i paid my dues

the dark haired woman grinned, moving to find the bottom hem of emory’s shirt and pulling it up over her head, “killing you? i don’t want to kill you, baby.” she leaned down to kiss her lips again before trailing kisses across her jaw and then down to her neck.

emory lifted a little, allowing for her shirt to be pulled from over her head, a soft smile on her lips as her bare chest was exposed. “you know what i mean,” she whispered, her eyes unable to stay open as normani’s lips traveled along her skin. her entire body flooded with goosebumps. em tugged at the girl’s shirt, grunting softly to indicate her desire to remove the item. 

normani smirked slightly, moving to climb on top of her so she was straddling her waist. she leaned down to kiss her lips softly but letting her lips linger for a moment before kissing her a second time. the second time, the kiss was deeper… more needy. as much as normani liked to think she was in control, she was barely keeping control on herself.

this was the part of normani that emory loved to see. this playful, needy side that seemed to melt out of her when they were losing themselves in each other. as their kiss deepened, em slid her hands up the back of normani’s shirt and let herself continue to kiss the other woman with as much of her as she could. her skin was so smooth beneath her touch. “nor,” she breathed out needily. “you’re killing me.”

normani was thankful to have emory: it was simple. they were friends but they had fun… it didn’t require much thought on her part. it was easy and fun, and after the day she had, easy and fun seemed like a good idea. normani shrugged at emory’s question, using her foot to close the door and moving to gently push her hips onto the bed, “oh, i think i have a few ideas.”

emory let normani push her onto the bed, a soft laugh leaving her lips as her blonde hair splayed out beneath her. “such as?” she asked softly, her voice still laced with a soft whine. she really wasn’t great at seeming less desperate than she was. em licked her lips, looking up at the other girl and tilting her head. “show me.”

normani smirked slightly at the sound of emory’s whimper, pulling away gently and reaching for her hand, “as much fun as the kitchen is…” she led her towards her own room, pushing the door open and kissing her again at the doorway, “this is better.”

another whine left emory when normani pulled away, not wanting any of it to stop. she wasn’t quite sure how they’d made it to this point where they were so comfortable just losing themselves in each other, but em had to remind herself this was casual. they were friends. “is it?” emory whispered innocently, kissing normani back gently before pulling away completely and backing toward the bed. “better for what?”

“that’s supposed to be a secret, em,” normani whispered, suddenly distracted by the feeling of emory’s lips on hers. it was almost intoxicating; the feeling of emory’s hands on her neck, her lips on her own… she deepened the kiss slightly, moving to push emory against the counter gently.

there was nothing said in response as the small blonde let normani move her and continue to let the kiss take over. emory slipped her tongue against normani’s, her hand gripping gently at her hair. there was nothing better than when someone else took the reins and controlled a situation. a soft, desperate whimper hummed against normani’s lips as em tried her best not to pour all of herself into the kiss. 

“guess i’m turning soft, aren’t i?” normani teased gently, pulling emory’s body closer to hers. she kissed her lips gently, her hands slipping under the blonde’s shirt and onto her back. “is that a bad thing though?”

“were you ever not?” em pushed back, happily closing more space between the two. as normani kissed her, emory slipped one hand into the hair at the back of her neck. “you tell me,” she whispered gently, leaning in and kissing her once again - this time letting her lips linger there for a moment. 

“i’m okay,” normani assured her softly, letting her own hands find emory’s waist. “i’m even better now that you’re here though… or is that too cheesy to say?” she leaned in to kiss the side of emory’s mouth, “i hope it’s not.”

emory’s fingers gently pressed into normani’s neck, hoping to somehow relieve a little bit of the stress. not that she was anywhere near strong enough. “it’s pretty cheesy, but that never killed no- anyone,” she smile softly, eyes fluttering shut momentarily at the small kiss. her heart swelled a little. “i didn’t even have to work for that one,” 

normani smiled, shrugging, “i mean, i’m always up for christmas in december. it’s the most magical time of the year, eh?” she looked down at her glass before taking a sip, “i mean, a little from column a, a little from column b… i don’t think i’m ever feeling 100%.” she watched emory, biting at her lip before letting her eyes fall to the floor.

“it’s certainly something,” emory replied, a vague answer for someone who truly loved christmas. at least, usually. everything felt weird now that her family wasn’t involved in her life. the blonde approached normani as the girl spoke, setting her glass down on the counter she leaned against. “are you okay?” she asked, her hands slipping onto normani’s shoulders and kneading gently, letting her hands drift to her neck. 

once the bottle was open, normani poured two (rather full) glasses. she kept one for herself and handed one to emory, rolling her eyes slightly, “that’s you, em…” she took a drink from her glass, leaning back against the counter as she listened to her, “christmas in september… maybe we should watch some christmas movies for inspiration.” she shrugged, sighing softly, “it was fine. practice was rough, but it always is.”

if emory could’ve just kept her mouth shut, she was sure that life would be a little easier for her. there was no reason to just say everything that was on her mind. that much felt apparent by normani’s eyeroll at her compliment. “that actually wouldn’t be the worst idea, sweet thing,” em smiled slowly into her glass as she took a long sip. “rough as in you’re hurt or rough as in difficult?” she asked, knowing that football could not be easy, especially as a woman. 

“good because… if i’m being honest, all i really have is wine. i need to go to the store desperately,” normani joked softly. she pulled a bottle of red from her fridge before finding her opener and looking over at emory, “how was your day, em?” 

“as long as you have something...” emory cooed, looking over her shoulder at her friend as she poured her a glass of wine. her eyes blinked hurriedly as normani asked her a question, her brain choosing to ignore it. “you’re so gorgeous,” she let out in a whisper, taking a few steps toward her to take the glass. after a brief moment of silence, em spoke. “my day was fine. i’m having some trouble writing this christmas song in september, but we’ll get there. how was yours?”

normani smiled lightly at her comment, gently letting go of her hold on emory’s small waist, “what kind of drink are we talking about?” she slipped past emory and into her kitchen, pulling two glasses out.

almost letting out a whimper when normani released her from her grasp, emory sighed. she removed her shoes before lightly padding over to follow normani. “wine, a cocktail... something in that realm,” the blonde spoke, finding her eyes drifting to the view outside of the apartment. her hand settled on the wall as she took it all in. 

sure, bennett knew he could run into emory in the city.  he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon after moving in though.  he’d wanted some time before he had to face his ex-fiancée.  apparently that was too much for him to ask of the universe though.  

“ems.”  there was no formal bone in his body, and even though bennett had been greeted by his full name from her, he couldn’t help but calling her what he’d always called her in the past.  “i mean i am here for business, working on an album.  but actually i just moved here.  for good.”  

the nickname hit her like a ton of bricks. they crashed into her chest before ( one by one ) slamming into other parts of her. ems. like it was yesterday, she could hear him calling her over from the next room. like it was yesterday, she could hear him getting her attention when she was glued to the morning horoscopes. like it was yesterday, she could feel her heart break again. 

normani laughed softly, pulling emory’s petite body against her own, “yes… and also making me want you.” her words were breathy and soft, but her intentions were clear. it was impossible for normani to keep herself together around emory.

emory closed her eyes, looking away from normani in faux-shyness. she was far from a bashful person. “you’ll at least have to make me a drink first, babe,” her soft, sweet southern accent almost sang the words as she looked back at her companion. it was too much for emory sometimes, her time with normani. how did someone make her feel so light?