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“I can’t believe you’re here. It’s you!”
“Yeah. I’m here.” Bradley was still a little dizzy from the kiss. She had not expected Alex to greet her with the best kiss she’d ever had in her life, but it made the entire trip worth it. She had no idea what to say to that woman she’d abandoned her entire life for. She now regretted taking so long, but she had to be absolutely certain.
“You’re moving here?”
“Yeah.” She was suddenly nervous. What if Alex stuck her in the spare bedroom or told her to get her own place while she lived with some new boyfriend.
“Well, come in, come in. I’m so happy to have you. I’ll show you around here, and then show you around town after.” She welcomed Bradley in and took one of her bags. “So you can stay wherever you’re comfortable. If you want to stay in my room, that’s perfectly fine, or you can stay in the spare bedroom.”
“Oh. Yeah.” Bradley agreed as if Alex had only given her one option.
“Which one?”
“Wherever you want me.”
“Well, I think I’ve made it very clear where I want you.”
“And I’m saying okay.” Bradley said. She didn’t know what the fuck Alex was talking about, but Alex walked into the master bedroom and sat Bradley’s bag down.
“You didn’t fly across the world so we could sleep in separate bedrooms, did you?”
“I think you know I didn’t.”
“I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been so fucking lonely. Not like- I have friends, but you know, something more. Someone I can be myself around.”
Bradley nodded. “I know what you mean. Ever since you left, I’ve felt… empty.” She leaned in for a kiss. She knew Alex was looking for validation that it went both ways, and Bradley had kissed her back but she seemed to not be certain about it. “I’m so glad I’m with you now. You don’t have a secret boyfriend you were going to tell me about today, do you?”
“No, but I think I have a secret girlfriend.” Alex said and pulled Bradley in by her hips.
“Oh, do you now?” Bradley said and reached up for a kiss. “What side of the bed is mine?”
“Either one. I don’t think we’ll be sleeping much anyway.”
Bradley laughed. “For the rest of our lives?”
“I don’t think you understand what having me as a girlfriend is like.”
“Well, I can't wait to find out.” Bradley said. “But really, where can I put my stuff?”
“Oh, uh, I didn’t know you were coming so, I kind of took over the closet and everything. I can put some of my stuff in the guest bedroom.” She grabbed all of her items in a hurry. She would have moved it over a long time ago if she had any idea Bradley would show up. She had kept half of her closet empty for a long time, hoping Bradley would come, but she hadn’t. Alex slowly filled up the entire closet as she lost all hope of her ever joining her. Bradley seemed happy with Laura, so she did her best to move on, but when she heard Bradley’s voice every week, she knew she’d never completely move on. Her closet may have been full, but there was always space for Bradley. She’d throw out her entire wardrobe if she had to. When she saw Bradley at her door, she realized how all of her efforts to get over her had been unsuccessful. She’d spent so much time attempting to get over Bradley, and they had never even dated. She cleared half of the closet and one of the nightstands, telling Bradley which side of the bed was hers.
Bradley unpacked the important items, but she didn’t want to take too much time away from Alex. “I’m still not used to you with brown hair, bangs, glasses, and no makeup.”
“I’m still not used to you being blonde.”
Bradley laughed. “Alex, I’ve been blonde for years!”
“I’ve been a brunette for years too!” She laughed. “Also, everyone here calls me Erin. It’s what my passport says…”
“Oh. Yeah.”
“You’re literally the only person who calls me Alex anymore.”
“You couldn’t use your real one once you got here?”
“I didn’t even bring it. I couldn’t risk the TSA or customs finding it.”
“Erin doesn’t fit you.”
“Well being blonde doesn’t fit you. But, you can still call me Alex.”
“My hair will grow out. I don’t think I’ll dye it here.”
“I hope you have gray hair. Oh my god.”
“That remains to be seen.” Bradley said. She never thought she’d be the type of person who dyed her hair, but her job had always made her. She’d push back on almost everything, but she honestly didn’t care about her hair that much, as long as she looked hot and not like a middle aged housewife like they’d done to her when she’d first started on The Morning Show. “So, are you gonna show me around or what?” She asked.
“Well, this is the bedroom, master bath. Then come over here… and we have the guest bedroom, guest bath, and… the kitchen, living room… that’s pretty much it. I have a backyard. That’s been new for me. It’s not very big, but I have a little garden. I get some pretty good peppers off of it.” Bradley looked at her in awe. Alex was a changed woman. Not that Bradley wanted her to change. She was perfectly fine dating a career-obsessed murderer who was constantly yelling and stressed about something. But she loved this Alex too, maybe even more. Alex seemed happier, which made Bradley happy. She seemed calm, like she’d finally found peace and happiness out here by herself.
“What?” Alex said when she caught Bradley staring.
“Nothing. You just seem happy.”
“I am now.” Alex smiled. “Oh, I have a wine cellar downstairs. You have to see it!” She took Bradley down and showed her the room.
“Oh, we’re going to enjoy this room.” She looked at all the nice bottles of wine. “I can’t wait to get drunk with you in here.”
“Brad. This is nice wine!”
“Still gets you drunk.”
Alex laughed and took Bradley’s hand. There was something about Bradley’s complete lack of respect for the finer things in life. She usually got annoyed with people like that and thought it was only because they couldn’t afford it, but for some reason with Bradley, she found it so adorable. It was all part of her pushing back on every fucking thing in her life. “Let me show you around town.”
“How are you going to introduce me? You know, I’m a worldwide celebrity. People are going to know who you are.” She said jokingly.
Alex laughed. “We’re national celebrities. No one has recognized me here. They don’t give two fucks about American morning news.” She laughed. It was a stark contrast to her life in New York. It seemed to be all anyone cared about in her world over there. “Are you okay if I introduce you as my girlfriend?”
“I’d like that.” She smiled. They walked out the side of the house that was directly on the beach. The way Alex’s house was set up, was on a corner, and the road ran perpendicular to the ocean, and the road ran right past her front door, and from the door, she had a backyard to her right, to the side of the kitchen, and her living room extended from the backyard to the patio that sat right on the beach. “This is incredible.” She took in the view of the ocean in front of her.
“Want to walk on the beach? That’s how I like to get to town.”
“Sure.”
Alex smiled and took her hand, and they walked down the beach. Bradley rolled her pants up so she could walk in the ocean, and she held her flip flops in her hand. She looked at Alex and smiled as she walked.
“Oh, big wave!” Alex said and pulled Bradley towards her as they ran up towards the shore, the wave barely hit the bottom of their feet.
Bradley laughed and held onto Alex, doing her best not to fall after Alex threw her completely off balance. “You can’t pull me like that! I almost fell in that wave!”
Alex laughed. “You did not! I had you! I wouldn’t let you fall!”
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
Alex smiled and pulled Bradley again. “Come on. Let me introduce you to my neighbor. She really helped me get oriented to this country and get my feet on the ground. You know, she was my interpreter, and she’s helping me learn Montenegrin.” She said and walked up to a house where an older lady sat on the beach in front of a large house. “Zdravo, Nadja!”
“Hello, darling.” She said with a strong accent. “Who’s this young lady?”
“This is Bradley. She is my girlfriend.”
“Oh. I love all kinds.” She smiled.
Alex knew that Montenegro was not as accepting as the United States, and she’d been too scared to come out in the US, so she was kind of terrified, but as long as she had Bradley, she knew it’d be okay. She wanted to scream to the world that Bradley was finally her girlfriend.
“Hi, It’s nice to meet you.” Bradley said and held her hand out, and Nadja shook it.
“Nice to meet you, Bradley.”
“I was just showing her around town. She just got in, so I was going to take her downtown, orient her to the place a little bit.”
“Good. I will see you two later. You’re still coming over for dinner tomorrow? You can bring Bradley.”
“We’ll be there.” Alex smiled. They continued to walk to town, walking up the beach to a small row of buildings. Some shops, and a grocery store on the far corner. “So, this is where I do most of my shopping for anything other than food. It’s a cute little place.”
“Zdravo, Erin!” The man behind the register said when she walked in.
“Zdravo, Slavoljub!” Alex said. “Don’t ask me how long it took to be able to pronounce that correctly.” She whispered to Bradley. “Ime je Bradley.”
“Zdravo, Bradley.”
“Hi.” She was not confident that she would be able to say the one word she’d been able to catch on, and could only assume meant ‘hello’ correctly. She stood next to Alex as she had a short conversation in Montenegrin with the man behind the counter. She watched Alex in admiration that she’d been able to learn a new language well enough to hold a conversation. “What was all that?” Bradley asked after Alex walked further into the store with Bradley.
“Oh, I was just introducing you, saying you’re new to the area and living with me. I told him you don’t speak the language here. He doesn’t speak English, so I feel like he understands about half of what I’m saying and I understand about 25 percent of what he’s saying.”
“You sounded like you knew what you were talking about.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know half the words he responded with.” She laughed. “So, is there anything you forgot to pack?”
“Just a phone charger.” She laughed. “I didn’t realize until I got on the plane, so I turned my phone off to save the battery and did literally nothing the entire flight here.”
“Oh my god. That’s… impressive. I couldn’t have done it. I’m glad I mean that much to you, that you were willing to go through that for me.”
“Well, I didn’t have much of a choice. We’d already taken off.” She laughed. “But I would do it all over again for you. I know you’d do anything for me too, so…”
“I would, and I have.” She laughed at the memory. She’d really lost her shit on Cory, but he’d caused Bradley so much pain, and someone had to look out for her.
“I know.” She took Alex’s hand and leaned on her as they walked through the store and Alex bought a phone charger for her.
They walked to the grocery store next. “I needed to come here today anyway, so this is good.”
“Alex, I’m so tired.”
“Aww, still on New York time?” She said. It was only 10AM.
“Yeah, it’s 4AM there. I slept for about an hour on the plane, but I was so nervous, I haven’t slept all night.”
“Okay, well, after we get groceries, you can take a little nap, and be up in time for a late lunch?”
“Sounds good.”
“I’m going make you my new favorite recipe. Nadja, the neighbor I introduced you to, gave it to me. I add some peppers from my garden and mmm. I think you’ll like it.”
“I can’t wait. You seem to be really happy out here.”
“I am. I never thought I’d enjoy being out of the spotlight so much, but… the whole thing with Cory really made me look at who I am, and the meaning of life and all that bullshit. I’ll be honest, I was miserable when I first got here, but I’ve done a lot of work on myself, and… I just… there’s no point in running away like I did if I was going to sit out here and be miserable. I might as well have gone to prison.”
“I get that. I’m glad you’re happy.”
“I hope you’re happy out here too.”
“I am. I know I will be because I’m with you. Besides, Laura is reporting me for aiding and abetting so I can’t leave here… ever.”
“Well, I’m glad she was petty about it, so I don’t ever have to worry about you leaving me.”
“Okay, but if you’re an asshole, I will break up with you. Don’t think you have this in the bag.”
“Same to you. Just because you moved to a foreign country for me, I don’t owe you anything.” Alex smiled. She knew they would make it, but she wanted to make it clear to Bradley that she was not with her because she flew across the world for her, but because she genuinely liked her. “Okay, let’s pay and get you back so you can take a nap.”
They walked back through town, which was a slightly longer, but easier walk. Bradley dropped the groceries she was carrying on the counter and left them for Alex to deal with.
“Have a good nap.” Alex said with a smile.
Bradley reached over and kissed Alex before she headed to the bedroom. Benny joined Alex in the kitchen. He’d been asleep when Bradley first arrived, but as soon as he saw Alex in the kitchen, he was quick to wait for something to drop. Alex smiled and pet him. “Are you happy Bradley came to live with us? Huh boy? I’m happy. Oh, yeah, you’re happy too.” She said as Benny licked her face and she took her glasses off. “Yeah, you better be nice to her, I don’t want to ruin this. No I don’t. Give her a big greeting like this when she gets up.” She said and pet Benny as he got more and more excited.
“Hey, gorgeous.” Alex smiled as Bradley emerged from the bedroom as if she’d been asleep for months. She yawned and stretched her arms out as she made her way over to Alex.
“Hi.” She leaned against the counter and stared at Alex. Benny quickly joined them, sniffing Bradley’s legs before he wagged his tail and looked up at her. “Oh, hi, Benny.” She bent down to pet him. She could feel Alex’s eyes on her as she played with Benny.
“Oh, he loves you.” Alex said.
“Well, I love you too, Benny.” Bradley said before she stood back up and wrapped her arms around Alex. “Whatcha making?”
“I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
“So, what is your typical week like out here? I mean, I know we talked about some things, but do you have any kind of routine?”
“Um… no. I mean, I tend to the garden every day, but other than that, I just kind of do whatever I feel like. If I want to read a book on the beach, I do that, if I need groceries, I walk to the store. If I feel like walking around my house naked… I do it. I don’t have any responsibilities or anyone relying on me for anything. I make plans with my neighbor and my one other friend, but that’s really it. Oh, and I used to call this girl from back home once a week, but that won’t be happening anymore.” Alex laughed. “It was honestly what helped me get through those first couple months. So, thank you.”
“Yeah, I mean, I was hopelessly in love with you, and I couldn’t admit it to myself. So, you know, it helped me in a way too.”
“Bradley…” Alex looked at her in shock. Bradley didn’t fall in love, she didn’t believe in it. So, why would she even say that? Why would she play with her feelings like that? For the first time since Bradley had arrived, she felt angry. “You weren’t in love with me, you don’t even believe in love.”
“Yes I was, I am. It took me years to get to the root of what I was feeling, why I acted how I did around you, why I felt the way I did. But… after a couple years in therapy… I realized I was in love with you the whole time. I just didn’t know what that feeling was like.”
“Well, I love you too, Bradley. I’m pretty sure that’s why I killed Cory.”
“You do tend to be a bit dramatic when you feel something.” Bradley laughed.
“Oh, shut up!” Alex laughed as well.
Bradley smiled and brought Alex in for a kiss. She allowed her feelings to guide the kiss as she moved in closer, and gently placed her hand on Alex’s cheek.
“Food is ready.” Alex said when she slowly pulled away from the kiss.
“I can’t wait to try it.” Bradley said suggestively.
Alex knew she wasn’t just talking about the meal. She smiled and served the meal, but she stared at Bradley while they ate. She was looking forward to that night. She said it all with her eyes. She didn’t even bother with the dishes after they finished. She’d been waiting for this day to come for too long. The day where Bradley finally joined her, and Alex was allowed to express all the feelings she had for her. She kissed her softly. God, she’d never been so happy. She had spent the past 2 years finding peace and happiness on her own, within herself, and now she finally felt complete. She was finally able to experience total happiness, in that bed with Bradley as she ran her hands across her skin, their lips connecting, their bodies pressed together, and Bradley’s warm breath on her face as she breathed heavily. The feeling of total bliss that washed over her again and again and again as Bradley brought her to a new high she never knew existed, and she did the same for Bradley. She couldn’t believe she would get to experience this level of happiness for the rest of her life. It was everything she ever wanted.