Borrowed Time

Chapter Fifty Three

Kissing Esme Panchek was a form of art, there's no other way to describe it... Something about it is inherently creative - sensual, beautiful, and everything in between... And if this was art, Juliette never wanted to stop creating.

She loved the curve of Esme's lips, the way that she seemed to smile into her kisses, how her hands were so strong, holding her perfectly on her lap, how she would mumble to her about little things: her beauty, her perfection, her love...

It was perfect down to the last detail; the perfect way to end a date night, the perfect way to keep Juliette from retreating back into her mind.

"I love you so much..." Esme sighed, letting her hands trace under Juliette's shirt and up her back, making her breath hitch... Beautiful girl... Her smile could light up a million suns, it put every star in the cosmos to shame. "You're amazing." She murmured, and Juliette nodded, tracing her thumb down Esme's lip before leaning in to kiss her again...

Only to be stopped by the sound of a door opening behind them. She froze, her eyes widening as she looked into Esme's... God, they both looked like deer caught in the headlights, this wasn't a good thing at all...

"You need to stop parking the van like that, kiddo." Juliette practically threw herself off of Esme, scuttling to the opposite side of the couch before making direct eye contact with Gianna and giving her a nervous smile, which was just met with a chuckle and a shake of her head as she kicked the door shut behind her.

"I know, I'm sorry." Esme responded... She should say something, right? Something to make her not seem like she'd just been on top of her daughter? Like she was still an upstanding member of society that should be trusted with someone so perfect? How did she fix that...

"Hey Gianna." God, her voice cracked over the words... Humiliating... But Gianna didn't seem to care, instead choosing to flash her a wide smile before walking over to her.

Esme's ability to deliver a soft look was genetic.

"Hey sweetheart." She leaned down, pressing a kiss to her hairline. "Spending the night again?" She asked, in a voice that was devoid of judgment... Juliette knew she didn't mind, she'd tried to apologize before, but Gianna had never let her. She nodded, giving her a small smile.

"Yeah." Something in her expression shifted, from 'Gianna' into 'Ms. Panchek'... Or into her 'I'm still a mother' face... Great, was this going to be about when she walked in? Because Juliette would drown herself in the shower if it was.

"Does your dad know?" Oh. Was that all? Of course she'd told him. He knew that she wasn't going to be home much this week... The fight had taken a lot of energy out of her, she didn't want to deal with him... and he understood that.

"He knows." That was good enough for Gianna... and it wasn't a lie, but it was still good that she'd believed her because she wasn't sure if Gianna was aware of the fact that her father thought that she slept on their non-existent pull out couch and not wrapped in Esme's arms.

Well, she'd never told him... She probably wouldn't have this time, but still.

"Great. As long as you've told him, I don't care. You're always welcome here, you know that." God, there was something so incredibly comforting in the way that she said that, it made Juliette feel like there had never been a moment where Gianna had been sitting there going 'does she deserve to have this open door?'  Instead it just felt like the door had always been open.

"Are you gonna be home tonight?" She asked, and Gianna shook her head, giving her a grimace... Okay, well that answered that question... Part of her was a little relieved, she wanted to have a night with Esme.