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Her eyes wandered back to Faye, watching intently. Mate felt like a much more comfortable word than it normally did, and she found she liked it.
“Why did you stop?”
“It hurt.” Faye’s answer stopped any hint at more of a conversation. There was just something about it that hinted at more, and Penny longed to ask, but also didn’t dare.
“Have you tried since?”
“No. I keep meaning to, but...” She looked up, meeting Penny’s eyes with her own. There was a lingering pain there. Not one that would be easily chased away. Not at all. This was a pain that was added to daily and never ceased. A pain that would take time to erase. One that Penny longed to. “I need to go,” Faye mu
ttered, turning to flee from the room. She brushed past Penny, and she could’ve sworn she saw a couple of sparks ignite around where they touched. But no, that couldn’t be possible.
She watched the other woman running into the distance, and it was only once she’d left that Penny noticed she’d left her phone behind.
She scooped it up, intending just to check if there was somewhere she could return it to. But she noticed the message on the screen before she could help herself.
Reese: Faye, please come home. We can talk about it.
The name on the screen caused a fluttering in her belly. Well, the names. She couldn’t actually identify where her feelings started and ended when it came to what was there. Which was odd. Normally she was so sure of herself.
One thing was sure though, she needed to call this Reese, even if it was just so she had an excuse to see Faye again. They were clearly an item after all.
Chapter Three
“Faye, what’s wrong?” he asked, trying to keep the frown from marring his features. If she saw that, then she’d likely only end up more worried. He’d known Faye, and been with her, long enough to know that was how she’d react to him doing that.
“Nothing.”
She was agitated. It was probably a bad idea for him to do or say anything, yet he couldn’t leave it be, she meant too much to him for that. And, when he couldn’t comfort her with a hug, he had to actually say things.
“Faye, stop. Something is clearly bothering you. Talk to me?”
“I...”
He waited patiently, knowing that she needed that from him.
“I saw someone else that made me feel like you do,” she said, the words so soft that he almost thought that they were a mistake. Or certainly not what she’d intended to say. It took him a few moments to actually process what she was saying, and he mulled the words over in his head a few times. Surprisingly, they didn’t seem to be causing quite the reaction he thought they should. Instead of hating the words, he found them oddly comforting. Weird, but he’d deal with that revelation later.
“Okay, want to tell me about him?” he asked instead. Faye looked up, her eyes startled. Probably for the same reason he was surprised.
“Her,” she said eventually. Reese arched an eyebrow. That just raised a whole new set of questions. “How should I know?” She flung her hands in the air before she collapsed onto their sofa, burying her head in her hands. He moved over to her instantly, and before he thought about it, he slipped an arm around her and pulled her close, taking in the scent of her shampoo as her head rested on his shoulder. The pain was almost instant, but he did his best to push it away. He hadn’t told Faye, but he’d actually been practicing withstanding pain just so he could touch her. It was stupid really, mostly because it wouldn’t help combat what she felt too, but he’d do anything so they could have a normal relationship.
Faye moved closer, clutching his shirt with her hand and taking in a long breath. Reese did the same, loving her closeness even if it hurt. But he said nothing. He didn’t want to break the spell they were seemingly under. She sniffed, and he could tell tears were about to fall. Hesitantly, he stroked his hand through her hair, enjoying the silkiness of the strands through the pain.
It was worth it, no matter how much it hurt. Every stab of pain was worth it, just to touch her.
Eventually, it became a little too much, and he pulled his hand away.
“No, don’t stop.”
“Faye, I have to.” His voice cracked as he spoke, the prolonged pain that was still assailing him where they touched, almost too much.
“Oh.” She looked up briefly, before looking away again, probably to try not let him see the hurt that was in her eyes. “Oh,” she said louder, pulling back. This time he could see her eyes a lot clearer, and couldn’t miss the widened stare.
“Missing something?”
“It didn’t hurt,” she said, reverently.
“No.” He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. She’d clearly been too wrapped up in their closeness to actually notice straight away.
