51. Happy New Year!

Waverly repetitively shook her leg as she sipped her caramel latte. She scanned her eyes around the coffee shop, waiting to find her friend. She and Chrissy had planned a friend date to catch up since it had been a while. They hadn’t seen nor talked to each other since the blonde had learned of Waverly’s secret while confessing her own. The brunette was excited to share her progress, but she was also a little nervous. She always got a bit anxious talking about it. But despite that, she was happy to hang out with her friend after having gone such a long time without seeing her.

After about ten minutes of looking up every few seconds, she finally laid eyes on the blonde.

“It’s about time!” Waverly said in faux annoyance as she stood up from her seat and wrapped her arms around her best friend in a hug.

“Sorry, sorry. Rosita had parked her car behind me in the driveway and she was in the shower. Took me forever to find her keys to move it.” Chrissy explained as she hung her purse over the back of her chair. “I’m going to get my coffee. Do you want anything else?”

Waverly shook her head as she patted the table across from her with a smile. “I already put your order in a couple of minutes ago. Sit.”

“Oh my god. I love you.” Chrissy grinned as she plopped down into the chair and sighed.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, just tired.” Chrissy leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table as she rubbed her eyes. “I had a night shift at the store so I just got back into Purgatory...” She looked at her watch. “Two and a half hours ago.”

Waverly’s eyes widened. “Chrissy! You should have said something! We could have met up later in the afternoon so you could get some sleep!”

The blonde shook her head and waved her hand. “I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep anyways. You know me, I can’t sleep once the sun comes up.”

“True.” Waverly nodded as she thought back to all of their sleepovers. It didn’t matter whose house they were at, Chrissy was always the first one up hours before anyone else.

“I just need some caffeine in my system, and then I’ll be fine.” As soon as she finished her sentence, a handsome young barista placed a steaming mug down on the table in front of Chrissy.

“Espresso?”

“Oh thank goodness. Perfect timing.” She picked up the mug with a quirked eyebrow. “You guys deliver to tables now?”

“Nah. Just to pretty girls.” The boy winked before smoothly turning on his heels and casually walking away.

Chrissy turned to Waverly with a look of disbelief and the two of them simultaneously busted out laughing.

“Can you believe that?” Chrissy asked incredulously as she took a sip of her espresso.

“Actually yeah, I can, considering he said the exact same thing to me about ten minutes ago.” Waverly chuckled as she shook her head.

Chrissy rolled her eyes. “Boys are so predictable. Especially high school ones.”

“Speaking of boys, how are things with yours going?” Waverly asked with a smirk as she held her mug up to her lips with both hands.

“Um, excuse me, Darren is a man, not a boy.”

“And what’s the difference?”

“The way they fuck. They’re more aware of the clitoris and how it works.” Chrissy replied with a grin.

Waverly snorted as she shook her head. “I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than that. Otherwise, I think Nicole might be a man...”

The blonde laughed. “They’re also more emotionally stable, but only slightly. And there are other positive differences, but I won’t bore you with the details. Darren and I are good.”

“That’s good.” Waverly smiled. “And how’s living with Rosita going? Still good?”

“Yeah, over all things are good there too. I love her to death, but there have been a few too many times where I’ve walked in on her sleepover guests making coffee in the kitchen either completely naked or just barely clothed. I mean, I’d really rather not start my day by seeing some random dude’s junk, you know?”

“Oh, I can imagine.” Waverly scrunched up her nose at the thought.

“And there was this one woman who was only wearing underwear on her bottom half, and she had nipple piercings that looked super painful. I mean, I truly admire people who can endure that kind of pain, but my boobs were literally hurting just from looking at her...”

“Okay, so clearly Rosita needs to have a conversation with her hookups about not scarring her roommate for life.”

The blonde let out a short laugh. “Yeah, I talked to her earlier this week about it and things have been fine so far, so hopefully it stays that way.”

“But other than that, things have been good?”

“Oh, definitely. It’s nice living with someone who is actually a female around my age instead of with my dad. I can just walk across the hall if I need any advice, and if I’m ever out of tampons I can just borrow one instead of having to drive to the store right then and there. It’s really nice.”

Waverly nodded with a small smile. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a little bit jealous, but she knew she didn’t have a right to be. She had Wynonna, and Nicole, and even Gus. Even though she always claimed the label as Chrissy’s best friend, she was okay with sharing her with someone else, because she knew Chrissy needed someone to be there for her, especially since Waverly hadn’t really been around lately.

Chrissy tapped her nails on her ceramic white coffee mug as the two fell silent. She took a sip of her espresso and cleared her throat. “So, how are things with you going?”

“Good.” Waverly smiled. “Work at the coffee shop is pretty much the same, but I love it. Wynonna and Doc are officially back together, and the baby is healthy. Your dad is considering Nicole for the job as sheriff when he retires, so we’re both really excited about that, even though nothing is set in stone yet. Gus is doing well, and business at the bar has never been better.”

Waverly knew exactly what Chrissy was asking, especially based on how hesitant she was to ask it, but she wanted to keep up the small talk for as long as possible, because her nerves were starting to get the best of her. Ever since she started therapy she hadn’t really talked about it much to anyone other than her therapist, so the thought of bringing up such a personal thing out in public with strangers all around, instead of in Amy’s small office on her gray couch that had become Waverly’s safe space, scared her a bit.

“That’s good! That’s all really good.” Chrissy smiled before bringing her drink back up to her lips and audibly swallowing the hot beverage. “So, um, how are things with…you know.” With a furrowed brow, she waved a hand around in the air as she kept her eyes on the other one resting on the handle of her mug. She eventually looked up and her eyes met with the brunette’s gaze. “Since the last time we talked? I mean, is that okay to ask, or am I being too intrusive?”

Waverly quickly looked down at the table as she shook her head before looking back up at her friend. “No, no. You’re not. It’s okay. Honestly, I’ve been expecting you to ask.” She smiled as Chrissy gave a curt nod to allow her friend to continue. “Things have actually been going really well. I started seeing a therapist, and she’s helped me so much. She’s pretty great.” Waverly beamed.

“Waves, that’s amazing! I’m really glad you decided to seek help. I know how difficult and terrifying it can be to open up to friends and family, let alone someone you don’t even know. I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks.” Waverly blushed as she hid her smile behind her coffee mug.

“And things with Nicole?”

“Good. Really good. Incredible. ” She couldn’t help the grin that formed on her face, crinkling the corners of her eyes.

“Good.” Chrissy grinned back. She was genuinely happy for her friend.

“Yeah, she’s been so supportive and understanding. She’s really good at listening to me and letting me take things at my own pace, and not pushing anything. I’m really grateful for that.”

“I’m not surprised. I mean, it’s Nicole Haught. Everyone knows how much of a catch she is.” Chrissy winked.

Waverly laughed as she sat back in her chair and leisurely folded her arms across her chest. “Yep. And I’m the one who caught her.” The two laughed a bit more before falling into a comfortable silence, giving Waverly some time to find the courage to bring up the thing she had been wanting to ever since they had planned this coffee date a few days ago. “Um, there is one thing I’m still struggling with, though…”

Chrissy leaned forward and folded her arms before resting them on the table and looking at her friend with attentive eyes. “Okay?”

“I mean, everything is good. It’s all good. You know, the sex…” She gesticulated her hands nervously, and Chrissy just nodded with a reassuring smile, trying to make her friend feel comfortable. “But, I mean, there is one thing that I’m still uncomfortable with.”

“Okay…” Chrissy waited for Waverly to elaborate, but she could tell by her rosy cheeks that she was a little embarrassed. She reached out and wrapped her hand around Waverly’s that was clenched around her coffee mug, nervously tapping on it. “Waverly, we’ve talked about everything with each other. There’s really nothing to be embarrassed about or anything I’m going to be surprised by. You can tell me, but if you’re too uncomfortable with it, that’s okay too.”

“No, sorry. I want to tell you, it’s not you. I just feel a little weird talking about it here.” She looked around the room before leaning in to whisper to her friend. “With all of these people around. I mean, I know that nobody is paying any attention to us, but I feel like everyone is listening and it’s making me a little nervous and uncomfortable.”

“Ah. Do you want to sit in my car and talk there?”

Waverly nodded. The pair quickly finished the rest of their drinks before walking out to Chrissy’s Prius.

As soon as they shut the doors and the air around them was filled with silence, Waverly closed her eyes and sighed. “Much better.”

She opened her eyes and turned her body so that she was facing her friend. “I’m a little uncomfortable with using our strap-on. I’ve used it on Nicole with no problem. I actually really enjoyed it and having that control. But I’m a little scared to have her use it on me. We don’t need the strap-on to have good sex, but I just hate that there’s this one thing that’s off limits for me. I want to be able to do everything with her, and it was something we both really enjoyed.”

Chrissy nodded. “That’s completely understandable. Have you talked to your therapist about this?”

“No, not yet.”

“Why not?”

Waverly shrugged. “I mean, she’s helped me so much already with being intimate again, but for some reason I’m just feeling a little uncomfortable with bringing it up to her. I don’t know, I wanted to talk to you about it since you’ve been through a similar situation. Did you ever have anything like that take you a while to be able to do again?”

“Sex in cars. I used to love having car sex. The risk of getting caught by someone walking by, even if we were in a secluded area, just made it so much more hot and exciting. But after what happened to me, I was too freaked out to even kiss someone in a car, let alone have sex.”

“So, what did you do? Or are you still freaked out by it?”

“I’m not anymore. I mean, this may sound too simple, but I just did it. I did it with someone I trusted though. It was scary, and I was so nervous most of the time, but it gave me a new memory to hold onto; a positive memory. And being raped wasn’t the last memory of car sex that I had.”

“So, you’re saying I should just take the plunge and do it?”

“Only if you’re comfortable enough. Maybe you can try a smaller one to make it a little bit less scary? I don’t know how big it is…”

“Six inches.”

“Okay, so maybe try one that’s four or five inches? Or one that’s just smaller in girth maybe? I’m sure Rosita can help you find something and maybe even give you a discount. You don’t have to tell her anything, you can just say you’re looking for a smaller one. She won’t ask any questions.”

Waverly nodded as she took in the information. That was actually a really good idea that she hadn’t thought of.

“Another thing you can do is try using the dildo on yourself. Maybe even watch some porn of two women using a strap-on so you can visualize that it’s you and Nicole as you’re using it? I don’t know, that might help get you used to it before trying it with Nicole. I did a lot of self-exploration before having sex again and trying certain things and it really helped me.”

“Huh, I’ve never even thought of that. Maybe you should be a therapist.” Waverly chuckled.

Chrissy laughed at the thought. “No way. I’m only good at giving my close friends advice. I feel like I would just end up screwing people over with bad advice. Besides, I couldn’t sit there and listen to strangers cry all day and talk about their problems.”

“That’s fair. Now that I think about it, you’d actually make a really terrible therapist.”

“Exactly.” Chrissy laughed. “So, there’s something else I wanted to bring up with you.”

“Okay.” Waverly quirked an eyebrow.

“Rosita and I are hosting a New Year’s Eve party tomorrow night at our place, and I was going to ask if you and Nicole wanted to come.”

Waverly shifted uncomfortably at the idea. The thought of being at a party made her feel uneasy, and the thought of being at that house made her feel uneasy…but the thought of being at a party at that house made her feel extremely unnerved.

“It’s just going to be a small thing. Just close friends. Pretty much the same group that was at your birthday party. But if you don’t want to go, I completely understand. I know you haven’t been over since our last party, understandably. But I was thinking that maybe it could be an opportunity for you to create a new memory with people you feel safe around.” She smiled.

Waverly hadn’t thought of the new memory idea applying to how she felt about the house. It seemed pretty logical, and she didn’t want to have to avoid going to hang out at her best friend’s place forever. “Okay, I’ll think about it and talk to Nicole.”

---

Later that night, Waverly had quietly slipped into bed beside Nicole after brushing her teeth. Calamity Jane jumped up and curled up next to the brunette, and Waverly continuously stroked her orange fur as she stared up at the ceiling.

“You okay? You’ve been kind of quiet tonight.” Nicole asked in concern after rolling onto her side to look at the brunette.

“Huh?” Waverly was pulled out of her thoughts and looked over at Nicole. “Oh, sorry.”

“What’s on your mind?”

The brunette took in a deep breath before releasing it with a sigh. “Chrissy and Rosita are having a party tomorrow night for New Year’s Eve.”

“Oh.” Nicole nodded as she waited for the punchline, but quickly realized what the issue was. “Oh. At their house?”

Waverly nodded as she continued to stare at the ceiling. The second she stopped petting Calamity, the orange cat had moved to curl up at the foot of the bed.

“Well, do you want to go?”

“I think everyone else is going. Jeremy, Robin, Darren, Dolls, Wynonna, Doc…”

“But do you want to go?”

She paused for a moment before letting out another sigh and looking at Nicole again. “I do. But I don’t know if I can. What if I get there and everything just comes back and I lose all of the progress I’ve made? What if I go there and it’s like it’s happening all over again?”

“Well what does your therapist say?”

“I didn’t get a chance to ask her. Chrissy only just invited me and I won’t go back in for another session until next Tuesday on the 2nd.”

Nicole leaned up and rested her head in her palm with her elbow on the mattress. “Can I give you my opinion?”

Waverly nodded.

“I don’t think you’ll go backwards. I think this progress that you’ve made is permanent. And if you decide to go, then I promise that nothing will happen to you while you’re there because I won’t let you leave my sight. And if all of those bad feelings do come back, then we can just leave. But if you don’t want to go, then that’s okay too. We can do something just me and you, or maybe a small thing with Wynonna, Doc, and Gus? I’m sure Wynonna will pick you over a party she can’t drink at anyways. But it’s really your decision, and I’ll support you no matter what.”

Waverly looked at Nicole and took in the warm smile she was giving her, showing off her dimples. It was just a smile, but it was powerful enough to make her feel safe and like everything was going to be okay. “I think if you’re there with me, it’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“No. But I want to at least try. I don’t want it to have this much power over me and my life. I don’t want Champ to have this much power over me and my life. So I’m going to try, because I deserve at least that.” While looking into warm eyes, she grabbed Nicole’s hand and smiled when she felt the redhead give it a light squeeze.

---

The next night

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” Nicole asked as she and Waverly walked hand-in-hand up the porch steps. They had decided to get there about half an hour before everyone else so Waverly could get comfortable with being there without a crowd around her. And of course, Chrissy said that would be okay.

“Nicole, that’s the fifth time you’ve asked me that since we left the house. Each time you ask me if I’m okay, it just makes me more nervous.”

“Sorry. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’ll tell you if I’m not okay. Promise.”

Nicole nodded as she brought the back of Waverly’s hand up to her lips and kissed her knuckles. The pair stood in front of the door for a few moments, still holding hands, until Waverly reached out and pressed the doorbell. She was happy to see Chrissy’s friendly smile.

“Hey guys! Come on in.” Chrissy beamed. As soon as she shut the door behind the pair, she wrapped Waverly in a warm hug and held her for a few moments, happy to feel the brunette relax in her arms. When she pulled out of the hug, she grabbed Waverly’s hands. “I’m going to hop in the shower really quick. Feel free to make yourselves at home. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?”

Waverly nodded with a small smile. Chrissy walked over to Nicole and gave her a quick hug before ascending the stairs.

“Does she know?” Nicole asked with a furrowed brow as she pointed her thumb over her shoulder.

Waverly nodded. “She sort of guessed it a while ago when I was being all jumpy.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad she knows.” Nicole said genuinely. She was happy that Waverly had another person to talk to about it if she wanted to, or if Nicole wasn’t around when she wanted to. “That way it won’t be awkward if you decide that you don’t want to stay…” She looked at Waverly and studied her face for a reaction. It was getting a little difficult sticking to her promise of not asking if she was okay. She had also promised that she would keep her safe, but it was difficult to protect someone from bad memories.

Waverly realized what Nicole was doing and grabbed her arm reassuringly. “I’m okay, I want to stay. It feels a little weird, but I can handle it.” She smiled. “Do you want to sit down on the couch with me?”

Nicole nodded and followed Waverly through the living room. She sat quietly next to Waverly, allowing the girl to get used to being in the house. She figured she would let the brunette start a conversation if she wanted to talk, and if she didn’t, Nicole would happily sit there in comfortable silence.

Waverly looked around the room, taking everything in. It wasn’t at all like she thought it would be. It looked huge. At the party, it seemed like such a small space. The lights were dimmed, the music was loud, and it smelled strongly of sweat and alcohol with the crowd of people packed tightly in the confined space. But now, it was completely different. All of the lights were on, the only sound was that of the water running through the pipes from Chrissy taking her shower, and it smelled like vanilla – Waverly’s favorite scent – from the burning candle on the bookshelf. Everything was calming, which gave Waverly that extra sense of comfort. She looked over at Nicole and saw that she was slightly bouncing her leg up and down. It was obvious that the redhead was worried about her. Waverly slid her hand in Nicole’s, and Nicole immediately looked at her. Waverly gave her a warm smile and a reassuring squeeze, and Nicole’s body relaxed and stilled.

“I’m okay. I promise.” Waverly said softly, and Nicole smiled as she wrapped her arm around Waverly, who leaned into the redhead’s embrace.

The pair sat there quietly for a couple of minutes until the front door swung open and Rosita stomped her snow boots on the doormat. Waverly quickly sat up as she was roughly startled by the loud sound of the door, and she began to get flashbacks of Champ opening the bathroom door. The sound of her racing pulse pounded in her ears and every single muscle in her body tensed up. As soon as she realized it was Rosita, she let go of the breath she had been holding in, and she felt Nicole’s hand gingerly rubbing her back for support. She instantly relaxed against the back of the couch and rested a hand on Nicole’s knee.

“Oh, hey guys. I thought that was your Jeep outside.” Rosita smiled as she shut the door behind her. “You’re a little early, aren’t you?”

Nicole stood up from the couch and gave Rosita a hug. “Yeah, we decided to just go ahead and head on over. Hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah, of course!” The darker-skinned woman smiled as she leaned down and hugged Waverly, who was still sitting on the couch. She turned back to Nicole. “Hey, since you’re here, mind if I put you to work? I need help getting the decorations up in the kitchen and your height will come in handy.”

“Yeah, sure.” Nicole shrugged before looking at Waverly.

“I’m just going to sit here.” The brunette smiled.

“Are you sure?” Nicole asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Waverly nodded. “I’ll be fine. You go.”

Nicole pursed her lips and paused, as if deciding whether or not to leave, but ultimately figured it would be best to give Waverly some space. If she wanted to be around them, she would follow them into the kitchen. “Okay. Give me a shout if you need anything.”

Rosita gave them an odd look before leading Nicole into the kitchen. She set the back of decorations on the counter as she began pulling things out. “What was that all about? You two are acting like you’ve never been in separate rooms before.”

“It’s nothing.” Nicole said flatly as she picked up a ‘Happy New Year 2018’ banner and immediately began to unravel it.

Rosita picked up on the tone and decided not to push it. “That’s going over there above the food table.”

Nicole nodded and walked over to the table and began hanging up the décor.

Waverly paced around the living room with her arms folded tightly against her chest. She had successfully entered the house and sat in the living room without freaking out, but the living room wasn’t the place that made her anxious. She paused and eyed the stairs cautiously before looking back at the floor and continuing to pace some more. She wanted to go into that bathroom and prove to herself that she could handle it. She didn’t want Champ to have any control over her life anymore.

She took a deep breath and marched straight towards the stairs. The water had turned off a few minutes ago and she heard a door opening, so she just assumed that Chrissy was done in the shower and had gone into her room to change. When she got to the top of the stairs, she saw that the bathroom door was open and walked straight towards it. She jumped when Chrissy unexpectedly walked out of it.

Waverly screamed, causing Chrissy to jump as well as she immediately grabbed her chest and began to breath heavily.

“Jesus Christ, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” The blonde gasped.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were still in there. I thought I heard you leave earlier.” Waverly replied apologetically as she flitted her eyes between the bathroom and Chrissy.

“I just went back in to hang my wet towel up on the rack.”

“Oh.” Waverly nodded as she nervously rubbed her arm that hung stiffly by her side.

“I didn’t think anybody would be coming up here since there’s a bathroom downstairs.”

“No, yeah, I know. I wasn’t…I mean, I just wanted to see…” She trailed off as she eyed the bathroom, and Chrissy instantly realized what the brunette was trying to do.

“I get it.” She gave a small smile. “It’s all yours. Take your time.”

“Thanks Chrissy.” Waverly smiled, and she felt a little more relaxed.

The blonde squeezed Waverly’s shoulder reassuringly before heading down the stairs.

“Is everything okay? I heard screaming.” Nicole said with a concerned face as Chrissy got to the bottom of the stairs.

“Yeah, Waverly didn’t know I was in the bathroom and I scared her. She’s fine though.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “She’s in the bathroom?!” She lunged towards the stairs, but Chrissy pushed her back.

“She’s fine.” The blonde said as she tried to calm down the redhead.

“She’s not fine! Why did you let her go in there? She could be having a panic attack or something!”

Chrissy grabbed Nicole’s hand and dragged her around the corner and into the dining room so that Rosita wouldn’t overhear them. “Nicole, she’s okay, I promise. She needs to do this on her own. She doesn’t need you protecting her all the time.”

“You weren’t there when it happened. You didn’t see what he was doing to her and the look on her face as it was happening. You didn’t have to calm her down when she had nightmares every single night afterwards. You weren’t there, Chrissy. You’ve only seen her twice in the past 65 days since it happened, so how can you possibly know what she needs right now?”

“Because I’ve been through it.” Chrissy stated with a furrowed brow.

Nicole’s face softened and she took a step back so that she wasn’t in the blonde’s face anymore.

Chrissy let out a deep breath from her nose as she shook her head and pursed her lips. “This is going to help her. And if she wants you there, she’ll tell you. But she didn’t tell you she was going up there, which means that she didn’t want you there, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s good that you’re worried for her, but you have to let her do this her way; by herself.”

Nicole nodded as she sighed. “Okay.” She said softly in a much calmer tone.

Chrissy reassuringly grabbed one of Nicole’s arms that were crossed and smiled. “Just be on standby.” She said with a wink before walking into the kitchen to help Rosita.

“Just be on standby. She’ll come to you.” Nicole whispered to herself as she stared at the staircase.

As Waverly walked towards the opened bathroom door, she let out a shaky breath. She stood at the door frame, scanning her eyes across the bathroom. It just seemed like a normal bathroom. The mirror was fogged up and it smelled like shampoo from Chrissy’s shower. She took a step inside and took a few deep breaths as she slowly made her way towards the opposite wall – the one she had been pushed up against. She ran her fingertips along the neutral-colored drywall as her eyes began to water. She blew out some air and swallowed thickly as she thought about her conversation with Chrissy the day before. She didn’t want this bathroom, this house, to bring up only that one memory of the night her life changed. She wanted to make new memories; better memories.

Waverly marched straight down the stairs and into the kitchen where everyone was. She looked directly at Nicole, who instantly made eye contact with her. Everyone else was distracted in conversation.

“Can you come here for a second?” The brunette said softly.

Without missing a beat, Nicole made her way over towards Waverly and followed her to the stairs. “Is everything okay?”

Waverly didn’t reply. Instead, she grabbed Nicole’s hand and dragged her up the stairs. When they got into the bathroom, Waverly lightly pushed Nicole inside and shut the door behind them and locked it.

“Waverly, what are–”

Nicole’s question was interrupted by the brunette’s lips against hers. She immediately returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around Waverly’s waist and allowed herself to be pushed up against the wall. When she realized what was happening and the exact spot she was in, she gently pushed Waverly off of her and eyed her cautiously as she panted to catch her breath.

“I want to make new memories here with you. I don’t want to think about him when I come here. I want to think about you.” Waverly explained. She grabbed Nicole’s hand and guided it underneath her gold dress and inside the front of her panties – the exact ones that she had been wearing that night – and both of them sighed when the redhead’s fingers slipped through damp folds.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Nicole’s asked as she stilled her hand.

Waverly grabbed Nicole’s face and nodded before crashing their lips together again. She spun them around so that her back was against the wall, which surprised Nicole. She had assumed Waverly would want to be the one in the more dominant position.

“I want you to make love to me like this. While pushing me up against the wall, and kissing my neck. I want to feel your fingers inside me. Please.”

With a furrowed brow, Nicole looked into Waverly’s eyes for any sign of uncertainty. She wanted to make sure that this was something that Waverly actually wanted and not just something the brunette thought she had to do in order to feel better. And based on the way her pupils were dilated and looking at Nicole with so much desire that it radiated off of her skin, the redhead knew that this was something she wanted. Nicole leaned down and kissed Waverly passionately as she delicately moved her fingers up and down her slit, eliciting a small gasp from the brunette. She wrapped her other hand around Waverly’s waist and moved her lips to the girl’s neck as she began to kiss her there.

As soon as Nicole began kissing her neck, Waverly grabbed onto her backside and pulled her in, hoping she would take the hint. The taller woman did, and began to push herself up against Waverly, pressing her against the wall, and the brunette sighed with a smile. Before when she was in this position, she felt fear and apprehension…but now, all she felt was love and pleasure. She brought one hand up to the back of Nicole’s head and threaded her fingers through the woman’s thick red hair. Her other hand wrapped around strong shoulders – shoulders that made her feel safe.

“Inside.” Waverly whispered.

Without removing her lips from the brunette’s neck, Nicole moved her fingers down from Waverly’s sensitive bud she had been circling to her entrance and gently pushed one finger inside to the first knuckle, allowing her girlfriend to get used to the feeling of having something inside her before pushing all the way in. The corners of her mouth turned up into a smile when she heard a sigh of relief and a short, breathy laugh come from the beautiful woman in front of her. After a few thrusts, she added a second finger.

Waverly’s jaw dropped and she immediately inhaled sharply. She closed her eyes and drew her eyebrows together as she felt herself being filled by her girlfriend. She held on tighter to the redhead as she began to rock her hips against Nicole’s warm body.

“Close.” The brunette whispered, and Nicole knew it meant Waverly just needed an extra push. She brought her thumb up to circle around the brunette’s swollen clit as she sucked hard on the skin of her neck, and Waverly was gone.

She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip and held her breath with her eyes squeezed shut as her walls held tightly onto Nicole’s fingers like a vice grip. Her entire body shook until the contractions of her climax began, and she let all of the air she had been holding in out through her nose. She desperately wanted to shout Nicole’s name from the top of her lungs, but she knew she had to be quiet. When she had come down from her high, she released her arms from around Nicole’s shoulders and focused on regaining control over her breathing as she dropped her head back against the wall. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Nicole looking at her with complete love and affection. She felt her entire body fill with warmth as a smile spread across her face.

“I love you.” Waverly said, as if it were a confession.

“I love you too.” Nicole kissed Waverly’s cheek as she pulled her fingers out and went over to the sink to wash her hands. “Say, we should do this in other people’s houses more often. The thrill is such a huge turn on.” Nicole teased with a wink.

Waverly laughed as she shook her head. “I like screaming too much.”

“Yeah, I like you screaming too much too.” Nicole shrugged. She walked over towards the bathroom door and opened it as she gestured for Waverly to walk through first.

Waverly slowly walked down the stairs and Nicole followed a respectable distance behind, not wanting Chrissy and Rosita to know what they had just done in their bathroom.

“There you are. Where were you guys?” Rosita asked as she finished cutting up some finger sandwiches.

“Oh, uh...” Waverly stuttered as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Wardrobe malfunction.” Nicole said pointedly.

“Right. Wardrobe malfunction.”

Both Chrissy and Rosita eyed them curiously, until they noticed Waverly’s neck. Rosita pursed her lips in an attempt to stifle her laughter, and Chrissy covered her mouth with her hand to stifle hers.

“What?” Waverly asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“No, nothing.” Rosita replied with a smile as she shook her head. “I’m glad you got it all worked out.”

“Yeah, me too.” Chrissy added with a grin.

Before either Waverly and Nicole could question their friends’ weird behavior any further, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.” Chrissy said as she rushed towards the door. She returned to the kitchen a few moments later with Wynonna and Doc behind her. “Look who’s here!”

Waverly smiled at her sister. “Hey, you’re actually on time!”

“See, I told you I could–” She paused as soon as she looked at Waverly’s neck and her eyes widened. “Holy hell!”

“What?!” Waverly raised her eyebrows in concern.

“What happened to your neck?! Did you get attacked by a giant leech?!” Wynonna pointed her index finger at a quarter-sized red hickey on the side of Waverly’s neck.

Waverly frantically felt around her skin, and Nicole turned her head to look at the other side of the brunette’s neck to see what Wynonna was pointing at. When she saw the mark, her eyes widened.

“Oh shit.”

“What?!” Waverly began to panic.

“I uh, sort of went too hard.”

Waverly drew her eyebrows together. “What are you talking about?”

Wynonna held up her phone in front of Waverly so she could see herself in the front-facing camera. She gasped as soon as her eyes landed on the hickey.

“Nicole!”

“I’m sorry! It just looked like a faint red spot when we walked out of the bathroom. I didn’t know it would turn into that only a few minutes later!”

Wynonna quirked an eyebrow. “Wait, you two did it in the bathroom?” She let out a short laugh as she shook her head. “What am I saying, of course you did…”

“Oh my god, it’s getting worse by the second. It’s starting to turn purple!” Waverly yelled.

Chrissy walked over to the brunette and grabbed her shoulders to still the girl and assess the mark. “I’ve seen worse. I’ve had worse. Come on, let’s go put some makeup on it.” She grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled her around in front of her before gently pushing on her back to guide her towards the stairs. “And everyone better be talking about something else when we get back.” Chrissy said sternly as she gave the group a warning look.

When they got to her bedroom, Waverly plopped down to sit on the edge of the mattress as she dropped her face into her hands. “Oh my god, this is so embarrassing.”

Chrissy shrugged as she grabbed some concealer and a blending sponge that she had dipped in a cup of water she had on her makeup table. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Are you sure?” Waverly asked as she looked up at the blonde with a guilty expression.

Chrissy sat on the bed next to Waverly with a smile as she began to apply the concealer over the hickey and blended it in. “You wanted a new memory in that bathroom, right?”

Waverly nodded.

“Waverly, it’s totally fine. I mean, you guys washed your hands afterwards, right?” She said teasingly.

With a smile Waverly lightly pushed Chrissy on the arm. “Yes, we washed our hands. Or at least Nicole did, since I didn’t really need to…”

Chrissy laughed as she nodded. Her smile slowly died down as she concentrated on the task at hand. “Jesus, Haught must be really good at sucking…ironically.”

“Oh god, is it that bad? You said you’ve seen worse.”

“I have, it’s just surprising. I’ve never seen you with a hickey before, and this is a big one for sure.”

“Yeah, we’re usually more responsible with our hickey placements.” Waverly smiled and averted her eyes from her friend’s as a blush crept onto her face.

Chrissy shook her head as she smiled. “You two are so damn cute.” She pulled the sponge away and eyed her handiwork. “Okay, I think this should be good enough for tonight. But you’re on your own for tomorrow.”

“I’ll just wear turtle necks and scarves the rest of the week.” Waverly stood up from the bed and walked over towards the mirror to observe the spot, which was only noticeable if you knew to look for it. She turned around and smiled at the blonde. “Thanks, Chrissy. You’re the best.”

“And don’t you forget it.” The blonde replied with a point of her finger. “Come on, everyone else should be here soon.

---

The group gathered around the TV to watch the ball drop with less than a minute left until midnight. Nicole wrapped her arm around Waverly’s waist, Wynonna wrapped her arm around Doc’s, Jeremy and Robin held hands, Darren put his arm around Chrissy’s shoulder as she leaned into his side with a smile, and Rosita and Dolls looked at each other briefly with an awkward smile and drinks in their hands as they stood surrounded by the couples. Everyone began to count down from 10 as their smiles grew bigger at the thought of making it through another year.

“Five, four, three, two, one…Happy New Year!”

Waverly and Nicole looked at each other as they leaned in and connected their lips, completely unaware that all of the other couples had just given quick kisses while they were beginning to cross over the line from innocent New Year’s kiss to full-on make-out session.

“Okay you two, keep it in your pants.” Wynonna said as she folded her arms across her chest and grimaced.

Nicole and Waverly pulled apart and Waverly hid her blushing face in Nicole’s chest while Nicole wrapped her arms around her with a smile, embracing her in a warm hug.

The redhead looked over at the older Earp. “I can’t wait to see how many times you interrupt us in 2018, Wynonna.”