Hearing Red

by Nicole Maser

She flipped it in her hand, catching it with the blade pointed at the ground. Then she jogged toward him, staying light on her feet to avoid making too much noise.

omfg

Maddie took her hand and hoisted her arm over her shoulders. Then she looped her other arm around her waist, accepting the burden of her weight.

she immediately felt Saff’s body pressed against her back and a hand wrapped around to grab her throat, squeezing the remaining air from her windpipe.

Maddie’s smirk grew into a cocky smile. A smile that Saff was beginning to hate less and less with each occurrence.

she was surprised she'd so easily thought only about the other woman instead of herself.

Maddie moved her hand up across her shoulders, stopping near the base of her neck. Wet hair draped over the dry cotton of the hood, and she brushed it away, moving her hand up onto the skin on the back of Saff's neck.

She stopped struggling, and instead held on, keeping it there, keeping it wrapped around her like it was keeping her held together. Like it was the only thing holding her together.

It made her feel understood and cared for in a way that she'd realized she hadn't felt in a while.

She smelled like coffee and cinnamon—like warmth. And hearing her voice so close suddenly felt intimate in a way that Maddie hadn't experienced in a very long time. Her heart rate ticked up, and she swallowed, her throat suddenly going dry.

For some reason, the thought of Saff even closer to her made her heart beat even faster.

“Yeah,” Saff said, her breath curling over her ear. “But you can't stop at the neck. You have to do it higher than that.” The air around them suddenly felt hot.

Saff's breath brushed over her cheek, and just like earlier, her heart began to beat just a little faster. She swallowed, nodding as Saff’s hand moved away.

The shirt smelled faintly familiar, and she pulled the neckline farther up to her nose, taking a deep breath. It smelled good—like something that made her want to cuddle up in bed and never get up again. Then she realized it smelled like Saff.

Saff continued eating as Maddie worked her fingers into the rock-hard muscles at the base of her neck and shoulders. And after a minute or two, she felt Saff’s shoulders slowly lean back, inch by inch, until they rested against her inner thighs.

Maddie moved her hands over her shoulders, running them along the sides of her neck and the muscle beside her collarbone.

She kneaded her palms in a long slow stroke down Saff’s neck and onto her shoulders, and felt Saff relax further back into her.

she let herself give in to the heat of Saff’s body. She leaned forward, resting her head against her chest. Then her body seemed to relax in a way it hadn’t in a very long time. Maybe it was the warmth of having someone beside her, or maybe it was having someone's arm wrapped protectively around her.

She needed to stop hearing her voice. She needed to stop thinking about her—about them—and the unreciprocated feelings that had formed.

Things had slowly changed between them as the days passed. They weren’t just random acquaintances anymore. They were—friends. Although Maddie couldn’t lie to herself. The feelings that had formed in her over their time together had grown past friendship.

she wrapped both arms around Saff’s stomach in a way that almost felt like Maddie was now trying to protect her.

She had the urge to cross her arms over her chest, but resisted solely because she didn’t want to pull her wrist away from Maddie and lose the soothing touch of her fingertips. And that realization alone made her want to punch something. Hard.

She’d gotten so used to the way Saff’s arm felt. The way she felt. The way she moved.

Knowing Saff was there did make her feel safe. But something about the way she’d said it also made her feel something else.

“Do you want me to massage your neck?” Maddie asked. “For your headache.” “No, that’s okay,” Saff answered quietly. “You should try to sleep.” “I’d probably sleep easier with you next to me.”

She brushed her fingers through the hair, dragging her nails lightly against her scalp. A shudder ran through Saff’s body at the touch, and it sent a pulse of electricity through Maddie’s core. Every fiber of her body begged to do it again.

I think it's just because you're laying here with me. It makes it feel a little more normal. I can forget that I'm sleeping out in the open in the woods.” Saff shifted her body, but didn't sit up or move away. Maddie kept her hand on her, feeling her chest rise and fall with every breath. “Can you stay here?” Maddie whispered. “Just until I fall asleep?”

it feels kind of weird knowing I won’t be sleeping near you tonight,” she said quietly. “I kind of got used to knowing you were there.”

It was as if she’d been missing some vital piece of her own self while Saff was locked up.

That's when Saff realized it. Maddie was worried about her, and not in a selfish way. Not because she wanted her to be okay so that she could travel with her. She was worried about her just—because.

“Do you know where they're going to have you stay tonight?” “No idea," Saff replied, shaking her head. Maddie nodded slowly, then she cleared her throat. “Well, wherever it is, maybe I could stay there too? You know, so I could try to help your headache?”

“We can share my bed, if you want?” Maddie said, a slight burn of nerves entering her stomach as the words left her mouth.

Maddie leaned forward, her hands easily finding her shoulders. Then she gently pulled Saff’s shoulders back to rest between her thighs, trying and utterly failing to ignore the electricity that sparked in her stomach at the contact.

she could probably wait forever if it meant hearing her voice.

Her head had begun to pound somewhere along the walk back to the house, and it was making it hard to think. But one thought did make its way into her mind. Sleeping next to Maddie. Her warmth. The way she held onto her wrist and fiddled with her bracelet the last time they’d fallen asleep beside each other.

She let herself remember the way it felt to wake up with Maddie fast asleep in her arms. To wake up with Maddie’s face tucked into her chest, clutching her shirt.

Watching Maddie was like watching the sun rise on her early morning walks through the woods, soothing her in the exact same way. And this time, she was too exhausted to make herself look away. She wanted to watch it. She wanted to watch—her.

in that moment, the one and only thing that made complete sense was the way her chest burned when Maddie touched her. The way her stomach erupted at the look in her eyes.

Maddie’s fingers trailed back down her jaw, but this time, when they reached her chin, they gently tugged it forward. Saff closed her eyes just a moment before she felt Maddie’s warm lips brush against hers. It wasn’t a kiss. It was more like Maddie was taking her time to match them perfectly together. And something about it felt like so much more than a kiss ever could. Then finally, she pushed her lips forward.

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS GOD BLESS AMERICA ANDD LESBIANS START YOUR ENGINES

A surge of electricity sprinted through her, and she couldn’t help it when her hand moved up Maddie’s back, pulling their bodies together. Then when Maddie moaned into her mouth, a fire erupted within her core. Saff surged forward, deepening the kiss, her body begging to feel every inch of Maddie against her.

The kiss suddenly turned from gentle and slow to something she needed in order to breathe. Like she’d been starved her whole life and had no idea un...

And when Saff rolled on top of her, pressing her hips down between Maddie’s thighs, she moaned into her mouth again, this time kissing her hard along with it. Saff's heart pounded in her ches...

Maddie reached up with her other hand, clutching the front of Saff’s shirt in her fist, keeping her firmly in place as if she’d been yearning for ...

Suddenly, the sound of the front door shutting echoed through the house. They both froze.

I feel like committing murder

she’d laid awake in bed for hours, tossing and turning as the kiss with Saff ran through her mind on an endless loop. The warmth of her lips. The way she ran her hand up her back and pulled her closer. The sudden urgency in her movements after she wrapped her leg around her.

She wanted Saff to stay. She just wanted—Saff.

She just needed to go—to leave and never think about Sarah, or the baby, or Maddie ever again. She needed things to go back to the way they were before. When she didn’t feel that horrible, heavy, guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

My baby :(

The thought of Saff being trapped behind bars while fire engulfed her sent so much panic hurling through her that her entire body began to quake. She staggered back to the door, hands fumbling for the deadbolt.

Even though shes angry ses putting herself in danger to go save her :')

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter what she’d said to her. It didn’t matter that she’d lied. Saff needed her.

But she didn’t know if Maddie was safe yet. And she couldn’t leave without knowing with absolute certainty that she was okay.

Im in shambles

The entire night, up until that moment, her brain had shut out every thought. She hadn’t consciously made any decisions—hadn’t had any say in what she’d done. It was as if her body was acting entirely on its own. Like it knew what to do, every step to take, even if she didn’t. And now suddenly, seeing Maddie bent over, coughing at the end of the hallway, her body finally relinquished control.