Forbidden Fruit

5.

Is this actually happening right now?
Lilith couldn't contain her joy. Eva was marvellous. She was sitting there actually buzzing with excitement and the desire to sneak into the kitchen. Just like she got around artist studios. Eva had even gotten that connection without ever seeing Lilith work. Not only that but the woman blushed so beautifully, and could still be commanding. It was so damn hot to watch. Lilith was barely able to keep from jumping Eva. Instead she sat there watching as Eva—still blushing from before yet acting like it was normal—ordered for them both. Lilith knew her favourite at this place by heart, but she decided to be a little adventurous and leave the food to the professional.
And Eva did not let her down. The burger she chose was perfect. It wasn't Lilith's usual, but it was delicious and suited her palette as if it had been made just for her. If this had been a date with anyone else, she would have focused on savouring her food. But this wasn't a date with anyone else. This wasn't even a date... not yet. Lilith took a deep breath. This was more than a little terrifying to talk about.
"I... I owe you an explanation. About last night and... and what Amber said in her messages. And...and...a-about Eve."
"What's there to explain? She was your lover, and I happen to remind you of her. Isn't that all there is to it?"
Lilith winced. The way Eva said that, the feelings those words were trying to contain, it made Lilith want to cry. Eva hadn't just realised that there was some connection between her and Eve, she had used that as the basis for an idea that belittled herself. She thought she was nothing more than a stand-in. A puppet. A shadow of Eve. When in reality, Lilith was—for the first time—questioning why she had been so devoted to the memory of the girl. She needed to make it clear to Eva.
"Not quite. You don't remind me of her. In personality and style and how you move and the fact you're athletic and willing to fight, you're nothing like Eve... but... well, you look exactly like her. So much that it's terrifying to me."
Lilith chuckled and shook her head, remembering how she had been acting since she first took a bite of this woman's cooking.
"And you somehow know how to cook the same way she used to. You practically made me come from your cooking last night and it reminded me of how things were with her. So I wasn't exactly clear headed when I accidentally called you her name. I just..."
She took another breath. Fuck, this was harder than she had feared. Telling Eva made it feel fresher than it had since it happened.
"Eve isn't exactly what you'd call my ex. She didn't leave me, she died. Years ago. I have been trying to move on ever since. But I never felt that spark with anyone. I did when I saw you."
"You just said that—"
Lilith reached over—spurred on more by the pained look coming over Eva's face than a desire to stop her talking—and took her hand as lovingly as she could. She had to get this one thing across. Something she had realised herself when she had seen the same message that had sparked Eva's doubts. The truth that had been staring her in the face when she had looked at Eva before instinct had blurted out the name Eve.
"I'm not referring to last night—though yes, I felt it then too—I'm talking about this morning when you were in my home. When you were looking at my art. You make my heart race. Not as an echo of Eve. You, Evangeline. I'm attracted to you."
There. She'd said it. She wasn't bold or foolish enough to claim it was anything more yet. To call it love. How could it be? She had just met Eva. And the attraction she felt might have started at the fact she resembled Eve to a frightening degree, but it had quickly moved away from that. She loved that Eva was hard and abrasive where Eve was soft and demure in both body and personality. She loved the stories that were written in the very fact she had tattoos, where Eve was always quick to wash off the little paintings Lilith would draw on her when together. All they had was the sparks of desire between them, and Lilith could only hope that Eva was willing to take a chance to try to fan them into flames.
"Are you sure... it's really me you're interested in?"
Eva sounded so nervous—so scared to believe her own worth—it broke Lilith's heart. She closed her eyes to fight back tears.
"What could I hope to do to show you that from the start of... whatever this is going to be?"
"Oh... I don't know, you already seemed to have a few ideas before..."
Lilith's eyes flew open. Eva didn't sound sad. In fact, she sounded like she was holding back laughter. Now that she was looking at the woman, Lilith saw that coy and confident smirk—the one that always melts her—return to Eva's face.
"And awfully presumptuous of you to just assume anything will happen between us without actually checking in with me."
Under Eva's constant gaze, Lilith felt her pulse race just like she had admitted.
"I... uh... well... it just seemed like..."
The smile on Eva's face brightened and grew in size before the blush deepened and she had to look away.
"I felt it too. I had to go into the freezer at work to cool off after our... encounter. So when I read... I... I felt like I needed to make sure that I wasn't going to be used, or something."
At the last words, Lilith keened at the idea that Eva could ever be just a body for use. It is worse than she had feared. She had been worried that Eva thought she was just promiscuous and that Lilith wasn't actually interested in any sort of commitment, not that she would be a puppet or a toy.
"I'm sorry... it's... it's not like that, I promise."
"I know... but still... that's why I... why I said this wasn't a date."
That causes Lilith to blink. The implication of exactly what Eva was saying before—her self-imposed coldness—finally landing into Lilith's heart.
"You mean..."
"I didn't want it to be a date because I didn't want to be just your plaything."
Eva grimaced at the admission. It was absolutely adorable. Lilith gaped at her, completely astonished at the confidence it must have taken.
"It was a power play?! Eva..."
I kinda want to fuck your brains out right now!
Even as Lilith thought that, Eva's grimace deepened along with her blush. And then she vomited words at record speed.
"In my defence, you are fucking intimidating and gorgeous and so I panicked while convincing myself that there was no way some high femme goddess wants some little biker butch chef."
Lilith struggles to breathe. Eva couldn't have been more adorable in her nervousness, and everything it meant. So it was a little nerve racking to try.
"And now?"
A deep breath is shared by both of them as they stared into each other's eyes. Lilith dared to hope that maybe—just maybe—she'd have a shot with this gorgeous confident self-proclaimed biker butch. She tried not to spiral into a marathon of imagined lesbian motorcycle sex, but it was near impossible. The smile on Eva's tempting lips melted Lilith even more when she partially dipped her head to avoid looking Lilith in the eyes.
"Now... I want to see what might happen too. If you are, that is."
Lilith beamed. Suddenly she felt like the dumb little twelve year old she had been when she had first met Eve. First realised what she was even though there was no word for it. First felt the skip of her heart just from seeing a woman. Eva made her feel even younger, which was... impossible to comprehend. Regardless, she knew her answer to this dream come true.
"It's all I want. To see how far we can fall together."
Eva laughed—right in her face—like it was a joke.
"This is starting to sound cheesy as hell."
Lilith let out the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.
"Starting to?"
"I mean... fair, but... it sounds like a conversation at the end of a rom com. Not the type you'd have at lunch the next day after first meeting."
Lilith scoffed. Eva was right, but she didn't have to enjoy having this reduced to a fictional plot point.
"So what? It's better to actually communicate about issues ahead of time, don't you think?"
"Yeah..."
Eva smiled at Lilith, and finally the reality sank in. Lilith couldn't hold back anymore. She had been good for so much longer than she had been... ever. She had kissed Eve within the first ten minutes of seeing her. She couldn't take it anymore.
Lilith leaned forward and gave Eva her best pleading pout.
"Can I?"
"I don't know..."
Eva smirked and sat a little bit further back, a single eyebrow raised in a challenge.
"Can you?"
"Fuck, Eva!"
  Lilith's growling expletive turned into an elongated whine as she said Eva's name. But the woman just smirked instead of giving consent, so Lilith moved to sit back on her side. Eva stopped her. The woman grabbed her by her shirt and pulled her back so she was inches from Eva's face.
"Please."
Somehow Eva made it sound like a command even was it dripped with so much want Lilith was surprised neither of them were actually drooling from it.
It ignited her.
Lilith surged the rest of the meagre distance and pressed her lips to Eva's hungrily. Eva didn't pull back or offer resistance. Like the woman she was—the same one who had pulled a knife on Lucifer and had just commanded Lilith to make out with her—Eva matched Lilith's passion with her own, parting her lips and sucking in Lilith's plump bottom lip to trap between her teeth and give a little playful tug. But then Eva pulled out of the kiss with Lilith left to momentarily chase the woman's lips with her own. A small pit formed in Lilith's stomach. She had fucked up. She knew it. She had been too zealous. That had to be it. But then Eva smirked.
"Okay... as much as I enjoyed that, I think we should wait until we have some privacy before we continue even a little bit."
  Lilith had to clench her fists to keep from once more dashing out of a restaurant with a date. Only this time with the express purpose of getting to someone's house for a more intimate setting. So instead of giving in immediately, Lilith took a second to consider the proper steps to leaving.
"Fine, go get on Vi. I'll get the check."
"It's okay. We can take our time."
"Eva!"
Lilith knew she sounded petulant, but she didn't care. She had finally kissed Eva. Kissed her. On the mouth. And in doing so fully dispelled any lingering thoughts about how similar Eva was to Eve. They kissed very differently, and Lilith was forced to give the edge to Eva once more. The sparks they shared had instantly transformed into something far beyond a simple flame. The want she had for the woman was volcanic in terms of heat. Still, all Eva needed to do was arch that single eyebrow and Lilith sat back in her seat.
"Patience, Lilith. There's no rush. Patience makes the pleasure all the better."
Lilith stared in disbelief. The woman had no idea. She couldn't possibly have known what she had just done. Whenever Eve had said those exact words, it had always sounded like a half-hearted plea or tease. Eva said it like she was in complete control. If Lilith had been in trouble for loving Eve. She was completely—and deliciously—fucked on Eva now.