Taking a Bite from the Big Apple (Complete)

35

“I’m gonna hit the hay.”

Toni looked up from where she was typing on her laptop at the dining table.

“Okay, love. I have to finish this paper, but I’ll be in soon. You going into your room?”

“Yep,” Cheryl replied with a nod, “’Night.”

“Hey. What about my goodnight kiss?”

Cheryl walked over and gave her girlfriend a quick kiss on the lips.

“Are you okay, Cher?” Toni asked when they pulled back, “You’ve been kinda weird since you got back from the library.”

Yea, well lie number one, ‘cause I wasn’t really at the library.

“I’m always a little weird, baby,” Cheryl chuckled nervously.

Toni looked unconvinced, but shrugged.

“Okay. Night. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Cheryl replied before turning on her heels and walking towards her bedroom.

Thirty minutes later, Toni had just finished brushing her teeth and was going into Cheryl’s bedroom. She stripped off to just her panties and crawled in beside her girlfriend, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek when she saw her closed eyes and the steady rise and fall of her chest, before spooning her gently, careful not to wake her and settling into a peaceful sleep.

Cheryl breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she felt the brunette drift off and opened her eyes, not needing to fake her slumber anymore since Toni was asleep, one thought running through her mind over and over again.

How the hell am I gonna keep this up?

**

Toni came out from the kitchen, having cleaned up after the dinner that Cheryl had made and walked over to where the redhead was sitting, surrounded by books and her laptop. She bent her head and blew hot air in her ear, delighting in the shiver it caused, before lowering her voice to a whisper.

“Wanna forget all that and come play with me?”

Cheryl gulped, more than anything she wanted to do just that, especially since she’d had to think of ways to avoid getting intimate for the past week, and knew she’d have to continue in that vain for another while as well. She turned and gave the brunette an apologetic look.

“Sorry, baby. I have a huge test tomorrow, and I’ve only been over half the chapters that it’s on. I may even have to pull an all-nighter.”

Toni gave her a genuine smile, making Cheryl feel even worse and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t burn yourself out, honey. You’ve been study-gal night and day lately.”

“I won’t. Just, you know, this test.”

“You’ll do great,” Toni replied, straightening up, “Love you, beautiful.”

“Love you too,” Cheryl responded with a weak smile, closing her books as Toni walked into her bedroom out of sight.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before forgoing the pretence that she actually had a test tomorrow and opened Solitaire on her computer, hoping that if she waited long enough to go to bed, Toni would already be asleep.

**

“Son of a fucking bitch! Stupid fucking brown paper bags!” Toni yelled as she accidentally dropped the grocery bag she had been carrying all over the floor outside her apartment.