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The few moments of silence immediately after were always blissful. Still basking in each other’s glow, but not long enough to let it be awkward.
Out of everything that just happened, it was her smile as she lay quietly beside you that stunned you, lying on her side and staring deep into your eyes.
“You okay?”
You let out a satisfied sigh. “That was amazing.”
You felt his warm hand on your arm on the other side, laying gentle kisses across your shoulder, still trying to catch your breath just a little. She traced gently along your jaw to your chin with her finger, the light grazing of her nail sending chills down your spine.
“And you’ve really never done that before?”
“Nope.” You replied, popping the ‘p’ in a way that made her chuckle lightly.
“Couldn’t tell.” She spoke softly, still smiling and cupping your chin to guide you closer to her again, giving you a soft peck on the lips.
“You guys want something to eat?” He asked over your shoulder.
“God yeah, I’m starving…” She nodded over to him. “I’m sure you could use a break though, why don’t we order in? There’s gotta be somewhere still delivering?”
“Let me check…” He got up from the bed with a huff. “How about you, [Y/N]? You want something to eat?”
“Oh, uh…” You sat up on the bed, resting against the headboard. “Thank you, but I wouldn’t wanna intrude. I’ll uh, I’ll just get dressed and call a cab—”
You moved to get out the same side as him until you felt her grasping gently at your arm, guiding you back to the bed.
“You’re not intruding, darling.”
“This is your night, too.” He concurred, pulling on a fresh pair of boxers and picking up his phone.
“Please, stay a while at least. We’ll have some food, then we can take you back home?” She rubbed up and down your arm reassuringly.
You looked a little nervous before giving a meek nod. “Okay, sure… Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“Chinese is still open.” He announced from across the room. “Sound good?”
“Sure.” She responded while you simply nodded again. “Usual for me. [Y/N]?”
“Uh, veggie lo mein…”
“Sure thing…” He started to type away on the screen.
“What do I owe you?” You asked.
“Our treat.”
“Oh, I can’t let you do that, Raf—"
“Darling it’s the least we can do…” She got up from the bed and opened the closet, pulling out some sweats and a fluffy towel. She walked back over to the bed and handed the towel to you, leaning over onto the bed as she spoke. “Why don’t you take a shower, then the food should be here after you’re done?”
You held the towel curiously, feeling the soft cotton between your fingers. “Oh, uh, okay.”
She tilted her head at you. “You sure you’re alright?”
You took a breath. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Thank you, Rita.” You got up from the bed and wrapped the towel around yourself. “Bathroom’s down the hall, right?”
“Right.” She smiled.
A waterfall shower head, floor to ceiling marble, everything about their bathroom was as decadent as they were. You stood under the warm water, allowing it to flow gently over your skin. Even the floral soap was gentle, and you realised where her intoxicating scent came from.
The last few hours replayed in your head, their hands all over, so gentle in their sharing of you. It was a new experience, and you never expected their going the extra mile to make sure you were still comfortable. If this were anyone else, you would have been much more persistent in making your excuses, some polite small talk while you got dressed again, maybe a glass of water while waiting on a cab if you were lucky. But something kept you here, these two seemed intent on making you feel good, even after the deed was done.
You took a deep breath, allowing the steam to clear your lungs, and your mind, before stepping back out, turning off the water and wrapping yourself up once again. You made your way back to the bedroom to see your clothes had been scooped up from the floor, in their place a fresh set of sweats sat folded on top of the vanity for you.
You got changed and padded through to the living room, where you could hear the gentle noise coming from. The two of them had also changed into comfy clothes, takeout containers laid out across the coffee table. They were huddled close while they scooped food onto their plates, still giggling and whispering sweet nothings to each other. It made you pause in the doorway, almost melancholic, you just wish you had that for yourself—
“Hey, [Y/N], come join us…” Rita held her hand out and beckoned you over, handing you another plate and nudging the unopened container towards you. “Hope you’re hungry, we got too many appetisers, again.” She shot a knowingly playful look towards Rafael before she placed a few mini egg rolls on your plate.
“So whereabouts do you stay?” He asked you through a mouthful of beef and broccoli.
“Uh… Flatbush…” You mumbled quietly as you scooped up some noodles.
“Where, sorry?”
You cleared your throat. “… Flatbush. Brooklyn.”
They exchanged a brief look. They maybe thought it would be brief enough for you to not notice, but nothing got past you.
“I know it’s far, I’m still happy to get a cab—”
Rita brought her hand over to reassure you, again. “No, no. We said we would take you home, and we will.” She rubbed her thumb over the back of your hand before bringing it back to balance the plate on her lap.
“We would’ve let you stay, but we’re both in court in the morning.” He said, offhandedly, but that stopped you in your tracks, widening your eyes in horror.
“… Court? What did you guys do?!”
“You mean what did her guy do?” Raf nodded to Rita, pointing with his chopsticks, but their clearly insider joke only confused you more.
She turned to you at your lack of response. “We’re attorneys, darling.”
“… Oh.” The realisation hit you, why their place was so nicely furnished and decorated. “So do you guys run like a firm together, or something?” You finally got a mouthful of food in, your chopsticks just not playing ball tonight. Nothing to do with your lack of skill with them, of course.
Rita patted you briefly on the lap before getting up from the couch, leaving Raf to answer as she padded through to the kitchen.
“She’s in defense, I work for the DA’s office downtown.”
“That’s gotta be tough, being on opposite sides—?”
“We make it work…” Rita called back through before sitting down beside you again. She wordlessly passed you a fork and you laughed a little before accepting.
“Thanks… So if I ever find myself in trouble, I know who to call?” You quipped.
“For you, I’d even do it pro bono.” She winked before picking up her plate again, adding another couple of crab rangoon on there. “So what is it you do?”
“I’m a bartender, out in Williamsburg.”
“Wish we’d known, we could’ve met you halfway.” She chuckled.
“Well we know for next time…” You distracted yourself with another mouthful of food, leaving your comment to hang in the air, letting them decide if it was meant to be interpreted as sarcastic or hopeful.
It wasn’t awkward, for some reason. So comfortable in each other that they continued to joke around with you, sharing more about each other than you did on the dating app. Normally seeing couples on there was an immediate left swipe, but these two intrigued you, and you were so grateful to have taken the leap with them in particular.
You even felt a little guilty for the couple shots of Dutch courage you took before you got there, arriving to find them stone cold sober and ready to talk boundaries. First time nerves were understandable, they reassured you, and even though they seemed well versed and had clearly done this before, they still took the time to guide you through, showing you just what made the other tick while also making sure you were well looked after, too.
You automatically started to clear up your own container and dishes a little while after you finished your food, piling them up on the coffee table.
“You don’t need to do that, we’ll get it when we come back.” Rita gently swatted your arm away from the table.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, yeah, c’mon let’s get you home before it gets any later.” Raf stood from the couch and the two of you followed. He left the room in search of his car keys while you glanced around.
“Sorry, uh, my clothes—?”
“I put them in the laundry for you, we can get them cleaned and sent back to you—”
“Rita, you’ve both already done so much for me—”
She put a hand on your shoulder. “It’s nothing, dear. Really.” She smiled.
You nodded in appreciation. “Thank you.”
Her hand moved to around your waist to guide you back out to the hall. “Come on, grab your coat.”
“You’re coming too?”
She looked at you quizzically. “Of course?”
This was all new to you, who were you to doubt? “Oh, okay, cool.”
You couldn’t believe how quiet the city was at this time of night. Then again, you also couldn’t believe there were still other cars on the road apart from his. They sat in the front, talking quietly while you looked wistfully out the window. At the reflections in the dark of the East River, the lights in the buildings across the water brightening your vision just enough to keep you awake for the journey, but not quite enough to stop you from dozing lightly, only snippets of their conversation making it into your conscious, only occasionally punctured by their laughter.
‘The hearing shouldn’t take more than a few hours… When are you next in night court…? Laura invited us to dinner with her and Greg on Friday… Well hopefully not like last time…! Yeah, I’ll have to check with… It’s on the trial calendar for March, I don’t know if… Oh we have to book that place in Martha’s Vineyard again… Such a beautiful night…’
Your eyes flickered over to the gap between the seats, her hand held firmly in his free one as he drove, her eyes under the passing streetlights as bright as her smile. You couldn’t see his face from where you sat behind him, but it sounded like it might have looked the same. You turned back to the window.
‘Well if it’s a conflict I could pass it to one of our Associates… You really think the DA’s gonna let you do that…? God I’m so tired… You can sleep on the way back if you want… Nah… Well just don’t take it out on the intern tomorrow… What if he’s being a dumbass…?’
Now she had almost slumped into the side, curled up into the car door, leaning her elbow into the ledge by the window with her hand in her hair, her other still resting on his thigh.
“How about you, [Y/N]?”
You shook yourself out of your trance. “Sorry?”
She was looking back at you through the gap in the front seats. “You working tomorrow?”
“Not ‘til the afternoon.” You replied sleepily, rubbing at the back of your neck. "Closing shift."
“Lucky you.” She smiled again.
He pulled up to the sidewalk at the address you gave them and he hopped out before you had even got your seatbelt off, insisting on opening the door for you. Even more insistent was she, getting out to say goodbye, too.
You fumbled for your keys in your coat pocket as the three of you approached the door to your apartment building. “I had a great time tonight, thank you.”
“Our pleasure.” She hugged you first, still warm with that lingering floral scent.
He hugged you next, just as warm with an unexpected softness.
“I guess I’ll uh… I’ll see you guys later?” You said, not quite knowing how to wrap this up while you opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
“Take care, [Y/N].” He replied.
“Yeah, uh, you too. Bye.” You shut the door firmly behind you and took your time getting up the stairs, the harsh fluorescent lighting a sharp contrast to the peaceful dim of the last forty five minutes, or the inviting warmth of the hours before.
You didn’t want to turn on the lights in your apartment, signalling the end to an amazing night that you just didn’t want to arrive. You hung up your coat on the hook in the hallway and walked through to the kitchen to take in the view from the window.
You never did like having your apartment on the street side of the building, and yet tonight it all seemed worth it just to get an extra thirty seconds to look at them, in all their vulnerability once more. Chatting briefly with the light on in the car before pulling each other near. You couldn’t quite tell if they were exchanging kisses or rubbing noses or just appreciating the closeness of the other, but the moment was intimate enough to make your heart warm to them once more before they reassumed their positions.
You heard their car start, the light above them cutting out as it did so, and watched for as long as you could as they pulled away again, watching them get smaller and smaller in the distance until you could see them no longer.