that simply won't do

part four

Dana sat on the couch, tapping her foot against Stella's hardwood floor restlessly. The past four hours had been agonizing, the suspense of waiting for her to arrive home nearly too much for Dana to take. She was nervous, frustrated, uncertain and feeling a bit playful. The only thing that would appease any of those would be Stella finally coming home. All she found herself able to focus on was the ordeal she'd witnessed earlier when she'd gone to have lunch with Stella at work.

Dana had just gotten off the elevator and was en route to Stella's office when she saw her blonde partner standing by a desk in the middle of the room, talking to a woman. Her heart had jumped when she first saw her and she couldn't stop herself from rushing over to where she stood. As she got closer, though, she overheard their conversation and it stopped her in her tracks. Stella was flirting with the woman, hard. Dana's cheeks flushed a bright pink and she felt a pit form in her stomach as she watched them. She tried to remind herself that this was just Stella's personality, that she had chosen to date someone who was flirty and sensual without even trying. However, that did little to settle her racing thoughts. She gave it another minute or so before she found her voice and cleared her throat, causing Stella to turn around.

"Dana, hi!" She said with a warm smile, reaching her hand out to touch her forearm.

"Hi," Dana's voice was a bit quieter than usual, though Stella didn't seem to catch it, "I brought lunch."

"You're the best, do you know that?"

Stella put her arm around Dana and quickly led her away from the center of the room and toward her office on the left. As soon as they were inside, the door was shut behind them and Stella was taking the bag of food from Dana's hand to take over to her desk.

"Burgers? Have I mentioned you're the best?"

Dana smiled and nodded meekly, trying to push away any lingering feelings as she sat across from her girlfriend. She found herself unable to, though, and by the time they were finished eating it was all she could think of. Stella got up to run to the restroom and while she was gone a devious idea popped into Dana's mind. She nearly backed out multiple times, thinking it may be too far– even for Stella– but the more she thought about Stella and that woman the more sure she became.

By the time Stella returned Dana was sitting in her desk chair, spinning slowly as if nothing had happened. They talked for a little while, catching one another up on their days, until a knock interrupted them. New evidence for a case had come through and Stella was needed urgently. She nodded and waited until they were alone again to turn back to her partner.

"I'm sorry we were cut short."

"That's okay. Duty calls."

Dana smiled as Stella leaned in to kiss her forehead before she stood.

"Thank you for bringing me lunch. I really appreciated it and I enjoyed having you here."

She smiled one last time before turning and heading back out to the work room, leaving Dana to clean up their lunch mess on her own.

It had been nearly four hours since she'd left Stella's office and she still wasn't able to distract herself. All she could think of was her jealousy and her small act of rebellion.

Had Stella seen it yet? Did she think it was funny? Sexy? Inappropriate? Was she angry? Intrigued? Aroused?

A million thoughts passed through her mind as she waited and she nearly whined in relief when she finally heard keys sliding into the locks of Stella's front door.

Upon entering the flat and laying eyes on Dana, Stella could tell something was off. She seemed a bit jumpy, avoidant and all together distant. While she had a bit of an idea what could be the cause, she knew it wasn't the only one and she wasn't willing to approach that issue until the other had been resolved.