RomCom Cliché

Chapter Fifteen

As confused as she was, Rebecca practically glided through the next few days with Freen's words sitting in her chest.

They glowed, keeping her warm as she barely had a moment's pause, her days plied with endless phone calls and emails and packing, her clothes pressed at the dry cleaners, her jet booked to leave at lunchtime on Friday and her caseload shared out amongst the associates and filtering down through the ranks.

By eleven o'clock on Friday, Rebecca was already exhausted, awake since five that morning and still on the phone with Mai as her driver pulled up outside Freen's. Rebecca put the phone on speaker as she sent a text to Freen, the car idling as they waited.

When her driver opened the back door to admit Freen, Rebecca started to wrap up her call as she flashed Freen a quick smile and listened to the thud of the trunk closing.

Ending the call, she let out an airy sigh and then gave Freen a softer smile.

"Hi. How was work?"

"Just the usual," Freen dismissively replied, buckling her seatbelt and shifting in her seat. "A few check-ins with the older kids. Negotiated a visitation for one of my moms. Court when I get back for one of them."

Wrinkling her nose, Rebecca hummed, "maybe I'll see you at the courthouse. I'll come and watch you on the stand."

Freen let out a quick laugh, "as long as you're not the one questioning me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rebecca scoffed with mock offence.

"Don't give me that; we both know you'd be vicious. All... smug and sharp and arrogant."

Raising her eyebrows and grinning, Rebecca cocked her head to the side and picked up Freen's hand, toying with her fingers.

"Is that your perception of me?"

"It's my perception of lawyer you, yes," Freen curtly replied, catching Rebecca's hand in her own and then gently kissing her knuckles. "I don't think I'd survive it."

"Mm, you've made it very clear that you have a weakness for turtlenecks and me being hard on you," Rebecca said with a faint smirk.

"As if your weakness isn't... romance films and sunset picnics. You're not one to judge."

"It's not a weakness, it's an indulgence. We should all indulge ourselves in the things that make us happy, right?"

Freen's face clouded for a moment before she shrugged nonchalantly.

"You should."

Rebecca couldn't help but feel like Freen was excluding herself from that statement and watched her for a moment as Freen peered out at the city passing them by.

She was still holding Rebecca's hand on the middle seat between them and Rebecca glanced down, taking in the fine bones of Freen's hands and wanting to kiss each knuckle, each fingertip, tell her that she deserved to enjoy things too, deserved to be happy no matter what she thought.

They made it to the airstrip before twelve and Freen eyed the jet with apprehension as she followed Rebecca onto it. Giving her a wry look as she buckled herself into her seat, Rebecca shrugged.

"It helps with work."

"It's, uh... something."

Rebecca snorted and rolled her eyes, making herself comfortable as she stowed her bag and shed her coat. Freen stowed her own bag as they were sealed in and the plane did its final checks for take-off, and Rebecca watched her take in the space, eyeing the selection of snacks, the champagne, the wide leather seats.