Chapter 39

Megan was up early on Saturday morning. She got the coffee started, grabbed her laptop and plopped down on the couch. Her first order of business was to search for a two-bedroom apartment. This task became significantly more difficult when Nocturne walked in and decided that Megan’s lap was exactly where she wanted to be. It took some maneuvering, but Nocturne eventually settled herself in the nook created by Megan’s legs, while Megan balanced the laptop precariously on one knee, her searching occasionally interrupted by a head bonk. The cat was happy, which was what was truly important.

Megan identified some opportunities, which she flagged for review with Tasha. One was a unit in their building, which would be incredibly convenient.

After a while, Megan’s need for coffee and breakfast achieved a higher priority than her desire to ensure that Nocturne had a comfortable leg nook to rest in. Nocturne strongly disagreed and stalked off in a huff, her tail twitching furiously as she went in search of another human to snuggle.

As she poured herself some coffee, Megan could hear vague cat-related noises coming from Tasha. She poured a second mug after seeing Tasha flit from the bedroom to the bathroom. Tasha stumbled sleepily into the living room as Megan silently admired her disheveled beauty. She held out a mug and was rewarded with a grateful smile. She waited until Tasha had taken a sip, then leaned in for a kiss, which was granted.

“Good morning!”

“Ugh, how are you so cheerful? How long have you been up?”

“About an hour or so.”

“Your hair is a mess.”

“I know. There’s enough hairspray in there to hold up a building. I’ll take a shower soon.”

“Mmm, can I help?”

“Oh, that’s tempting, but I’ll have to defer that to when we have a private bathroom.”

“Sorry, I should have thought of that. My horniness carried me away.”

“It’s no problem, and I like how you think. How did you sleep?”

“I slept amazing until a little toe assassin attacked my feet.”

“Ah, that’s what I heard. Sorry about that. She was resting with me and then left when I got up. She must have taken out her anger on your poor toes.”

“Mmm hmm, so it’s your fault. Well, she was snuggling up to Sophia as I left.”

The pair returned to sipping their coffee, enjoying being in each other’s company. Megan broke the silence and said in a sing-song voice, “Ta-sha… Guess what?”

“What?”

“I have a giiiiiiirlfriiiiiiiieeeeend.”

“Why are you so annoyingly cute?”

“It’s a super power.”

“Ugh. If I kiss you again, will you be less annoying?”

Megan grinned impishly. “Maybe. Mmpf.”

“That’s better.”

If I had known kissing Tasha felt this good back in college, I— I better not go down that road. We are here now and that makes me happy.

Megan laughed and Tasha laughed with her. “So, I started looking for a new apartment. I’ve found a few places in this area. Want to take a look?”

“Sure! Just in this area, or have you been looking at other parts of the city?”

“I focused on this area since you already have a regular commute and I really don’t want to put Sophia in a third school this year.”

“That makes sense. Look, this one is just down the hall.”

“Yeah, I thought that might be convenient.”

“Let’s look at the other options and see if we like anything better than this.” They spent some time browsing the various options that Megan had identified and eventually decided to see if the unit down the hall was still available.

“Great, let me go and wash all this hairspray out of my hair and then we can go down to the office.” About the time that Megan finished, Sophia was waking up, so the trip to the office was delayed by the flurry of activity as Sophia and Nocturne were fed. Tasha went to grab a quick shower and Megan cleaned up in the kitchen, smiling to herself and humming.

Once they were both ready, they went down to the office. Tasha introduced Megan as her girlfriend and inquired about the availability of the two-bedroom apartment. The office manager gave them a tour of the unit and they agreed to take it. After that, they went and signed the paperwork. The office manager was a bit surprised that they wanted the keys today, but she didn”t object.

“This is crazy. You know that, right?”

Megan looked at Tasha in alarm. “Is this too fast? Should we go back and tell her to rip up the lease?”

“No… Maybe… I mean… I want this so much and I love the idea of having our own place with more space. It”s just, this is so brand new and now I”m freaking out.”

Megan reached out to hold Tasha. “I thought that it was my job to freak out about moving too fast.” She smiled and continued, “I”ll admit that I”m scared, too. We”ve lived together before, but this is very different. This is incredibly risky and we probably should have talked more, but I”m so excited to be taking this leap with you.”

“You are? I”m excited, too, even though I”m anxious. I feel like we would have gotten to this decision eventually. We just, you know, skipped ahead a couple of weeks.”

“We really did, but I know that everything will work out amazingly. I appreciate how you welcomed us into your home, and now we”re going to have our own place.” Megan hugged her close.

“I have no idea how you are so calm right now.”

“Can I tell you how much I love being the one telling you that everything”s going to be okay?”

“You”re enjoying this, aren”t you?”

“Honestly, I”m mostly enjoying holding you.”

“You”ve discovered my secret.” Tasha pulled back and smiled at her. “Now, let”s get back home. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

By the time they reached their door it seemed like Tasha had dialed back from the brink of panic. Megan”s enthusiasm seemed to be rubbing off on her, and they were holding hands and giggling as they walked through the door.

“Hi, sweetie! We”re back.”

“Hi Mommy!”

“Come on, Sophia. I want to show you our new home.”

“Are we not going to live with Aunt Tasha anymore?” Sophia didn’t look happy.

“Oh, no. Aunt Tasha is moving with us. We’re moving to a new place so that you can have your own room.”

As crazy as committing to living together is, it feels even more crazy not to do this. I really hope that Tasha agrees.

“Will you have your own room too, Mommy?”

“Um…”

Tasha leaned in and whispered, “This is all you.”

Sophia asked, “Mommy, will you and Aunt Tasha sleep in the other room?”

“Mhm. Sleep, among other things,” Tasha whispered with a sultry tone.

“Yes, sweetie.”

“Why can’t I sleep with you like I do now?”

“Because you’ll have your own bedroom!”

“...and because your Mommy has certain needs,” Tasha breathed huskily in her ear.

“Stop it! You’re so bad!” Megan hissed. They both giggled while Sophia looked on with confusion. Megan reached out to grab her daughter’s hand. Tasha led them down the hall, holding Megan’s other hand. When they got to their new apartment, Megan asked, “Do you have your keys? My hands are a bit full.” Tasha’s head turned and she saw the mischievous grin on her face. “Tasha, don’t even say it!”

“What? You don’t know what I was going to say.”

“Oh, I think I know.”

Tasha pouted as she opened the door. Megan showed Sophia around the empty apartment and then let her loose in what would soon be her bedroom. As she walked back to Tasha, she said, “You have a dirty mind.”

“Takes one to know—mmpf!” Megan shut her up with a kiss. “Mmmm, our first kiss in our new home.”

“First of many.”

I never thought that kissing another woman would feel this good. Maybe it wouldn’t be the same if it were anyone besides Tasha. I’ll probably never know, and I am perfectly fine with that.

“Okay, Mom, I like my new room.”

“That’s great, angel. We need to get you a bed now.”

“Yes, now!” Tasha whispered.

I completely agree.

They all walked back to their soon-to-be former home. Megan was doing her best to answer Sophia’s questions, while Tasha was doing her best to distract her with whispered double entendres. She was furiously shushing Tasha when Sophia asked, “Mommy, why are you being so weird?”

“What?” Well, that question shut Tasha up.

“You and Aunt Tasha keep whispering and giggling. It’s not fair if you don’t tell me!”

“Um, Aunt Tasha keeps whispering grown-up jokes, which she really shouldn’t do because it is so unfair to you.” Megan pointedly added a meaningful glare directed at Tasha.

“You also kissed Aunt Tasha.”

Uh oh…

“I did. Are you okay with that?”

“It’s yucky!”

Uh oh! “Sophia, is it yucky because I kissed another girl or is it yucky because kissing is yucky?”

“Kissing is yucky!”

Yes! “So, you don’t mind that your mom kissed Aunt Tasha?”

“I like Aunt Tasha!”

“But kissing is yucky? Because I’m about to kiss you to pieces!” Megan started feverishly kissing her daughter, who squealed with laughter.

“Aunt Tasha, make her stop!”

“Are you sure, munchkin?”

“Yes! Save me, Aunt Tasha.”

Megan felt a hand on your shoulder and heard Tasha say, “Come here, you! Time for a taste of your own medicine.” Suddenly, Megan was attacked by kisses, much in the same manner as what she had just done to her daughter. Soon, Megan was the one squealing with laughter.

Tasha finally relented, leaving Megan panting desperately between residual laughs. She watched as Tasha sat back on the couch and said to Sophia, “Munchkin, I know that kisses are yucky, but maybe you’d be willing to kiss your Aunt Tasha on the cheek to thank her for saving you?”

Sophia planted a kiss on Tasha’s cheek and then hugged her fiercely. “I love you, Aunt Tasha.”

She’s really good with Sophia. I’m so glad that Sophia likes her, too.

Megan hugged the two of them. “I love you both.”