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keraunothnetophobia: (n) the fear of the fall of man-made satellites.
~*~
“Good-bye, Abbey.”
“Good-bye, Donna.”
They checked meticulously to make sure all their clothes and accessories were in the right place. They got dressed.
When Abbey made her come, Donna saw stars. When Abbey came, she buried her face in Donna’s shoulder to keep from being heard. Foreplay was hot but hurried, and the two women grew less aroused as each stroke of talented hands grew less feverish.
Donna broke off from kissing Abbey. It was the first time they’d kissed in nearly a year. There had been so much in the way - censures and investigations, Cliff and Jed and appearances to keep up. So they’d been pining and yearning and absolutely hands-off until this moment.
“One of the worst ever.”
“This has always been a bad idea,” Donna said.
“You’re my favorite Canadian, Donnatella Moss.”
“’O, Canada,’” Donna said. “That was funny.” Donna stopped giggling. Abbey stopped smiling.
Her hands twitched at her sides. One touch. Trailing her fingers along Donna’s cheek - just for an instant - would erase a year of wondering if she’d hallucinated their whole affair. “I’m not going to say it again, Donna - you said what needed to be said, and I’m not angry. I thought I’d proven that.”
With quick, precise steps, Abbey backed away from her.
“God. Why can’t I ever learn to keep my mouth shut?” Donna bounced up from the couch.
“This is my life, Donna.” She didn’t sounded unpleased by this. “I never expected to come to this, but Jed was nearly impeached, and now, this is what I have to do.”
“Abbey, you can’t. No! You can’t give up your life.” Donna’s hand dropped from in front of her mouth.
“I’m surrendering my license until Jed is out of office.”
“Okay.” Donna nodded. “Okay.
“Donna!” Abbey straightened her head and sighed, wishing she could touch Donna. “Of *course* you had a right. You always have a right. And it hurt, but...but I needed to hear it.”
“Abbey, I am so sorry. What I said was completely out of line, and I had no right, even—“ Donna nodded.
“I couldn’t sleep now. Too many...too much.” Abbey waved her hand.
“It’s late. Shouldn’t you be sleeping? I wasn’t sure you’d come any further. It’s harder to say it was just a coincidence once you come through the door.”
“I think that’s everybody. They’ve gone now.”
Abbey turned from Josh’s door as they walked away. She watched Toby and Marbury reappear up the hall and wondered if they would unhave sex tonight.
The two men, to her very great surprise, stopped being very flushed.
“Please do,” entreated Abbey. “Let Toby reject you for a change.”
“And now I suggest we return to the excellent bar we frequented earlier this evening and get even drunker.” Marbury took his hand away from Toby’s back. “Yes, I am, my good man. Indeed I am.”
“John, you’re drunk.”
“If that person is you, my dear, there is never any limit.” Marbury beamed beneficently.
“John, don’t you think you’ve ogled me enough tonight? While I can’t say I didn’t enjoy your repeated attempts to fondle my breasts, even you must have a limit to the number of you can be rejected by one person in one night.”
“Shit!” Donna unducked from Josh’s office when Toby and Lord Marbury disappeared from the end of the hall. Toby carried his personal storm cloud over him as most men carry a briefcase, and Marbury was demanding to know the whereabouts of “Abbey and her magnificent breasts.”
“Donna--“ They were completely alone together, here in the doorway to Josh’s office, and Abbey didn’t know how long that had lasted, and there was so much she needed to say.
She hadn’t expected Abbey to come unlooking for her, and she definitely hadn’t expected it to happen tonight. “Abbey! You startled me.”
Donna was just about to come out of Josh’s office to hunt up the files and phone numbers he’d be bellowing for in the morning. Hung over, probably pissy - too drunk to get it up for Amy. Donna was drunk, too, damn it; tonight she had insulted the First Lady and become an expatriate, but she was still working. She was smoothing bumps along Josh’s road that he’d never even know existed. And he would never thank her.
After the party - after Josh was came back from continuing to argue with Amy, CJ from wrestling with her corkscrew, and Jed from thinking about what he could do to be worthy of a woman who had voluntarily surrendered her livelihood for his sake - Abbey went unlooking for Donna.
END