58. Jealous

“Wait, what’s going on?” Dolls asked with his eyebrows knitted together in concern and confusion as he looked directly at Nicole.

Nicole immediately looked at Waverly glaring at her with her fingers practically digging into her hips, then at Wynonna looking at her with raised eyebrows and shoulders, then to Kathy who was standing there with an amused smile, and lastly to Dolls who was impatiently waiting for an answer. She swallowed thickly before finally opening her mouth to speak…“I…”

Kathy slightly turned and placed her hand on Dolls’ chest as she smiled up at him. “Nicole and I knew each other in high school.”

“Yeah, you two knew each other all right,” Waverly scoffed as she folded her arms across her chest.

“We hooked up once.” Kathy shrugged.

Dolls closed his eyes and shook his head as he gently pushed Kathy off of him and took a step back. “Wait, wait…” He waved his hands around before opening his eyes and looking between the two. “You…” He pointed at Kathy before moving his finger in Nicole’s direction. “And…you?”

“She was my first…with another woman,” Nicole admitted with guilty eyes.

Dolls let his hand that was still pointing at Nicole slowly drop down to his side while giving a few long, unhurried nods of his head as he processed the information. “Huh.”

“What are you doing here?” Nicole asked as she looked at Kathy, trying her best to avoid looking at her girlfriend. Part of her still wasn’t sure if this was real life, or some sort of nightmare.

“I got a job in the city a couple of years ago. I’ve been working and living there ever since, but I had no idea you were here in Purgatory.”

“Yeah, I uh, transferred to the police department here almost a year ago.”

“Oh, you’re a police officer too!”

Dolls pointed at Nicole with his palm up and thumb sticking out and explained, “Nicole is my partner that I was telling you about.” He had originally planned on saying that statement with a little more excitement, but after the recent discovery, it sounded more like disappointment.

“Oh!” Kathy nodded, before quickly realizing why all of this was so awkward now. Her eyes widened and her nodding became much slower. “Oh.”

“I’m Waverly. Nicole’s girlfriend.” Waverly gave a quick wave of her hand with a tense smile painted on her face.

“It’s nice to meet you Waverly.” Kathy smiled warmly – and much more genuinely than Waverly – as she held her hand out for Waverly to shake, which she did without hesitation.

As soon as their hands parted, Waverly immediately wrapped her arm around Nicole’s back and placed the opposite hand just below her collarbone, mirroring how Kathy was hanging on Dolls earlier.

The blonde grinned as she looked at the pair. “You two make a great couple. You look really good together.”

“Yes, we do,” Waverly replied as she squeezed Nicole a little tighter, clearly being territorial.

Nicole just stood there awkwardly nodding her head. She didn’t know what to think about Kathy. They weren’t exactly friends in high school. They never even talked outside of that party…she was literally just a hook up. And yet, that didn’t stop the situation from being bad enough to where Nicole desperately wished that she could just disappear.

“Well, I’m Wynonna. Waverly’s sister and Haughtstuff’s…well, Waverly’s sister.” She held her hand out to shake Kathy’s.

The blonde quirked an eyebrow as she shook Wynonna’s hand. “Haughtstuff?”

“You know, like Haught. Nicole Haught. Haughtstuff. Haughtpants. Haughtpocket. Haughty Mc-Haughterson. I give her punny names; she loves it.” Wynonna waved her hand in Nicole’s direction.

“No, I don’t.” Nicole replied dryly.

Wynonna stood proudly with her hands on the bar counter, ignoring Nicole. “It’s my trademark. You know, ‘cause she’s so Haught.” Wynonna winked in Nicole’s direction, earning a glare from the redhead.

“She is,” Waverly and Kathy said in unison – although Kathy said it with a slight chuckle, and Waverly said in more of a dreamy voice.

Nicole’s face turned red as she watched Waverly’s eyes burning a hole in Kathy’s face. She shifted her eyes over to Dolls, and caught him looking at her with an unreadable expression before he quickly looked away.

“So, how far along are you?” Kathy smiled in Wynonna’s direction as she gestured towards her almost fully-grown baby bump.

“Thirty-eight weeks,” Wynonna smiled as she gently smoothed her hand over the hump beneath her shirt.

Kathy’s eyes went wide. “Wow. Okay, so you’re really close then.”

“Yep! She’ll be here soon.” Wynonna looked down and smiled as she continued to rub her hand. It was just something she did unconsciously now.

“A girl. That’s incredible.” Kathy grinned as she looked at Wynonna.

“Oh, do you like girl’s more or something?” Waverly asked. The bite in her voice was obvious. And the fact that she wasn’t talking about babies was also obvious.

Everyone watched as the smile slowly fell from Kathy’s face, and was replaced by a look of discomfort. “No, no. I didn’t mean that at all. I just meant—“

“Yeah, I think we got what you meant.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she snorted.

“Uh, Waverly, can we talk for a minute? In private.” Nicole asked quietly. She didn’t even wait for a response. As soon as she finished her words, she grabbed Waverly’s hand and pulled her towards the storage room in the back, ignoring the way Waverly kept deterrent eyes glued to the blonde until she was completely out of sight.

Everyone stood there in awkward silence, until Wynonna nonchalantly said, “They’re probably sneaking off for a quickie. Happens a lot.” She shrugged as she slung the white rag over her shoulder and smiled. “So, can I get you two a drink?

As soon as Waverly and Nicole got to the room, Nicole let go of Waverly’s hand and shut the door behind them. She looked at the brunette, who was standing there looking more pissed than ever. She gently held her hands out as she quietly said, “Please don’t make a big deal about this.”

“How can I not?!” Waverly barked as she gesticulated her hands around. “Nicole, your ex is in my bar!”

“She’s not my ex.”

“Oh, sorry. Girl-from-high-school-you-fucked. Is that better?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“Look, I didn’t know she was going to be here, okay?” Nicole replied defensively, shaking her head in frustration when Waverly just scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. “Are you seriously mad at me right now because she’s here? Waverly, I can’t predict the future. I swear I had no idea that the girl Dolls has been seeing was her. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d ever see anyone from high school here in Purgatory! And I think you’re being completely unfair here. I mean, I spent the first four months of our relationship having to see Champ—“ She paused and pursed her lips as she slowly dropped the hand that had been adding visual emphasis to her words.

“Champ doesn’t count,” Waverly replied calmly after dropping her arms down by her side.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit of a double standard?”

“I don’t, actually. Because I like women – something my ex is not. You like women, and guess what? There’s a gorgeous one who’s already been in your pants standing right outside that door at this very moment. Chatting up my sister and your work partner as we speak, no doubt.” She clenched her fists by her side and narrowed her eyes at the door before continuing through gritted teeth, “Wiggling her charming personality and stupidly sexy body into our lives.”

Nicole smiled as she took a step towards the brunette. Even though the circumstance wasn’t exactly ideal, she had to admit that jealous Waverly was absolutely adorable. “Is that what this is about? Because she’s pretty?”

“No, she’s not pretty. She’s a freaking model.”

“Would it make you feel any better if I told you that she didn’t look like that in high school?” Nicole punctuated her sentence with a charming lopsided smile.

Waverly pursed her lips as she glared at the redhead. “No. Not at all.”

Nicole rolled her eyes and sighed. “Come on, Waves. You’re ten times more beautiful than Kathy. One hundred times, even. You two aren’t even in the same league…you’re in a higher rank!”

“You’re just saying that.”

“No, I mean it. You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met. You’re the model here. And if I’m being honest…” She wrapped her arms around Waverly’s waist and slid her hands down into the brunette’s back pocket before whispering in her ear, “You actually kind of turn me on when you get jealous like this.”

Waverly shivered as she felt Nicole’s warm breath on her ear. She shook her head when she felt soft lips placing delicate kisses on the side of her neck. “You’re going to make me want you,” she said in a breathy tone as she desperately tried to keep her eyes open.

Nicole pulled back and smirked as she moved her hands up to cup the sides of Waverly’s face. “That’s the idea.” She leaned in and gently pressed her lips against Waverly’s in a slow kiss, taking in the sweet, familiar taste of her love.

Waverly groaned and pulled away with a sigh. She looked down with a shake of her head and slipped her hands into Nicole’s before looking back up into the redhead’s loving eyes. “How is it that we just had sex, and I’m already craving more of you?”

“Because I think you kind of love me,” Nicole replied with a wink.

“No, I really love you. A lot.”

Nicole nodded her head, understanding that Waverly was being serious. “I love you too, Waverly. Which is why there’s no need to be jealous of Kathy. What you and I have goes way beyond some drunken hook-up at a party. Okay?”

Waverly nodded and closed her eyes as Nicole pressed her forehead against hers. She inhaled the scent of vanilla dipped doughnuts, and suddenly she felt safe. She wrapped her hands around the sides of Nicole’s strong jaw muscles and opened her eyes to meet devoted ones looking back at her. “Okay,” she whispered before connecting their lips again.

---

The next morning, Nicole walked into work with a huge to-go cup of coffee in her hand that she had picked up from Waverly. She kind of wished they hadn’t gone to sleep so late, but it’s not like she was really complaining about what they had gotten up to as soon as they got back to Nicole’s house from Shorty’s.

She sat the cup down on her desk and slid into her chair as she rubbed her eyes in an attempt to wake herself up. She heard footsteps coming towards her, and immediately perked up, assuming that it was Nedley. When she saw that it was Dolls, she returned to her previous slouching position. “Oh, it’s just you.”

He just gave her a curt nod as he continued walking towards his desk.

Nicole drew her eyebrows together and slowly swiveled her chair so that she was facing him. “You’re in a mood.” A smirk slowly spread across her face. “Did you not get a lot of sleep either?”

Dolls looked at her blankly. “No, I didn’t. But if you’re insinuating that it’s because I had sex with Kathy, then you’d be mistaken.” He wiggled his computer mouse and began typing in his login info as he mumbled, “That’s you.”

Nicole pursed her lips as she pushed herself out of her chair and stomped over towards Dolls. “Are you serious right now? Are you actually upset because I hooked up with her one time nearly ten years ago?”

“It’s weird, Nicole,” Dolls replied passionately as he looked up at her. “I mean, you and her have…” He moved his hands around haphazardly as he pressed his lips together. “It’s just weird.”

“Xavier, it was one time. We were both drunk; I barely even remember it. And we never said a single word to each other before or after that night. You’re the one going on dates with her and stuff, so it’s not like you’re her sloppy seconds or anything.”

“Well I wasn’t thinking that, but thanks.” He said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

“You know what I mean. She was nothing more than a hook up.” She shrugged.

“Really? The girl who made you realize that you were a lesbian was nothing more than a hook up?” He scoffed as he shook his head. “Sorry if I find that hard to believe.”

“Dolls—“

“You know what, I actually have some work I need to get done.” He turned his attention back towards his computer and began typing.

Nicole walked back towards her desk and plopped down into her chair. She inhaled deeply through her nose before snatching her favorite pen from the mug containing an array of writing utensils.

A few minutes later, Nedley walked in with his Stetson in one and his keys in the other. “Officer Haught.” He gave a terse not in her direction, and she gave a weak smile back. “Dolls, do you have those reports for me.

“I do, sir.” Dolls nodded as he quickly grabbed a manila folder and followed Nedley into his office. “Oh, while I’ve got you, there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about…” Dolls’ voice faded away as he shut the door.

Nicole rested her elbow on the back of her chair as she repeatedly tapped her pen over her notepad with the other hand. Unable to focus on her work, she threw the pen down and groaned in frustration as she rubbed her palms over her face. This was not how she had expected her week to go. She sighed and folded her arms across her chest as she shook her head, but paused when an idea hit her. She looked behind her at the closed office, and quietly tiptoed towards Dolls’ desk. As soon as she spotted his phone, she picked it up and opened his contacts. After finding Kathy’s name, she quickly sent the contact to herself before deleting the text. She closed the phone and sat it back down exactly where it had been sitting before, and quickly shuffled back to her desk just in time, as the office door opened and Dolls walked back out.

Nicole looked over her shoulder to see Dolls pick up his phone. When he noticed her observing him, he furrowed his brow and asked in confusion, “What?”

She shrugged and shook her head as she gave a polite, “Nothing,” before turning back to face her own desk.

---

Nicole laid in her bed as she waited for Waverly to come over. It had been a long day, so as soon as she had gotten home she threw herself down onto the mattress – not even bothering to change out of her uniform first – and had been laying there for the past hour.

When she heard the faint sound of the door shutting downstairs, she smiled. Her eyes were still closed and her body was unmoving, but even at her most exhausted state she couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her girlfriend using her own key to enter her house.

“I’m up here baby!” Nicole called out. Her smile grew even bigger when she heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. She turned her head to look at the opened door, but as soon as Waverly walked through, she drew her eyebrows together and sat up. “Uh, what’s with the trench coat?” She said as she eyed Waverly suspiciously.

A sultry smile formed on Waverly’s face as she untied the straps around her waist and opened up the coat, revealing a black sexy lace up bustier panty set with a garter belt to hold up the sheer stockings.

“Surprise,” Waverly said in a low, sultry voice as she strutted over towards Nicole.

Nicole’s jaw hit the floor. She sat there, frozen with her eyes gradually becaming wider. “Holy… whoa,” was all she could manage to choke out as she scanned her eyes up and down the brunette’s body. She had never seen Waverly in anything like that before…she hadn’t even fantasized about it. But now she was internally chastising herself for all of the missed opportunities during her solo sessions.

With a quick shake of her head, Nicole looked up at Waverly. “Baby, what’s going on?” She lightly chuckled as her eyes shamelessly lingered over her girlfriend’s partially exposed breasts.

“What? You don’t like it?” Waverly teased as she took a couple more seductive steps towards Nicole and stood directly in front of her with her hands on her hips.

Nicole blew out a quick breath of air as she took in the closer view. “No, I do. I definitely do.” She looked up into Waverly’s eyes. “But, it just feels a bit...random. I mean, did you go out and buy this today?”

Waverly shrugged as she sat down directly beside Nicole and swung her legs across the redhead’s lap. “I may have taken a trip into the city where the Victoria’s Secret is.” She twirled her finger around the ends of Nicole’s fiery locks as she continued. “I just figured we could try something new.”

Nicole eyed her curiously. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Kathy being here, would it? Because you know there’s no competition here...”

Waverly slid her legs off of Nicole to sit straight up beside her as she sighed. “Nicole, of course there is. She’s your ex.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Waverly, she’s not my ex—“

“But she’s your first! And that was a big deal for you! Remember? The ‘click moment’?” She put air quotes around those two words. “You told me that she was your click moment. And you were mine. So that means that she’s your you. And I can’t compete with that.”

Nicole quickly shook her head as she repositioned herself so that she was now facing Waverly. “She’s not my me.” She drew her eyebrows together in confusion at the wording before shaking it off. “I mean, yeah, I realized that I was gay that night, but I was drunk. That moment wasn’t even about her, it was about me; Me figuring out who I was and putting the puzzle pieces together. I could’ve had that moment with any girl.”

“Yeah, but you had it with her.”

“But that doesn’t even matter now. Look, I’m with you, Waverly. I don’t have any feelings for Kathy. I don’t even know her.”

“But what if this is the universe telling you that she’s the one? That it was supposed to be her?”

“It’s not.” Nicole replied firmly.

“But how do you know that?”

“Because, I love you.”

Waverly sighed as she rested her hand on top of Nicole’s in her lap. “I love you too.” She looked down at their hands touching.

Nicole could see the doubts running through Waverly’s mind. “But it’s not enough to convince you.” She sighed as she slowly pulled her hand away. It hurt her a little to know that Waverly was still jealous of this unexpected girl from her past, even though she had told and shown Waverly a million times that she’s the only one for her...or at least she thought she had.

“It’s not that it’s not enough. It’s that…well, she looks like that, and you’re you, and you two have already slept together—I don’t know, it’s just difficult to get past that.” She glanced up at Nicole looking at her with obvious disappointment, and she felt guilty. Part of her knew that Nicole loved her, but part of her just couldn’t stop thinking ‘what if’. What if Nicole does fall for this other woman? What if she does dump Waverly? What if they truly weren’t meant to be? Waverly closed her eyes and clenched her jaw as she tried her best to push the negative thoughts out of her mind, but she was beginning to feel nauseous.

Nicole looked at the brunette and brushed the stray hair out of her face. “Hey, Waves, it was a long time ago. I’m not going to leave you for her or anything like that. I don’t even like her. She’s not even my type.”

Waverly nodded as she opened her eyes and quickly wiped the tears that were threatening to fall. She felt so stupid for actually getting upset about this, but she couldn’t help it.

Nicole looked at her girlfriend with sympathetic eyes as soon as she saw the tears. “Waverly…” she cooed, but Waverly quickly shook her head.

“No, I’m fine. Sorry, I’m just being dumb.”

“You’re not dumb.”

“It’s okay. I’ll get over it.” She gave a weak smile as she grabbed Nicole’s knee and gently squeezed it. “But I’m not really in the mood anymore. I’m actually kind of tired. Is it okay if I take this off?” She tugged at the lingerie.

“Yeah, that’s okay,” Nicole reassured as she grazed her hand along the side of Waverly’s face before giving her a chaste kiss. She watched Waverly give her a weak smile as they parted.

As soon as Waverly stood up to walk towards the bathroom, Nicole instantly noticed her ass on full display in that outfit, and her mouth began to water. She watched attentively all the way up until Waverly made it to the bathroom and shut the door behind her, blocking the view. Nicole groaned and let her body drop back onto the bed as she reached out for a pillow and smashed it over her face. She laid there for a moment, trying her best not to think about the throbbing between her legs from the sexual frustration, when she thought of Kathy. She immediately sprung upright, tossing the pillow aside and grabbing her phone.

After pulling up Kathy’s contact that she got from Dolls’ phone, she typed out a new message…

Nicole: Hey, this is Nicole. Can we meet up tomorrow evening to talk?

She set her phone down and unexpectedly almost immediately received a response.

Kathy: Hey Nicole. Yeah. Where?

Nicole: There’s a bar between Purgatory and the city called Pussy Willows

Kathy: Got it. I get off work at 5 so I’ll be there around 5:30.

Nicole: See you then.

---

Nicole walked through the front door of the bar and scanned the room for curly blonde hair…which at Pussy Willows was pretty much everywhere. It took her a few seconds, but she eventually spotted Kathy sitting at the bar and began to make her way towards her.

“Hey,” Nicole smiled as she slid into the stool beside the blonde.

“Hey stranger,” Kathy replied with a bright smile before taking a sip of her drink.

As soon as Nicole sat down, the bar tender walked over towards her to take her drink order. After receiving her beer, she sat it down on the countertop and stared at it as she thought of what to say.

Kathy looked at the Nicole with a raised eyebrow. “I’m guessing you didn’t bring me all the way out to a bar called ‘Pussy Willows’ just to catch up.” She gave Nicole a knowing look before adding, “And I’m going to be honest, I thought this was going to be a lesbian bar. But now I’m a little disappointed.”

Nicole laughed as she shook her head. “Yeah, it’s definitely not.” She took a sip of her beer to help relieve some of the tension she was holding onto. She set the bottle back down and looked at Kathy. “And you’re right. I did come here to talk about something specific.”

“Waverly?” The blonde queried with a small smile.

Nicole nodded as she sighed. “She thinks this is the universe telling me that you and I are destined to be together.” Nicole chuckled at the amusing thought as she took a sip of her drink.

“And what do you think?”

Nicole looked at Kathy for a moment before saying, “I think if the universe wanted to bring us together, it wouldn’t be through my partner.”

The blonde laughed as she nodded her head. “Yeah, probably not.”

Nicole stared down at her finger running through the condensation of the bottle as she spoke. “She’s been through so much recently, and I don’t know how else to prove to her that she’s the only one for me.”

“Maybe it’s not you who needs to convince her. Maybe it’s herself.”

“Oh, thanks. That’s helpful,” Nicole said sarcastically as she chuckled.

Kathy clicked her teeth. “What I mean is, maybe she’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Especially if she’s been through a lot, like you said. Maybe there’s not really anything you can do except be patient with her and just keep reminding her that you love her.”

Nicole sighed. “It’s just difficult sometimes. I want her to trust me.”

“Oh, I have no doubts that she trusts you. But you know, sometimes even with that, some people just get scared that their whole world is going to fall apart, and that it’s out of their hands.”

Nicole snorted at the irony. “She’s had her whole world fall apart a few times already.”

Kathy gave a weak smile as she slowly nodded, and Nicole pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed.

“I didn’t tell her I was coming here to meet you.”

“Why not?” Kathy asked with a furrowed brow.

Nicole dropped her hand in her lap and pursed her lips. “I didn’t want her to get upset. But I just needed to talk to you. I needed to know what the point of all this was.”

“The point of what?” Kathy drew her eyebrows together in confusion.

“Of this. Of you being here. Of you coming back into my life after one encounter back in high school. I mean, it’s a pretty big coincidence, especially considering how Purgatory is in the middle of nowhere. And my work partner? I mean, you have to admit, it’s a little scary…”

Kathy chuckled as she nodded in agreement. “I don’t know why the universe brought us together after all this time, but what I do know is that you and Waverly are the real deal. I could tell that even just from the short hour we hung out other night at her family’s bar.”

“And you and Dolls?” Nicole asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Kathy shrugged. “Xavier is…cute. He makes me laugh, and he’s a really good guy. But it’s only been a week and a half.”

“Yeah, but you guys have been on a ton of dates since then, right?”

“Yeah, more dates than I usually go on with a guy,” Kathy laughed. “Normally it’s like one date a week. Women are a whole different ball game though.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. Waverly and I have spent every day together since we first started talking,” Nicole laughed as she shook her head.

“God, you’re such lesbians.” Kathy shook her head in the same manner and gave Nicole a teasing look, earning a playful punch in the leg.

“Whatever,” Nicole laughed. Both of their laughter died down, and the two fell into a comfortable silence. “So, since we’re talking about lesbians and stuff, I don’t know if you ever knew this, but you kind of helped me figure out that I liked girls.”

Kathy let out a snort. “Oh, I knew.”

“What do you mean?” Nicole asked with a furrowed brow.

“I had been drinking, but you were pretty drunk. Way more than me. And pretty much the whole time we were in bed together, you were talking about how gay you were and how much you liked pussy…and how much you liked eating pussy,” Kathy covered her mouth with her hand as she tried to stifle her laughter.

Nicole’s eyes widen as she turned crimson. “Oh my god, no I didn’t.”

Kathy dropped her hand from her mouth and nodded her head with her eyebrows pushed together and up, and her lips pursed together in a big smile. “You did. The entire time you kept talking about how into it you were…and then something about Ethan’s dick and how much better my body was compared to his.”

Nicole buried her face in her hands and let out a muffled, “Oh god.”

The blonde patted Nicole’s back sympathetically. “It wasn’t bad though. You know, for your first time with another girl, you were actually really good.”

Nicole lifted her head up in surprise. “Really?”

With a big grin, Kathy replied, “Oh yeah. Better than any of the other girls I had slept with in high school, actually.”

Nicole felt a feeling of pride wash over her before it was quickly replaced by fear. “Please don’t ever tell Waverly that. She’ll literally kill me…and then she’ll kill you…and then she’ll revive both of us just to kill us again.”

The blonde held her hands up in defense. “Trust me. I’ve had girlfriends before. I know how it is. Definitely not trying to put you in the dog house here.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Nicole grabbed her beer and took a modest sip. “So, is Dolls being weird around you too? You know, since finding out about how we know each other…”

“You know, he is a little,” Kathy replied with narrowed eyes. “At first he was really cool when he found out that I was bisexual—I mean, most of the men I date are to be honest…”

Nicole nodded in understanding with a lack of surprise.

“But ever since that night, he’s been giving me some weird looks. I think picturing you with me instead of some random woman ruined it for him.”

Nicole let out a hearty laugh. “I can only imagine the torture and confusion going through his male brain right now.” She shook her head as Kathy joined in with her laughter. “But yeah, he’s been weird around me too at work, so it’s not just you.” Nicole sighed as she slumped in her stool. “This whole thing is just such a mess.”

“It’ll be okay though. Xavier and Waverly will see that we’re just people who have just simply crossed paths before, and everything will go back to normal soon enough.”

“I can’t wait for that.” Nicole pulled out her phone to check the time and saw a text from Waverly. “Speaking of Waverly, she’s about to leave work, so I better start heading home.” She knocked back the last little bit of her beer before setting the bottle down onto the table and standing up. “Thanks for meeting up with me.”

“Sure thing. Hope it helped.”

“It did. And you know what? You’re just as cool as you were in high school.” Nicole smiled as she placed a friendly hand on Kathy’s shoulder. “I’ll see you around.”

“Hey, Nicole?” Kathy called out and immediately caught the redhead’s attention. “Tell Waverly you met with me.”

Nicole nodded as she smiled. “Was already planning on it.” She winked before making her way back towards her squad car.

---

As Nicole walked through the front door, she was instantly met with the smell of delicious food and chuckled before shutting the door behind her. “Babe, it was my turn to cook tonight.”

“Well, you weren’t home yet so I decided to get a head start.” Waverly winked as she laid the wooden spoon across the pot and turned around to greet her girlfriend with a kiss before grabbing the utensil and turning her attention back towards the food. “Speaking of which, where were you? Did you stop somewhere on your way home from work?”

“Yeah, I uh, met up with Kathy, actually,” Nicole said with slight hesitation as she slowly sat down at the kitchen table.

Waverly paused and swallowed thickly. She tried her best not to freak out. She reminded herself that Nicole is her baby – her best baby – and she relaxed…well, at least a little more than before. “Oh, you did?” She asked without turning around. She was a little apprehensive to make eye contact at the moment in fear that she would lose any of the cool that she had managed to hold onto.

“Yeah. I texted her and asked her if we could talk. I just wanted to see what her deal was, you know?”

Waverly nodded as she sat the spoon down on the counter and turned around to face Nicole, leaning her back against the counter and folding her arms across her chest. “And?”

“And she’s actually a really cool person. And she’s currently dating Dolls. And I’m with you. And both of us are very happy with that.”

Waverly sighed as she smiled with a slight shake of her head. She let the comforting words sink in on repeat. “Sorry. I’m just—“

“I know. I get it.” Nicole reached her arm out, gesturing for Waverly to come to her, and immediately pulled the brunette into her side as she clasped both hands around Waverly’s waist and looked up into hazel eyes. “I know you get jealous, and that’s okay. Especially if that person is someone I’ve had sex with...and it’s even more understandable if they’re the one I lost my girl virginity to. That’s totally normal.”

Waverly nodded.

“But you know what? That click moment you had with me…I had with you too. It was a click moment where I knew that this was it, and I’ve never felt that with anyone else before. Kathy may have been my first, but you’re my forever. I knew it on our first date, I knew it that night we first made love, and I know it now. I’m totally, completely, one hundred percent in love with you, Waverly Earp. And there’s not another soul on this Earth who could change that, got it?”

Waverly swiped the back of her index finger across her watery eyes as she smiled and gave a short nod. “Got it.” She blew out a puff of air, causing her lips to vibrate. “I think I’m just scared that all of this is going to be taken away from me. It’s just going so well, and normally ‘going so well’ means that something bad is about to happen for us Earps. So I guess with Kathy just randomly showing up like that, I was afraid that that was going to be the bad thing. That you were going to be taken away from me.”

“That’s not going to happen. We’re meant to be together, and that’s a fact. So, sorry, but you’re stuck with me.” Nicole shrugged with her lips pressed together and eyebrows raised, earning herself the cutest giggle that made her heart flutter.

“I think the universe already gave us our sign anyways.” Waverly smiled.

Nicole scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I never told you this, but that night when we first kissed, Wynonna and I played this universe game. If it was you at the door, it meant you liked me. If it wasn’t, then you didn’t.”

“And I was at the door,” Nicole said with a warm smile.

“You were,” Waverly replied, mirroring the redhead’s expression as she continued to look down at her. “But I think it was telling us something more. More than just that you liked me. I think that was the sign that you’re the one.”

Nicole’s smile broadened as she looked up into Waverly’s eyes — into her soul, and instantly knew that it was hers to cherish. She’d never had any doubts about their relationship, and if anything, her certainty only grew stronger with each passing day. She definitely was going to marry this girl someday.

“What are you thinking about?” Waverly asked as her eyes moved back and forth across her girlfriend’s face as she studied it.

Nicole gave a breathy chuckle and shook her head as she pulled Waverly down to sit sideways on her lap. “Nothing,” she replied before pulling Waverly into a searing kiss.

Waverly wrapped her left arm around Nicole’s shoulders as she cupped her cheek with her right hand. She let out a small whine when she felt a hand snaking up her bare outer thigh underneath her short shorts to rest on her backside. When Nicole squeezed her hand around Waverly, she took the hint and pushed herself closer to Nicole’s body, and immediately felt disappointment when Nicole pulled out of the kiss.

“Do you still have that lingerie you were wearing last night?” Nicole asked with a smirk.

A devilish grin spread across Waverly’s face as she slowly slid off of Nicole’s lap — without breaking eye contact — and took her hand to lead her upstairs to her bedroom; a bedroom Waverly had hoped to someday soon call her own.