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who falls asleep on the couch
After college Sue puts all of her effort into building her career.
Emily is content to sit back and watch as Sue carves out a brand new life for herself while also including her. Of course, it’s incredibly lonely during the times that Sue is traveling around and giving lectures and speeches, analyzing data for aeronautic companies and being invited to dinners with people from NASA. It's crazy to think about how far they’ve come when they’re getting ready for some gala and Emily is holding the arm of the most wanted woman in the room.
Other times Sue goes alone – on those nights they fall asleep on the phone together, Sue’s face lit up by the rising sun and Emily’s blanketed in stars, and promises of coming home soon fill their dreams.
It’s a soft, quiet morning when Emily wanders into the living area to find a small lump on their couch, legs covered by a thin blanket (knitted years ago by one of Sue’s old roommates) and one pillow on the floor while another lingers dangerously on the edge. A suitcase is next to the front door and it looks like there was an attempt to make some toast but it sits uneaten on the countertop, butter-dish open and knife carefully placed next to it.
The image renders Emily motionless for a moment.
Normally their mornings consist of Emily setting up the Moka pot and jotting down little notes or interesting words. On those mornings Sue will pad down the hall, awoken by the smell of rich coffee and sweet marmalade, a sleep shirt kissing the top of her thighs and her hair sticking up at the back of her head. She’ll yawn and wipe sleep from her eyes and she’ll thank Emily, as always, with a gentle kiss to her cheek and a familiar brush of her hand down her arm. It’s intimate and quiet and lovely.
This isn’t a normal morning though - Sue has been away for two days to sit and help with a lecture at Stanford and Emily had to go back home to see to her dad’s health. It’s clear to Emily that they arrived home last night within hours of each other but, it seems, only one made it to the bedroom and Emily grins at her polished and proper girlfriend hanging off of the couch with messy hair and a wide-open mouth.
It’s not an unusual sight. Sue doesn’t like bringing her work into the bedroom and Emily is more than happy with that arrangement. But Sue can take calls from people on the other side of the country or, occasionally, the other side of the world and on those rare occasions she’ll exhaust herself and fall asleep on the couch before she can think of making it to the bedroom.
“Susie,” she says with a content hum. Her hand moves to shake her girlfriend gently and Sue groans in protest, her eyes closing together tighter and Emily laughs softly at the deep lines around her eyes. Briefly she flashes to a young Sue, soft around the edges and with the rest of her life ahead of her. The woman in front of her is mature and weathered by emotions and Emily doesn’t think there’s a force in the world that could make her look away. “Hey. Wake up, pretty girl. It’s morning.”
“No.”
“Wake up,” Emily laughs and Sue shifts on the couch, annoyed and sleep-deprived and everything Emily has been missing in the last forty-eight hours. Already she can feel the cracks filling in slowly as Sue begins to fill their space again. “I’ll put the coffee on, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Hey - Em?” Sue says and Emily looks at her as she stands back up to make the coffee, clearly and hopelessly in love with the messy little lump on the couch. “I’ve missed you.”
At that Emily feels her heart surge, the beating hard enough to be felt in her throat, and she leans down quickly to press a kiss to Sue’s lips. They’re dry from sleep and from the long hours traveling on planes but she finds that she really doesn’t care and she presses a second kiss, harder this time, to seal her love.
“I’ve missed you too. Now get up. You’re ruining the cushions.”
who makes friends with the neighbors
Emily is hesitant to say that Sue has any flaws. Because she doesn’t, not really, not anything that Emily would beg her to change. Sure, sometimes, the constant need to be perfectly dressed when they visit the Dickinson home can be annoying, especially when Emily doesn’t even want to go, and how Sue has an incessant need to write lists for everything gets tiresome. But they’re the little things that make Sue, well…Sue.
Emily embraces it with open arms because she knows she never really stood a chance.
However –
“Did you know the Sullivan’s have just gotten a new dog? I can’t wait to see it.” Sue asks as she makes her way across the garden to Emily. There isn’t really much for Emily to say to that because a) she doesn’t know who the Sullivan’s are and b) she didn’t know they had a dog. Instead she shrugs, knowing Sue will continue anyway, and clips at the overgrown leaves. “They’ve invited us over this weekend for a barbecue. I said we’d bring dessert.”
“Why?”
“Because we can’t go empty-handed to someone's home, Emily. It’s unbecoming.”
Emily scoffs because she’s currently wearing soil on her elbows and her cheek and she gave up on her hair about an hour ago. She knows the looks they get sometimes from their older neighbors but Sue doesn’t seem to care. The worst thing they can be is empty-handed to someone's home.
“Oh, Emily. You could make that peach tart you made for your brother's birthday. They’d love it.”
“We don’t have any peaches,” Emily tries but she already knows that it’s useless. Sue always wins these conversations; she’s the perfect neighbor, always there with a cup of sugar if needed and ensuring her house is the one with the best treats on Halloween. Sue is that neighbor. So, yes, she’s sure she’ll end up baking whatever dessert her girlfriend asks of her and she’s sure she’ll have a nice time with the Sullivan’s–as reluctant as she is–but she still kind of likes the thrill of disagreeing with Sue. “Baby, I really don't want to spend my weekend hanging out with them. Why did you say yes?”
Sue glances over at her but her thumb doesn’t stop scrolling. “Because they’re our neighbors, Emily. It’s the polite thing to do. And you know John has just come out of hospital after his surgery. It’ll be nice for them to get back to normal.”
“No, I don’t know that –” Emily tries but Sue is still going.
“Besides, it won't hurt for you to refill that social meter of yours. The first draft of your book is finished and I know the only person you’ve spoken to for the last six weeks has been me. Let's have a nice relaxing time with the neighbors and I’ll make it up to you. I’ll even help you edit.”
Honestly she was already going to say yes but she’s not going to dismiss the help; editing is the worst part of writing and, truthfully, she loves watching Sue pour over her work. She lets out a little groan as she stands up, which only makes Sue giggle, and she holds her arms out for Sue to fall into them. Despite the dirty soil that litters parts of Emily, Sue doesn’t hesitate and Emily presses a kiss to Sue’s forehead.
“Okay. Fine. But you’re going to have to catch me up on who these people are. I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
“Eric and John Sullivan,” Sue supplies and Emily lets out a small ‘oh’ of surprise. Trust Sue to find the only other LGBT couple on the block. “They were at Austin and Jane’s engagement party.”
“Oh, sure, I remember them now.”
“Come on,” Sue laughs, completely aware of Emily’s lie and delighted by her. “Let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll help you study who our neighbors are before you make a fool of yourself.”
who is the adventurous eater
There are many words in the English language to describe Emily Dickinson. Talented; stubborn; loving; loyal. There are words that spring to peoples minds if they were ever to be asked to detail who she is but adventurous probably wouldn’t come into it. Maybe occasionally, maybe eventually, but not on the first go around.
She likes what she knows. She likes the East Coast and the predictability of her family. She likes her girlfriend and the safety of her arms. She likes her favorite meals and the playlists she makes and the way her bedroom is laid out.
What she doesn’t particularly like is change – or being asked to step out of that comfort zone without having a chance to think about it first.
“It's a live fish, Sue. I’m actually not going to eat that.”
“It’s raw fish, Emily, and I think you’ll like it.”
Sue brings another salmon roll to her mouth and eats it in two bites, casually, like it’s nothing and Emily screws her nose up so tightly that she thinks she might actually sneeze.
She doesn’t mind that Sue orders sushi during her lunch break when working from home, but the absolute need she has in getting Emily to try it is bordering on obsessive and, honestly, a waste of time. She isn’t going to try it, she isn’t going to like it and even if she does try it and does like it she’d rather swallow an entire pot of ink before admitting to it.
So really, as stated, the entire discussion is pointless.
“Try a California roll. It has avocado. You like avocado.”
“I also like the conversation surrounding spiritualism but I’m not shoving that down my throat.”
“No. Just everyone else's.”
“What?”
“Baby, try the California roll. Please,” Sue sighs softly, nudging the plate towards Emily. In the background an old black and white show of Sue’s plays that Emily doesn’t completely hate but has no interest in following and outside a storm rolls, giving her no option than to try the sushi in front of her. She nudges at it with her chopsticks once, her lip curling. “If you try it and you don’t like it then I won’t ask again. Just once.”
It takes several deep breaths and another promise that Sue won’t push it again for Emily to pick up the little roll, staring at Sue as she does and popping the smallest bite into her mouth.
“No. Nope. Absolutely not. No. This is disgusting .”
She spends the rest of their shared lunch break complaining about the taste in her mouth and Sue patiently nods along, apologizing softly each time Emily’s dramatic reenactment gets a little too intense, but she pulls Emily close and wraps her arms around her waist and suddenly trying new food doesn’t seem so bad.
who hogs the covers at night
They’ve shared beds before they got together, from Emily’s twin bed in her childhood home to the dorm room beds and double beds in apartments when living states away from one another. But when they decided to live together, a year into dating, Sue quickly learns something new about Emily Dickinson. She is a blanket thief, the definition of a hog, and more often than not Sue has awoken cold and shivering with only her legs covered. Bostonian winters are nothing to turn a nose up at and, eventually, Sue makes a decision.
“What’s that?” Emily asks when Sue bumps open their front door with her hip and drags in a large, wrapped item. On her shoulder she carries a heavy bag and Emily would stand to help her but Sue looks determined and, also, kind of adorable. “A new duvet?”
“My new duvet,” Sue fires back but there’s no malice in it and she pulls the bag from her shoulder to deposit it heavily on the table in front of Emily. It takes half a second for Emily’s curiosity to take over and she’s rifling through the items in the bag. “I’ve also got some bedding for it. Your sister found a nice store that does it cheaper than most places and I think it’ll match the room.”
“We have a duvet. And bedding.”
“No, Emily. You have bedding. I have whatever sheet you leave me with once you’ve burritoed yourself into the entire duvet,” Sue smiles back, ever patient, and Emily tilts her head in thought. Though there is a frown between her brows she still accepts the warm kiss from her girlfriend. “This way, once you’re asleep, at least I know I have something to keep me warm at night.”
“I can keep you warm,” she flirts but Sue laughs softly and Emily watches as the girl makes her way to the kitchen to get herself a bottle of water from the fridge. “What? I’m a great big spoon. Fantastic really. I’ll cuddle you into me and you’ll stay warm all night long. I don’t want you under a different cover. It’ll feel like we’re in separate beds.”
“Okay one, I’ll only use it once you’ve stolen all the covers and I wake up naked and freezing cold,” Sue placates her, drinking from the water bottle and putting the lid on when Emily shakes her head at the offer of a drink. “And two, I’ll only bring it out when you’re asleep you’re absolutely dead to the world. I have experience with trying to wake you up and take the covers back, Dickinson, and it’s basically impossible. This way we both win.”
Emily blinks at that a few times, unsure if she’s entirely happy with the idea, but aware that it’s enough of a problem that Sue has already gone out to find a solution. She doesn’t like the idea of a cold, naked Sue in her bed and she much prefers the image of her warm and sated and cuddled into Emily. If that warm and sated version comes from this then Emily figures she can be okay with it.
“Fine,” she concedes and she smiles as Sue makes her way over and plants herself onto Emily’s lap. The weight is perfect and they both sigh happily at the feeling of being close after a busy day of chores and errands and Emily writing. “But you need to promise that I get naked cuddles before you get under your own covers or all bets are off, Gilbert.”
“I promise.”
who forgets to do the dishes
When the writing bug strikes Emily Dickinson it strikes hard and fast, like lightning, and it leaves no prisoners. Days pass while she sits at her desk, scribbling and editing and muttering to herself. From time to time she comes out of her haze to find a pack of chips and a bottle of water next to her, very much courtesy of her tolerant and lovely girlfriend.
Lost in her imagination, there are moments that she wanders around the house in a foggy state, bare feet padding along the wooden floors, as she succumbs to the hunger pains in her stomach. She’ll make herself cereal or a bagel or she’ll warm something up from a can and then take it back to her room to continue whatever imagery she’s drowning in. Sue once told her it looked like she was sleepwalking, but Sue knows the importance of her writing to her and generally leaves her to her own devices.
But when it’s finished and done, completed in its eternity and perfect enough for Sue’s eyes – then, and only then, Emily comes back to her.
“Hey babe,” she greets Sue, smiling as the other girl moves some hair out of her eyes with her forearm and continues to scrub at the dishes hidden in the murky water beneath the suds. “Woah. How did you make this much mess all by yourself?”
Sue opens her mouth like she’s going to say something but instead she smiles at Emily and cocks her head, inviting her to come over to her. Emily happily obliges. In seconds she has her arms wrapped around Sue’s midsection and she feels the muscles under her fingers move as Sue sways back and forth, scrubbing at the dishes and placing them on the rack to dry.
“Did you manage to finish this latest masterpiece?”
“All done. I think they might be my best ones yet,” Emily muses and she feels Sue inhale deeply when she nuzzles her face into the other girl's neck. “Sorry I’ve been a ghost these past few days.”
“I’m used to it,” Sue says gently as she takes the gloves off before turning in Emily’s arms to look at her. Her eyes are soft and warm and Emily feels heated at the way Sue looks back at her, at the way Sue’s fingers slip over her biceps, and she bites at her lip. She wonders if Sue is going to kiss her but it’s cut short when she feels thin fingers dig into her waist, tickling twice. “But ghosts don’t leave such a mess around the house. Really, Emily? You could have at least rinsed the bowls out.”
tries to surprise their partner more often
Emily doesn’t do big surprises–that has always been Sue’s role. Sue will decorate their house with little lights and build them a fort; she’ll press Emily up against the hallway wall with her parents in the next room and place heavy kisses against her neck; Sue will put a little flower in a vase and bring Emily french toast in bed just because.
But Emily surprises Sue in her own ways.
She’ll remember that Sue’s favorite flowers are violets and orchids and she knows that she likes a cold compress over her eyes to relieve headaches. She’ll bring Sue little gifts of all the things that she’s remembered about her–a small flower or a book that she’s mentioned in passing. Her surprises tend to be sweeter, a little shy in nature, but the meaning is just as deep as anything Sue gives to her.
And she likes that. She likes that she can surprise Sue by coming home with her favorite type of donut or a nice bottle of wine, the one she never buys because it’s too expensive and she would rather save her money for something else.
(Something else never comes. Emily doesn’t think she has ever seen Sue spend her own money on herself ever.)
“Open it,” Emily wriggles in excitement. Her first ever book sits unopened in front of Sue; freshly printed and ready to hit the shelves in one month. It’s practically perfect too. The cover is a deep blue and the edges are lined with a rich gold, it’s opulent and kind of pretentious but she loves it. Most importantly right there, right at the bottom, is her name. Bold and printed and ready for the world to see. It’s almost too vulnerable to feel everything at once so, instead, Emily focuses on what she can make Sue feel.
“I’m so proud of you Emily,” Sue says before anything else, clearly equally delighted with the book in front of her and the author herself. She’s naked from the waist up in their bed and her own cover is around her hips. Emily practically bounces on her knees as Sue picks up the book as she would a newborn, her fingers smoothing over the lettering on the front, and Emily nearly sings when Sue pauses her finger over the E in her name. “I love you, you know?”
“I know. I love you,” she says easily before she pushes at the book a little, enjoying the laugh it provokes. She’s fully dressed having left the house at the crack of dawn to get to her publishers but Sue had been sleeping deeply and Emily hadn’t bothered to wake her, instead coming home with fresh coffee and the gift of Sue being the first person to see the final look of her published book. “Open it.”
“I’ve read them all. I helped you choose the order –” she trails off, suspicious. “Wait. You didn’t include the second stanza, did you? I told you –”
“Open it.”
Sue sighs but it’s filled with so much love that Emily feels her entire body warm up. She cracks the book, both of them smiling at the sound of it freshly opening, and she looks at the first page. Emily won’t bring it up (at least, not today) but there are definitely tears in Sue’s eyes and her bottom lip wobbles.
“ Because I could not stop for Death. A collection of poems by Emily Dickinson ,” Sue recites with a shake to her voice and Emily just watches her silently. She turns the page, the only sound in the quiet room being the movement of paper and the soft hum of the street creaking awake outside of their open window. “Dedicated to –”
“Dedicated to who?”
“Emily…”
“Not. Not Emily. I’ve not dedicated my life's work to myself, Susan. Who is it dedicated to?”
Sue sniffles a little and closes her eyes, a thick droplet falling from her bottom lashes and she rubs her lips together as she tries to find the words. Emily knows it’s come as a surprise. She had initially told Sue and her family that there wouldn’t be a dedication in her first book, because she didn’t want the focus to be on anything else but her words, but it was never in question really.
Not if people looked between the lines.
Not if people knew her well enough.
“Emily,” Sue whispers again and Emily is about to tease her once more but Sue surges forward, her mouth finding Emily’s easily, and Emily drops her hands to Sue’s naked waist. Sue presses her thank you to Emily’s lips and it’s enough. She didn’t need to hear Sue say the dedication out loud. All she wanted was to see the look in her eyes when she read it for the first time.
Dedicated to my best friend; my muse; my biggest heart. Susan Gilbert. I love you.
who leaves dirty laundry on the floor
The picture keeps freezing as Emily wanders around the house. On the other end of the phone Sue sits behind a desk, worn out from lectures and talking to men who think they know more than her, and Emily feels her heart tug in her chest at the distance of the image. Sue has been away for almost four days and they still have another three until she is boarding a plane back to Boston and back into their home. It’s too long, too many days, but she knows that beneath the tired eyes and long hours Sue loves her work and Emily loves watching her thrive.
“I don’t understand why you need to be there,” Emily complains again, just because she feels like it, and she leans against the kitchen worktop so she can pick a grape out of a bowl to pop into her mouth. “Can’t you do half of these talks over Skype or something?”
“For the price they’re paying me I think they’d prefer that I was here in person,” Sue replies indulgently, a gentle smile on her face despite her heavy eyes, and Emily sighs.
“I’d prefer you were here in person too.”
“I know,” Sue nods and it’s clear she wishes she was at home with Emily too but Sue’s incredible talent for numbers and science had other ideas. Now every tech or aeronautical company in the country wants her to come and analyze and process and colleges want her to give speeches. Emily is so, so proud of her little nerd but the truth is that her home is cold without her girlfriend and she’s simply lonely without her. Her poetry keeps her company and she loses herself in books and movies, but nothing compares to the feeling of Sue’s arms and the smell of her perfume. “I’ll be home by Monday, baby. I promise.”
“You could put that big mind of yours to good use and design a plane that goes faster than these ones you’ve been using.”
“That’s not what I –” she sighs, not willing to be pulled in by Emily’s dramatics, and pulls her attention back to the camera. “So, how messy is the house?”
Emily looks behind the camera at the living area; her hoodies and sweatpants have found a home on the back of the couch and the clean laundry she has done sits happily on the kitchen table. She knows for a fact the bedroom looks like she’s simply emptied the underwear drawer onto the floor and she smiles happily at the camera, watching as Sue giggles to herself.
There’s something so special about keeping Sue entertained when she is as tired as she is.
“The house is immaculate.”
“Let me see.”
“Oh, wait. What? Sue I can’t hear you! The line is going crazy,” Emily fakes a stutter as she pretends the internet is cutting in and out, which only makes Sue laugh harder, and she laughs herself at the sound. “I promise it’ll be perfect when you get back.”
At that Sue softens and tilts her head. “Yeah. It really will be.”
who stays up until 2 AM reading
Emily writes. Sue reads. Sometimes they swap around but Sue can devour four books in the time Emily has absorbed the meaning and intricacies of one.
The quiet of it is lovely, especially when Emily is hunched over a new piece of work and Sue sits in their bed and turns another page. Some nights Sue is asleep before ten, tired from work and from being her beautiful social self and she leaves Emily to be a night owl. But other times, like now, she’s content to sit awake and read by herself. They both enjoy the silence, how comfortable it is and how it eases over them and cocoons them in a special, safe little bubble that is just their own.
A small yawn comes from the bed and Emily looks across to see Sue putting her book on the nightstand, a tired look in her eyes.
“Come to bed now, Emily.”
That’s all it takes and Emily places her pen down and pushes back from her desk. Years ago she would have argued, begged for a few more minutes writing, but there is a sleepy and wonderful woman in her bed that she’s sure she is going to marry one day.
Her muse will still be there in the morning, wrapped around her, breathing gently against her neck.
who sings in the shower
Sue has a voice meant for the stage, Emily is sure of it.
She knows that she can sing herself; she’s been told by her siblings and her parents and distant aunts who she vaguely remembers. At Christmas she usually sings around the piano with her brother, both of them bouncing off of one another between serious duets and lighter songs. Lavinia generally plays the piano or on her violin because she doesn’t have as much faith in her voice–which is ridiculous–but Sue will always jump in and sing alongside the siblings.
Christmas is always her favorite time of the year because of those moments.
Sue’s voice is ethereal. It calls to her almost like a siren, beckoning her closer, and Emily can do nothing to stop herself from walking closer.
The song ‘Bella Notte’ from Lady and the Tramp echoes from the tiled walls in their bathroom and it makes Emily laugh. Sue had been insistent the night before that she wanted to watch the movie and it makes Emily beam that her power-house of a girlfriend, the one who struts into rooms like she owns it, has such a soft spot for Disney and that Emily is the one she shares that with.
“Your voice is incredible,” Emily says as Sue’s impromptu performance comes to a close and she grins at the little gasp of surprise she gets in return. “Can I request a song now?”
“No.”
She’s about to open her mouth to protest but Sue’s hand emerges from the steam, pulling the door back and leaning out. Emily watches as the droplets move down from her shoulder and curve over her bicep; her skin is pink from where the water hits her and Emily licks her lips subconsciously. The bathroom smells like Sue’s expensive shampoo and Emily knows that Sue enjoys the luxury of a long, hot shower as she pampers herself. She was content to sit and listen to Sue sing, honestly, but then her girlfriend shoots her a wicked smile and all of her thought processes die.
“You can join me here though. If you’d like.”
who takes the selfies
Sue is the photographer in the relationship and Emily isn’t able to argue even if she wanted to.
Emily all too often finds herself caught up in conversations with her family, or enjoying the view, or lost in her own mind and it always occurs to her after that she should have taken pictures, locked some memories somewhere physical to look back on. It always makes her heart skip a beat when Sue is able to produce exactly what she’s missing. Pictures of Emily looking into the middle distance or candid photos of Emily mid-laugh with her sister, her hand on her brother's arm and his eyes closed in laughter.
Her favorites are always the ones that Sue captures of just them though. Pictures in the mirror of them both dressed up for a date night or an evening out with the Dickinson’s, cute selfies at dinner or in the park or when Sue finds a filter particularly amusing. Emily asked once why she’s so keen to capture each moment, rather than sinking into it and enjoying it, and Sue gave her a dark look that told Emily everything she needed to know. Growing up Sue didn’t have the memories, the pictures, the videos of her first steps or her first performance on stage in kindergarten. There were no polaroid's on her wall growing up or memory boxes or ‘on this day…’ moments to look back on on her phone.
She didn’t start building them until Emily.
The clock is inching towards seven in the evening when Emily notices Sue isn’t home. She’s used to her girlfriend working late and the new project she’s heading up is taking up a lot of her time. Emily doesn’t mind though. Not really. She has two plane tickets to the Dominican Republic in her desk waiting to be used and she’s already planning on gifting them to Sue as a congratulations once the project is finished. She’ll drag her girlfriend to the airport to board that plane if she needs to but she is already confident enough that Sue is ready for a vacation that she’s already started buying new clothes.
Her phone dings in her back pocket before she can even think to get it out to call Sue and she softens as she reads her name lighting up the screen. They’ve always been on the same wavelength but sometimes, like now, it’s almost creepy how alike they are.
In the back of her mind she can hear Jane teasing her about how bad she has it for Sue.
(Like Jane didn’t cry for two days when Austin proposed.)
Susie 6:47pm
I miss you
With the message is an accompanying image and Emily eagerly opens it, drinking in the image of Sue’s selfie and letting it sate her longing. She’s in a boardroom, the bright lights of their city behind her, and she looks beautiful. There are a pair of horn rimmed glasses balancing on her nose and the top button of her blouse is open, exposing the necklace Emily bought for her on the day of her graduation from Yale. It’s a little gold thing that Emily has seen every single day since their graduation and it never fails to touch her that Sue wears it religiously.
There isn’t a single doubt in Emily’s mind that one day, hopefully soon, Sue Gilbert will wear another piece of jewellery gifted by her for the rest of her life.
After staring at the beautiful picture for what feels like forever, Emily takes her shirt off, leaving her in a lavender bralette and a pair of sweatpants. It’s not sexy like some of their shared pictures but it’s comfortably sexy in the way Sue loves. She angles the phone just right and snaps a picture, already cackling to herself at the thought of Sue’s face once she receives it, and quickly sends it off with an I miss you too message.
It doesn’t take long for her phone to ring out into the quiet room again.
Susie 6:52pm
I’m getting an Uber home now.
Stay exactly like that.
who plans date night
With Sue’s schedule being so hectic they decide that Saturday night is date night. No exceptions, no excuses, no get out of jail free card. Saturday is for Sue and Emily.
Sometimes they go out to a restaurant, the main rule being to go somewhere new each time, but they enjoy it the most when they spend the evening inside and order takeout and watch movies or play games. If Sue is away or a flight is delayed or Emily is traveling back from a book signing then they talk on the phone but they don’t let it go by without doing something.
Sue is almost overly affectionate on Saturdays, like she wants to apologize for her absence during the week, but it’s unnecessary and, truthfully, Emily is so proud of the work Sue does that she enjoys being able to treat her at the end of the week. Not that she’s complaining, an affectionate Sue Gilbert isn’t something to turn her nose up at.
Day to day Sue does so much for Emily; she edits her work and she pushes her to be better, she takes care of the house and the bills and makes it less of a house and more of a home for them. The least Emily can do is decide what they’re eating that night and what movie they will watch.
“Good morning, darling,” Sue greets as Emily enters the room. Two cups sit on a tray with a small plate of croissants and egg bites. Emily isn’t much of a chef but she shines as a baker and she prides herself on how Sue’s eyes get bigger when she smells the rich coffee and the freshly baked pastry.
She knows that Sue has been awake for a while, letting her senses wake up bit by bit after a busy week, and she had wanted to leave her to it but her body became anxious–desperate to be close to its partner–and she rushes over to the bed at the sweet greeting.
“Happy Saturday,” Emily says, giddy now that Sue is awake and Sue returns the clear happiness with a quick kiss to Emily’s cheek as she reaches for her sweet black coffee. “Would you prefer to stay in or go out today? I have plans for either option.”
Sue smiles over the rim of the cup at that, content and in love. “I think I’d like to stay in. I’ve travelled enough this month and seen enough new places. I just want to spend my day looking at you.”
“Awful. Cheesy. Disgusting,” Emily laughs and holds her own coffee in her lap, milky with no sugar. “It’s like you’re in love with me or something.”
“Or something.”
Emily places her own cup onto the nightstand and she bites her lip when she hears Sue do the same. There’s a shifting noise behind her and Emily turns to see Sue moving the tray and setting it to the side, a sultry smirk already on her lips and Emily sighs - utterly and completely besotted.
“Hey. I put care and effort into that. Don’t you want to eat it?”
“I’d much rather spend my time doing something else, Emily,” Sue decides this date for them, and while Emily is more than happy for Sue to take control and do whatever she wants she still raises an eyebrow at the woman moving closer to her in the bed. “Do you want to join me?”
Emily nods, kissing Sue once and smiling when she pulls back in time to hear Sue groan in annoyance. “I had so many things planned for us.”
“Don’t worry,” Sue nods as she leans in again, biting at Emily’s lower lip and suddenly pressing closer. “So do I.”