4. Fireworks (First Kiss)
“Nicole!” Waverly exclaimed. She wasn’t sure whether or not to believe in Wynonna’s silly universe game, but either way, she was thankful for the outcome. “What are you doing here?”
“Um, you left your bag at the station.” The officer held up the accessory. “I wasn’t sure if you needed it before tomorrow, so I figured I’d go ahead and return it just in case.”
“Oh. I didn’t even realize that I had left it.”
“Isn’t that sweet?” Wynonna said to Waverly in a teasing voice. “She came all the way over here to return your handbag after you left it at the police station while visiting her during office hours,” she stated knowingly.
Waverly glared at her with a look that said ‘please stop embarrassing me before you make things worse.’
“Yes, thank you. I really appreciate it.” Waverly stepped forward and graciously took the bag, smiling at the redhead.
Wynonna looked between the two women, grinning at the way they were dopily looking into each other’s eyes. “Officer Haught, why don’t you come inside?”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Yes, Wynonna. I’m sure she has things to do,” Waverly scolded through gritted teeth.
“Nonsense. She’s got a few minutes to spare for some house-made Earp coffee, right Red?”
Nicole looked between Wynonna’s persistent grin and Waverly’s hesitant face, which was similar to the one that she was wearing when Nicole met Champ at the bar.
“Well, I uh, suppose I could come in for just a few min-“
“Great!” Wynonna exclaimed as she yanked Nicole inside the house and quickly shut the door and locked it, as if showing her that it was too late to back out now.
“Waverly will make you some coffee.”
“I will?” Waverly choked out.
“Yes, you will.” Wynonna gave her a pointed look before turning back to Nicole. “Waverly makes the best coffee.”
“Oh, I know.” Nicole smiled. “I get some every day from Waverly.”
Wynonna coughed in a pathetic attempt to hide her laughter at the wording of that sentence. Waverly looked up at the ceiling and quietly whispered, “Oh god. Why me.” Nicole just stood there, oblivious to the whole thing.
“Come on Waverly. Let’s get that coffee going.” Wynonna clapped.
“Yeah. Guess I better get to making some coffee!” She said in a mock cheery tone.
“That’s the spirit! I always wondered what happened to it after you graduated high school, Miss Head Cheerleader.”
Waverly bit her lip and shook her head. As soon as Nicole left, she was going to get her digs into Wynonna. But for now, she was determined to play nice.
“So, I just have regular milk. No half and half. Is that okay?” Waverly asked as she led them into the kitchen.
“Yeah, that’s perfect,” Nicole smiled at Waverly. “You can just give me regular coffee with a bit of milk. I’ll save my usual order for tomorrow morning.”
Waverly smiled as she made her way to the coffee machine. She already knew that she would see Nicole tomorrow, but the reassurance was nice.
“Um, aren’t you going to ask me what I want?” Wynonna teased.
“No. You don’t deserve my coffee.”
“Fine,” Wynonna scowled. “I’ll just have a beer then,” she said before walking over to the fridge.
“Figures,” Waverly responded.
Once the two coffees were done, they all sat down at the kitchen table in awkward silence – the sounds of slurping and hesitation filling the room. There was one moment where Waverly opened her mouth to say something, but quickly changed her mind and decided to play it off like she was just taking another sip of her coffee. Wynonna groaned at the pathos of it all.
“Waverly, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Waverly awkwardly smiled at Nicole before following Wynonna into the living room. “What’s up?”
“Do I have to do everything myself?” The older Earp complained.
“What do you mean?”
“Talk to her! Start a conversation!”
“About what?”
“Anything. Literally anything.”
Waverly sighed. “I don’t know how to do this. I wasn’t expecting her to show up, and now it just feels awkward and forced. She was probably just planning to drop off the bag, not to come inside and make small talk with us.”
“Well, she’s inside now, so you’re going to have to figure something out, because this whole sipping coffee in silence thing is more torturous than listening to Doc talk about his mustache care routine.”
Knock knock knock
“Now who is it?” Waverly complained.
“Well, we know who it’s not.” Wynonna nodded towards the kitchen. “I’ll go get the door, you do something with Nicole.”
“Like what? Lock her in the basement?” Waverly asked with concern and confusion.
“No Waverly,” Wynonna sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, “I meant converse with her.”
“Oh. Right.”
Wynonna turned around and headed for the door. “Lock her in the basement, hmph," she mumbled under her breath. "We don’t even have a fucking basement.”
When Waverly got back to the kitchen, she noticed Nicole looking at some pictures that were on the refrigerator door.
“Oh god, please don’t look at those!” She rushed over to where the redhead was standing.
“Why not?” Nicole chuckled. “You were so cute!”
Waverly groaned in embarrassment.
“I especially like this one.” She picked up the photo and handed it to Waverly.
“Me in Power Rangers pajamas? I was such a dork.”
“You were not! Everyone had Power Rangers pajamas as a kid,” Nicole replied as she put the photo back in its place under a generic magnet. She turned back to Waverly. “I wanted to be the red one.”
Waverly laughed. “How come?”
“He just seemed so cool.”
“I wanted to be the pink one.”
“I wanted to do the pink one,” Nicole quipped.
“Really? At such a young age? I doubt that.”
“Hey, love has no limits. Especially not age limits.”
“Except between a 21-year-old girl and a 21-year-old boy, right?” Waverly challenged.
Nicole smiled. “Right. Because the boy would be way out of the girl’s league, whether she knew it or not.” The corners of her mouth pulled up into a grin as Waverly just shook her head and laughed.
“Look who showed up!” Wynonna said excitedly as she walked into the kitchen. Behind her was a man who looked like he had just walked right out of an old western film.
“Hey Doc.” Waverly waved.
“Why hello there, Miss Earp.” Doc tipped his black Stetson to her. “And good evening to you, Officer.”
“Good evening,” she replied with a polite smile. But on the inside, she wanted to laugh. Was this guy for real? “You can call me Officer Haught.”
“Officer Haught. Quite catchy,” Doc replied.
“It is pretty easy for people to remember, I suppose.”
Wynonna grinned at the interaction. “I love this. It’s like Waverly and I are having our first real double date! Since that asshat Champ would never come over or take Waverly out on a real date.”
“What?” Everyone else said simultaneously. Waverly said it in embarrassment, Nicole said it in fear that Waverly had told Wynonna that she was gay and was now making fun of her, and Doc said it in pure confusion.
“Wynonna!” Waverly hissed. She couldn’t believe that her sister had just said that in front of Nicole. …Actually, she could believe it.
“What? What did I say?” She looked around the room. When she noticed everyone’s facial expressions, she realized her mistake. “Oh. Oops.”
Waverly dropped her red face into her hands and groaned.
“Sorry.” Wynonna shrugged. “Well, at least now we’ll have something to talk about,” she added enthusiastically, trying to make the situation laughable.
“I can’t believe you! This is why I didn't want to tell you anything! The second I tell you I like someone, you go and blurt it out to the whole world, including the person I like!” Waverly fumed.
It was in that moment that Nicole realized what was going on. Suddenly, it all made sense. Wynonna inviting her inside, her being extra pushy, Waverly acting extra awkward and smiley...Waverly liked her. She smiled to herself.
“Waverly, I’m so-“
“You’re sorry, I get it. The thing is Wynonna, it doesn’t mean much when you’re constantly saying it.” She stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
Everyone was silent for a moment before Doc finally said, “I’m going to assume that I am not the one she likes.”
“I’ll go talk to her,” Nicole said as she made her way towards the stairs.
“Hey,” Wynonna said as she grabbed Nicole’s arm. “She’s never really been with someone who’s actually cared for her. So if she pushes you away, don’t take it personally.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind,” Nicole replied gratefully before continuing her path towards the upset brunette.
“Uh, is everything going to be okay there?” Doc asked.
“Yeah, it will be,” Wynonna reassured as she watched Nicole run up the stairs. She really did have a nice ass. She was excited for Waverly. “Come on cowboy,” she patted his chest. “Let’s go to Shorty’s and get a drink. I have a feeling these two will want the house to themselves for a while.”
As Nicole ventured across the upstairs hallway, she followed the sounds of sniffling that were coming from a room at the end of the hall. When she got to the door, she hesitated for a moment before knocking on it.
“Go away Wynonna! You can’t fix this. You can’t undo what you did!” Waverly barked.
“It’s me,” Nicole said softly as she slowly pushed opened the door to reveal herself.
“Oh, great,” Waverly replied sarcastically, wiping the tears from her face. “I was desperately trying to avoid having this conversation.”
Nicole gently shut the door behind her and walked over to sit down next to Waverly, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. “What conversation?”
“This one.”
“The one where I ask you what’s wrong?”
Waverly rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You know what’s wrong. Freaking Wynonna is what’s wrong. She always ruins everything.”
Nicole knew that she had to push a little harder to get what she wanted out of Waverly. “Really? All I heard was her say was some joke about a double date. Doesn’t seem like such a big deal to me.”
“You don’t have to pretend. I know you’re not stupid.” Waverly sighed.
“What do you mean?” She asked innocently.
“God Nicole!” Waverly whipped around to look at the redhead, who was wearing a confused look. She’s a good actor, I’ll give her that. “You don’t have to pretend that you don’t know that I like you.” She huffed before turning back around to face the front. “And I’m going to kill Wynonna for not being able to keep her mouth shut for one freaking minute.”
Nicole smiled coyly as she looked down at her lap. That was the answer she was looking for. She had already figured it out earlier, but she wanted to hear it from Waverly. She at least wanted to give her that power before making any moves. After a moment, she looked back up at the brunette, who was shaking her head, clearly thinking about all the ways in which she was going to kill her sister.
“You know, you should give Wynonna a little bit more credit,” Nicole said softly as she looked lovingly into Waverly’s eyes – who was still avoiding eye contact with Nicole.
“Oh yeah? And why is that.” Waverly was so beyond frustrated and embarrassed that she couldn’t see what was happening right in front of her.
Nicole cupped the smaller girl’s cheek and turned her head, forcing them to make eye contact. That’s when she finally saw it – the look. Nicole was looking at her the way that she looks at Nicole. She was oblivious to it before, but in this very moment, everything was crystal clear. It all clicked for Waverly – the playful winks, the subtle touches, the routine coffee purchases…it was all real. She felt her stomach drop as goosebumps formed on every inch of her skin.
“Because if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t do this.” Nicole gently brought her lips down to Waverly’s, pausing for a second to make sure it was what the trembling girl wanted, before connecting their lips together in the sweetest, gentlest kiss Waverly had ever experienced.
Fireworks. That’s the word Waverly would forever use to describe this moment. She had never felt lips so soft. She had never felt something so right. And she had most definitely never been this turned on. Just when she was beginning to come back to her senses and really understand what was happening, Nicole pulled away. Even though the kiss was over – much to Waverly’s disappointment – she kept her eyes closed. She was afraid that if she had opened them, Nicole would be gone, and she would wake up from a dream; just like always.
“Um.”
The brunette opened her eyes at the sound. That was enough for her to be convinced that this was reality. But instead of seeing a happy face, she saw a worried one.
“Was that, uh…was that okay?” Nicole stammered. Waverly’s lack of response was making her nervous. What if she didn’t like it?
Waverly looked at her in astonishment. How was this gorgeous, confident, intelligent woman completely oblivious to how much power she had over Waverly? She wanted to make sure Nicole knew exactly what she did to her. She grabbed the back of Nicole’s neck and pulled her in, crashing their lips together. Nicole was definitely not expecting that, which was revealed by the moan that escaped from the back of her throat. Their lips moved in rhythm against each other, dancing perfectly, like they were made for each other. Once Waverly felt comfortable and brave enough, she swiped her tongue across Nicole’s bottom lip, asking for permission to enter. But instead of giving the brunette permission, Nicole darted her own tongue into Waverly’s mouth. Their tongues moved against each other; first a little hesitantly, then with hunger.
Waverly never really enjoyed kissing before. She always found it to be an overrated thing that always just involved too much saliva. But this was something else entirely. This wasn’t just someone’s mouth on hers, spreading spit everywhere. This was something sexy. An act of intimacy leading to something more; something bigger. Something that Waverly had been wanting for ages…or at least three months. She felt a surge of energy shoot straight down to her center, and suddenly kissing wasn’t enough anymore. She wanted more contact. She wanted to feel Nicole everywhere. She pushed the taller woman down onto the bed and rested her body down on top of hers, placing her thigh between two slender legs that were clad in black fitted slacks. Waverly loved the way Nicole wore her uniform. How the dark-colored pants hugged her curves perfectly; how her matching tucked-in shirt showed off her thin waist and was opened just enough at the top to reveal the right amount of cleavage to leave everyone curious and guessing; the way she often stood with her hands resting on her belt buckle. God she was so sexy in that uniform – which she was wearing right now…which really wasn’t helping the ache between Waverly’s legs. Waverly was so thankful to live in a town that had a more modern style of police uniforms, because even though she knew that Nicole would still look hot in bootcut khakis and a slightly looser fitting navy blue polyester button up, she knew that the ensemble wouldn’t compare to this.
When Nicole felt herself being pushed down and Waverly’s warm body pressing down on top of hers, she couldn’t help but let out a high-pitched whimper. Only Waverly Earp could make a girly noise like that escape Nicole’s lips. And only Waverly Earp can cause an even girlier moan from her by putting her knee between her legs, creating the perfect amount of pressure on her most sensitive spot. A spot that’s been aching since she walked into this house with that magical handbag. But she knew that they weren’t going any further than this tonight; she didn’t want to. She didn’t want it to happen this way. She wanted Waverly’s first time to be planned out perfectly, especially since she knew that Waverly was a planner. And even though Waverly wasn’t a virgin, she knew that it would be the first time Waverly would have sex with someone who knew how to treat her right. Someone who knew how to touch her in all the right places without her having to say a single word, because that was the kind of lover Nicole was. She was attentive, and she was a giver. So in a way, it would be Waverly’s first time. Which is why she didn’t want it to be now, and like this; desperate and needy. There would be time for desperate and needy sex later down the road. But for now, Waverly just wanted to explore Nicole’s body just a little bit more past her lips, and Nicole was okay with that. She restrained from moving her hips – much to her displeasure – and just laid there, holding Waverly in her arms and passionately kissing her.
After about 10 minutes in this position, Nicole couldn’t take it anymore. She needed more from Waverly. Her body was begging for it in a way that had gotten too intense for her to bear any longer. And since she didn’t want to go there, she knew that her only option was to stop.
Nicole hummed into Waverly’s mouth and began to sit up. She gently pushed Waverly’s shoulders away from her, forcing their lips to disconnect. Once they did, both women were panting and gasping for air, as if they had just run a marathon.
“What’s wrong?” Waverly asked in a slightly panicked tone. “Am I doing something wrong?”
“No! No, not at all,” Nicole reassured as she rubbed Waverly’s biceps in an attempt to relax her. “You’re doing everything perfectly, which is the problem.” She chuckled.
Waverly raised an eyebrow. “I’m lost.”
Nicole shifted so that she was sitting cross-legged on the bed across from Waverly, who was sitting back on her heels. “What I mean is, you’re doing everything right. And if you keep doing everything right, I might actually explode.”
Waverly’s eyes opened a bit wider as comprehension dawned on her. She was glad to hear that she wasn’t the only one who was unbearably turned on right now. “Well, we don’t have to stop,” she said in a sultry voice as she walked two fingers up Nicole’s inner thigh and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
Nicole chuckled and grabbed Waverly’s hands before bringing them up to her lips and giving them a quick peck. “We do. Because I don’t want to go any further tonight, even if my body does.”
“Oh,” Waverly replied in disappointment. This was beginning to feel a bit like rejection. And Nicole could see that.
“Hey,” she cooed as she placed a hand on Waverly’s cheek and gently brushed it with her thumb. “I want to. Believe me, I really want to. But this is all new for you, and for me too in a way. And I don’t want it to be rushed. I want it to be special. And most importantly, I want it to be planned.”
The brunette beamed. “I do love planning.”
“I know you do,” Nicole laughed as she brought her hand back down to hold Waverly’s, intertwining their fingers as they both watched. “And I want us to go on a real date first.”
“Yes!” Waverly quickly exclaimed as she looked up from their hands.
“Yes?” Nicole was confused. She hadn’t asked anything.
“Yes, I’ll go on a date with you Nicole Haught!” Waverly grinned from ear to ear.
Nicole let out an amused laugh. “Waverly Earp, you are most definitely the cutest woman I’ve ever met. And I love it.”
Waverly looked away shyly as she blushed. Nobody had ever said anything like that to her before.
“How does tomorrow night sound?”
“It sounds really far away, but I guess it’ll have to do,” Waverly replied playfully.
“Tomorrow night it is then.” Nicole nodded as she looked into Waverly’s eyes again. Those eyes were like a trap just waiting to capture all of Nicole’s attention, making it extremely difficult for her to bring any of her awareness back to the world surrounding her. “Um,” she shook her head. “I should probably get going. It’s late, and I know you have to be up early tomorrow.”
The pair got up off the bed and walked downstairs. They stood at the door, holding each other for a few moments in a warm hug before giving a long kiss goodbye.
“I’ll see you in a few hours?” Waverly lilted.
“You most definitely will.” Nicole nodded her head at Waverly before walking off the porch.
Waverly watched her walk to her car, get in, shut the door, and then jump back out before jogging back up the porch stairs.
“Hey, sorry. Um, can I get your number?” Nicole asked. “I mean, I could probably just get it from you tomorrow, but I figured I might as well go ahead and get it now while I’m still here.”
“Oh my gosh!” Waverly exclaimed as she waved her hands around. “Yes, of course! Sorry, I wasn’t even thinking of that.”
“Yeah,” Nicole chuckled awkwardly as she pulled out her phone and created a new contact.
“It’s 926-1036.”
“Got it.” Nicole smiled as she shoved her phone back into her pocket. “See you tomorrow!”
“See you tomorrow!” Waverly, once again, watched Nicole leave down the stairs.
---
Even though it was the middle of the night, Waverly couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the excitement of what had happened earlier that night, or the cup of coffee she had, or both, but either way she found herself downstairs at the kitchen table with her book. She only got to enjoy 30 minutes of peace and quiet before Wynonna stumbled in, only a little bit tipsy.
“Hey Waves! What’re ya doin’ down here and not upstairs in your bedroom banging a Haught redhead.” She snickered at her unoriginal joke.
“Nicole went home,” Waverly stated apathetically as she put her book down.
“Oh no.” Wynonna sat down at the table next to her. “What happened? She didn’t reject you, did she? I’m gonna kill that woman. I don’t care if she’s a police officer.” She stood up from her chair with a scowl on her face.
“No, no.” Waverly pulled her back down. “Everything went perfectly.” She beamed. “I actually owe you an apology. You helped move things along a little bit quicker.”
“I’m happy to hear that!” Wynonna grinned. “But I still shouldn’t have blurted it out like that. I just got really excited, and I forget how big of a deal all of this actually is for you. Even if I’m trying not to make it into one. I have to let you do things on your own time.”
Waverly appreciated her sister’s support. “It’s okay. You’re forgiven. Just don’t do it again,” she warned.
“Deal.” Wynonna nodded. “So, if everything went well, why aren’t you two getting it on?”
“Because we want it to be special, and planned.”
“Ugh,” Wynonna groaned. “You make it sound like you’re a teenager losing her virginity for the first time.”
“Well, I kind of am, in a way. I’ve never been with a woman before. Hell, I’ve barely even been with a man.” Wynonna silently held a hand out for a high five at the obvious dig at Champ, which Waverly happily accepted before continuing. “We just want it to be perfect, you know? Something we’ll both remember forever.”
“I’m sure it’ll be perfect no matter what. Haught seems like she’s really good in bed.” Wynonna winked.
“And on that note, I’m going to sleep. Good night.” Waverly slipped out of her chair and walked towards the stairs.
“I’m just saying, I noticed that she has very nimble fingers! Her tongue looks skilled too!” Wynonna yelled, knowing that Waverly heard her, even if she didn’t respond.
When Waverly got to her bedroom, she picked her phone up from the bedside table and opened a text she had received from an unknown number.
Hey, this is Nicole. Just texting you so that you have my number!
Waverly smiled and lightly bit her thumb before typing out her reply.
Waverly: Thanks for finally giving me your number ;) Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!
She impatiently stared at her phone, hoping that she didn’t seem too keen. Luckily, she received a new message only 10 seconds later from Nicole.
Nicole: I’ll be there at 7:40 a.m. this time so that we can have an extra 5 minutes together :)
Waverly’s thumbs glided across the keyboard.
Waverly: And I’ll be waiting with your Americano with half and half steamed in and a dash of cinnamon at 7:39 a.m. <3