Gabrielle woke up and immediately and missed the pleasant warmth of Xena. She sat up slowly, catching sight of her lover, fully clothed, sitting sideways on the window sill, legs stretched out. The sight brought stark fear that the woman was going to give her 'the boot' now that she had had her way with her, or worse yet, deemed her as a stalker. Feeling self conscious of her nakedness, she slipped out of bed and quietly gathered her scattered clothing.
The gardener's continued silence was unnerving her. She stole quick glances toward the window, praying the dark haired woman would finally say something. Even a 'get out' would be better than the dead silence that filled the room. Better than the quiet rustling of putting on her clothes that sounded painfully loud, final, lonely.
She straightened up from putting on her shoes, turned toward the still silent figure and sighed. Standing up from the bed she took a deep breath. She had to say something. Anything. She was in deep and almost blindly into this. Now...now all she had to do was find the right words to say to someone she barely knew, how much of an essential part of her existence she had become.
She opened her mouth to speak.
"Do you know you were followed here?"
Gabrielle gasped. She struggled with the sudden quiet outburst and the meaning of the words. She was followed? By whom? She watched as blue eyes turned to her. They were so filled with emotions...rage, passion, vulnerability...and something else she couldn't quite identify, that she had to fight to think about the question.
"N...no. I came here as a last minute decision." She answered hesitantly. Her mind was frantically racing, trying to compute information she didn't know how to process.
Suddenly her eyes opened wide and her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped loudly.
*The hag!* Echoed her mind. She closed her eyes as the old woman's words rang through her ears. *I can't believe that bitch had the audacity to follow me!* She almost laughed as she got a silly picture of John surrounded by little "birdies" of gossip.
"Could it be your husband?"
Gabrielle opened her eyes wide. "No, I don't think so." She ran a hand through her hair and slowly walked towards Xena, laying her hands softly the woman's thigh. "At the fund raiser I went to a couple of days ago, some rich bitch made a comment about how much I 'glowed' considering John was away." She smiled when Xena smirked, a beautiful eyebrow going up, an indication she understood the compliment
The blond woman immediately felt tingles when Xena lightly wrapped a hand around her neck. "She kinda implied that John was going to hear about it if I was having an affair." She finished huskily, as she leaned into the caress.
She saw the gardener nod her head slightly and turn back to face outside. Cautiously, she peered out too, afraid of what she'd see. Then she felt the hand move from her neck down and wrap around her waist, tugging her closer to the tall body on the sill.
The closeness and the warmth made her forget her mission and she closed her eyes in bliss. She felt soft lips brush against hers softly, gently.
"Gabrielle?"
She heard her name being lovingly said, heard the question. She pulled back slightly and sank herself into the blue ocean before her.
She knew. Her heart started pounding and she felt tears begin. This can't be the end. It was an adamant refusal on her part.
"Xena, I don't know what's going on." She reached to caress the silky skin of the perfect face. "But I know that me being followed here means you have to leave." She stepped back when the tall woman swung her legs off the sill to face her, pulling her back in, in between her legs, embracing her. The feeling was exquisite and Gabrielle closed her eyes, leaned forward 'till their foreheads touched. The words in her heart demanded to be let free, but they were jumbled and somehow wrong, inadequate.
"Come with me."
She heard the barely audible plea and the socialite felt her heart clench. She knew she was supposed to breathe, but her mind seemed to have stopped functioning. Images bombarded her head in rapid succession. John...her current lifestyle...the tiny cramped place she had before John...Xena...their passionate lovemaking...an uncertain future.... She was being asked to give it all up.
Part 5 A Lifetime Answer
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Lace Priest