Bluest of Grey Skies

Chapter Twelve

Emma wasn't at all surprised that Regina barely let her out of her sight once they were at the station and settled behind their respective desks. Ruby was back from Portland, sporting a fancy certificate that indicated she passed the required tests and was now officially an officer of the law in the state of Maine. For the morning, Regina fielded all incoming calls, three of them, to Ruby and she stayed behind in her office, busying herself with paperwork. Emma noticed her attention was more on her than the mounting paperwork on her desk and she didn't mind at all.

Her thoughts were all over the place all morning and all she could think about is what had transpired between them. She had pushed Regina even after she told her she wouldn't do that anymore and yet she was fuelled by the steady throb between her thighs and the rush of heated arousal that came with the way Regina kissed her. She found herself blushing several times throughout the morning just thinking about how wet she'd been last night and how hard it was for her to not push Regina for even more.

Come lunch hour, Emma headed to the diner to grab the three of them their usual and while she waited on the order, she sat at the counter and looked around at the other patrons sitting at the booths and tables. Four men were seated near her and they were whispering amongst themselves, their eyes landing on her more than a handful of times and for long enough that she was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Hey, Ashley?" Emma said quietly as the waitress breezed past her. "How much longer until the order is up?"

"A few more minutes, Emma."

"I'm just—I need to use the washroom."

"You know where it is."

"Right," Emma said nervously as she slipped off the stool and hurriedly made her way to the women's washroom in the back.

Thankfully it was empty and she ran the water in the sink, waiting for it to be ice cold before she scooped a handful and splashed it on her face. She blindly reached for the paper towels and patted her face dry while trying to take calm and steady deep breaths. She crumpled up the paper towel and tossed it into the trash as she took in her reflection in the mirror.

When had she become some timid and afraid woman? She had always been strong, always could stand her ground, but something had happened in the time that Neal had shipped off to war and the time he was killed. Her spirit had deflated, her hope lost, her will to live based only on being there for Henry and putting him first before herself. She would've never let someone like Bobby do the things he'd done to her before, she would've never let him come close enough to lay a dirty hand on her body or speak to her the way he had.

She steadied her shaking hands and ran her fingers through her hair, shrugging off the paranoia that had settled deep within her. She took a few more deep breaths before walking out into the diner with her head held high and the will not to let some perverted men—men who likely worked for Robert and Bobby Gold—get to her and under her skin.

"Hey, honey?" Ashley called out as she approached the counter and pointed to the bags. "You're all set to go."

"Thanks, Ashley."

"I added a little something extra in there for you," she said with a wink before turning on her heels and headed for the kitchen.

Emma grabbed the bags and headed towards the door, acutely aware that one of the men from the table was following her outside. She walked through the patio, which was strangely empty despite the beautiful and warm sunny day and she came to a stop at the sidewalk and turned to face the man following her. He just smirked and rubbed over his protruding belly in a suggestive and disgusting manner as his eyes raked over her body.