The Bet

Chapter 8

I untangled myself from the messy sheets. Parts of the bed still felt damp and Ivy was in a deep sleep next to me, but I couldn't sleep a wink, due to the alcohol buzzing in my veins. At least my sexual frustration was cured. I'd really needed it.

We'd gone to Ivy's apartment, but I had no idea where that was. Fortunately, Storybrooke was very small and I would find my way back home for sure, even in the dark. It was about three a.m., I guessed, but my phone's battery was dead, so I couldn't check.

I grabbed my clothes from the floor and quickly dressed myself. I had no business falling asleep here and waking up next to her, especially since I had to go to work tomorrow, like usual.

As silently as possible, I left the apartment, that looked quite a lot like mine. When I closed the door behind me, I sighed in relief and leaned against the wall. Now that I was out of the apartment, nothing could go wrong.

One time, I'd left a bed in the middle of the night, but the girl had woken up and that had been quite confrontational. No other woman had ever seemed to care, waking up with me gone, but she'd taken it very personally.

I was just about to continue my way home, when I heard a door open. I immediately turned around, afraid that Ivy had woken up anyway, but the door was still closed. It was the neighbor's door that had opened and I was utterly confused to see Emma standing there.

It probably wasn't real. It was just the alcohol and the lack of sleep boggling my brain. The opposite of a fata morgana, because if it had been real, I would've hated to explain to Emma what I was doing in her building in the middle of the night.

I closed my eyes and continued leaning against the wall. Ivy and I had drunk way too much and I'd have thought after a few hours, I'd feel better, but I didn't. I felt both adrenaline rushing through my body and laziness taking over.

"Regina? What are you doing here?"

Fuck.

She was really there.

I opened one eye and looked at her. "I'm a tiny bit drunk," I said, softly. "But I'm on my way home." I hoped my blurry brain wouldn't let me say anything weird to Emma. I had to keep her as a friend, after all. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night."

"I couldn't sleep. I wanted to go for a walk to clear my mind."

"Oh," I replied.

"What were you doing here?" Emma asked as she approached me. We'd been standing quite far apart, but now our bodies weren't more than a few inches apart. Concern was evident on her face, but I didn't know why.

"I.." I didn't want to tell Emma I'd slept with Ivy, but I didn't know why I didn't want to tell her. I didn't owe her anything. We weren't together. It was probably because this could be a setback in me winning the bet. "I drank a little bit too much," I said and put my arms around Emma's neck.

"I can smell that," she said. Her eyes travelled down to my neck and I saw her swallow. I couldn't really remember if Ivy had left any hickeys, but given Emma's face I could merely assume that she had. She looked disappointed. "Did you have sex with Ivy and are you sneaking out of her home?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I pulled her body closer to mine and hugged her. "I didn't know she was your neighbor," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

For some reason, tears welled up in my eyes and I started crying. Emma moved back from the embrace to look me in the eyes and I could see she was confused.

"Why are you apologizing?"

Her gentle tone made me cry even harder, though I had no idea why. I figured my period would start one of the next days and these were just hormones preparing me, or the alcohol was still taking its toll on my body.