It had only been hours since she'd left Maris' place, her whole body buzzing with the no less than euphoric feeling the night had given her. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop; the fear, the guilt, whatever else. It didn't come on the drive home, nor did it come when she realized how relieved she was to walk into her home and the only creature there to greet her were her cats. There was evidence of Jess however, a post-it note on the kitchen counter next to a bag of coffee beans. A new blend was just sent in! xo She was probably at her shop already, unpacking boxes and getting ready for the day. Rory maybe should have gone there, walked right in, told her they needed to talk. She was a coward if she didn't, right?
Walking through her home, she tried to get a better sense of where her mind was at. Alone, she could be entirely honest with herself, if she allowed it. Nothing really felt like it would cut through the afterglow of the night she'd spent with Maris. She felt alive in a way she hadn't in years, nearly giddy with feeling so unabashedly spent and exhilarated at the same time. Summer had arrived and so she didn't have much to do. Her classes were down, only graduation to go through tomorrow. Maybe she'd head to her office, pack a few things up since she wouldn't need to be back there for a while.
She could use the morning to shower, or have breakfast - but well, both were already done in the company of her ex, each moment burning heat through her at the memory. Different kinds, naturally. Rory was smiling to herself, caught in the memory when the ring of her phone cut through the moment like a sharp knife. She jumped, startling her calico who scurried off. "Sorry Emma." She grumbled, digging into her pocket for her phone. She inhaled sharply, seeing a picture of herself and Jess staring back at her. For the first time, she felt the slightest twinge of guilt. Ah, there it was.
"Hey," She answered, rubbing her fingers against her chin out of nerves.
Oh my god, I was about to go to the police for missing persons! I called you like six times last night!
"Yeah I saw ... this morning. My phone died, and the power outage..."
I figured it was something like that. I came by on my way home, you weren't there.
Rory sunk to the stool at her kitchen island, grimacing to herself as she wondered just which way this should go. A braver woman might just tell her what had happened, but she lacked the words -- and, selfishly, she didn't want to be made to feel like a monster for what she'd done the night before. She didn't want anything to take away from that.
"I went over to Tommy's house with a couple of other teachers to confab about summer plans and gossip about students." She smiled slightly, a lie - but a plausible one. God, she'd have to talk to Tommy about these things, in the hopes that Jess would never ask for specifics on date and time. Fuck.
Did you stay there through the outage?
Fuck fuck fuck.
"Yeah, I figured it was best not to get on the road in that storm, not to mention we'd had a little wine, so I crashed on the couch for a while."
Yeah, that lie would be harder to cover, but she'd chosen Tommy because Jess didn't really know him. Not that she made all that much effort to get to know her work friends to begin with. A can of worms to open for another day.
Oh good, I'm glad you stayed safe, babe. Anyway I should go I just wanted to make sure you were okay...
"I'm fine, I promise."
Good, see you tonight? Movie and seating charts?
It was only then that Rory leaned forward and let her forehead land in her palm with a thud. She couldn't do this over the phone, and how could she with Jess arriving with an armful of wedding plans? Rory had known that her future-self would have to deal with this complicated web, but now reaping that was a little harder to swallow than she would have liked.
"Yep, sounds good."
Okay great. Ack, gotta go. Love you!
She hung up before Rory could say it back, a mercy that was not lost on her, yet still sat like a rock in the pit of her stomach.
Falling back on the couch, Rory shut her eyes and sighed, trying to find some avenue out with the least amount of carnage - while still wondering: what the hell did she actually want? The problem was that once her eyes closed, all she could see was Maris. It varied from the gaze in her eyes that had caught her so off guard, almost imploring Rory for things she couldn't be entirely sure of, to the way she looked when on the absolute throes of ecstasy. Both earned a flush to Rory's cheeks as her eyes snapped open.
Phone still in hand, she went into her messages, finding the last ones from Maris, talking about tea and coffee and maybe stopping by. What a difference an afternoon made. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, running through a million and one different things to text her - ranging from explicit to mildly incriminating like how good the night had been. Instead, she just smirked and sent off a gif, dropping her phone to the couch and letting her eyes close for a while. Decisions could be put off a little while longer.
Walking through her home, she tried to get a better sense of where her mind was at. Alone, she could be entirely honest with herself, if she allowed it. Nothing really felt like it would cut through the afterglow of the night she'd spent with Maris. She felt alive in a way she hadn't in years, nearly giddy with feeling so unabashedly spent and exhilarated at the same time. Summer had arrived and so she didn't have much to do. Her classes were down, only graduation to go through tomorrow. Maybe she'd head to her office, pack a few things up since she wouldn't need to be back there for a while.
She could use the morning to shower, or have breakfast - but well, both were already done in the company of her ex, each moment burning heat through her at the memory. Different kinds, naturally. Rory was smiling to herself, caught in the memory when the ring of her phone cut through the moment like a sharp knife. She jumped, startling her calico who scurried off. "Sorry Emma." She grumbled, digging into her pocket for her phone. She inhaled sharply, seeing a picture of herself and Jess staring back at her. For the first time, she felt the slightest twinge of guilt. Ah, there it was.
"Hey," She answered, rubbing her fingers against her chin out of nerves.
Oh my god, I was about to go to the police for missing persons! I called you like six times last night!
"Yeah I saw ... this morning. My phone died, and the power outage..."
I figured it was something like that. I came by on my way home, you weren't there.
Rory sunk to the stool at her kitchen island, grimacing to herself as she wondered just which way this should go. A braver woman might just tell her what had happened, but she lacked the words -- and, selfishly, she didn't want to be made to feel like a monster for what she'd done the night before. She didn't want anything to take away from that.
"I went over to Tommy's house with a couple of other teachers to confab about summer plans and gossip about students." She smiled slightly, a lie - but a plausible one. God, she'd have to talk to Tommy about these things, in the hopes that Jess would never ask for specifics on date and time. Fuck.
Did you stay there through the outage?
Fuck fuck fuck.
"Yeah, I figured it was best not to get on the road in that storm, not to mention we'd had a little wine, so I crashed on the couch for a while."
Yeah, that lie would be harder to cover, but she'd chosen Tommy because Jess didn't really know him. Not that she made all that much effort to get to know her work friends to begin with. A can of worms to open for another day.
Oh good, I'm glad you stayed safe, babe. Anyway I should go I just wanted to make sure you were okay...
"I'm fine, I promise."
Good, see you tonight? Movie and seating charts?
It was only then that Rory leaned forward and let her forehead land in her palm with a thud. She couldn't do this over the phone, and how could she with Jess arriving with an armful of wedding plans? Rory had known that her future-self would have to deal with this complicated web, but now reaping that was a little harder to swallow than she would have liked.
"Yep, sounds good."
Okay great. Ack, gotta go. Love you!
She hung up before Rory could say it back, a mercy that was not lost on her, yet still sat like a rock in the pit of her stomach.
Falling back on the couch, Rory shut her eyes and sighed, trying to find some avenue out with the least amount of carnage - while still wondering: what the hell did she actually want? The problem was that once her eyes closed, all she could see was Maris. It varied from the gaze in her eyes that had caught her so off guard, almost imploring Rory for things she couldn't be entirely sure of, to the way she looked when on the absolute throes of ecstasy. Both earned a flush to Rory's cheeks as her eyes snapped open.
Phone still in hand, she went into her messages, finding the last ones from Maris, talking about tea and coffee and maybe stopping by. What a difference an afternoon made. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, running through a million and one different things to text her - ranging from explicit to mildly incriminating like how good the night had been. Instead, she just smirked and sent off a gif, dropping her phone to the couch and letting her eyes close for a while. Decisions could be put off a little while longer.
