of coming over for Christmas.”

Robbie’s face lit up in an instant, “perfect! Bring that new girlfriend of yours!” he exclaimed with glee. “Speaking of this girlfriend, tell me a little about her. What’s her name, how’d you two meet, can I see a picture? Gotta make sure she’s pretty enough to be dating my little sister.”

Ruby chuckled, “oh trust me, she’s pretty enough, alright… ugh, fine. She- I think I’ve told you about this really pretty server at work, right?”

Robbie grinned back at her “by that, you mean that you’ve mentioned her every single time we facetime for the past year or so? Yeah, that does ring a bell… the blonde one, right? You always have had a weakness for blondes, Rubes.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know,” Ruby sighed, already regretting her decision to tell Robbie about her very new relationship. “Her name’s Nicole. She’s… it’s impossible to describe her, really, but she’s the most difficult and intriguing woman I’ve ever met. And she’s-… fuck, Robbie, she’s so fucking stunning.”

Robbie’s shit-eating grin somehow managed to piss her off even from a distance. “Oh you’re down bad, sis. She sounds like a handful, but you’ve never been one to back down from a challenge. Got a picture of this stunning girlfriend of yours? I’m dying to know what she looks like now.”

“I- wait, hold on,” Ruby said, before venturing back to the living room – towards the side table littered with framed photos. After scanning through all of them very quickly, Ruby decides on a fairly recent photo of Nicole and her friend Sascha at, what looks to be, some 4^th of July type of party.

It was a sweet picture. They were embracing one another while smiling brightly at the camera.

Nicole looked just as stunning as she always did, but there was something so free and open about this one that it felt fitting as a first visual introduction to her girlfriend.

“Alright, I found this picture of her with one of her best friends,” Ruby told her brother as she reappeared in frame, before holding the framed picture closer to the camera – trying to get the damn thing to focus as she made sure that the whole thing was visible on camera.

Robbie let out a low whistle, “holy shit, Rubes. She- we’re talking about the blonde one in this picture, right? Not the other one?”

Ruby couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “yes, she’s the blonde.”

“Well, damn. You’ve gotta watch your back, cause someone might try to steal that beauty from you when you’re not looking,” Robbie teased her.

Putting the picture down, Ruby glared at her brother through the screen – a hint of a grin playing on her lips. “She’s not going anywhere, trust me. I’m not planning on letting her go any time soon.”

“Good, good. That’s good to hear. You’re a better person than I am, that’s for sure,” Robbie admitted.

“That’s not a very difficult thing to accomplish,” Ruby teased him.

Robbie grinned and nodded, before asking, “does she treat you right, though? I mean, she looks like the type of girl that could get away with anything, because she’s so damn pretty. But being pretty doesn’t equal being a good person, you know?”

Ruby couldn’t help but smile at the protective older brother coming out to play. “Yeah, I know.”

Robbie hummed, “I just want to make sure that you’re also taken care of. I know you and how you love to take care of your girlfriends… but my question is, does this girlfriend also take care of you?”

There were times where she wished her brother didn’t know her as well as he did, but in moments like these – she was so very grateful that he was looking out for her.

Ruby’s smile grew a little warmer as she nodded in response. “She does. She- she’s the reason I got that promotion at work. Wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for her. She vouched for all of the extras that came with my promotion. Even got our executive chef on his knees, begging me to stay.”

“Well, damn. She sounds like a keeper. Make sure she joins you on your trip back home to Chicago for Christmas,” her brother told her.

Ruby chuckled softly, “we’ll see, Robbie. I gotta go, my girl could wake up any minute now and I’ve not started on breakfast yet. Keep me updated on the whole housing crisis, alright? And if you’re really desperate, you’re always welcome to crash on my couch.”

Robbie nodded, “I’ll keep that in mind, Rubes, but you know how I feel about LA…. Though, that does mean I could meet your new girlfriend…”

“I’m already regretting this. Bye Robbie,” Ruby chuckled, giving a quick wave to the camera before ending the call.

Un-be-fucking-lievable. Ruby loved all of her brothers, truly, but there was just something about how ignorant and stupid Robbie behaved in a relationship that just made her want to slap him across the face at least 10 times.

Being the youngest of 4 children and having 3 older brothers had been both a blessing and a nightmare growing up. On one hand, she’d always felt protected and safe – on the other hand, the endless stream of pranks they would play on her would drive her insane on a daily basis.

Though, admittedly, all had mellowed out once they moved out and each went their own way.

Her oldest brother, Raphael – or Raph, as they all called him – had settled down in the Chicago suburbs, married a sweet, pretty girl named Ava and he was the proud father of a 9 year old girl – named Grace, or Gracie – and a 4 year old girl, named Autumn.

Despite not having seen her nieces over the past year and a half, she still regularly got sent updates from Raph – which always included pictures of the girls.

She missed them. A lot.

She hadn’t been able to go back to Chicago last Christmas, because she’d been forced to spent all her savings on what appeared to be a small leak in her bathroom – then turned out to be a whole fucking issue with the pipes.

A couple had to be replaced and in the end, the money she’d saved up to afford her flight back home, was lost on the damn leak.

The whole family had been outraged and they even attempted to all pitch in – hoping it’d be enough to afford the trip to Chicago and back. But Ruby flat out refused to take anything they offered her.

Not because she was too proud, but because she knew how little they had to spare. Ruby had grown up in a very close, proud family – and, unfortunately, a rather poor one.

And despite her never having experienced the nagging sensation of missing out on anything, she just couldn’t allow her family to spent every last penny on her commute to and from Chicago.

This, however, was why Ruby was so hellbent on making it to Chicago for Christmas this year.

Hopefully, with Nicole by her side.

But that was several months from now, and the most pressing matter in that moment was Ruby’s plan for breakfast.

And Nicole’s near-empty fridge and cupboards worried her. Not just because of the fact that Ruby was facing quite the challenge when it came to whipping up any sort of breakfast – but mostly because the lack of food made her wonder if Nicole cared for herself outside of work.

Ruby was no stranger to Nicole sweetly requesting fries from Nico or whatever it was Ruby offered her – but the fact of the matter was that Ruby couldn’t recall ever seeing her eat anything other than that.

She shook the most alarming thoughts from her mind, though the mild worry stuck to her subconscious – and she vowed to keep a bit of an eye on her from now on.

Ruby eventually found some eggs, flour, vanilla extract and almond milk – which wasn’t ideal but good enough for a batch of pancakes.

She was about halfway through her batch, when she heard the door to the bedroom open behind her. Ruby glanced back over her shoulder, and she couldn’t help but grin at the sight of a very sleepy Nicole – now dressed in silk pyjama shorts and a black tank top – taking her time soaking up the sight of Ruby in her kitchen.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Ruby called to her over her shoulder as she kept her eyes on the pancake she was flipping over

Nicole didn’t grace her with an audible response. Ruby lost about 30 seconds to her pancake and the failed flip, before turning around to face Nicole.

And the sight before her confronted her with just how desperately in love she was with the woman before her.

When Ruby turned to face Nicole, she saw how Nicole crouched by the couch and when she came back up – she was cradling the pretty ragdoll in her arms. Ruby’s heart skipped a beat as she watched how Nicole pressed a series of kisses onto the cat’s head.

It wasn’t until then that she noticed Ruby watching from a distance.

Nicole’s lips curled up to a teasing grin and she said, “look at you, watching me like a perv.”

Ruby chuckled and pointed the spatula in her direction, “careful how you speak to the person making you breakfast,”

“Consider me warned,” Nicole hummed while she made her way to the kitchen, still cradling the ragdoll in her arms like a baby. And the cat seemed to love it. “I believe you haven’t been introduced to each other just yet.”

Ruby reached out and scratched the cat’s ear, as a wide grin spread on her features. “We introduced ourselves this morning, except she didn’t give me her name.”

Nicole glanced up at her in surprise, “how do you know she’s a girl?”

Ruby shrugged and continued her scratches. “She just gives off girl cat vibes… am I correct?”

Meeting Ruby’s gaze with a sweet grin, Nicole confirmed with a nod. “She is, indeed. Her name is Lady.”

“Lady? A very fancy name for a very fancy looking cat,” Ruby purred, while continuously providing Lady with new scratches. “How old is she?”

Nicole dropped another kiss on top of Lady’s head, before looking up at Ruby once again. “She’s 2,5 and she’s quite the temperamental young woman.”

“Sounds an awful lot like someone else I know,” Ruby remarked, earning her a playful shove from Nicole’s elbow, before she put the cat back on her own four feet.

Without having to think about it, Ruby’s right arm curled around Nicole’s back as Nicole wrapped her arms around Ruby’s neck and pushed herself to her tiptoes – to kiss her good morning.

Despite Nicole standing on the tips of her toes, the lack of heels made for quite a height difference between them and Ruby had to lean in just a bit – to close the gap between them and capture Nicole’s lips in a deep kiss.

Nicole let out a soft moan, as she deepened the kiss for a moment, before pulling away.

“Well, that definitely made this a good morning,” Nicole purred, before hopping up on the counter beside the stove. “Even though I woke up to find my bed empty,” she whined sweetly, her lips doing that little pout that Ruby adored.

She couldn’t resist the urge to lean in and steal a small kiss from Nicole’s pouty lips. “I was up at 7, and I figured you didn’t want to be woken up at that hour… so I put a lot of effort into getting out of your embrace without waking you.”

Nicole’s pout vanished as she offered Ruby a sweet smile, “that’s so sweet.”

“Oh, by the way, you’re one hell of a cuddler,” Ruby informed her with a hint of laughter following up on the statement.

Nicole’s cheeks darkening betrayed her true feelings before she could deny them, and she looked away while saying, “well yeah, I like cuddling. Fucking sue me, I guess.”

“I think it’s great,” Ruby told her, in hopes of pulling her out of whatever embarrassed state she was currently in. “I get cold pretty easily, like I sleep underneath layers of blankets back at my place, but today I learned that nothing beats the warmth you provide.”

“Ruby-“

“I’m being serious,” Ruby interrupted her attempt at an excuse, and she eyed Nicole – who still lingered on the counter top beside the stove. “I’ve got no clue as to why you’re so warm all of the time, but it’s perfect to me… which reminds me, what the absolute fuck is that temperature on your shower that was the default when I turned it on this morning?”

Nicole looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how I damn near got third degree burns from how hot that shower ran when I turned it on this morning!” Ruby told her.

“You’re so dramatic! That’s my standard temperature when I shower! I thought you being a chef meant that you were resistant to heat-“

“When it comes to my fingers and arms, yeah! But that fucking water was absolutely boiling. There’s no way you shower in those temperatures without suffering 2^nd degree burns at least!” Ruby exclaimed.

“O my god, you’re more dramatic than I am! Who’d have thought?” Nicole teased, before looking her over. “Wait, which shampoo did you use?”

Ruby glanced back at her and shrugged, “I have no fucking clue, to be honest. There were about 7 million different products in your shower and I just picked a random one that read ‘shampoo’ somewhere on the bottle.”

Nicole’s eyes narrowed slightly and she waved Ruby over to her. “Let me smell,” she insisted, and she pulled Ruby closer before the chef could protest. Nicole’s nose brushed through her roots and a second later, she was released.

“You’re good,” Nicole concluded, without giving any further explanation.

Ruby paused to look her in the eye – one eyebrow raised. “Care to explain what the fuck that was?”

“I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t used the one shampoo every guy that’s ever showered here used… and you passed the test,” Nicole proudly informed her.

Ruby chuckled, “you’re sick.”

“I’m observant and thorough,” Nicole claimed, while reaching out to casually run her fingertips from Ruby’s shoulder to the nape of her neck and back down.

Ruby grinned, “sure… speaking of being observant, I treated myself to a little tour of your living room-“

“Let me guess, you have questions?” Nicole deadpanned before Ruby got the chance to finish her sentence.

Ruby’s amused grin never faded as her gaze found Nicole’s. “You have a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing?”

“I fucking knew it,” Nicole groaned immediately. That response merely fed into Ruby’s intrigue when it came to this mysterious degree that made no sense.

“Didn’t pick you for a Marketing girl,” Ruby casually dropped, earning her another groan on Nicole’s end.

“And you’d be fucking right. I hated every fucking minute of it,” Nicole huffed.

Ruby shot her a curious look, “so why’d you force yourself through four years of something you didn’t like?”

Nicole sighed and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment, before finding Ruby’s curious gaze, “you’re gonna think it’s real stupid.”

“Unless you pulled an Elle Woods and only applied to go to college to get back at an ex-boyfriend, I am quite sure I won’t think it’s stupid,” Ruby told her.

Nicole’s lips curled to a satisfied grin at the sound of Ruby’s response, “I didn’t know you were so well-versed on the phenomenon that is Legally Blonde-“

“Nicole…” Ruby hummed, quietly warning her that she knew exactly what sort of tricks Nicole was trying to pull off.

“Ugh, fine,” Nicole sighed, before pushing back her shoulders and taking in a deep breath. Anything to make her appear more confident and self-assured.

Ruby knew better.

Nicole’s gloriously beautiful dark brown eyes finally found Ruby’s, as she confessed: “I never gave two shits about that whole degree. The only reason I wanted to go to college, was because I was scouted during my senior year of high school and UCLA offered me a spot on their competitive cheer squad.”

Ruby couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and it puzzled her why Nicole seemed to be embarrassed of it. “That- that’s incredible. Like, that’s a real big accomplishment.”

“You don’t need to force it to make me feel better about it, Ruby,” Nicole told her. “Like, yeah, I knew it was a career short-lived and I knew that there was very little chance at any career in cheer after college… but it was the one thing I was really good at. Cheerleading was the very first thing I decided to try because I wanted it.”

Ruby couldn’t stop herself from leaning in to steal a kiss from Nicole, who happily obliged.

“Going to college because you’ve been scouted for a career in competitive cheer is nothing short of impressive, really,” Ruby reassured her. “And cheer being the one thing to truly bring you joy is totally fine. I mean, I’ve seen some cheerleading performances and that’s… that looks like it’s so fucking hard.”

“Oh baby, you haven’t even seen the half of it,” Nicole chuckled softly whilst shaking her head. “I think it’s safe to assume you’ve never watched a college cheer competition?”

Ruby offered a pained smile, “would it make me a bad girlfriend if I said ‘no’?”

“It wouldn’t… but it also means that I’m about to educate you on the world of competitive college cheerleading,” Nicole announced, whilst hopping down from the counter. Pancakes half-forgotten, Ruby followed Nicole to the couch – where they got comfortable as Nicole turned on the television and connected to her Chromecast.

“Are you ready to see 19 year-old me being thrown around in the name of cheer?” Nicole teased, earning her a slightly alarmed, wide-eyed look from Ruby.

Without further warning, Nicole played a video from August, 2013.

The video kicked off with an announcement of the squad about to perform, and Ruby tried her very best to try and find Nicole as her team ran onto the floor. There was a momentary close up, and Nicole paused the video halfway through the close-up.

“There, that’s me,” she said, pointing at the tv screen to further clarify which blonde cheerleader happened to be her.

As expected, Nicole always had been an absolute smoke show.

The frozen image on the tv captured her perfectly, and Ruby felt deeply honoured to witness this little moment of nostalgia with Nicole, who pressed play on her remote and they watched as Nicole's team performed this insane choreography.

Like, Ruby knew that cheerleading meant a lot more than waving pompoms around and chanting stupid rhymes, but this was a whole other level of athletics. 

She tried her very best to try and follow 19 year-old Nicole on the screen, but the speed and series of tricks and stunts they performed without a singular break in between, made it a near impossible job. Beside her, she could practically feel the smug grin playing on Nicole's lips, as Ruby stared at the tv in absolute awe.

"Look, that's me again, on the far right," Nicole told her at some point, and Ruby's gaze followed the direction in which she was pointing. 

She spotted Nicole's blonde ponytail instantly, and she had to actively force herself not to gasp when she watched how Nicole was lifted into the air and flawlessly kept her balance whilst only being held up by one guy's hand. 

Before she could say anything, the guy balancing Nicole's left foot in his left hand, tossed her in the air and Ruby's jaw dropped ever so slightly as she watched Nicole do a double front flip before being caught by two of the guys who were in charge of spotting her.

"Holy shit. This is so impressive," Ruby mumbled, and finally turned to look at Nicole - who was, indeed, sporting the expected smug grin.

"Competitive college cheerleading is not to be fucked with, like... we were worked to the bone on a daily basis. I had a fucking six pack when I was in college," Nicole informed her.

Ruby couldn't help but grin at the thought of cheerleader Nicole sporting a six pack. That shit was not easy to accomplish, especially for women.

Her attention was drawn back to the tv, where the routine was still going. "Sucks that you never got to make this into a career, like... you're clearly really, really talented."

That wasn't just to flatter Nicole - well, maybe a little. But Ruby could tell just by watching her for only a couple minutes, that Nicole outperformed at least half her squad.

It wasn't just the quality of her stunts, which was absolutely insane, but there was something about Nicole's stage presence and her level of performance that just drew you in. It was impossible to not watch her, once she caught your eye.

Nicole was born to be in the spotlight, and it fucking showed.

"Nah, I'm not sure I'd have been able to do the strict diets and torturous bootcamps for another 10 years. Like, yeah, I was really good at it and I loved to perform... but that level of cheer requires you to give up so much, just to be the best at what you do." Nicole sighed.

Ruby hummed in slight recognition. When she was working her way through culinary school, she dated this girl for like 10 months who was a college athlete on the track team - so she was somewhat familiar with the rigorous rules and restrictions college athletes were forced to submit themselves to.

"That tracks. I mean, you've never really been a fan of following rules," Ruby teased her softly, which earned her a light shove of Nicole's elbow.

"Yeah, well, never been good at following them either. Like, we weren't allowed to drink - even after we turned 21 - but I did anyways," Nicole told her with an unbothered shrug. "Like, we're in college... No one's gonna skip out on the experience of their party phase."

Ruby grinned back at her, "oh, I bet you were quite the party girl."

"Of course!" Nicole huffed, like she was offended that Ruby could ever think otherwise. "You know what I hated the most about being a competitive cheerleader in college? The weigh-ins."

"Weigh-ins?" Ruby repeated, her eyebrows creasing slightly. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

"Oh, it's exactly what you're thinking," Nicole told her. "Every two weeks, they'd call us into the office one by one and weigh us to see if we'd gained or lost weight. And like, they'd force you to follow this insane diet of watered down soup, if you'd gained too much weight. Or, if you'd lost too much weight, they'd force you to finish every meal with a heavy dessert full of carbs and sugar."

Ruby couldn't help but scowl in disgust at the fuckery that Nicole had put up with in college. "That's fucking insane. Like, that's how you create a breeding ground for eating disorders."

"Exactly!" Nicole agreed wholeheartedly. "I don't know a single person who was on my squad and came out of college, still having a perfectly normal relationship with food."

Nicole's confession reminded Ruby of how painfully empty Nicole's fridge and cupboards were. How, at work, she'd never finish a bowl of fries - always leaving a couple, which she claimed had gone cold. Now that Ruby thought about it, she couldn't remember Nicole ever finishing her plate. 

She'd always leave a couple bites on her plate. It happened at lunch, during family meals- it never struck Ruby as odd, up until that very moment.

Deciding not to comment on it, she simply nodded and focused on the tv once again.

The routine finished with a close-up of Nicole, smiling big while clearly being out of breath.

“God, you’re so fucking gorgeous. Fuck. Have you never had an ugly era, like the rest of us?” Ruby commented.

Beside her, Nicole grinned from ear to ear. “Not that I know of… Then again, I went to private school, and I’ve never seen any ugly people who went to private school.”

“Jesus, Nicole. You went to fucking private school?” Ruby exclaimed. “You know, I never realised you grew up rich, until now.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, “we weren’t rich rich, though. Like, we’re comfortable-“

“O my god, that’s the most ‘I grew up rich’ thing you possibly could’ve said!” Ruby exclaimed. Nicole’s gaze was drenched in a sense of insecurity about whether or not she’d responded in a correct manner.

“Look, I don’t know what you want me to say! Like, yes, I grew up privileged and maybe a little spoiled. And yes, I went to private school. And I got a car for my 16^th birthday… but that doesn’t mean that I had a good childhood. From a distance, I’m sure it seems like everything was perfect, but all that money and all of the presents never made up for the fact that my dad was barely around and my mom was an absolute fucking nightmare!” Nicole exclaimed, her words trembling with pure frustration as she finally vocalized what she’d been holding back for years.

The sudden outburst left Ruby speechless. She hadn’t expected this type of heartfelt and vulnerable confession from Nicole, and hearing how much she’d missed out on growing up – when it came to the undeniable bond shared as a family…. That really put things in perspective for Ruby.

And her heart sank with grief, for the childhood Nicole never had.

“I’m so sorry, Nicole-“

“I’m sure you are. I’m sure you’re trying your very best to understand, but I can tell that you never truly will…” Nicole told her, as tears threatened to spill from her beautiful dark browns.

The sight of Nicole on the verge of tears broke Ruby’s heart, and all she yearned for was to try and fix things for her.

But something told her that Nicole needed to let it all out, so she found maybe try and find some sort of closure.

A singular tear escaped Nicole’s right eye. It physically hurt Ruby to witness this display of grief within the woman she cared for so very deeply.

“You know, the very first thing I noticed when I first set foot in your apartment the other day, were the amount of framed pictures on your walls of you and your family,” Nicole softly stated.

Ruby couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and wipe the tear from Nicole’s cheek using her thumb. “And I noticed you don’t have a singular family photo on display… quite the difference, hm?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Nicole whispered, wiping another tear from her eye before it got the chance to run down her cheek. “Am I correct to assume you’re close to your family?”

Ruby nodded, “yeah, quite close. Closer to some than to others, but that’s a given… What about you?” Ruby knew damn well that Nicole’s relationship with her family was nowhere near the one Ruby shared with her family.

Nicole offered a sad smile as she finally met Ruby’s curious gaze. “It’s… complicated, to say the least. Like I said, my dad wasn’t around for most of my childhood. I just remember him always working. So I was mostly raised by my mom, and I know you’ve never met her because you’re back of the house but… when you meet her, you’ll know what I’ve been talking about.”

Ruby offered a sympathetic smile and pushed herself to her feet, to venture back to the kitchen and set up the table for breakfast. “That bad, huh?” she called back over her shoulder.

“I mean, it wasn’t all bad,” Nicole admitted, as a soft smile reached Ruby on the other end of the kitchen. “I hate to say it out loud, but I always have been a daddy’s girl. Like, my dad wasn’t around much, but whenever he was – he’d spend more time with me than he would with my mom… and I’m convinced that’s why she hates me to this day.”

“Your family sounds… very complicated,” Ruby hesitantly exclaimed.

“And that’s not even the worst part!” Nicole continued, “I’ve told you that I have a younger brother, right? Devin.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned him every now and then-“ Ruby hummed.

Nicole pulled her knees up to her chest as she eyed Ruby from her spot on the couch. “Well, I’m pretty sure I’ve never mentioned that he’s 11 years younger than me.”

Had Ruby been sipping a coffee, she’d have sprayed her sip all over Nicole's dining table. Instead, Ruby – in the middle of setting the table for breakfast, stopped in her tracks and turned to face Nicole. “I’m sorry, what!? I thought your brother was like, my age.”

“Yeah, well, he's not." Nicole stated while rolling her eyes. "Trust me, I hated it as much as you. Like, I’d been an only child for about 10 years, and all of a sudden I was told I’d have to share the spotlight with a baby brother I never asked for?!” Nicole exclaimed in a deeply offended tone of voice, which made Ruby laugh.

Ruby grinned back at her, “how did you go about it, then?”

“I just ignored him for the first couple years. Once I could have a decent conversation with him, I started to like him a little more. But it was the fact that my mom was so obvious about favouring him over me, that really fucked me over in the long run.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Ruby mumbled, but Nicole dismissed the condolences with a mere wave of her hand.

“It’s okay, really. Devin’s kinda grown on me, and he’s really become his own person since starting college and finally moving out of my parents’ house,”

“That’s good to hear,“ Ruby hummed softly. “Speaking of family, I talked to one of my brothers this morning… told him about you.”

“Oh, really?” Nicole purred, immediately intrigued. “What did you tell him?”

Ruby felt a familiar heat creep up at the back of her neck as she answered the question. “I- I let it slip that I had a new girlfriend and of course he was dying to hear who you were and he insisted on seeing a picture of you.

“Wait, which one did you show him?”

Ruby ventured back into the living room and retrieved the framed photo he’d shown the guy.

Nicole studied the photo for a moment, before giving a nod of approval. “That’s a pretty cute one,”

“Are you kidding? You look stunning,” Ruby corrected her, while showing her the photo in question.

“So did he approve? Your brother?” Nicole curiously asked, causing Ruby to grin from ear to ear.

Ruby leaned in to steal another kiss from her and whispered, “he thinks you’re extremely hot, and a good fit for me.”

Nicole leaned closer once more and kissed her girlfriend without a care in the world. So long as Ruby was near to calm her down, in case things got heated. "Your family's approval means a lot, doesn't it?"

Ruby felt her cheeks burn up before she had the chance to respond, and eventually just muttered; "Admitting it feels really fucking lame."

Nicole leaned in a little more, eyes narrowing. "I'm so sorry, what was that?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and shot her a sharp glare before saying, "yes, Nicole darling, my family's approval does mean a lot to me."

"Grand, that's all I had to hear," Nicole exclaimed.

Ruby eyed her wearily, "you're not planning anything, are you?"

Nicole gasped dramatically, eyeing Ruby while clutching her chest, "Ruby-sous, how dare you suggest such a thing?!"

Ruby merely shot her a knowing glare. "I happen to be familiar with your shenanigans, Nicole," she answered, her lips twitching to a teasing grin. "You're just lucky you're so very pretty and charming too..."

"Yeah, I know," Nicole purred in response, her eyes lingering on Ruby a little longer than usual. She then leaned in and captured Ruby's lips in a deep kiss.

Nicole practically purred when Ruby eagerly deepened the kiss and her hands slipped beneath her loose robe and black tank top.

Ruby chased her lips as Nicole pulled away and gently caressed Ruby's left cheek as Nicole's dark browns found Ruby's.

As Ruby soaked up the sight of Nicole in such close proximity to her, it was Nicole who dared make the next move.

Nicole indulged herself by pulling Ruby in for another, rather heated, kiss.

As Nicole pulled away for a moment, her dark eyes fixated on Ruby's, and she spoke up.

"I know this might sound weird, but I really want to impress your family. And I know I won't be introduced to them any time soon,  but I just want you to know that I plan on knocking their socks off when they eventually meet me."

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle, "just be yourself, baby. That's all that matters."

Nicole snorted in response. "Yeah. Sure."

Chapter Text

“Nicole, I really have to go. I’m gonna be late for my shift.”

“Then go,” Nicole breathed against the dark bruise her lips had marked Ruby’s throat with just moments prior.

A satisfied grin curled up on Nicole’s lips when Ruby groaned deeply and put no effort in trying to remove Nicole from her lap, so she could actually get up to leave for work.

They’d just passed their 6 week mark to the start of their relationship, and the weeks that had passed hadn’t dulled out their obsessive need for each other. As a matter of fact, those six weeks and three days that they’d now officially been dating were a constant whirlwind of falling in love over and over again as they discovered new, sometimes silly, little details about each other.

Details like Ruby learning that on their couch nights, Nicole could spend hours creating a new Pinterest board of any sort of topic that caught her interest. She could lose herself in the fine art of sculpting her new board to aesthetic perfection entirely, and Ruby just enjoyed quietly looking over her shoulder as Nicole laid back against her chest.

Details like Ruby’s enthusiasm for crafting the perfect charcuterie board for any occasion. She’d spend hours putting together a grocery list that consisted of the best cheeses, meats and whatever else she wanted on there.

And Nicole was always happy to help out, because that meant she got to taste-test everything Ruby was planning to present on her wooden plank of delicious savoury treats.

Details like Nicole having a claimed designated spot on a countertop in both their kitchens, where she’d sit and rant about anything and everything while Ruby cooked for the two of them.

So far, things had been pretty great.

There were the occasional disagreements and near-fights, but what couple didn’t struggle with those?

It was, however, becoming increasingly more difficult by the day to keep their relationship a secret at work.

Ruby had a hunch that Bridgette had probably caught on by now, but that she was just too shy to confront Nicole about it.

And she was pretty sure most of the staff was convinced that there’d been something more between them at some point, but no one had directly approached either of them so far.

But Ruby knew it wouldn’t be long until their secret would be discovered… and to be fair, she didn’t mind that one bit. She was proud to be dating Nicole and she’d been dying to spill the tea from the very start.

However, this was Nicole’s decision – and she wanted to honour and respect that.

Over the past couple weeks, Ruby every so often caught a glimpse of Nicole’s silent struggles with her fear of commitment. In light of that, Ruby always made sure to tell Nicole how brave she was for taking a chance on them and committing to their relationship as she had.

Because Nicole really did try. Sure, it’d taken her a ridiculously torturous amount of months to finally be honest with herself about her feelings for Ruby – and even longer for her to finally give Ruby a real chance at dating her.

Still, the only people in Nicole’s life who knew that her and Ruby were dating were two of her friends – Sascha and Jay, Nicole’s best gay friend who’d known about Nicole’s crush on Ruby.

She hadn’t told her family, her other friends or anyone at work yet… and despite Ruby knowing that it wasn’t because Nicole was ashamed, it still felt that way.

But despite all that, Nicole never held back whenever they were in public together. She always held Ruby’s hand – fingers intertwined. She always allowed Ruby’s arms pulling her closer as Ruby stood behind her when they were at the store or whenever she could, really. Nicole always kissed her back whenever Ruby stole a kiss – she even initiated it quite often…

But there was something about going public with their relationship around her inner circle that still seemed to frighten Nicole. And Ruby respected her boundaries, despite the fact that she was growing more and more anxious and eager to let the world know that she was dating Nicole Ashley Brown.

Hell, Ruby’s entire family already knew. Once Robbie heard the news, he’d told their parents, who’d told nonna – and the entire family knew within the span of two days.

And it wasn’t like Ruby minded her family knowing. Besides, they lived in Chicago – so there was no reason to fear it might reach LA somehow.

Didn’t mean that she couldn’t hope that one of the staff members would finally catch them making out in the dry storage or something…  Just to get it over with and out into the world, without Ruby being at fault for accidently spilling their little secret.

Back to Ruby’s current struggle, which she’d gotten all too familiar with since she first started dating Nicole. These particular types of mornings were nothing new to Ruby.

She’d discovered early on that Nicole had a tendency to use every trick up her sleeve in an attempt to lure Ruby into calling in sick – just so she could spent the rest of the day with Nicole, instead of behind the line at Bistro Huddy.

And Nicole was good at it.

She made Ruby’s mornings a living hell whenever the sous-chef’s shift started before her own.

And her sick methods of trying to convince Ruby to stay were gonna be the death of her one day.

That morning was no different. It was a Monday, which meant that Ruby was scheduled to start at noon, while Nicole wasn’t called in until 4 in the afternoon. So naturally, Nicole considered it her duty to try and convince Ruby to call in sick – just to spend a couple more hours with her.

Before they started dating, Nicole had been the very last person Ruby would accuse of being obsessively clingy when in a relationship.

Well-

She got that all wrong. And now she suffered the consequences.

The two of them ended up on the couch after breakfast, entangled in a heated make-out session with Nicole straddling Ruby’s lap and ever so leisurely grinding into her as their mouths chased each other and teased to a torturous extend.

Ruby’s first alarm rudely interrupted their intimate moment about 15 minutes earlier, and Ruby had made several weak attempts at getting up from the couch ever since.

Each attempt easily silenced by Nicole’s kisses and her fingertips teasing the waistband of Ruby’s boxers. Every so often, she dipped them beneath the elastic – but never as low as Ruby craved those fingers to end up.

“Joey is gonna fire my ass if I come in late,” Ruby mumbled, as Nicole tried to shut her up with kisses. “I’m serious, Nicole.”

The next sound that ripped from Ruby’s throat was a low moan, caused by Nicole pulling her into another heated kiss - as her fingertips finally dipped lower into Ruby’s jeans and slipped past the waistband of her boxers.

“Call Joey and tell him you’re having car trouble, so you’ll be 15 minutes late,” Nicole whispered against her lips.

Ruby groaned, “I can’t-“

“Call him.” Nicole insisted firmly. “If you make that call to Joey, telling him you’ll be 15 minutes late… my fingers might just go a little lower – I might just give you what you’re so desperate for.”

Ruby pulled back from their kiss, eyes wild with need and Nicole felt a triumphant twist of her gut when Ruby reached over to snatch her phone from the coffee table and firmly tapped the screen until she’d dialled Joey’s number and pressed ‘call’.

Ruby flipped the screen to prove that she really was calling Joey, then put it on speaker as they waited for Bistro Huddy’s executive chef to pick up.

In the meantime, Nicole’s lips found their way down to Ruby’s neck. A low purr vibrated against Ruby’s skin as Nicole sucked a dark bruise onto her throat. Ruby had every intention of telling Nicole to back away while she was on the phone, but Nicole’s fingers tracing lower and brushing through her lightly trimmed bush, made her eyes roll back with pleasure for a moment.

She very quickly snapped out of it, however, when she heard Joey’s usual, semi-frustrated, voice blast through the speaker.

Ruby’s fingers snatched up Nicole’s wrist in a tight grip the moment Joey answered the phone.

“You better not fucking be calling me to tell me you’re not coming in today,” he threatened, without so much as a ‘hello’ beforehand.

“No, no, it’s not that. I just-“ she sucked in a sharp breath when Nicole’s lips sucked another hickey onto her pulse point. “I am dealing with some car trouble. Can’t get it to start. So, I’ll be there asap, but I might be 15 minutes late.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!? Next time, check your car first thing in the morning, instead of 5 minutes before you have to leave,” Joey spat back at her, but all Ruby could focus on was her desperate attempt not to lose her mind as Nicole marked her neck and teased her – all while her fingertips leisurely played with her bush, which drove her up the fucking walls.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Will do, next time,” Ruby mumbled.

“Alright, well nothing I can do about it now. Just make sure to get your ass over here as soon as possible, the place is starting to fill up,” Joey grumbled.

Ruby had to bite down on her lower lip to supress a moan that was on the verge of escaping her lips. The taste of blood that followed was a testimony to the torture Nicole was forcing her to endure.

“Yep, got it. Will be there asap. Bye.” Ruby spat out, before quickly ending the call.

She tossed her phone aside without care and firmly took a hold of Nicole’s jaw, forcing her to look up at Ruby.

And the innocent puppy eyes she was met with drove Ruby absolutely insane.

“I fucking hate you,” Ruby mumbled as she leaned closer, until her lips ghosted Nicole’s. “You’re so fucking desperate to always get your way, aren’t you?”

Nicole grinned against her lips, fingertips lightly caressing the skin beneath her careful touch. “Perhaps. But that attitude pays off. I always get what I want,” Nicole whispered as she kissed up Ruby’s neck, to her jaw and further up until she’d reached Ruby’s lips.

Ruby didn’t waste a second and she pulled Nicole into a heated kiss, drawing a moan from the both of them. As Ruby deepened the kiss, she released the grip on Nicole’s wrist and used that hand to cup her cheek as she pulled the blonde closer.

Nicole’s kisses grew more passionate as her fingers dipped lower, until they smoothly parted her folds – drawing another needy moan from Ruby’s lips as a result.

“Look at you, drenched and so needy for me,” Nicole whispered into their kiss. As a result, Ruby’s free hand managed to get a firm hold of Nicole’s ass – using that to try and redirect her torturous desire for the blonde in her lap somewhere.

Nicole teased her for a second, fingertips leisurely spreading Ruby out over and over again. And just as Ruby was about to beg Nicole to properly fuck her, she felt those talented fingers sink deep inside her without any sort of warning.

Ruby gasped sharply at the sudden stretch of Nicole’s fingers burying themselves knuckle-deep inside of her.

Unsurprisingly, Nicole decided to indulge in her own sick sense of torturous pleasure by refusing to withdraw as soon as her knuckles met Ruby’s slick folds and she knew that this was as far as she could go.

For a woman with no previous sexual experience on sex with other women… Nicole had proven herself quite the surprise and a very quick study all at once.

Ruby very quickly learned that Nicole happened to be hyper attentive to the needs of her partner, when she was invested enough to actually feel the desire to put in the works.

By their third night spent together, Nicole was more well-versed in Ruby’s wants, needs, weak spots and preferences than some of her long-term girlfriends had been.

When they first got together, Ruby had somewhat expected that she’d spend those first months just giving, not wanting to pressure Nicole into returning the favour before she felt comfortable enough to do so. She wanted to ease Nicole into this new world of lesbian sex… but boy, had she been wrong about how bold Nicole could be in the bedroom.

From the very first day they got together, Nicole had been so very eager to becoming an expert in all the ways she could pleasure Ruby and work her to that sweet edge. So needy about proving herself, about figuring out what drove Ruby insane with need and pleasure.

Nicole reciprocated Ruby’s experienced talent with curiosity and eagerness – and within less than a week she’d learned about Ruby’s triggers and the best methods to work the sous-chef to that delicious high.

And Ruby finally got another taste of that glorious sensation of having a gorgeous femme knuckle-deep inside of her. This shit drove Ruby insane.

She looked up at Nicole, still in her lap and slightly hovering over her. Ruby’s dark eyes devoured the woman in her lap without using words.

It was near impossible to explain how painfully sexy it was to lock eyes with Nicole, while the blonde’s fingers were buried deep inside of her. It was obscene, but so addictive.

Not to mention, Nicole’s new favourite pastime since getting with Ruby, was to watch and observe every little detail of pleasure on her features as Nicole finally fucked her into oblivion.

Ruby’s moans and every little noise she made guided Nicole through the whole thing as she always did. Sometime after Nicole finally got into a steady pace with Ruby, she noticed how Ruby’s moans became more frequent and her breaths grew more desperate with every inhale.

“Come on, baby, you’re so close. You take me so well… How about a little treat? Why don’t you cum on my fingers, baby?” Nicole whispered into her mouth, breathy kisses breaking up her words every so often.

And Ruby lost it right there and then. One final curl of Nicole’s fingers inside of her – combined with a flick of her clit by Nicole’s thumb – crashed her into a most delicious orgasm.

Nicole solely focussed her gaze on Ruby, who buried her nose in her neck as she cried out Nicole’s name – a sound that nearly made the blonde purr with pride. Her name spilled from Ruby’s lips like a prayer – and Nicole revelled in the thrill of having Ruby at her complete mercy.

She carefully helped Ruby ride out her orgasm, and eventually pulled her hand from the sous-chef’s jeans. Nicole kept her gaze trained on Ruby’s as she brought her fingers to her lips and sucked them clean as she still sat in Ruby’s lap.

A soft groan formed at the base of her throat, when she got a taste of Ruby.

The moment Nicole’s lips no longer clung to her lips, she surged forward and kissed Ruby senseless.

“I hate to disappoint you, baby, but I’m afraid that you will always be my favourite dish,” Nicole purred into her mouth.

Breaking their kiss, Ruby grinned widely and pushed a stray curl behind Nicole’s ear as she said, “that for sure was worth the shit I’m gonna get from Joey this entire shift.”

“Good, that was the whole point,” Nicole purred, and she stole one last quick kiss from Ruby’s lips before finally getting up from the sous-chef’s lap.

Nicole couldn’t help but grin when she noticed that Ruby stretched her legs a little longer than usual.

Lingering by the back of the couch as Ruby hurried to gather whatever she might need at the restaurant, Nicole sighed dramatically.

“I’ll miss you,” Nicole pouted sweetly as Ruby gathered her things and shoved them into her bag before shooting her a small grin.

“You’ll see me again in just a couple hours. You’re the 4 o’clock, remember?”

“Yeah, I know, but we can’t be acting like a couple at work, so I guess I’ll just spend my whole shift picturing all the things I want you to do to me once our shifts are over,” Nicole sweetly drawled.

Ruby swallowed thickly, eyeing her with a near pained expression on her face. “Just make sure you act the same as you always do, alright? I sometimes think they might be catching on to us.”

“So flirt with all of my work spouses?” Nicole pointed out, as Ruby put on her black leather jacket. “Won’t you get jealous?”

Ruby paced over to where she was standing, wordlessly cupped her cheeks with both hands and captured Nicole’s lips in a passionate kiss.

The kind that’s full of lingering promises that’d have to wait til later that night.

Nicole couldn’t help but moan into the kiss, arms curling around Ruby’s neck and pulling her closer as she deepened the kiss.

Ruby pulled away after a couple minutes, a grin playing on her lips as she whispered, “I’m the one taking you home after our shift, so there’s nothing to be jealous of.”

Nicole grinned with a quiet nod and Ruby indulged herself by pecking her lips a couple more times before stepping away and making her way over to the front door.

Nicole followed without question. She lingered by the doorway as Ruby stepped into the hallway, turned around one last time and stole a last kiss from Nicole’s lips before mumbling a goodbye and then reluctantly began dragging her feet towards the elevator.

The desperate longing to have Ruby by her side at all times was completely foreign to Nicole, but she felt it tug at her heartstrings as she closed the front door and severed the two of them for the time being.

Still feeling a bit dazed, Nicole ventured back into her living room – all while repeating the same question over and over again.

What the actual fuck is happening to me!?

“Have you guys seen this trend on tiktok where these straight women list things you do or should do when you’re in a relationship, and their boyfriend has to say whether or not he considers it princess treatment or the bare minimum?” Nicole asked the coworkers that had gathered in the kitchen with her during a particularly slow window of time on a dreadfully slow Monday.

They only had one table, which happened to be in Aaron’s section – so Nicole, Brad and Trick lingered around the back of the house to chat and gossip with Nico, Pickles and Ruby.

Joey was absent that day, which was why the front of house staff lingered in the kitchen a lot more than they usually did. As a matter of fact, the servers spent the majority of their shift hanging around the kitchen while it was slow as hell. Whenever Joey wasn’t around, the rest of them didn’t seem to care about the servers lingering about. As long as they didn’t get in their way.

And to top it all off, Terry left about 30 minutes ago.

And shifts like these were what made life worth living. Without Terry and Joey present and there barely being any tables to serve, the staff tended to gather in the kitchen to gossip and learn a little more about each other through the dumb and hilarious stories they’d dig up from previous restaurants they’d worked at.

After scrolling through her social media for a good ten minutes while zoning out the conversation happening around her, Nicole looked up from her phone out of nowhere and followed up with her previous question.

A bit of a mumble and the occasional chuckle rippled through the kitchen, and Nicole caught the smirk on Ruby’s lips that was directed at her, from the corner of her eye.

Beside her, Brad snorted and shot her a pointed glare, “are you for real? That’s so stupid,” he exclaimed in response to Nicole’s princess treatment vs bare minimum thing.

“You only say that because you know you’d fail every single one of these questions,” Nicole snapped back at him. “Like, seriously, this trend is the perfect test to expose guys who have no clue on how to treat a woman they’re dating.”

Brad’s face fell and he glared down at her, “are you saying I don’t know how to treat a woman?”

Nicole raised a singular eyebrow and glared back at the man while plainly stating, “you gaslit me into believing you went through the trouble of cooking me that amazing pasta dish, until I found out that you just ordered take out and played it off like you’d slaved away in the kitchen for hours to make me that pasta.”

Nico scoffed, “are you for real, bro?”

Ruby’s pointed glare was unforgiving, “that’s such a dick move,” she told him.

“How is that a dick move?! I dished up a perfect fine pasta dish-“

Nico interrupted his shitty explanation, “but you played it off like you made it from scratch. Not cool, bro.”

Brad rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed,  “whatever.”

Ruby chuckled sarcastically, “going through all that trouble to gaslight the girl you’re dating into believing that you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen for hours is just so fucking pathetic.”

“Yeah? Well, at least I’ve not wasted months of my life chasing a girl who’ll never take a chance on me,” Brad snapped back.

Nicole could tell that Ruby was really getting riled up at that point and quickly interrupted – before things would escalate.

“Alright, guys, let’s keep things civil! I just wanted to play a fun little game, not start a whole fucking war,” Nicole firmly insisted.

Still a bit grumpy, Brad and Ruby mumbled something about burying the hatchet for now.

Trick was the one to redirect the attention to Nicole’s previous topic of conversation, by asking, “so, what question’s have you got for us, lil Nicky?”

Grateful for Trick’s help on shifting the topic, Nicole tapped her notes app and quickly found the list she put together a couple days ago – while bored on the couch as she was watching reruns of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

“Alright, first one,” Nicole announced, gathered her co-worker’s attention. “Our first dilemma is: whether cooking dinner from scratch is considered bare minimum or princess treatment?”

Brad asked for clarifications before anyone had the chance to answer, “wait, so like. Are we talking,- from scratch from scratch?”

“That’s what I said, wasn’t it?” Nicole deadpanned. “And yes, that means that you’ll have to make the pasta that you were planning to use for your boring Italian dish, from scratch.”

Brad rolled his eyes and scoffed, “demanding that everything be made from scratch is princess treatment, by definition,” he insisted.

Nicole gasped, but before she could snap a hurtful response in his direction, Ruby’s voice echoed through the kitchen.

“Cooking your partner a meal from scratch is most definitely the bare minimum, you lazy asshole.”

Nico clapped his tongs in agreement, accompanied by a steady “heard.”

Nicole wondered if she should be ashamed of how it turned her on whenever Ruby got all defensive and territorial like this.

Brad refused to go down without a fight and he snapped back at Ruby – as he rolled his eyes once more, “easy for you to say. You literally do this for a living.” Brad exclaimed.

“Doesn’t mean that I like to cook once I’m off the clock,” Ruby informed him, plain and simple, before growing more quiet as she appeared to be overthinking something.

Sensing an opening to tease Ruby and keep up her act of nothing going on between them all at once, Nicole chimed a sweet, “are you saying you don’t cook for your girlfriends, Ruby?”

Ruby eyed Nicole rather pointedly, eyes narrowed and still conflicted…

“What do you think, Nicole?” Ruby pointedly snapped sharply.

Nicole’s dark browns stared back at her, trying to pick up on whether this was real or a prank.

And Ruby’s eyes never lied.

She expected an answer on Nicole’s end.

Eyes still locked in on Ruby’s, Nicole sucked in a deep breath.

“I mean, if I had to make a wild guess, I’d say that you most definitely cook for your girlfriends,” Nicole hummed sweetly.

“Oh please, there’s no way anyone still makes their dinners from scratch-“ Brad complained.

Still completely underwhelmed, Ruby’s unimpressed glare never faded as she glared at Brad and deadpanned, “making pasta from scratch is literally the easiest thing ever. And if you’re struggling, just watch a youtube tutorial on how to cook a fucking dish – it’s not rocket science.”

Nicole had quietly indulged herself in watching the heated argument between Brad and Ruby go down – shamelessly proud that she had caused this.

Ruby’s statements came with a casual, though firm, tone of voice – one that had Nicole all riled up within minutes.

Before Brad could argue Ruby’s judgemental commentary, Trick broke it up by stating, “I dig this game. Got some more of those questions, Nicole?”

“Oh, loads. Let me just scroll through a couple of these,” Nicole said, immediately latching on to Trick’s opening to try and lighten the mood once again.

As she was filtering through dilemmas she’d written down in her notes app, she heard Nico say something along the lines of “men who can’t cook don’t deserve the girl of their dreams,”, which she thought to be oddly sweet.

There was a bit of nonsense bickering back and forth, which died down when Nicole held up a hand and signalled that she was ready.

“Settle down, I have more,” Nicole promised, as she scanned the statements she’d listen. “Alright, this one’s easy: buying her flowers just because.”

“Bare minimum, everyone knows that,” Trick insisted almost immediately.

Ruby nodded, “absolutely. Bare minimum for sure.”

Nicole eyed Brad, Nico and Pickles, who all seemed to agree on this one.

 “I mean, if I were a girl – I’d rather get candy from my date than flowers… those are so chewy most of the time,” Pickles chimed, earning him a confused and mildly disturbed glare from each of them.

“Okay… moving on!” Nicole quickly chimed. “Next up; planning surprise date nights…”

“Bare minimum,” Brad answered immediately. “All romance dies once the excitement of the unexpected fades away.”

From the looks of it, Ruby just couldn’t help herself and snapped another snide comment at Brad without there being any real reason for her to do so.

“Speaking from experience?” Ruby chimed sharply, lips half-curled to a grin as she eyed Brad.

Nicole felt bad for Brad to a certain extent. Because there was no valid reason to make him the scapegoat during their little game. This was just Ruby being territorial and clearly still somewhat unsure about their relationship – and she directed that anger and frustration at Brad.

“Okay, how about we keep it light and fun, alright?” Nicole suggested firmly. She read out a different quote. “This one’s fun. It says: paying for non-date things, like paying for her to get her nails done and buying her coffee.”

This time around, Ruby was the first to answer – dark eyes lingering on Nicole without shame or restraint. “Bare minimum,” Ruby stated firmly, her eyes never leaving Nicole’s.

“Absolutely not. That’s princess treatment for sure,” Brad immediately argued, which tracked with Nicole’s experience when dating Brad.

Whenever she wanted him to pay for something he deemed to be ‘lavish and luxurious’, like getting her nails done – Brad would refuse to pay. He played it off by insisting that he already spent a fortune on expensive dinner dates – but that wasn’t an excuse to Nicole. It just showed that he wasn’t that serious about the two of them.

Nico was the second person to disagree with Brad, as he shook his head when stating; “nah, man, that shit’s bare minimum for sure. Girls love it when you pay for that sort of thing,” he insisted, which earned him a firm nod from Ruby.

“Okay, final round. Who’s doing the honours?” Nicole asked while eyeing each of her coworkers gathered in the kitchen.

“I’ve got one,” Ruby said, “alright, princess treatment or bare minimum: giving your girl your hoodie, jacket or coat when she’s cold.”

“Are we talking, she refused to bring a jacket after being warned that it’d be freezing or is it a case of you go out to dinner and when you leave the restaurant it’s more chilly than you both anticipated it to be?” Brad asked.

Nicole picked up on the split second Ruby’s eyes shifted towards her, smug grin on her lips and everything, before she quickly turned back towards Brad and said, “the first one.”

And all of a sudden, Nicole connected the dots between the split second grin on Ruby’s end and Brad’s question.

Nicole nearly groaned and rolled her eyes once she realized what Ruby was referring to – but stopped herself at the very last second.

Ruby’s smug grin and split second glare referred back to her and Ruby’s second date, months ago.

Ruby had insisted on taking her out to dinner at this fancy restaurant, and Nicole immediately said yes.

Three days later, Ruby picked Nicole up at her place.

Nicole couldn’t recall ever putting this much effort into her appearance for a date. But she was a victim to her own judgement and the voice in the back of her mind that encouraged her to go the extra mile for this particular date.

And that extra effort definitely paid off. If not just for the immense satisfaction that washed over her when she swung the front door wide open and Ruby’s eyes widened immediately – followed by her jaw nearly dropping on the floor.

“Holy fucking shit, Nicole,” Ruby had mumbled, soaking up ever little detail in complete awe.

Once they’d extensively admired each other, they took off to the restaurant Ruby had picked out for them.

Ruby eyed Nicole as the blonde shut her front door behind her and locked it, oblivious to Ruby’s curiously narrowed gaze.

“You’re not bringing a coat or a sweater?” Ruby inquired as casually as she could muster.

“Ew, no. I didn’t wear this outfit just to cover up with a jacket,” Nicole firmly stated.

Ruby’s eyes wandered down Nicole’s long legs – only slightly protected from the cold December weather by a layer of stretchy, thin fabric. The checkered navy blue mini skirt she’d paired with a silk blouse of a similar shade and thigh-high navy blue velvet high-heeled boots, made for a killer outfit – and a rather chilly one, at that.

“You sure you don’t want to bring a jacket? It’s December, Nicole.” Ruby reminded her.

“I’ll be fine,” Nicole had simply scoffed, before shooting her a sharp glare – one that warned Ruby not to push this any further.

As the two women waited for the elevator to arrive, Ruby had concluded it’d probably take 8 minutes for Nicole to latch onto her hip and sweetly beg for Ruby’s jacket.

As it turned out, it only took Nicole 6 minutes before she curled into Ruby’s side – all sweet and submissive this time around. About two seconds into a conversation, Nicole’s fingers curled around Ruby’s left arm – softly squeezing the sous-chef’s bicep – and the blonde server sweetly kept on chatting before eventually, very casually, asking Ruby for her jacket.

Ruby didn’t hesitate to hand over the jacket.

That particular incident had been somewhat of a meme between them ever since. Ruby loved to tease her about it and Nicole insisted that she hated it – but the look in her dark eyes told Ruby that she didn’t mind it as much as she projected to the world around her.

Still, the split second glance at Nicole and the smirk that followed could very well have revealed their relationship to everyone around them.

This wasn’t the first time Nicole almost slipped up at work and almost accidentally revealed that her and Ruby were dating.

As the weeks progressed, it’d slowly become more and more difficult to keep their relationship a secret from the rest of the staff – and it was eating away at Nicole.

Especially because she constantly felt this nagging sense of guilt for hiding this from Bridgette and Amber – her two best friends. The two women she always confided in, and vice versa, regardless of how TMI their confessions were.

And the longer this secret remained hidden, the more anxious Nicole felt about her two best friends finding out.

Perhaps this was a sign that she should discuss it with Ruby.

Brad’s answer to Ruby’s question forced her back to reality, as Brad stated, “alright, look, this might make me sound like an asshole… but if a girl I am dating refuses to bring a jacket, after I’ve reminded her it’ll be chilly out, then I am not going to hand over to jacket I brought, because I knew it would be cold. Like, I warned her and took my own measures against the cold. I’m not suffering on behalf of her stubbornness.”

“Wow, Brad. Way to kill the vibe during your date,” Ruby sarcastically chimed, unable to resist the urge to try and embarrass Brad as Nicole was watching. “The one right answer is that you always hand over your coat when your girl is shivering beside you. Doesn’t matter how many times she’s insisted she doesn’t need a jacket – you shouldn’t let your girl freeze just so you can say ‘I told you so’ once you’re back home,” Ruby snapped at him.

Brad huffed sarcastically, eyeing Ruby with far too much arrogance dripping from his features. “Look, you’ve got to draw the line somewhere with these types of girls or they’ll walk all over you-“

“Is that what you did when you dated Nicole?” Ruby snapped back at him.

Brad eyed her for a moment, trying to get to the bottom of whatever game Ruby and Nicole were playing. “My question to you is, why do you care so much?” Brad asked in response.

Ruby rolled her eyes, then focused on prepping her station behind the line as she told Brad, “I don’t care. Just making sure Nicole’s not taken advantage of.”

Brad chuckled and responded with a sarcastic, “I hate to break it to you, but Nicole is far more likely to be the one to take advantage of another person – instead of the other way around.”

Nicole gasped, “excuse me?!”

Ruby huffed softly, “your fragile masculinity is showing, Brad, and it ain’t pretty.”

A little over two weeks later, Nicole was cursing her way through yet another shift from hell.

It was a busy Friday night and every single one of her tables ran her to the point where she was 2 hours into her shift and could barely feel her feet.

Nearly every single table in her section had this list of insane mods they demanded from the kitchen – which meant that Nicole was in charge of firmly informing her guests that she couldn’t provide all the mods they asked for, as well as trying to convince the kitchen to at least go along with some mods from her tables.

To make things worse, she was working a closing shift – which meant she wouldn’t be home before midnight.

By 8 pm, Nicole was desperate for an easy table with guests who were somewhat decent human beings.

She was putting in an order for her five-top, when Amber joined her by the POS – to inform Nicole that she’d seated her with a one-top. Aka, Nicole’s worst nightmare.

In all of the years she’d worked as a server, she never once had she served a one-top that was even remotely normal. Every single time, it was just a sad, lonely guy who inevitably tried to hit on her and got all riled up when she turned him down.

Nicole let out a deep groan when Amber told her about the one-top, and while trying to put the order in for her other table – she turned to face one of her closest friends.

“I told you not to seat me with one-tops anymore, Amber!” she complained with a deep sigh.

As per usual, Amber shot her an apologetic smile and said “there were no other tables available! Trust me, I checked! But I didn’t clock him as a weirdo or anything,”

Nicole shot her a pointed glare, “men who go out to dine at a restaurant by themselves are weirdos by definition,” she stated.

Amber sighed but offered an optimistic smile, “this one definitely didn’t strike me as the typical one-tops we are used to… he’s really handsome, actually.”

For the first time since getting with Ruby, Nicole truly resented the fact that she couldn’t be open and honest about her relationship. Even though Nicole’s self-doubt and spiralling anxiety were the one obstacle standing between their relationship and having to face the reality of every single person in their social circle finding out that Ruby and Nicole were dating.

Like, really dating.

And it wasn’t that Nicole didn’t feel proud or thrilled to reveal that she’d been dating Ruby for a while now…

But telling people meant that it would become a thing. A thing that led to them being invited to parties and stuff as a couple. And that was the issue. Once people knew they were dating, they no longer were considered their own individual person.

It’d always be Ruby and Nicole – the package deal.

And it wasn’t that Nicole didn’t want that.

Fuck, she actually really wanted that.

There was just that little voice at the back of her mind that served as a constant reminder regarding the fact that none of her previous relationships had ever survived the more serious stage.

While Nicole’s list of bed partners was quite extensive, her list of men she’d actually been in a serious relationship with was rather short. There’d only been about five serious boyfriends – and every single one had broken her heart one way or another.

Hence why she so fiercely protected her heart nowadays.

Nicole had just been cheated on and hurt a few too many times.

Every single man that broke her trust by cheating on her or attempting to gaslight her into a relationship so he wouldn’t have to work and she’d pay for everything-…. That endless string of bad experiences with relationships, had shaped Nicole into a woman that expected any of her romantic relationships to end tragically.

And it didn’t help that Ruby was so set on proving herself to be the very opposite of every asshole she’d ever dated.

In a desperate attempt to brush past everything going on in her personal life, Nicole sucked in a deep breath and made her way back into the dining room – to serve the fucking one-top Amber had saddled her with.

“Good evening, welcome in. I’ll be your server tonight, can I get you started with a cocktail?” she sweetly chimed, a soft purr leisurely rolling off her tongue as she addressed the one singular guest at her table.

The one-top Amber sat her with indeed was quite a handsome guy. About her age, more or less – dark curls, brown eyes and handsome facial features that remined Nicole of something or someone, which she couldn’t quite place.

The moment the guy looked up from his menu and his gaze caught sight of her, Nicole noticed some sort of shift in his eyes. Almost like he recognized her, or something. Which was impossible, because she was damn sure she’d never met this man in her damn life.

“Well, good evening to you too,” the guy chimed, bordering on flirting – though the dominating undertone of his words felt amused in nature. “I would love a cocktail, what would you recommend?”

Nicole kept her composure and that feigned, charming smile curled up on her lips as she answered his question. “I mean, that depends on what you’re into. If you’re looking for something sweet, I’d recommend a daiquiri or a cosmopolitan, but if you want something with more of a bite, I’d recommend either Dark and stormy or a Moscow mule.”

The guy eyed the menu for a moment, contemplating her suggestions, then glanced back up at her, “you know what? I’ll take your word for it. I’ll do a Dark and stormy.”

Nicole shot him a sweet smile while scribbling his order into her book, “great choice, I’ll get that going for you!”

Just as she turned on her heels to put the order into the POS, the guy at her new table asked her, “I’m sorry, is your name Nicole, by any chance?”

The fact that she had no clue as to why this random stranger would know her name, which lowkey freaked her out, had Nicole turning back on her heels to face her table once more.

“How do you know my name?” Nicole pointedly asked him, eyes narrowed slightly – quietly informing him not to test her, or he’d be in big trouble.

Her one-top seemed to be impressed by her sharp, feisty attitude and a slight grin tugged on his lips as he told her, “because I’m quite certain that you’re dating my sister…”

And just like that, Nicole finally connected the dots. That was why this guy’s features felt so familiar to her… it was because this was one of the brothers Ruby had told her about. And as far as Nicole knew, Ruby’d only really mentioned their relationship to the brother named Rob or Robbie.

“Oh, shit. You’re Robbie, aren’t you?” Nicole exclaimed in a more hushed tone of voice, desperate not to alert any of the regulars or coworkers around her.

The guy’s smirk widened as he sat back in his seat and nodded, “the one and only… I gotta say, Ruby got herself an absolute smoke show of a girlfriend, really.”

Nicole immediately felt that sense of discomfort creep up on her when Ruby’s older brother complimented her like that, but she tried to remain respectful for the sake of this being the first member of Ruby’s family she’d ever met.

“I- thank you-… why don’t I tell Ruby you’re out here? I’m sure she’d love to see you. I assume she’s not expecting you-“

“Oh no, not at all. I just thought I’d drop by and ask her for a favour. So yeah, it’d be great if you could ask her to come out here. Thank you, Nicole.”

She didn’t respond and simply turned on her heels before disappearing into the kitchen.

Rush finally slowed down to the point where they could take their time with the dishes on their tickets – which just so happened to be the exact moment Nicole showed up at Ruby’s end of the line.

One look at her distressed expression told Ruby all she ought to know. Since it was slow enough, she slipped away from her station and pulled Nicole to a more secluded corner of the kitchen.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked softly. She could tell that something was bothering Nicole, but it was hard to determine just how serious it was.

Nicole nodded absentmindedly, then finally looked up at her. “Your brother is in my section.”

Ruby short-circuited for a couple seconds. Those six words made no sense to her. Because there was no way any of her brothers were here, in LA, at Bistro Huddy, in Nicole’s section – without Ruby receiving a heads up… and even if that was the case, why was Nicole so distraught because of it?

“What are you talking about?” Ruby softly asked in disbelief. “My brothers are in Chicago-“

“You tell that to Robbie, who’s in my section and asking for you to come out and talk to him,” Nicole snapped back at her.

Still barely processing the information, Ruby offered Nicole a dumbfounded look, “Robbie’s here?”

“Yeah, he is,” Nicole confirmed fiercely. “He just asked me if I was named ‘Nicole’ and when I said yes, he admitted that he’s your brother and he somehow also kinda tried to flirt with me, even though he claimed to know that we’re dating? I don’t know, it was so fucking weird-“

Ruby was seething by the time Nicole was done talking. “I’m gonna kill him-“ she hissed, before pushing past Nicole – and march into the dining room, leaving Nicole no room to try and stop her.

It took her a mere couple seconds to spot the familiar, arrogant face of her brother in Nicole’s section, and she wasted no time to make her way over to his table.

Robbie’s face lit up as soon as he spotted her, “oh, hey sis-“

Ruby reached out and grabbed him by the collar as soon as she was close enough – half dragging him out of his booth. “don’t you fucking hey sis me. Not after you’ve tried to make a move on my girlfriend and got her feeling all uncomfortable around you.”

The severity of Ruby’s response seemed to really get to Rob, and he immediately shrunk to half his size as he held both hands up in defence. “Look, I’m sorry! I just got distracted, okay? That girlfriend of yours is so fucking gorgeous. I just wasn’t prepared-“

“You’re so full of shit, Robbie,” Ruby snapped back at him. “And why the fuck are you even here?! You’re supposed to be in Chicago-“

Robbie shot her a pathetically weak smile, “remember when you said that I could crash on your couch if it all went south? Well-“

Ruby’s face fell in an instant, “let me guess, nonna finally convinced our parents to kick you out of the house?”

Robbie nearly winced at the mention of their grandmother and nodded slightly, embarrassed to his very core. “I- yes, she did… can I sleep on your couch for just a couple days, two weeks at most? I know I’m asking a lot, but I got no other place to go-“

Ruby silently cursed herself for the soft spot she had regarding her family. Especially because it’d be quite something to explain to Nicole… but family came first, that was how she was raised.

With a deep sigh, Ruby nodded and said, “fine, sure. You can sleep on my couch as long as you need to get back on your own two feet.”

Robbie’s face flooded with a sense of relief, “thank you, Rubes, you really are the best-“

Ruby held up a hand and interrupted him halfway through his desperate chant of appreciation. “I do expect you to contribute to the rent and utilities in some way. And I’ll draw up a chore chart, so we’ll divide the chores between us equally.”

Robbie nodded, “that seems fair.”

“Oh, and one more strict rule that I refuse to budge on,” Ruby exclaimed firmly.

Robbie offered a sweet smile, at this point willing to go along with just about anything, as long as he had a roof over his head. “Whatever you want, sis. Tell me.”

Ruby’s sharp glare pierced her brother’s, as she said, “there’ll be no flirting with my girlfriend. You already made her feel uncomfortable today, but I’ll give you a pass on that. However, if I ever catch you flirting with her, or hear from her that you’ve been making moves on her- I’m throwing all of your belongings out on the streets and I’ll break all contact with you. Clear?”

Ruby could tell that Robbie well and truly felt intimidated by his younger sister, which was the whole point of her little speech.

“Yeah- yes, Rubes, crystal clear,” Robbie mumbled.

“Good…” Ruby hummed. “Well then… welcome to LA.”

Chapter Text

“Are you gonna tell me why your brother’s here, in LA?” Nicole asked in that all-too-familiar quasi nonchalant tone of voice that immediately betrayed how curious she actually was.

Her and Ruby were on their smoke break about 10 minutes after Ruby stormed into the dining room and nearly dragged her brother out of his booth.

After agreeing to let him crash on her couch for the time being, Ruby made him promise to apologize to Nicole when she’d serve him his drink – and warned him that none of their coworkers actually knew the two of them were dating. Aka, informing him to keep his big mouth shut.

Ruby couldn’t help but keep an eye out when she noticed Nicole serving Robbie his drink – feeling the urge to protect Nicole flare up as she peered out into the dining room, through the double doors leading into the kitchen.

She couldn’t hear what words were exchanged between the two, but Nicole’s tense shoulders eased up when Robbie said something to her as she placed the drink in front of him. Ruby nervously watched as Robbie continued to speak, and she noticed how Nicole grew more and more at ease as they conversed for a couple minutes.

After about a minute, Nicole pulled out her notepad and scribbled down whatever it was Robbie wanted from the kitchen.

By the time Nicole made her way back to the server station, the discomfort had melted off her and Ruby felt a wave of relief wash over her – despite not knowing what her brother had been telling her girlfriend.

Which was something she intended to pry from Nicole as soon as they took their smoke break.

Ruby hummed and exhaled a small cloud of smoke from her lungs before turning her head to look down at Nicole. “So, I told you that he was sleeping on my parents’ couch, because his girlfriend kicked him out after he cheated on her?”

“Uhm, yeah. As she fucking should’ve, by the way,” Nicole huffed, before taking another drag from her menthol cigarette.

Ruby nodded, “oh, trust me, I am on her side 100%,” she insisted. “I did, however, offer him a spot on my couch if things went south and he needed a place to crash.”

Nicole glanced up at her with a singular raised eyebrow, “so what, your parents kick him out or something?”

“More like my nonna did,” Ruby chuckled with a roll of her eyes, before her amused gaze found Nicole’s curious one. “I’ve never told you this, but my nonna runs our family like a republican president, alright?”

Nicole’s confused expression shifted to a more amused one and couldn’t help but grin as she took another drag from her cigarette. “Your nonna? I didn’t know you were Italian-“

“Third generation, baby,” Ruby hummed softly, a sweet grin playing on her lips as she looked at Nicole – finding it endearing just how intrigued the blonde was with Ruby’s family history. “My nonna moved from Naples, Italy, to Chicago to marry my grandpa – whom she’d met when he was on a four-week vacation to Naples back in the day.”

Nicole’s lips switched to a hint of a smile, “how romantic-“

“Yeah, not really,” Ruby snorted sarcastically. “My grandpa bribed her with these amazing stories about how idyllic the United States were – and the moment she actually set foot on American soil, she immediately yearned to go back to Italy. Like, she’s been living in Chicago for 72 years and not a day goes by without my nonna voicing any type of complaint about this country.”

Beside Ruby, Nicole can’t help but chuckle out loud – her mind painting a picture of Ruby’s elderly girlboss of a grandmother complaining about the US. “Oh wow, she- she sounds like a lot,” Nicole admitted amidst her giggles.

Ruby grinned and nudged her shoulder lightly, “she is… remember you told me you wanted to impress my family when you met them? My nonna’s the one to impress, trust me. Though I’m quite sure she’ll love you.”

“Well, that’s not scary at all,” Nicole sarcastically chimed, a teasing grin playing on her lips as she glanced up at Ruby. “Care to tell me why you think she’ll love me?”

Ruby indulged in another leisure drag from her cigarette as her lips curled up to a smug grin, before finally glancing back at Nicole – who impatiently awaited her answer.

“Well, first reason being that my nonna’s response to me coming out to her, was; “good for you, Ruby darling. Men are useless anyways. Just make sure to get yourself a girl who’s unapologetically her own person, strong-willed, passionate and completely invested in her relationship with you. The rest doesn’t matter.’”

While she spoke, Nicole flicked her cigarette away from them and stomped on it for a moment – just so she could turn to face Ruby and wrap her arms around the sous-chef’s neck as the redhead told her all about the girlfriend Ruby’s nonna pictured for her.

“Your nonna sounds like a badass, I can’t lie,” Nicole chuckled, as her arms curled around the back of Ruby’s neck – pulling her closer as she pushed herself to her tiptoes. “Think she’d approve of me?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Ruby hummed softly, flicking her cigarette away – so both hands could grasp onto Nicole’s waist and pull her closer. Ruby leaned closer, tips of their noses brushing together. “You’re the complete opposite of everything my nonna hates.”

“Which is what?” Nicole giggled, her lips teasingly brushing over Ruby’s.

“My dad,” Ruby confessed with a soft chuckle. “She’s always thought of my dad as too much of a push-over, and too soft for my mom – who’s quite dominant, by the way.”

Nicole couldn’t resist the urge to close the gap between them and she pulled Ruby into a deep kiss for a moment, unable to keep teasing her girlfriend.

“Does she like Robbie?” Nicole chuckled against her lips, earning her another soft kiss from Ruby.

“I mean, she loves all of her grandchildren of course… but she’s the reason he’ll be crashing on my couch for the time being,” Ruby softly admitted. “My nonna’s unforgiving when it comes to cheating, and Robbie’s pushed that button way too many times.”

“Your nonna’s an icon, I swear-“ Nicole chuckled, before pulling Ruby in for another deep kiss.

Ruby indulged herself for a bit, before eventually pulling away when things threatened to get too heated. She pressed her forehead against Nicole’s, maintaining that closeness while still being able to look her in the eye.

“She knows about us,” Ruby admitted softly, earning her a surprised glare on Nicole’s end. “Look, after I told Robbie, he told my nanna and that’s how the rest of the family found out, okay?”

Nicole couldn’t help but chuckle and she stole another quick kiss from Ruby’s lips before whispering, “that’s honestly so cute… and also, you’ve gotta tell me your nonna’s first impression of me.”

Ruby’s gut tightened instantly, her thoughts drifting back to the facetime call her and her nonna had a couple days after Robbie had informed the entire family about Ruby’s new relationship.

“Ruby, my most darling granddaughter, you know I gotta ask you about this new girl you’re dating,” her nonna had kicked off their facetime call – setting a record by bringing up Ruby’s new relationship within 30 seconds of their call connecting.

“Nonna, please-“

“Don’t you ‘nonna, please’ me, you know I gotta make sure you’re dating a girl who’s worthy of your love and affection,” her nonna firmly interrupted her. “I’ve met some of your girlfriends, Ruby-dear, and never once have they lived up to my standards.”

“And have you ever stopped to think that it might be that your standards are impossible?” Ruby snapped back. She was the only member of their family who wasn’t afraid to go toe to toe with their nonna.

Her nonna’s dark brown piercing gaze nearly ripped her apart through the screen, as she sharply stated, “need I bring up Cheyenne?!”

Ruby couldn’t help but groan at the reminder of how often her nonna had grilled her about Cheyenne being a major red flag – months before Ruby figured it out herself.

“What do you want me to say? Do you want me to admit that you were correct about Cheyenne being a major red flag, a fifth time?” Ruby snapped at her nonna, and she immediately regretted doing so.

Her nonna didn’t miss a beat as she plainly stated, “I have always been right about the girls you’ve dated that ended up being red flags, Ruby-darling… and you know I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but you’ve yet to prove to me that you are making good, sensible choices in your dating life.”

Swallowing her pride, just to avoid arguing with her nonna over the phone, Ruby swallowed thickly before sucking in a deep breath and patiently stating, “well, for your information, the woman I’m currently dating is very feisty, very strong-willed, opinionated and knows exactly what she wants.”

Her nonna’s contemplating hum echoed through her phone, as Ruby awaited her verdict.

“Does she take care of you? Does she go the extra mile to prove she’s serious about you?” her nonna sharply inquired, clearly still careful about whether this new girlfriend was worthy of her favourite granddaughter’s affections.

Ruby sighed on the other end of the line before softly stating, “she does, nonna. She’s the reason I got that promotion to sous-chef. I was about to let it go, but she pushed our executive chef to give me a pay raise, make me sous-chef and give me credit on the menu.”

“Well, that’s a good start…” her nonna hummed approvingly.

Ruby couldn’t help but grin as she continued, “yeah, there’s… there’s a lot to discover about Nicole. Like, on the surface, everyone can tell she’s breathtakingly gorgeous and so damn charming… but once you get to know her, she’s so much more than that.”

She didn’t need to see her nonna to know that the woman was grinning on the other end of the line, “tell me all about her, dearest.”

And Ruby did.

“She’s- I’m pretty certain I’ve never been more in love with anyone than I am with her… it’s like- the days I spent without her are so empty and grey compared to the ones where I so much as spent about half an hour with her… it’s ridiculous, I know!” Ruby admitted to her nonna over the phone. “Nicole’s just… she’s my favourite person to be around. Doesn’t matter if we’re at work or at home… she just makes life more fun and challenging in a good way. She’s so funny, so thoughtful and exciting… and yes, she’s a bit of a brat and quite demanding, but she makes up for it by being so effortlessly affectionate when we’re together.”

Her nonna hummed in agreement every so often, while Ruby told her nonna about the little things she adored about Nicole. She gushed about how she admired Nicole’s confidence and strength, whilst simultaneously adoring the vulnerability she sometimes allowed Ruby to see.

By the time they were wrapping up their phonecall, her nonna kept insisting on Ruby bringing Nicole with her for Thanksgiving – which was all Ruby had to hear to know that her nonna already loved the idea of Nicole.

Back in the alleyway behind the restaurant, Nicole was looking at her with an expectant look on her face – eager to learn what Ruby’s nonna thought about her, based on the stories her sous-chef granddaughter had told her.

“Well, my nonna’s insisting on meeting you,” Ruby told her, “as far as I can tell, she thinks you’re a good match for me and she’s just really eager to meet you.”

“Why, so she can really judge me?” Nicole teased her with a sweet grin.

Ruby leaned in and captured her lips in a sweet kiss while pulling Nicole closer to her.

“My nonna’s gonna love you,” Ruby whispered against her lips. “Every single one of my family members is gonna adore you, trust me.”

Nicole grinned against Ruby’s lips, which kept pressing light kisses onto her lips.

“How can you be so sure?” Nicole sweetly purred.

“Because I know my family, and I just happen to know you’ll fit right in.” Ruby mumbled softly, before capturing her lips in another deep kiss.

Months pass and ever so gradually, the Bistro Huddy crew gradually figures out that Ruby and Nicole are an actual couple.

Bridgette and Amber were the first to actually be told the news that the two women were dating.

After Ruby and Nicole had a talk about Nicole’s conflicting feelings regarding keeping their relationship a secret from her two best friends – the two women decided on casually informing those around them, who weren’t aware of the situation just yet, that the two of them were dating.

Nicole had even gone through the trouble of inviting Bridgette and Amber over to her place for drinks on a Friday night, just to spill the news to them in private.

Ruby’d thought it to be ridiculous at first, but after Nicole’s explanation on how sensitive this type of information was in a friendship as closeknit as hers was with Amber and Bridgette, she respected how much effort Nicole put into the reveal.

Nicole’s confession happened during their weekly ‘wine and whine’ night, a couple weeks after her and Ruby became an official couple. Nicole, Bridgette and Amber gathered at Nicole’s place, as they usually did. Nicole provided them with plenty of wine and an elaborate charcuterie board – while the three of them settled on Nicole’s couch to gossip.

About two hours into their night – and four glasses of wine, that served as courage – Nicole spoke up and said, “I have something to confess…”

Both Bridgette and Amber perked up immediately – eyes wide and intrigued.

“O my god, tell me right now or I will lose it,” Amber urged.

Bridgette immediately perched up on her end of the couch – wide eyes piercing Nicole’s intensely. “You’re seeing someone, aren’t you?”

Nicole felt her cheeks burn up immediately, “I- yes… yes, I’m seeing someone”

“Are you for real??!!” Amber squealed, “o my god, you’re blushing-“

“Stop-“ Nicole snapped.

Bridgette curiously eyed her, “so, who are you seeing?!” she urged.

Nicole felt like her heart might just beat out of her chest, as she worked up the courage to admit her  new relationship to her girlfriends.

It was a rather odd sensation, since she’d never been this nervous or thrilled about admitting her feelings for someone to any of her friends.

And somehow, she felt like she might die when confessing her true feelings to Amber and Bridgette.

It didn’t help that two pairs of bright blue eyes were staring at her – all too curious to learn what secret their best friend had been hiding from them.

Nicole sucked in a sharp breath, closed her eyes for a split second – then blinked once and she somewhat nervously glanced at her two best friends seated across from her.

“Ruby and I have been dating for about two months now.”

The reaction from her best friends was underwhelming, to say the least.

There was a moment of silence, followed by Amber and Bridgette sharing a knowing look – before the two glanced back at Nicole simultaneously.

“Well?” Nicole nervously inquired. “You got anything to say about it?”

“I mean-“ Amber started, sharing another knowing glare with Bridgette before addressing Nicole again. “We kinda already knew… like, it’s been obvious for weeks now that something changed between the two of you-“

Nicole’s surprised glare travelled back and forth between the two women.

Bridgette chimed up after Amber did. “Amber and I were waiting for you to tell us about it, so I’m glad you finally did… so, we’re dying to know everything.”

Nicole couldn’t help but grin as she leisurely took another sip from her glass of wine, “what does ‘everything’ entail…?” she purred sweetly.

Bridgette blushed, but Amber spoke up in a rather excited tone of voice, “oh come on, Nicole… we’re your best friends. I mean, I’ve never spared any detail about my relationship with Joey, have I?”

Nicole frowned, “I wish you had, honestly.”

Bridgette shot her a rather pleading look, “oh come on, Nicole, this has been such a long time coming… you’ve got to give us all of the details.”

Nicole’s sharp gaze found Bridgette, “you really want all of the details, Bridgey?”

The deep shade of red that crept up on her best friend’s cheeks gave away that Bridgette wouldn’t be able to work through all of the detail Amber was begging her for.

Which made for a perfectly entertaining challenge.

Nicole poured the three of them a new glass of wine before she settled into her couch and eyed her best friends with a knowing grin. She leisurely sipped her wine, teasing her friends until they begged for it.

“Oh, come on, Nicole!” Amber chimed eventually. “You owe us the details on how you and Ruby got together!”

Bridgette’s ridiculously adorable puppy eyes solidified the request, and Nicole gave in with a deep sigh.

“Alright, fine,” she sighed, and she spent the next 40 minutes spilling every detail on how the two of them got together and every little detail that followed after.

Those 40 minutes lacked any sense of TMI and Nicole spilled just about every detail her best friends were curious about.

“Wait, so she’s actually fucked you with her strap??” Amber whispered between the three of them, making it sound like more of a secret than Nicole considered it to be.

“I mean, yeah,” Nicole admitted with a shrug, before glancing between her two best friends. “And this has got to remain between the three of us but… Ruby fucking me with a strap was so much better than any real dick I’ve ever had-“

“O my god, Nicole!” Bridgette nearly squealed. “That’s crazy.”

“What!?” Nicole exclaimed, “I know you both are straight but like… strap-ons have fucked me so much better than real dicks ever have- not that Ruby needs it, to be honest… like she’s- no one’s ever been that good at eating me out before.”

Bridgette gasped, “Nicole-“

“What?! I’m speaking from experience… and like, I now finally know what it’s like to go down on another woman,” Nicole exclaimed rather drunkenly.

Amber’s intrigued gaze found hers, “well? What’s it like?!”

Nicole giggled as she leisurely sipped on her glass of wine, a leisure grin curling on her lips as she eyed both Bridgette and Amber – who eyed her with a look of sheer curiosity.

“I mean, I’d lie if I said it wasn’t somewhat strange at first,” Nicole admitted, and she took another sip from her glass of wine. “Like, it’s-… it’s very different from going down on a guy.”

Bridgette leisurely sipped her wine and glanced back at her, “in what way?”

“Well, for starters, you don’t have a dick to work with,”  Nicole plainly stated, which sent both Bridgette and Amber into a fit of drunken giggles.

Amber nearly cried as she giggled against Bridgette’s shoulder and said, “I just realised I’d be so clueless if I ever wanted to try anything with another woman.”

“I mean, so would I,” Bridgette giggled, while her gaze found Nicole’s, who patiently waited for their giggles to subside. “Seriously, Nicole, how’d you figure out you go for both teams?”

“Well, for one, I didn’t have this reaction to the idea of same sex attraction-“ Nicole informed them sharply – which immediately shut them down.

Both Amber and Bridgette eyed her with a guilty look in their eye, and Bridgette chimed, “I-sorry for that. I mean, we’re both allies and we’re so supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. I mean, I’d even go as far as to say that I feel like I’m missing out on something by being straight.”

Nicole couldn’t help but grin at Bridgette’s confession, and respond with a sweet, “oh you are missing out, Bridgey. I mean, there’s nothing better than being eaten out by another woman… “

Bridgette’s cheeks began to burn up as she chimed, “I’ll have you know Trick is more than capable of-“ she cut herself off before finishing her sentence.

Nicole merely shot her a teasing grin, “good to know, Bridgey… I mean, if there’s one green flag about sexual relationships, it's a guy who’s eager to go down on his girl…”

Bridgette’s cheeks were burning up at this point. “Nicole-“

“Amber, how often does Joey go down on you?” Nicole asked one of her best friends, without a trace of shame in her voice.

Amber’s cheeks burned up immediately, when confronted with such an intimate question.

“Well, I mean- that’s a bit private-“

“Oh please, I literally told you about how Ruby fucks me with her strap,” Nicole said. “We’re your best friends! We’re your girls! I mean, if you still don’t feel comfortable sharing, how about I share another fun little detail about my sex life?”

Amber eyed her while chuckling, “you really don’t have to,” Amber insisted.

Nicole, however, being too far gone and too eager to drag something out of Amber, spoke up once more. “Okay, so, I never give blow jobs – but I do eat out…”

Amber leisurely leaned back against her couch, sipping her wine while eagerly interested to learn about whatever it was Nicole offered to teach her.

“Wait, so why no blowjobs?” Amber asked from her corner of the couch.

“Because it’s humiliating,” Nicole exclaimed firmly. “Like, I’ve never been comfortable when going down on guys, like ever. It’s just- they always try to force you to take on more than you can manage and the entire thing just feels like a humiliation ritual…. So like, I’ve sworn off blowjobs since I was 18.”

“Wow, that’s- intense,” Amber chuckled. “I mean, I get it… but I also really enjoy going down on a guy-“

“Well, you do you,” Nicole admitted with a roll of her eyes, “it’s just such a turn-off how excited guys get about blowjobs, first of all. Second, I’ve always felt it’s just another way for men to try and humiliate women. Like, getting them on their knees and sucking dick is some way of gaining control-“

“I mean, it could also just be a means of expressing your physical attraction to someone-“ Bridgette chimed in.

Nicole shot her a sharp glare and said, “how often have you gone down on Trick?”

Bridgette, overwhelmed by the targeted question, had trouble answering her.

Before she could mention a number, Nicole interrupted by asking, “how often has he gone down on you? Compare those numbers and get back to me.”

Bridgette’s cheeks burned up and she said, “well, how many times have you gone down on Ruby?”

Nicole’s sharp glare immediately found Bridgette, who feared the answer for a moment – until Nicole’s lips curled up to a sweet grin.

“If you must know, I’ve lost count,” Nicole answered her question, her grin growing more eager. “But  if you must know, going down on a woman is nothing  like going down on a man.”

Bridgette, always intrigued to learn about her best friends’ sex lives, asked, “so what’s the difference?”

Nicole settled back on her couch for a moment, contemplating the difference between going down on men and women – and just what was so different about the experience, despite the obvious pointers.

“Alright, so I’ve only ever gone down on Ruby… but that was so much better than any guy I’ve ever sucked off-“ Nicole admitted to her work bestie, who eyed her curiously.

Bridgette was fully locked in, despite lacking any desire to ever be with another woman – but the thrill and excitement in Nicole’s voice when she talked about going down on another woman, intrigued both Bridgette and Amber entirely.

Which was how they ended up huddled together in a booth at some nightclub – giggling as they shared the most intimate stories about their sex lives – which started with both Bridgette and Amber begging Nicole for details on what it was like to be with another woman.

“Okay so, like, going down on a woman is like… an art on its own. Like, you know how with a guy you can pretty much just do whatever and they’ll always cum?” Nicole said.

Both Amber and Bridgette nodded in agreement, and Nicole followed up with, “well, it’s not that easy with women. And like, it goes without saying but… I genuinely wasn’t prepared that the woman I’d be intimate with wasn’t gonna get off on the same things that got me off-“

Amber gasped softly, “oh, like, you don’t get off on the same things?”

“Exactly,” Nicole exclaimed, leaning in a little closer – like anyone could listen in on their private conversation. “Like, I get off on penetration and external stimulation, but like… not all women operate like that…”

Bridgette couldn’t help but grin, “are you talking about Ruby?”

Nicole rolled her eyes, “I mean, I don’t kiss and tell, but speaking from experience – I can tell that the easiest way to get her off is through oral-“

“O my god, Nicole….” Amber giggled. “I still can’t believe you’ve gone down on her… that you’ve gone down on another woman in general…”

“Oh it's such a turn on and so much fun..." Nicole purred sweetly. “Are you two absolutely sure you're straight?"

"Yeah."

"Uhm, yes."

Nicole eyed her two best friends, "I only now understand what it's like to be bisexual... because for quite some time, I thought every woman wanted to find out what it was like to sleep with another woman..."

Both Amber and Bridgette eyed her with a wide-eyed look of curiosity, mixed with confusion.

"I've never once wondered what that was like," Amber admitted in all honesty.

Bridgette offered a sweet smile and said, "I have to agree with Amber on that one."

"Well, if ever there was a sign that I'm bisexual, this surely is it," Nicole chuckled in response, her dark brown eyes shifting between Amber and Bridgette. "You really have never felt the urge to sleep with another woman?"

"Nope," Amber said.

"Can't say I have," Bridgette admitted.

"Hmm... interesting," Nicole admitted and she grinned, her delighted smile finding Amber’s – who still eyed her in awe. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing better than going down on a hot woman, but you do you.”

Amber’s cheeks coloured a deep shade of red as she glanced back at her best friend and said, “I’m good, thanks. Joey’s all I need.”

“If you say so…” Nicole nonchalantly glanced back at her, “I’m just looking out for my friends. According to research, only 65% percent of heterosexual encounters end in the woman finishing…”

“There’s no way that’s true-“ Bridgette argued.

“Isn’t it?” Nicole purred. “Alll I can say is that the completion rate in my relationship with Ruby is 100%, and I don’t have to beg or ask for it at all…”

Amber rolled her eyes, “okay, we get it, you got yourself a perfect match…”

“Well, now that all three of us are in a serious relationship, we should go on a triple date!” Bridgette suggested, all preppy and excited.

All Nicole heard, however, was a triple date that involved half the Bistro Huddy staff going out to dinner together.

Unfortunately for her, Amber was on board immediately, clapping her hands together excitedly as she eyed Nicole.

“That’s such a brilliant idea! We should totally arrange that!” Amber exclaimed.

Nicole followed her example by going, “sure, that’s not gonna be awkward at all.”

Bridgette immediately shot her a knowing glare, “come on, Nicole, it’ll be so much fun!”

“Right, sure… yeah, count me in,” Nicole said, "I'll try to convince Ruby."

Well, at least they’d have each other during the triple date disaster…

Chapter Text

“How do you feel about spending thanksgiving with me and my family back in Chicago?”

That singular question had taken Ruby months of building up courage to finally spill those 15 words to Nicole on a random Tuesday night, as they lay tangled in the sheets of Nicole’s bed – after a heated evening.

The question had been weighing on Ruby for weeks at that point, and she knew she’d have to take that leap of faith sooner or later. And knowing that Nicole was the most soft and flexible when fucked out of her mind, Ruby decided that some time after Nicole’s fourth orgasm that night was the perfect moment to ask something so… important.

“I- what?” Nicole mumbled, left arm slung over her forehead as she sucked in a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling. Ruby’s unexpected question had her tilting her head to the side – her bewildered dark browns fixating on Ruby’s stunningly dark eyes. “You just quite literally made me see stars, and you’re asking me about my plans for thanksgiving?!”

“Yeah?” Ruby sheepishly said, an apologetic smile curled up on her lips as she rolled to her side to face Nicole. “Shitty timing, I know, but I-I’ve been wanting to ask you for weeks and I wasn’t sure how-“

Nicole’s full lips curled to a smug grin as she eyed Ruby, “so you figured the best time to ask was when you had me naked and thoroughly fucked beneath you?” she teased.

Ruby grinned, “technically, I don’t have you beneath me right now-“ the suggestion stirred up something inside of her, however, and Ruby immediately rolled on top of her – large hands finding Nicole’s waist as she leisurely settled between the blonde’s spread legs.

Nicole’s arms curled around the back of her neck as she gently pulled Ruby in for a deep, slow kiss.

The rare feeling of pure euphoria Ruby felt every time she had Nicole naked and willing beneath her, especially after sex, was something she’d never get used to.

There was something so addicting to indulging herself in Nicole’s borderline filthy slow kisses, that always caused Ruby to get in the mood for another round – regardless of how long they’d already been going at it.

Leisure, relaxed Nicole was an irresistibly erotic creature, and Nicole knew that all too well.

As her arms tightened around Ruby’s neck, her fingernails lightly traced figures on Ruby’s bare back – sending shivers down the redhead’s spine.

“Looks like I’m beneath you now…” Nicole purred against her lips, legs spreading leisurely and sultry flirtatious eyes finding Ruby’s lustful gaze.

“Does that mean you’re saying ‘yes’ to spending thanksgiving with me and my family in Chicago?” Ruby breathed heavily, trying her very best to keep it together until she had a definitive answer to her question.

Nicole’s smug grin turned more genuine, and she gave a short nod as she sweetly purred, “sure, I’ll spend thanksgiving with you and your family-“

Whatever else she wanted to say was lost in Ruby’s kisses, which eventually led to Nicole’s fifth orgasm that night.

“Nicole, we’re already 30 minutes behind on schedule. Please just finish packing, so we can go!” Ruby groaned.

She was settled back on Nicole’s couch, having spent the last hour and a half in that exact spot while she waited for her girlfriend to finish packing for their trip to Chicago. Ruby had offered to help, but been denied access to the bedroom immediately.

Nicole insisted that packing her things was a solo job, and as much as Ruby wanted to respect that wish – she was about to barge into that damn bedroom and slam the suitcase shut so they could leave.

“I’m almost done!!! I’m just looking for this red thong that matches that red bra you love so much!” Nicole called from her bedroom.

Without looking up from her phone, Ruby called back, “pretty sure that’s somewhere at my place.”

“Are you serious!?” Nicole called out, before appearing in the doorway. “I’m guessing there’s no time to stop by your place to pick it up, right?”

“No, there fucking is not,” Ruby snapped at her girlfriend, before glancing at her in the doorway. “Who cares, anyways? No one’s gonna see your lingerie except for me.”

“Exactly! I wanna look good for you…” there was a hint of doubt in Nicole’s voice that Ruby recognized as the start of something bigger. Which was why she immediately threw her phone onto the couch cushion beside her and made her way over to Nicole – who still lingered in the doorway to her bedroom.

Ruby’s hands found her waist as soon as she was close enough, and she pulled Nicole closer before leaning in to place a soft kiss onto her lips. “I don’t care what lingerie you wear, my love… you’re gorgeous regardless. Doesn’t matter if you are wearing a matching set or not.”

Nicole huffed and leaned back with a semi-insulted look on her face, “are you saying you don’t appreciate the effort I put into looking good for you?” she snapped, which Ruby knew to merely be a way of deflecting what she truly worried about.

They’d been dating long enough for Ruby to know exactly when Nicole was lured back into her old, toxic behavioural patterns that were a combined result of her fucked up relationship with her mom, her toxic college experience and the shitshow of boyfriends and friends with benefits who had fucked her over in the past.

“That’s not what I am saying at all, baby,” Ruby sighed, and she leaned in to press a soft kiss to her forehead. “Of course I love it when you wear matching lingerie… but that’s not a prerequisite for me desiring you. You’re always so breathtakingly beautiful and hot to me, no matter what you wear… I just wanted you to know that it’s okay not to have a matching lingerie set for every day we’re in Chicago.”

Realisation gradually seemed to seep into Nicole, whose sharp glare softened to a more understanding little smile. “Oh. Right… I went there again, didn’t I?”

“A little, but I don’t mind. Not as long as you finish packing within the next five minutes,”
 Ruby reminded her.

“Right!” Nicole called out, before turning on her feet and rushing back into her bedroom.

Unable to resist the urge to try and see if she could be of any help, Ruby followed her girlfriend into her bedroom and watched how Nicole rummaged through her lingerie drawer – before tossing a couple of flimsy thongs into her suitcase.

A suitcase that… quite honestly, looked like a mess.

“You sure you can get that to zip up?” Ruby questioned from the doorway.

“Oh shut up,” Nicole snapped at her, while hopping up on the suitcase. Ruby watched with an amused grin playing on her lips as Nicole struggled to get the suitcase to zip up – before managing eventually.

Grinning proudly, she dragged the trolley suitcase onto the floor and grinned at Ruby,  “told you I’d manage!”

“Oh yeah, you did so great baby,” Ruby sarcastically remarked, before turning on her heels to make her way back into the living room.

Both of them had dropped their cats off at Bridgette’s for the next couple days – since the redhead was more than happy to take care of them, and to grand them the opportunity to bond while Nicole and Ruby were away.

Over the past couple months, they’d put the two cats together a couple times – and they were gradually getting used to each other.

Right now, they were at a stage where they could tolerate being around each other without hissing all of the time… which was a big win in comparison to their first meeting – but this little four day sleep over on neutral ground would be the ultimate test.

And knowing Bridgette, she’d keep them both updated on all things cat related.

“Okay, I’m all set and ready to go!” Nicole exclaimed when finally making her way into the living room with her enormous trolley suitcase in one hand and her travel-sized red velvet shoulder bag in the other – which happened to be stuffed to the brim.

Her little black, Chanel, purse was slung around her shoulder and a long, black, leather coat was resting on the arm that also held her carry-on bag.

Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight before her, “I know I’ve said this before but… you do know we’ll only be gone for like 4 days?”

“O my god, it’s so painfully obvious you’re butch!” Nicole exclaimed with a roll of her eyes. “I’m going into unknown territory, so I need options on what to wear! Besides, do you not want me to look good?!”

Ruby couldn’t help but grin as she quickly leaned in and pecked her girlfriend’s lips, “you always look good, baby. Especially when you wear nothing at all-“

“Okay, gross, we’ve gotta go, remember?!” Nicole exclaimed, giving a push to Ruby’s shoulder – who wordlessly took Nicole’s suitcase from her hand and took the heavy thing downstairs while Nicole locked up and followed with her carry on and purse on her arm.

The ride to the airport went smoothly and with a little less than 2 hours before departure, they made their way to check-in.

Had Ruby been travelling by herself she’d probably have booked a flight with just carry-on… however, knowing her girlfriend all too well, she’d booked additional luggage with Nicole’s ticket – since she for sure wasn’t going to agree to only bringing a carry-on bag.

And Ruby was not about to fight a war she was bound to lose.

After checking in Nicole’s suitcase and receiving their boarding passes, they made their way to TSA – which, surprisingly, didn’t have that much of a wait. Which was odd, since it was thanksgiving weekend… but perhaps it had to do with the fact that the two of them were travelling to Chicago a day earlier – for the sole purpose of avoiding the airport chaos on the day before thanksgiving.

Well, that and the fact that Ruby’s family typically hosted a family dinner the night before the day before thanksgiving… to reimburse the family spirit and what not.

Once they’d gotten through TSA, they had about half an hour left before boarding started – so naturally Nicole dragged her into one of those duty free perfume shops.

“Every time you pull me into one of these stores, I can tell my creditcard’s getting anxious,” Ruby told her, while following Nicole through the endless aisles of extortionately expensive perfumes.

“Oh hush, I just want to check how much my signature perfume is here,” Nicole informed her, before finally finding what she’d been looking for.

Ruby would recognize the bottle of Nicole’s signature perfume anywhere – having seen it displayed on her bathroom counter for months now.

Though, to be quite honest, she’d probably recognise the scent before she’d recognise the bottle.

Regardless where she caught a whiff of that particular perfume, it never failed to remind her of Nicole. For as long as Ruby had known her, she’d been using that very perfume on the daily.

A perfume from a French brand Ruby couldn’t pronounce, but the scent was a dominant jasmine with a hint of citrus and cedar wood. A scent that lingered in every corner of Ruby’s apartment and more specifically on the pillow that was Nicole’s – whenever she slept over.

According to Nicole, jasmine had become her signature scent somewhere during her junior year of high school – and beside her perfume, she also always used jasmine scented shampoo and conditioner, and even deodorant…

Not that Ruby minded. Quite the opposite, really. Jasmine was tethered to Nicole, and Ruby couldn’t get enough of it.

That was, until she saw the price of the signature perfume that was Nicole’s.

“Jesus fuck, that’s expensive,” Ruby cursed out loud. She’d never been around when Nicole got a refill on her signature perfume – and Ruby was no fool, she knew that shit was expensive – but this… this was insane.

Nicole rolled her eyes and glared back over her shoulder at Ruby, “anything cheaper will fade within an hour. This perfume lasts me at least 8 hours… but I agree, the price makes me nauseous every time I have to buy myself a new bottle. And this one is duty free, so-“

“So, usually it’s even more expensive?” Ruby tried not to sound too disgusted by the outrageous prices these stores had women pay for fucking perfumes. “That’s insane! I mean, 80 dollars for a small bottle is beyond me already-“

“Bottles of this size are usually around 110 dollars-“

“110?!” Ruby hissed, “Jesus, Nicole. Seriously, what the fuck?”

Nicole sighed and put the bottle back on its shelf, “I know, I know. I usually get the size that’s 150 per bottle, but that does last me about half a year so…-“

“That’s still 300 dollars per year,” Ruby huffed, earning her another unappreciative glare from Nicole.

“At least I smell fantastic the entire day, don’t I?” Nicole snapped back at her, while turning on her heels and marching out of the store – Ruby following close behind.

“Yes, yes you do. Look, I didn’t mean to judge. I was just surprised by the prices, that’s all,” Ruby hastily apologized.

Nicole finally stopped in her tracks and turned to face Ruby, her eyes teasing with amusement and her lips grinning slightly, “apology accepted… but you owe me an arrow word booklet for the flight.”

Every single time Ruby learned something new about Nicole, she was struck with a sweet tug at her heartstrings that just made her fall more and more in love with the woman.

Like the newly acquired information that, apparently, Nicole liked solving arrow word puzzles…

“You got yourself a deal,” Ruby agreed, and she took a firm hold of Nicole’s hand while they made their way over to the book store that also happened to sell a whole series of puzzle booklets.

They eventually made it onto the plane without any issues – Ruby allowing Nicole the window seat – and just after take-off, Nicole pulled her new puzzle booklet from her bag, as well as a pen.

“Can I join?” Ruby asked, as she rested a cheek on Nicole’s left shoulder.

 “Sure,” Nicole hummed, as she opened the booklet to the first page. “You familiar with the rules?”

Ruby shifted slightly, eyes looking up at Nicole whilst still leaning into her shoulder. God, how did she manage to be so beautiful at every angle? “I mean, you’re supposed to write the right answers in the correct boxes right?”

“Yes, but for every answer you fill out, you get new letters for other answers… and some of these are like those prize puzzle thingies – so you’ll have to figure out what letter fits the squares with a number in them, and those will form a word. And if you send in your answers you can win the most ridiculous prices… like a vacuum or a crockpot or whatever.”

“Hey, crockpots can be very useful!” Ruby chimed up from her shoulder.

Nicole glanced down at her with a sweet grin on her lips, “sure they are, chef… now, you wanna help or not?”

“I didn’t take you for the type to be into puzzles,” Ruby admitted, while focussing on the page Nicole had opened up.

Nicole snorted, “are you kidding? Have you seen how competitive I am?” she exclaimed.

Ruby couldn’t help but grin and she pressed a soft kiss to Nicole’s cheek before settling her cheek back onto Nicole’s shoulder. “Right, I should’ve known…”

They spent the first hour of their flight solving several arrow word puzzles – even solving one that could potentially win them a high-end barbecue. Neither of them had space for such a monstrosity on their balconies, but that didn’t stop Nicole from texting the solution to the number at the bottom of the page.

Their second hour was spent listening to music from their shared playlist, as they looked out the window and occasionally engaged in conversation.

“Can I ask you something?” Ruby softly inquired, just past the second hour of their four-hour flight to Chicago.

“Hmm, anything,” Nicole mumbled, all too relaxed after Ruby spent a good 30 minutes massaging her thighs.

“Are you nervous at all? About meeting my family?”

Nicole stiffened for a split second, then relaxed once more – before glancing back at Ruby – whose head now rested back against her seat instead of on Nicole’s shoulder. “I-“ Nicole snorted sarcastically – in that typical way she always did when she was about to lie about something. “No, of course I’m not nervous!”

Even without the tell, Nicole’s high-pitched denial and the way she nearly shrunk into her seat was a very clear sign that she for sure was nervous.

“You know you don’t have to lie to me, right?” Ruby sweetly said. “I mean, I know that I’d be nervous to meet your parents – let alone the entire family…”

That confession seemed to melt Nicole’s walls a bit, as her expression softened and she shifted in her seat – turning her body towards Ruby. “I keep trying to tell myself that it’s gonna be fine, but I don’t know if it will be… Like I- o my god, you’re gonna think this is so stupid-“ Nicole groaned as she slammed back into her chair and covered her face with both hands.

Ruby couldn’t help but smile at the adorable sight that was an embarrassed Nicole, hiding her face to try and not seem as ashamed as she confessed something she undoubtedly though to be humiliating – while Ruby would probably just consider it rather adorable.

“Hey, tell me,” Ruby hummed, prying Nicole’s hands from her face – so she could take a light hold of her girlfriend’s chin and pull her in for a soft kiss. “I promise you, I won’t think it’s stupid,” she mumbled into the kiss.

Unable to resist, Nicole sighed and deepened the kiss for a moment, before pulling away and resting their foreheads together. “I know you said your nonna is the one to impress, but… I am more nervous about meeting your mom, and wanting to impress her.”

Ruby’s heart tightened with adoration for the sweet confession on Nicole’s end, and she stole another kiss from her girlfriend’s lips. “That’s adorable.”

“I’m serious, Ruby!” Nicole complained, as she pulled away from the kiss – eyes full of worry and slight panic. “What if she doesn’t like me? I don’t have a great track record with in-laws-“

Ruby leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “You’ll be just fine, my love. Just be yourself, and I assure you that everyone will adore you as much as I do.”

Nicole nuzzled her nose against Ruby’s cheek for a moment, a sweet grin playing on her lips. “Well, your family adoring me as much as you might be a bit of a problem where your brothers are concerned…”

“Ew, gross. Don’t ever fucking go there again,” Ruby nearly gagged, parting from her intimate embrace with Nicole – who merely chuckled and grinned at her. “Oh and for the record, one of my brothers is gay, so-“

Nicole giggled, “doesn’t mean I can’t charm him.”

“Oh, I am sure he’ll adore you,” Ruby rolled her eyes.

“Everyone does,” Nicole confidently exclaimed as she settled back in her seat. “Okay, so, give me a quick run through of who I’m meeting this weekend.”

Ruby sat back in her seat with a sigh and glanced at Nicole – smug, gorgeous Nicole – seated beside her. “Right, so there’s my nonna, who’s my mom’s mother. Then there’s George and Eleanor, who are my grandparents on my dad’s side. They’ll be there on thanksgiving… just a head’s up, my nonna hates them just about as much as she hates my dad.”

“Why exactly does she hate them?” Nicole asked.

“Well, because they are ‘bland and boring Americans’, according to my nonna,” Ruby told her. “She just thinks my dad is far too dull and boring for my mom and she thinks the same of his parents.”

“Yikes… what does your mom think about that?” Nicole asked in return.

Ruby shrugged, “as far as I can tell, she likes that he’ll do whatever she says. She’s a very demanding, high-maintenance type of woman and she’s got my dad wrapped around her finger, so he’ll do anything for her.”

“Wow, that must be so boring for her,” Nicole chuckled, earning her a curious look on Ruby’s end. “Seriously, like… it’s no fun when your partner just does whatever you want. Like, I want someone who pushes back, who challenges the things I say or demand.”

“So, someone like me?” Ruby purred sweetly, her lips curling up to a sweet grin.

Nicole looked up at her, grinning as well and stealing a quick kiss from her lips, “exactly. Now, continue.”

“Alright, so. We’ve got my dad, Steve, and my mom, Gianna – but most people call her Gigi… don’t call her Gigi before she’s given you explicit permission to do so, however. Many have made that mistake before,” Ruby tells her.

“Right, call your mom Gianna or Mrs. Mansfield until I’m told otherwise. Got it,” Nicole hummed. “Are all of your brothers gonna be there? Including the kids?”

“That’s the plan,” Ruby told her. “So we got my oldest brother, Raphael – or Raph, as we call him – who’s bringing his wife Ava and their two girls, Gracie, who’s 9 and Autumn, who’s 4.”

“Great, I love kids,” Nicole simply exclaimed, earning her another curious look from Ruby.

“I didn’t expect you to be the type to enjoy being around kids…” Ruby couldn’t help but grin.

Nicole met her grin with one of her own, “I mean, I don’t want any kids around when I’m working – just because it’s so fucking annoying to have those idiots running around the restaurant while I’m walking around with hot fucking dishes that could cause those fuckers second degree burns. And of course the parents never fucking keep an eye on their kids. Like, what do you think this is? A fucking zoo? You think you can let your kids run around and we’ll keep an eye on them? Absolutely the fuck not.  Like, if ever I drop anything hot on a kid that bumps into me, because their parent isn’t watching them, I ain’t sorry. And I actually like kids, so that says a lot!”

Ruby grinned at the little rant from Nicole, and added, “you just don’t want them around at the restaurant, got it.”

“I mean, it’s fine as long as the parents control them and keep them seated at the table. But the moment those fucking kids start running around and the parents don’t correct them, I am so ready to fight both mom and dad in the parking lot,” Nicole ranted.

“What if it’s a child with two moms or two dads?” Ruby teased.

Nicole glared back at her, “I don’t give a single fuck if that kid had 6 dads, I will fight every single one of them in the parking lot if their fucking kid is running around my section and bumping into me while I’m serving hot dishes.”

“Fuck, you’re so hot when you get all riled up like this,” Ruby groaned, and she leaned in to steal a quick, deep, kiss from Nicole’s lips before pulling away for her own sanity. “Oh, and for the record, my brother’s kids are not that annoying. At least, they weren’t – last time I saw them.”

“When was that?” Nicole asked curiously.

“Christmas two years ago?” Ruby mumbled with a hint of embarrassment to her words, feeling ashamed to admitting it.

“Oh wow, that’s quite a while… they must be thrilled to see you again,” Nicole told her in that sugary sweet tone that she always used to cover up some personal hurt – and Ruby decided not to ask about it – but she kept it locked away for another day.

Ruby nodded, “yeah, they’re… really thrilled to see me, however, they also are very excited to meet you.”

“Hmm, really?” Nicole purred sweetly, clearly glad with the change of subject. “When was the last time you took someone home for something like thanksgiving or Christmas?”

“Uhm… I think that was about four years ago or something?” Ruby nonchalantly told her, but Nicole did some quick math and the look on her face told Ruby that she knew exactly who Ruby had brought with her four years prior.

Nicole shifted in her seat, nestling further into the cushions and eventually looked up at Ruby with a sharp glare that – for some ridiculous reason – sparked with jealousy. “You brought Cheyenne along with you last time, didn’t you?”

There was a bite to Nicole’s words that was just unnecessary. They were talking about something that happened 4 years ago, but somehow – Cheyenne’s name always got Nicole riled up.

“I- yes, I did,” Ruby admitted with a sigh, to which Nicole rolled her eyes. “For what it’s worth, though, my nonna absolutely hated her. Like, when I told her about you, she brought up Cheyenne and how I shouldn’t make that mistake ever again.”

That seemed to melt Nicole’s icy demeanor significantly, and she glanced back at Ruby once more. “I mean, everyone knows I am several steps up from Cheyenne-“

“Oh, of course,” Ruby agreed. “Anyways, besides my oldest brother and his family, there’s also Leo – who I’m sure you’ll love. He’s as gay as they come and apparently, he’s bringing his new boyfriend this year, whom none of us have met before. Hell, I don’t even know his name.”

Nicole softly giggled beside her and shot her a knowing grin, “oh, is it one of those things where he’s head over heels for some guy he met like three weeks ago?”

“Probably,” Ruby rolled her eyes and shot her girlfriend a teasing grin. “You think I am eager to commit? Leo is the king of latching on to something that’s bound to fall apart within two months. If he were a lesbian, he’d be the queen of u-hauling.”

“He sounds like an icon, so be honest,” Nicole chuckled, finding Ruby’s eyes with an amused grin on both their faces. “And Robbie’s gonna be there, right? Is he bringing that new girl he’s dating?”

Ruby rolled her eyes, “o my god, don’t even get me started,” she groaned, before shooting Nicole a knowing, rather judgmental glare. “I’ve only seen photos of the two of them together and I can already tell she’s the type of girl who’s got no hobby’s and no personality.”

Nicole nudged her teasingly, “harsh, she might just be super nice…”

“Oh, I’m sure she will be! Girls like that always are nice and sweet… but that doesn’t make up for them not having a personality,” Ruby huffed with another roll of her eyes. “Honestly, I feel bad for her. Like, I can tell those types of girls have a lot of potential to be their own person, but they just choose to be whatever it is they think men want them to be… and of course my stupid brother falls for those types of women.”

Nicole hummed, “I know exactly what you mean, but let’s not forget the most important thing here. It’s usually because the men in their lives have fucked them over so many times that they’ve kinda lost sight of who they are… trust me, I’ve met my fair share of these types of girls.”

“And here I was, thinking you’d immediately write her off,” Ruby hummed.

Nicole shot her an offended glare, “seriously!? Ruby, I’m a girls girl first and foremost! Not to mention a firm believer in the fact that no woman is bland and without color where personality is concerned! Women are far too wonderful to be labeled as dull or bland, so I like to pull those women out of their comfort zone… just leave Robbie’s new girlfriend to me.”

“And just when I thought I couldn’t be more in love with you…” Ruby hummed, while leaning in and stealing a sweet kiss from Nicole’s lips.

Their plane landed in the late afternoon – about 10 past 5 pm.

Surprisingly, it took a mere 10 minutes for Nicole’s suitcase to appear on the luggage belt, and Ruby didn’t hesitate to take on the task of pulling it from the moving structure.

As they made their way to the exit, fingers intertwined as they held on to each other – Nicole stirring her suitcase in the right direction while Ruby checked her phone for the millionth time.

Her mother had texted her about 20 minutes ago that they were waiting for the two of them by the exit.

Whoever ‘they’ were, Ruby hadn’t a clue. Knowing her family, it could be just her parents or the entire fucking family.

Nicole gave a nervous squeeze to her hand right before they passed through the doors that led them into the arrivals hall – and Ruby pressed a reassuring kiss to her temple before tugging her towards the automatic doors.

The doors opened up to reveal the sight of far more family members than Ruby had initially expected – and she held onto Nicole’s hand just a little tighter as she slowly steered her girlfriend towards the small group of people who looked beyond thrilled to see her.

Said crowd existed of both her parents, her nonna and Leo and his new boyfriend.

Leo was the first to run towards her and pull his younger sister into a tight embrace – ripping her hand from Nicole’s grip in doing so.

“O my god, it’s been way too long Rubes,” Leo gasped as he pulled her closer.

“I know, I know, I know,” Ruby hummed, though she did pull him into her arms just as tightly. “How about I introduce you to my girlfriend?”

“O my god, please!” Leo nearly squealed and he immediately let go of Ruby, to focus all of his attention on the blonde beside his youngest sister. “Oh shit. Ruby, those pictures you sent me did not do her justice. Hi darling, I’m Leo.”

Nicole shot Ruby a curious glare before turning back to Leo with a charming smile on her face, “oh I have heard so much about you, Leo…” she sweetly purred, while shaking his hand. “I’m Nicole.”

“Oh honey, I know,” Leo chimed. “Ruby won’t shut up about you… and I can see why- my love, you are so gorgeous. How’d you end up with someone like Ruby?”

“Okay, that’s enough-“ Ruby told him rather firmly. “Why don’t you introduce us to your new fling?”

Leo gasped, “we are very exclusive, just so you know. Kyle and I are gonna last, I’m sure of it,” he insisted.

Ruby chuckled as they gradually made their way towards the other family members, and nudged his shoulder playfully. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Despite her extensive list of people she’d dated and slept with, Nicole was quite unfamiliar with the concept of meeting her in laws. She’d only met her in laws once before, and that was when she was 19 years old and dating an absolute fucking ass.

So this was entirely new to her and absolutely nerve-wrecking. She first was introduced to Leo’s new boyfriend, Kyle – who was as straight passing as she was, which might just be something they could bond over.

Next were Ruby’s parents, who were all too welcoming and polite – and they genuinely seemed to be relieved that their daughter had found someone she wanted to bring home for thanksgiving.

And last, but not least, was the scariest introduction of all.

The infamous nonna.

Ruby pulled her towards the elderly woman after she’d introduced Nicole to her parents.

“Nonna, I’d like you to meet Nicole – my girlfriend,” Ruby told her grandmother, who took her sweet time looking Nicole up and down, without saying a word.

Without any trouble, a charming smile flashed across Nicole’s face as she met the woman’s dark eyes without fear – despite the fierce, judgmental nature of her glare. “It’s an honor to meet you, ma’am. Ruby’s told me plenty of stories about you.”

Nonna glared at Ruby for a moment, then back at Nicole – “what kinds of stories?” she inquired in a distant tone of voice.

“Nonna-“ Ruby started, but Nicole interrupted her by answering nonna’s question.

“I think we’ll be here until tomorrow morning if I have to recall all of them,” Nicole jokingly answered, before looking nonna straight in the eye once more as she gave a more serious answer. “One of my favorites is the one about how your husband forbade you from having a job, after you became a mother, and you went behind his back and got a job anyways. Like, classic girlboss behavior.”

Ruby nervously watched her nonna, unsure if this would score Nicole points with the head of their family or not.

Nonna’s eyes narrowed for a moment, before a grin spread over her features as she said, “finally, a woman who understands!” and she pulled Nicole into a tight embrace.

Nicole hugged the smaller, older woman back and glanced at Ruby over nonna’s shoulder, mouthing “was that good:?”

Ruby merely responded by giving her two thumbs up behind nonna’s back, which – honestly – lacked in expressing how much of a success it was that she managed to convince nonna to embrace her while having just met her.

Ruby just hoped they could keep that positive spirit going over the next couple days…