Work Text:
Rosita Espinosa hated the four month sleep regression with a passion. In her opinion, no human should have to be awake early enough to watch the sky turn from inky black to the bright vibrant orange of dawn. Yet here she was, alone in her small apartment with Coco, who had absolutely decided that night time was no longer when she wanted to be asleep.
“You know, it’s a good thing you’re cute,” Rosita said, reaching out to gently squeeze the baby’s pudgy cheek.
Coco said nothing of course, but gave her mother a gummy smile in response.
“Well since you’re awake at the crack of dawn, little miss, what do you say we take a walk down to the coffee shop on the corner,” Rosita said in a sing-song voice. Maybe a trip to the coffee shop would also allow her the chance to actually converse with other adults for a change. She was starting to worry that the baby talk voice might become a permanent part of her, and as much as she loved being a mother she didn’t want to lose herself entirely.
Being Coco’s Mom wasn’t the entirety of her personality, after all. Even if it sometimes felt that way.
She did a quick google search and double checked the hours of the corner coffee place, since she had never been awake early enough to worry about it still being closed.
“It opens in fifteen minutes,” Rosita said to the dark haired baby in front of her, “so that should give us enough time to get ready and walk there. What do you say?”
The only answer Coco gave was a little coo, which was at least better than the ear piercing screaming she sometimes favored.
Rosita buckled Coco into the bouncy seat and carried both seat and baby into the bedroom. She placed the seat on the bed so Coco could watch her while she got ready. She thumbed through the clothes in her closet, trying to mentally decide which pants would still fit her new figure. Her favorite pair of skinny jeans sat forlornly on a hanger and Rosita was wistful for a second, but quickly decided on a much more comfortable pair of faded jeans. At least she wasn’t wearing the same two or three pairs of yoga pants she’d taken to wearing in the last few weeks. There wasn’t much about the postpartum period that wasn’t difficult. The cute baby made up for it, usually.
Rosita got dressed in the bathroom, keeping the door cracked so she could at least hear if Coco needed her for any reason. Looking in the mirror was almost as hard as getting dressed. Her skin looked more pale than it ever had before, a product of mostly staying inside with the baby, and while her hair was the longest it had ever been, she never knew what to do with it anymore. The quickest solution was a cloth headband, so she threw it on and attempted to smooth the wayward strands as much as possible.
“How’s your diaper?” Rosita returned to the bedroom and lifted Coco from her seat to do a smell test, and immediately winced, “Definitely need to change that first.”
After a diaper change, and another wardrobe change for Coco, they were finally ready to go. It took a few minutes for Rosita to figure out the cloth infant carrier that she had been gifted at the baby shower, but before long they were ready. She grabbed her shoulder bag and they headed out the door.
The sun was still below the tree line when Rosita began the walk to the coffee shop, but the air was warm and that made the walk pleasant enough. On the way Rosita pointed out the sights for Coco, repeating the words in both English and Spanish. Coco babbled happily in return then started gumming on the strap in front of her. As she walked, Rosita took several deep breaths and congratulated herself on such a great idea. The last year had been nothing short of brutal. Between finding out she was - unexpectedly - pregnant, then losing Siddiq and realizing she was going to be a single parent. Now she was trying to figure out how to reconcile who was before Coco and who she was now . It was no surprise Rosita was permanently exhausted. She had friends who offered to help, of course, but they all had their own lives and the day to day grind of caring for herself and Coco was never ending. Her days had begun to revolve around simple pleasures, and a fancy cup of coffee that she didn’t have to make was definitely one of those.
Rosita turned the corner and was thrilled to see the brick facade of the coffee shop just ahead. Her back ached from carting her daughter around - who knew a nineteen pound infant was so heavy. She quickened her pace in an effort to get to her fresh cup of coffee that much sooner, and then came to a disappointed halt.
Closed. The sign on the door said closed, and the building was dark and desolate.
“Shit,” Rosita said instantly, then remembered who else was in earshot. “Sorry, Coco. That’s not one of the words you’re supposed to learn from today.”
Coco didn’t say anything, of course, and continued gnawing on the strap of her carrier.
“Good girl,” Rosita said and looked at her watch. Five minutes past six. The online search said the shop opened at six, and Rosita wondered whether her watch or the search was wrong.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Rosita looked down at Coco who gave no helpful answer at all, and then glanced down the sidewalk in either direction. There weren’t many people on the street so early in the morning and Rosita was about to give up and head back home to her sad coffee pot when a tall woman with unruly hair came around the corner and nearly collided with her.
“Shit, I’m so sorry,” the woman said quickly. “Are you okay?”
Rosita brought her hands reflexively to Coco’s back, “Yeah, we’re fine.”
“I’m supposed to be opening the shop today,” the woman said, motioning at the still dark building. “My stupid alarm didn’t go off this morning so I overslept. You know how it is.”
Rosita actually didn’t know how it was. Not anymore, at least. She nodded nonetheless, “Any way I can still get a cup of coffee?”
“Yeah, of course you can. Come on in and I’ll get started right away. I’m Magna, by the way.”
Rosita nodded and took Magna’s outstretched hand. She glimpsed lines of dark ink under Magna’s sleeve and found herself wondering about the design hidden there. Instead she answered, “Rosita.”
“And who is this little one,” Magna said, looking at Coco with a friendly smile.
“This is Coco,” Rosita said, turning her body so her daughter’s face was more visible.
“She’s adorable,” Magna said, “come on in and I’ll get you both set up.”
Rosita followed Magna into the small shop and stood in front of the menu board while she waited.
“What can I get you?” Magna looked up from tying the cloth apron on, and Rosita noticed another tattoo peaking out from where Magna’s shirt was unbuttoned at the top. Rosita quickly looked anywhere but at the barista’s chest and picked the first thing she could think of.
“Iced espresso with caramel syrup and almond milk, please.”
Magna gave an understanding nod, “She’s not sleeping so great, huh?”
“God, not at all,” Rosita exhaled noisily. “And I don’t even understand why. She was sleeping fine until about a week ago. Ever since then it’s been constant fussiness through the night and early morning wake ups.”
“I’ve heard about that. Some sort of growth spurt or developmental leap, or something. Some of my coworkers have kids, and I hear their venting sessions,” Magna explained as she flipped on machine after machine. Soon the small space was filled with the happy hum of productivity and Rosita was more excited than ever for her prospective caffeine filled delight.
“I wish I had more people to vent to,” Rosita said suddenly, without actually meaning to.
Magna looked up from a steaming machine, “You don’t have any friends with babies?”
Rosita struggled for a second or two to find the words. The last thing she wanted to do was complain to a total stranger. “I have friends with kids,” she finally told Magna, “but most of their kids are much older. And even more of them were adopted as older children.”
“So the baby phase is a bit of uncharted territory,” Magna guessed.
“Pretty much,” Rosita said, rocking from one foot to another as Coco started to fuss.
“Well she seems happy enough now,” Magna said with a smile, pointing at Coco.
“She likes being carried,” Rosita explained, “or, really, being attached to me in any way shape or form.”
“I feel like that’s most babies.” Magna finished the drink and held it out with a flourish, “Here you go. As fresh as it can be.”
“Thank you so much,” Rosita said, reaching for her wallet. “You have no idea how much of a lifesaver you are.”
Magna shook her head, offered the drink again. “No charge. It’s on the house. It’s the least I can do for being late to open.”
“No…I couldn’t. I don’t want you to get in trouble for giving away drinks,” Rosita tried, but Magna clearly wasn’t hearing any of it.
“I won’t get in trouble, I promise. And anyway, it’s not every day that such a beautiful face comes into the coffee shop,” Magna said.
Rosita wasn’t sure if she was referring to Coco…or her. Before she could ask, or chicken out completely, the door opened and a harried looking businessman strode in.
She left before she could make a fool of herself.
*
A week passed before Rosita made her way back to the coffee shop.
The week had been a blur of doctor’s appointments for Coco who had her first serious cold, and Rosita was exhausted from trying to juggle a sick baby and working from home. Her bosses were understanding about her situation, and normally working wasn’t that difficult, but Coco was especially clingy and by the end of the week Rosita was so tired she could barely feed herself dinner before collapsing into bed.
So when she woke up Sunday morning to a baby who was smiling instead of coughing, Rosita decided they had been cooped up long enough.
By the time they made it out of the house and were on the way to the coffee shop, the sun was stretching its rays over the horizon, and Rosita had to squint as they walked. Coco babbled happily in her baby carrier, this time facing out at the world instead of towards Rosita.
“You like it out here, don’t you? I don’t blame you. It’s much nicer than those boring walls at home,” Rosita said in the slightly high pitched voice she swore she wasn’t going to use when she was pregnant. But what she thought while she was pregnant and what she did in the trenches of actual motherhood were two very different things.
Coco squealed loudly and Rosita laughed. Her daughter had certainly found her voice, and even though it was a little ear splitting, Rosita would happily listen to it every day if it meant her baby felt better.
This time when she reached the door to the coffee shop, the interior was brightly lit and open for business. She opened the door and stepped inside, looking for Magna before she could even think about what she was doing.
“Rosita, and Coco! You guys made it back,” Magna greeted brightly from behind the counter. “I was beginning to worry you two had found another coffee place to frequent.”
Something about the words filled Rosita with a warmth she didn’t quite understand, and didn’t want to dissect at the moment. Instead she answered, “No. Coco was sick for a few days so we were laying low until she felt better.”
“Then you really must be in desperate need of some good coffee,” Magna said with a wink. “Same thing as before?”
“You…remember my order?” Rosita couldn’t help the surprise in her voice. She’d had live-in boyfriends who didn’t pay as much attention to the things she liked as this woman with whom she had only interacted once.
“I have a good memory,” Magna said and busied herself with her task.
Rosita didn’t miss the flush that colored Magna’s cheeks as she worked. Instead of bringing any more attention to it, Rosita wandered over to the glass case that held pastries and other food items and studied the contents. Her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding her that she couldn’t live off coffee alone.
“Do you want something from there? They're still fresh, and pretty good,” Magna said, concentrating on the drink in her hands.
“I…yeah, probably,” Rosita said, “I didn’t exactly eat breakfast this morning.”
“I get that. I almost never eat breakfast, though I know they say it’s the most important meal of the day,” Magna laughed.
“What do you recommend?” Rosita bounced on the balls of her feet, hoping to soothe the baby on her chest as well as the twinge in her belly.
“The muffins are my favorite,” Magna confided, “especially the blueberry ones.”
“Then I’ll take one of those with my coffee.” Rosita looked around the otherwise empty shop, “Am I always the first one in here?”
“We’re not a big name place, so we get more word of mouth traffic than anything else,” Magna explained and handed Rosita her drink.
Rosita handed over some cash - which Magna accepted this time - and took a sip. She couldn’t help herself and moaned softly at the first taste.
Magna laughed quietly, “Is it good?”
“So good.” Rosita took another sip, “You’re some kind of coffee wizard.”
“Not the worst thing a pretty girl has ever called me,” Magna replied.
Rosita felt her breath catch in her throat as she took the words. She wanted to ask…what she wasn’t quite sure, but before she was forced to explain her awkward silence Coco broke the tension by letting out an ear splitting screech as she waved her pudgy arms around.
“Wow she’s sure telling us how she feels, isn’t she?” Magna looked entertained rather than annoyed, which surprised Rosita.
“Sorry, she discovered her voice for real this week,” Rosita explained, “and screaming is her new favorite pastime.”
Magna waved away the apology, and began to coo at the baby, “It’s totally fine, isn’t it Coco? Good for you for finding your voice early, huh? Now you have to make sure you don’t let anyone else restrict what you have to say.”
Rosita found that she enjoyed watching Magna interact with her daughter even more than the coffee.
*
Rosita visited the coffee shop more and more frequently over the next few weeks, and before she knew it nearly two months had passed, and having coffee with Magna was one of the things she most looked forward to.
Early morning was still her preferred time to stop in, even after Coco started sleeping better, because the shop was usually nearly empty.
“There are my two favorite customers,” Magna called from behind the counter when Rosita stepped into the building. “How’s little miss Coco doing today?”
“She’s fantastic,” Rosita said, running her hand along the dark wispy hair on her daughter’s head.
“She’s getting so big,” Magna pointed out, wiping her hands on a towel.
Rosita smiled, “Six months old now, as of two days ago in fact.”
“Such a huge milestone is cause for celebration,” Magna grinned. “Do you want your regular or something a bit more fancy today?”
Feeling a bit more adventurous after a surprisingly decent night’s sleep, Rosita said, “Surprise me.”
Magna grinned warmly, her cheeks reddening slightly, and got to work. “Coming right up,” she told Rosita.
Coco cooed contentedly as they waited, and Rosita found herself lost in thought as she hummed softly.
“What song is that?” Magna’s voice was soft but made Rosita look up nonetheless.
“I don’t even know the name,” Rosita answered with a small laugh. “Isn’t that ridiculous? My mom used to sing it to me when I was little.”
“It’s beautiful,” Magna told her, “and clearly Coco loves it.”
“She likes music of any kind,” Rosita told Magna.
Magna laughed, “Smart kid.”
Rosita returned her attention to the baby on her chest while she waited for Magna to finish whatever drink she was preparing. The coffee shop was the epitome of quaint and Rosita enjoyed looking around while Magna worked. One wall was full of framed art prints, none of which were familiar to Rosita because she knew about as much about art as she did about nuclear physics, which was not a lot. Another wall held a massive bulletin board that was covered in photographs featuring a variety of subjects.
“This is so cool,” Rosita called as she peered closer at the photos.
Magna looked up from what she was doing, “It’s pretty cool, right? That’s my doing.”
“You made this?” Rosita couldn’t help the surprise in her voice and hoped Magna wasn’t offended.
“Yeah, I wanted people who came in to make this place their own, you know?”
Rosita did know, but she didn’t know how to say that without getting into all the reasons why so she simply said, “It’s beautiful.”
“You should put a picture of you and Coco up there,” Magna said, as easily as if she were asking someone whether they wanted hot or iced coffee.
Rosita straightened up and looked back at Magna. “I should?”
“Well, yeah. You two are practically regulars here, right?” Magna sounded amused. She finished making the drink and poured it into a large cup before handing it to Rosita.
“This is incredible,” Rosita said as she took a sip.
Magna leaned against the counter, a satisfied smile playing on her lips. “I’m glad you like it,” she said.
“What is it?” Rosita took another sip, and then another.
“That’s a secret,” Magna said with a smirk. “It’s an off-the-menu kind of thing, something special I put together.”
“Coco needs to turn six months old more often,” Rosita said after yet another sip of the drink.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” Magna agreed, “She’s officially halfway to her first birthday, and that means you’ve survived one of the hardest parts.”
Rosita laughed, “Thank goodness. Though I think I’ll be even happier once she’s out of diapers.”
Magna laughed without restraint, and the sound made Rosita’s insides flip around.
“I am looking forward to when she’s even more aware and able to interact,” Rosita admitted.
“I can see that,” Magna nodded.
“She’s adorable, of course,” Rosita said, “but I can’t wait until she can react to things and tell me what she wants, or how she feels about the world around her.”
Magna looked thoughtful for a second before she asked, “Does she like animals?”
There was a momentary pause of confusion as Rosita tried to process what Magna was asking. “Animals? Like, pets?”
“Any kind of animal,” Magna said. “Has she been around many animals?”
Rosita was still confused, “I mean, no…I guess not. I don’t have any pets, and it’s not like we live on a farm or anything.”
“Do you want to see what she thinks of animals?” Magna had a mischievous look on her face, and Rosita wondered what exactly the barista had in mind.
“I…don’t know? Maybe. What are you suggesting?” Rosita took another sip of her drink as she rocked from side to side, settling Coco in her carrier.
“I have a friend,” Magna revealed, “and my friend asked me to come by tonight and feed her animals. I wanted to ask if you two wanted to come along, so Coco could meet some animals?”
Rosita wasn’t sure what to say. On one hand the idea of spending time with Magna that didn’t involve the coffee shop was undeniably enticing, but the reasoning behind that made her more than a little hesitant.
“I guess that would be okay,” Rosita finally said, deciding to throw caution to the wind. She tried to quiet the voice inside of her that asked what she was getting herself into, and instead focused on how good it felt to have someone so interested in getting to know her.
“Perfect,” Magna said and even Rosita couldn’t deny the flash of excitement in her eyes. “Can you meet me back here at the end of my shift? I get off at one. Then I can drive us over.”
“It might be easier if I drive,” Rosita said, then explained, “car seat and all.”
Magna looked at Coco and laughed, “Oh yeah, little people and all their accessories. It’s a date.”
Rosita mulled the word over in her mind the whole way home. A date?
*
“Turn right up here.” Magna pointed to a small overgrown turn. Rosita would have driven past it if Magna hadn’t said something.
Coco babbled happily from her car seat in the back, and Rosita looked in the rear view mirror to smile at her daughter. “It’s beautiful out here,” Rosita said to Magna as she drove down the side road.
“It is. I love to come out here, and I am always the first to volunteer for house sitting opportunities because, well, you’ll see.” Magna flashed an impish smile and then pointed at a driveway, “Turn here.”
Rosita followed the directions and soon they were pulling up to a small cottage tucked into a clearing. A massive garden was growing to the left of the house, but to the right was a small red barn surrounded by wire fencing. “You didn’t say this was a farm,” Rosita said, turning to Magna.
“Surprise,” Magna said, her grin growing wider with every second. “Get Coco out and ready. I have to go do something real quick and then we can head to the animals.”
Rosita didn’t ask any more questions, stunned to realize she trusted Magna enough to enjoy the surprise. She nodded and watched Magna get out of the car and head to the house, producing a key from her pocket.
“Well what do you say, cutie,” Rosita said to Coco, who was happily sucking on her fist. “Are you ready to get out and see what silly Magna is up to?”
The only answer Coco gave was a gummy baby grin, but Rosita figured that was as good an answer as any.
It didn’t take long to get Coco from the car seat to the carrier on Rosita’s chest, and before she knew it Magna was coming back out from the house, a small green bucket in one hand.
“What’s all that?” Rosita motioned toward the bucket, which looked like it was full of…soda bottles?
“This is part of the surprise, now follow me.” Magna was clearly enjoying every bit of the experience, but Rosita couldn’t deny growing more interested by the second.
They followed a well worn path toward the little red barn, and as soon as Magna touched the handle of the gate a ruckus sounded from inside the building.
“What the hell?” Rosita hadn’t been raised anywhere near the country, and knew almost nothing about any kind of animal that lived in a barn, so the noise wasn’t something she could pinpoint.
“That would be our hungry crew,” Magna said as she held the gate open for Rosita, “they think they’re starving every time they get fed.”
“What does our hungry crew consist of?” Rosita was almost afraid to ask.
Magna chuckled, “It’s a surprise, I keep telling you.”
Rosita smiled and leaned down to press a tiny kiss on the top of Coco’s head. “Surprise away. No more questions from the peanut gallery, I promise.”
It was a short walk through the grass to the barn, and when Magna reached out to open the door she turned to Rosita. “You ready? You’re about to see the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. Except for Coco, of course.”
“She is pretty cute,” Rosita agreed, “but yes, I’m ready.”
Magna opened the door, and Rosita stepped inside.
The barn was full of baby goats. And Magna was right, it was the cutest thing she had ever seen, aside from the baby strapped to her chest.
*
Magna situated the bottles in the wooden trough that had holes for each bottle to sit in, and then opened the gate that contained the babies.
Immediately Rosita was surrounded by baby goats of all shapes and sizes, their fuzzy little tails going a mile a minute as they found bottles and began sucking.
“Look, Coco,” Rosita said to her daughter, “they get about as excited for their bottles as you do.
Coco said nothing, but kicked her feet with about as much gusto as the goats with their tails.
“I think she likes them,” Magna pointed out.
“I think you might be right,” Rosita agreed.
Magna finally tore her attention from Coco and looked back at the goat feeding frenzy. “Once they finish I’ll wrangle them back in, or most of them. There’s a few I can leave out for Coco to pet.”
“These all belong to your friend?” Rosita counted at least fifteen babies, but it was hard to get her numbers right when they moved from bottle to bottle in a crush of baby animal cuteness.
Magna nodded, “Yeah she has a goat milk business, so kids are part of that. You can see why I always volunteer to come for feeding duty.”
“I definitely do,” Rosita said. “I don’t think I’ve actually been this close to a goat before, baby or otherwise.”
“You’ve been missing out your whole life, then,” Magna laughed. “They are the best pets. One day when I get my own place, I'll get a few for myself.”
The kids started finishing their bottles and wandering around the barn in search of more milk. A few walked up to Rosita and began nibbling at the hem of her shirt. She couldn’t help but laugh and reached out to scratch behind ears and on tops of heads.
Magna squatted down until a black and white spotted goat tottered up to her. She picked the baby up and scratched under its chin. Magna held the baby goat close to Coco, where the little girl could see, and said, “Coco, meet Annie. She’s a little younger than you, but not much bigger.”
Coco made a sound that might have been delight, Rosita wasn’t quite sure, but then she started flinging her little arms and legs and squealed louder.
“I think she likes her,” Magna marveled. She looked to Rosita for permission and then took Coco’s hand to bring it to Annie’s fur. “See how soft she is,” Magna said to Coco, “go on and pet her, it’s okay. She’s so soft.”
Coco made another happy noise, and clenched her tiny fist in the goat’s fur. “Not too hard,” Rosita laughed and tried to pry her daughter’s hand off the baby goat’s hair.
“She’s not going to hurt her, are you Coco?” Magna’s voice was tender as she spoke to Coco, and Rosita realized it was the same voice she had used when talking to the baby goats as well.
*
Coco was fast asleep by the time Rosita pulled up in front of the coffee shop, the place she intended to drop Magna off.
“Apparently farm life takes it out of her,” Rosita mused as she looked at the sleeping baby.
“Fresh air will do that,” Magna laughed, “or so I hear.”
Without thinking about her words or their consequences, Rosita blurted out, “Do you want to come over? To my house, I mean?” She had no idea why she opened her mouth, and her face flamed hot with embarrassment as she struggled to figure out a way to turn back time and never -
“Yeah,” Magna said softly, interrupting Rosita’s
internal moment of panic. “Yeah. I’d really like that.”
They made their way to Rosita’s house without further conversation, which was both good and bad. Good because it kept the situation from getting any more awkward and because Coco was still asleep as Rosita removed the baby from her car seat and carried her in. Bad because it allowed Rosita's thoughts to swirl and crash around inside her mind.
“I’m just going to,” Rosita trailed off, nodding her head at Coco’s sleeping form.
“Yeah. It’s fine. I’ll just make myself at home,” Magna said as she stood awkwardly by the front door.
“Be right back.” Rosita held Coco close to her chest and padded down the hallway.
Thankfully Coco was deeply asleep and she didn’t stir when Rosita placed her in her crib. She turned the sound machine on and shut the door quietly behind her before making her way back to the living room.
Magna was on the couch now, perched tensely on the edge of the seat. She was still fiddling with her fingers, and hadn’t noticed Rosita’s return yet.
Rosita watched for a second or two, before quietly clearing her throat and smiling at the way Magna jumped. “I don’t bite,” she said quietly and then felt her face flame again.
Magna let out a sharp breath, swallowed hard. “I didn’t think I’d be this nervous,” she finally admitted.
Rosita made her way across the living room and sat on the opposite end of the couch. She looked at Magna and asked, “Nervous?”
“Yeah. Of course I’m nervous,” Magna said, inhaling unsteadily. “You’re absolutely gorgeous, and all I want to do is get to know you better. But I worry that I’m reading this wrong and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable and you have Coco and I just -”
Rosita put a hand on Magna’s forearm and interrupted softly, “Breathe.”
Magna did as she was told and turned to look at Rosita. “I’ve been hurt before,” she said simply, “and I suspect you have, too.”
Rosita nodded, but said nothing else. She swallowed hard as she waited for Magna to continue.
“I really like you though. And I think Coco is pretty great, too. I want to get to know you better, and I want to see what we might have together.” Magna hesitated for a second, “But I don’t want to be too forward.”
Whatever fears Rosita had earlier were gone she realized with sudden clarity. “You’re not,” she told Magna, “being too forward, that is.”
“I really want to kiss you,” Magna admitted softly, showing a vulnerability that surprised Rosita.
“Then do it,” Rosita challenged, which surprised her more than anything else that had happened that day.
Magna grinned and scooted closer on the couch. She reached out and touched Rosita’s cheek, as if she couldn’t believe she was real. That this was real.
But it was. Rosita smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay.”
Then whatever was holding back Magna was gone and she leaned forward to capture Rosita’s lips with her own.
The kiss was soft and intense, too much and not enough all at the same time, and when it was over Rosita groaned in disappointment.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” Magna admitted, when she had sat back just enough to could look into Rosita’s eyes.
“You have?” Rosita was still processing everything that had just happened, her mind a flurry of disconnected thoughts.
“Ever since I saw you standing outside the coffee shop,” Magna admitted. “You were beautiful. You are beautiful. Don’t you know that?”
In a moment of insight, Rosita understood that Magna meant more than just her physical beauty.
“No one has ever seen that, said that to me,” Rosita told her, reaching out to trace the outline of Magna’s jaw with her fingertips.
Magna shuddered slightly at the touch but didn’t pull away. Instead she leaned forward slightly and closed her eyes. “Then they’re all idiots,” she murmured quietly.
Rosita answered her with a kiss, thinking that she could spend the rest of her life kissing Magna and never get enough.
Somehow she thought Magna would agree, and the thought made her smile.
“What are you grinning at?” Magna asked as the kiss broke.
“How happy I am that Coco stopped sleeping a few months ago,” Rosita laughed softly and leaned forward to kiss Magna again.