Chapter 24

24

" H ere we go," Faith said, opening the laptop.

They showed Mrs. Baker the video and both were thrilled when she approved.

"The things you can do with these computers," Mrs. Baker said. "It looks so real."

"We hope it looks like that when we're finished," Faith said.

"Keep trusting each other and you'll win this thing," Mrs. Baker said.

Destiny looked over at Faith. "We've had our problems with trust."

"Problems we didn't even know we had," Faith added.

"But we're working on it," Destiny said. "We're open, supportive, and brave."

Faith met Destiny's gaze and smiled. This wasn't the first time she'd felt like everything was going to be okay, but what Destiny just said certainly gave her confidence.

Mrs. Baker took each of their hands. "Sharing is hard. You're afraid the person you love the most will see you differently if they know your fears. As time goes on your love grows stronger and that fear will shrink, kind of like I have." The older woman chuckled. "You two didn't have time to realize it's okay to be scared. But even more important than that…" She stopped and looked at each of them. "It's okay to let someone be scared with you. That's when you let your love be strong enough for both of you." She squeezed their hands and smiled.

"You don't always have to be the strong one," Mrs. Baker said to Destiny then she turned to Faith. "You don't always have to be the strong one," she repeated.

Faith looked over at Destiny. Their love had grown stronger the more time they'd spent together. She could feel it and from the look on Destiny's face, she felt it, too. Faith knew Destiny wanted to be with her. Those kisses they shared earlier were born of longing and a hint of relief. Faith didn't mean to grab Destiny so forcefully, but she couldn't hold back any longer.

They hadn't made it back to the way they were before and honestly Faith hoped they didn't. She didn't want to be that insecure, somewhat moody person that Destiny somehow fell in love with. That was Destiny's super power. She could see past the parts that Faith wanted to hide and nourish them in her own way.

Faith smiled at Destiny and for a moment gratitude nearly burst her heart wide open. They had the opportunity to fall in love all over again. Yes, the love was still there, but this was falling in love with the parts of each other they hadn't seen. And wow, this was so much better.

"Are you okay?" Destiny asked.

Faith smiled at Destiny and Mrs. Baker. "I'm more than okay. Right now, I'm the luckiest woman in the world. Look who I get to share this bench with!"

Mrs. Baker chuckled. "That's right."

They stayed and visited a little longer and by the time they left, Mrs. Baker had them both believing they would indeed win this bid.

"This was a nice surprise to see Mrs. Baker," Faith said as they headed back to her place.

"I thought she'd be happy to see us together."

Faith chuckled. "I'm happy to see us together."

Destiny smiled. "Do you have plans for the rest of the evening?"

"Nope," Faith said. "It's a lazy Sunday for me." She glanced over at Destiny when she didn't say anything. "Would you want to be lazy with me?"

Destiny quickly looked her way. "I thought you'd never ask."

Faith laughed. "I told you that you're welcome at my place anytime."

"I guess we could go to my place, it's just…" Destiny said.

"There's a lot of history at your place."

"Yeah," Destiny said. "I didn't know if it would upset you."

"It doesn't have to be today, but maybe we should add to that history sometime," Faith suggested.

Destiny smiled. "There are a lot of happy memories still there."

"I know," Faith replied.

"But I really do like your tiny house," Destiny said.

"I wonder why?" Faith asked. "You like your space."

"I thought I did, but there's something about your place."

Faith smiled and reached for Destiny's hand. "I wonder what it could be," she said softly.

"I wonder." Destiny glanced over at her and grinned.

As afternoon turned into evening, Faith put her arm on the back of the couch and turned to Destiny. "I can't believe you didn't fall asleep and made it through the entire movie."

"What!" Destiny exclaimed, turning towards Faith.

Faith raised her brows and stared.

"Okay, okay," Destiny said. "I usually fall asleep when we watch a movie, but…" She shrugged.

"But…" Faith leaned closer. "You wanted to kiss me and were afraid I'd miss the movie."

"Maybe," Destiny said, moving closer.

Faith leaned even closer until her lips almost brushed Destiny's. "Just so you know, I'd much rather kiss you than watch a movie."

"Yeah?" Destiny said softly with a smile.

"Yeah, I'd rather kiss you than just about anything else," Faith whispered. She gently pressed her lips to Destiny's and felt her heart skip a beat. A soft moan reached her ears and she wasn't sure if it came from her or Destiny.

Faith reached up and buried her fingers in Destiny's hair, pulling her closer.

"Mmm," Destiny moaned.

Faith could feel Destiny's arms tighten around her back as she deepened the kiss. Their tongues met in a slow dance of softness and Faith melted against Destiny. Her heart was once again beating, adding a rhythm to this sexy samba they both knew.

Along with the quiet moans and gasps of breath, Faith could feel her heart reaching for Destiny's. There had been times when they were together that Faith felt like their hearts were so entwined that they beat as one.

What started as velvety delicious kisses intensified until Faith could feel the significance of this moment. As much as she wanted to keep going, Faith gently pulled away and stared into Destiny's now very dark brown eyes. Until now, Faith had let Destiny initiate any kind of intimacy, aside from taking her hand from time to time. It was clear that she wanted Destiny back, but Faith also knew Destiny needed more time to work through all that had happened.

"I don't want to mess this up," Faith said softly. "Should we talk?"

"Can this be our reward for all the hard work we've been doing?" Destiny offered. "Yes, we do need to talk, but right now, today, it's been so nice. Simply being together with my folks and then with Mrs. Baker, it was so laid-back. It felt like all our cares and concerns could wait, for just a little while."

"I'd say we're getting to know one another again, but I do know you, Des," Faith said. She gently cupped the side of Destiny's face. Faith smiled when Destiny leaned into her hand. "I'm finding out that you're the woman I thought you were all along, but you kept parts of yourself hidden."

Destiny furrowed her brow. "Like what?"

"Like how quickly you wanted to exact revenge for what Gloria did to us."

"I don't want to talk about her today," Destiny said.

"Okay." Faith nodded. "I'm finding out that if I'm more assertive than you expect…"

Destiny raised her brows. "Yeah?"

"Then you'll let me take over."

"You haven't realized you're the one who has been in charge the entire time," Destiny said.

"I don't want that for either of us," Faith said. "We're in this together."

"Of course we are, but I thought you were talking about something else." Destiny once again raised her eyebrows and pulled Faith on top of her as she slid down the couch.

"Oh, how I want to." Faith's body was pressed against Destiny's. They were both wearing shorts and feeling their skin touch was almost too much for Faith's resolve.

"We'll talk after your birthday party," Destiny said. "But right now, I want more kisses."

Faith raised her brows. "You know where our kisses often take us."

Destiny smiled. "It's okay. Don't you remember, I could kiss you all day."

Faith smiled and brushed a strand of Destiny's hair behind her ear then kissed her with the love that was growing in her heart. They stayed like this for a while, lounging in the luxury of their kisses.

"This has been such a good day," Destiny said.

"It has," Faith replied, holding Destiny's hand as they walked to her truck.

Faith opened the door, but swung Destiny into her arms. She held her close and gazed into her eyes. "I don't think I've ever looked forward to my birthday as much as I am this one."

Destiny smiled, but then her eyes widened. "Oh no, the pressure."

Faith chuckled. "The party will be fun. How can it not be with a bunch of our friends and co-workers singing karaoke? I'm looking forward to you and me, right here, just us."

Destiny nodded. "Me, too," she whispered.

Faith leaned up and gently kissed Destiny's lips. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Count on it."

Faith stepped back and watched Destiny get in her truck and drive away.

"We're in this together," she said softly with a smile.

The next morning Faith went over the schedule with her teams and sent them out to their respective jobs. She was reading her emails when she looked up and saw Destiny walk in with a box.

"Good morning," Destiny said with a smile.

"Hey." Faith grinned and got up from her computer.

"Amy, I hope you like donuts," Destiny said, stopping at Amy's desk and opening the box as she winked at Faith.

The things that little wink did to Faith's heart. It was like a blast of sunshine that woke up a flurry of butterflies that were now humming in her stomach.

"I love donuts," Amy said. "It's a requirement to work here." She took two out of the box along with the napkin Destiny offered her.

Faith laughed. "We do love donuts."

"Isn't it remarkable I guessed that," Destiny said with a grin.

"Isn't it though," Faith replied, taking a donut from the box.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with our favorite Sunday donut ritual," Destiny said, leaning against Faith's desk.

"How did we get so lucky to receive this donut delivery?" Faith asked, taking a bite of the breakfast treat.

Destiny shrugged, reaching in the box for a donut. "Did you see the email about the presentations?"

"I just read it."

"Three days of presentations," Destiny said. "We're in the middle."

"Yeah," Faith said, rereading the schedule. "The smaller companies are at the beginning with the big ones at the end."

"Yep," Destiny said. "Gloria is the last to present. If I could figure out some way to go in and fuck that up…"

"Did you notice," Faith said, trying to pull Destiny away from her destructive thoughts, "how good our company name looks on this list?"

Destiny leaned over next to Faith. "It looks like it belongs with those big companies."

Faith nodded. She'd been thinking about what it would be like if they merged their companies not only for this job, but also going forward.

"I have a job for us today," Destiny said, between bites.

"A job?" Faith asked, pulling her attention back to Destiny.

"What if we took rocks with us to the presentation and showed the committee how it works?"

"That's a great idea," Faith exclaimed. "But where do we get the rocks?"

"My dad knows someone who is happy to let us pick up rocks on their land," Destiny said. "Can you go with me today?"

"If it will help us win this bid," Faith said. "Hell yes, I can go today."

Destiny chuckled. "I'll pick you up after lunch."

"Hey wait," Faith said, as Destiny started to walk away. She leaned up and softly kissed Destiny. "You had a little sugar on your lips."

Destiny grinned and walked towards the door.

"Thanks for the donuts," Amy said.

"You're welcome." Destiny stopped at the door and gave Faith a little wave before she left.

"Do you want to tell me what that was?" Amy asked with a brow raised.

"That's hope." Faith smiled as she stared at the front door.

"Well, it goes with faith and destiny, I suppose," Amy said.