While you were Sleeping

25. Date Night

Juliana relaxed into the passenger seat of the luxurious car, taking advantage of Valentina's concentration on the road, she allowed her gaze to drift over to the beautiful woman beside her. She tried to memorise every detail of Valentina's profile, the gentle slope of her nose leading to her perfect lips. Valentina's long wavy hair was loose and fell messily around her shoulders, Juliana loved her hair like that. She pictured Valentina running her long fingers through her windswept locks while driving with the top down.

Valentina's outfit, although simple, was stunning. The sweetheart neckline, on the lacy red blouse she wore, enhanced Valentina's sharp collarbones, drawing attention to the swell of her modest chest. Juliana's eyes followed the long silver pendant necklace that hung between Valentina's breasts to her flat stomach, she smiled as she remembered Val's reaction to her bold touch. This was still very new but she was discovering the excitement of flirting. Teasing and taunting Valentina could easily become her favourite activity. Her gaze dropped to Valentina's long legs, encased in jet black jeans that hugged her hips and thighs before flaring out from the knee to conceal her heeled boots.

She watched in fascination as Valentina's toned arms flexed while confidently gripping and turning the steering wheel. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked. They'd already been driving for fifteen minutes.

Valentina bit her lip before turning to her. "Are you sure you want me to tell you? There are so few opportunities in life to be surprised," she laughed.

Juliana rolled her eyes. "I think I've had enough surprises! Although, I'll be honest, you have definitely been the best surprise so far," she smiled, earning a laugh from Valentina.

"Wow Juls! You're such a sweet talker!" she smiled. "We're almost there, I promise. How was your day?"

"It was fine, Javier and I had the morning shift today. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I had an actual conversation with Barbara yesterday!"

Valentina's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Really?!" she asked, glancing towards her passenger. "And? Did she tell you anything interesting? Or give you hints about your future?"

Juliana rolled her eyes again, "No! And our conversation would've been cut short if she had!"

"So?"

"So... it was okay," Juliana shrugged. "It was actually pretty funny, she seemed really surprised when I started a conversation."

"I bet!" Valentina laughed as she guided her car into a parking lot. "Okay, so I wasn't sure what you'd like to do tonight but I hope I came up with something you might enjoy," she put the car in park and turned to face Juliana. "I thought we could visit the art museum and pretend to be cultured before going to dinner," she grinned. "Does that sound okay?"

Juliana laughed, showing her dazzling smile. "Yes Val, that sounds perfect."

They made their way along the busy street, shoulders bumping and fingers grazing as the iconic Soumaya Museum came into view.

"Wow," Juliana gazed up at the impressive hourglass structure, "it's huge!"

"Yeah, it is, but... we're going to the Jumex..." she pointed to a smaller, white-concrete building with a sawtooth roof, "just over there."

Juliana eyes widened. "Oh okay, sorry," she mumbled as her cheeks took on a pretty pink glow. Her gaze moved towards the museum to a huge inflatable ballerina that peered down at them.

"We can do both but I thought we'd start in there, if that's okay?"

Juliana smiled. "Of course."

Valentina took her hand and guided her across the street towards the entrance. "That," she pointed up to the forty-five-foot inflatable, "is called the Seated Ballerina." She caught sight of Juliana's toothy grin and blushed. "Yes, okay, I did some research!"