Avery has a problem: one crush, one hot boss, one bad case of foot-in-mouth disease ruining everything.
When her coworker Elle– gorgeous, glamorous Elle, who could have anyone she wanted– gets sick of hearing about Avery's crush, she pushes Avery to do something about it. Ask her boss out, or never speak of it again.
But why is Elle so insistent about Avery handling her crush?
Is there someone who she likes, too…?
CHAPTER ONE
There were lots of upsides to working at an art gallery.
The art. The challenges of wrangling artists, to keep you on your toes. The wine in the staff room, definitely a perk after the previous entry on the list.
And then there was the boss...
Avery bit her lip, and tried to not look like she was staring. Across from her, Dakota, the modern art curator, was helping an artist lift their latest masterpiece onto the wall.
Dakota shifted the frame in her arms. Her button-up slung the the side to prevent it from getting dirty, the muscles in her back were visible as they flexed under her undershirt. "About here?"
The artist hemmed and hawwed. "No, that doesn't quite look right," Kai mumbled. "I don't want it to be straight, I want it to be hung crooked. It's about derealisation. Hanging it straight would
ruin it."
Effortlessly, Dakota shifted it a little. "What about now?"
"That's still too straight…"
"Kai, I deeply value your creative vision," Dakota said, "but right now I would also value a specific angle and a spirit level."
"How about if we do it like…" Avery stepped forward and put one hand under the edge of the painting. She tipped it, Dakota obligingly turning its weight, until it was rotated 90 degrees. "Is that more unreal?"
"Oh my god," Kai said. "Even
I'm surprised by that! Hell yes
. It's perfect!"
Dakota laughed. "Art really is a collaborative thing." Grinning her crooked grin, she gave Avery a wink. "Nice eye, Abs."
"No problem," Avery replied, and only barely managed to keep the squeak out of her voice.
Dakota raised an eyebrow. "Something up?
Alright, her inner voice said.
Go for it! It's just about lunchtime! Ask her if she wants to go for a coffee! Make your move!
Avery opened her mouth… and then shut it again. She gave Dakota a bright smile and turned on her heel. "I better get on to those scheduling issues," she trilled, and as inconspicuously as possible, she fled.
*
Avery's new years resolution: she had to stop blowing her chances.
For starters, every day that she didn't ask out her hot butch boss was one more day not spent falling into Dakota's arms. Dakota's really,
really nice arms.
For another thing: if she didn't ask Dakota out, Elle was going to kill her.
Elle stared at Avery from across their shared office space. Avery tried to dodge her stare. As their desks were pushed up together opposite each other, it wasn't exactly a winning tactic.
"Did you ask her out?"
"Well," Avery said, "there was kind of, you know, a vibe there, for a moment… maybe I don't need to say it in words--"
Avery let out a squeak as a stress ball nailed her right between the eyes. "Hey!"
"I'm not sitting across from you for another year of pining," Elle fumed. Usually, her French accent sounded enviably sexy. Now, though, it was less
je t'adore and more
guillotine, tout suite.
She wound up for another pitch, and Avery raised her hands in defence. "Don't you dare! Besides, I'm not going to pine all year. I'm… I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask her out."
Elle glared at her from behind her glasses. The light caught them, turning her glare opaque; it made Avery feel like she was about to be turned into stone.
In the small staff of the gallery's management, the three of them made a strange set. Dakota, with her clean fade, sharp jeans, and lean frame, was a classic butch. In comparison, if you looked up
femininity in a dictionary, you might find a photo of Elle, with her immaculate eyeliner and her immaculate nails and her immaculate-- well, everything. Cashmere, pearls, a pair of heels that cost as much as all of Avery's shoes put together: that was Elle, looking like she'd just stepped out of a style magazine.
And then there was Avery, in her graphics tees and pants that never seemed to fit quite right, a messy ponytail the best she could manage to tame her curls.
The day that god had been handing out aesthetics, Avery thought, she must have been off sick. It seemed that one day everyone around her had become real adult professionals, without her ever getting the instructions on how to do that herself.
Real, adult professionals, who definitely wouldn't take a year to work up the courage to ask someone out.
"Don't make me point to the chart," Elle threatened.
Avery rolled her eyes. "Don't you--"
"S.M.A.R.T.," Elle continued, without listening. A perfect French tip tapped on each letter on the motivational desk chart as she went. "You set goals by making them specific, measurable, achievable--"
Avery viciously threw the stress-ball back at her. It went wide, landing on an otherwise innocent potted plant. "I know, I know!"
With a sigh, Elle got up from her desk. Avery stared, caught like a rabbit in the headlights, as her coworker made her way around their desks to loom over her. She gestured upwards, coaxing Avery reluctantly out of her seat to stand up in front of her. "In the time it takes you to get around to it, she'll be knuckle-deep in yet another girl."
"Ouch." Avery didn't tend to go out to gay bars-- she'd rather stay at home with a video game and her cat -- but their town's LGBT social circle was only so big. Dakota was hot stuff, and Avery was sick to the back teeth of friends of friends going 'ooh, you work with
Dakota?' and detailing their flings.
Sometimes they detailed their flings in, um, detail. Avery's cheeks flushed.
There were certain things that you never wanted to know about your co-workers… and then there were certain things about them that you rather liked thinking about. A lot, actually. At night, one hand moving rough and fast between her legs, the other pinching her nipples, imagining that above her was Dakota, that it was Dakota's hands on her...
She fiddled with her hair, trying to will herself back to earth.
"Ouch, but true." Elle put her hands on Avery's shoulders, gently rolling them back. "Shoulders out, back straight, and chin up, girl. You know what you want, right?"
"Absolutely," Avery said, resolute.
"Then
get it," Elle said.
Avery's shoulders rolled back in again. "I can't."
Elle rolled her eyes. "Pretend that Dakota was here right now," she said, her hands on her hips. "What would you say to her?"
"Um." Avery swallowed. "Sooo," she started, her voice wavering, "here are those invoices you wanted..."
Ella made a sound of outrage, and gave Avery a thumbs-down with all the haughty judgement of a Roman caesar.
"Oh, come on," Avery said. "I was going to get to it! You can't just jump right in to these things."
"No,
you come on, pull yourself together," Ella commanded. "Try again."
"Um." Avery took a deep breath. "Hey, Dakota, I was just wondering if-- if--"
Elle raised an eyebrow.
"I can't do it," Avery said, deflating. "You be Dakota."
Elle raised her other eyebrow. "You want me to play you?"
"Call it… thinking outside the box?"
"You need to think more about getting Dakota inside that box," Elle grumbled. "Fine," she continued, over the sound of Avery choking, "I'll be you." She batted her lashes cartoonishly. "Hello, I am Avery, I am cute but have too many opinions about Mass Effect."
"Hey-- wait, you think I'm cute?"
Elle swatted her with the nearest expense report. "Be Dakota."
Okay, Avery could do this. She took a deep breath.
The thing about Dakota-- the thing that Avery loved and envied bitterly in equal measures-- was her confidence. Whatever Dakota did, she did it heart and soul, not caring about who did or didn't approve. She came into a room like she owned the place, knowing that whatever happened, she knew what she was there for, and how best to get it.
It was utterly alien to Avery, someone who had to hype herself up for such outlandish requests as 'excuse me, could you turn the radio down a little, please?'
"I give up," Avery groaned, sinking back into her chair. "It's over. Maybe I can just get used to pining. I'll just write all my feelings down in a journal, and then I'll die. It's very historical-romance-y."
Elle smacked her with the report again. "This is a terrible attitude. You are a terrible office-mate, making me put up with all this."
"Well, what would you do, then?"
The beatings paused. Elle seemed momentarily taken aback. "What?"
"If you had a thing for someone," Avery explained. "And they were oblivious. What would you do?"
Elle paused for a moment. "I'd ask them out straight away," she declared. "Life's too short to waste just hoping that everything falls into your lap."
"Has that worked out for you?"
"Yes," Elle said… but there was something off about the way her gaze refused to meet Avery's.
Avery blinked. "That didn't sound too convincing, Elle."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Elle scoffed. Without another word, she stormed back to her desk, her heels striking the floor in a fierce tempo. "I don't have time for your games," she said, as if she hadn't been the one encouraging Avery to try.
"Ask her out, or don't," Elle said, focused on her computer screen. "Just stop doing it in front of me."
She didn't know where, or what, but Avery had said something that annoyed her-- more than usual, anyway. Cautiously, she sat down in her own chair again. "Okay?"
For the rest of the workday, Elle stayed glaring down at her work, fingers tapping furiously. Avery found her eyes flicking over the tops of the computer screens between them, eyeing Elle's unreadable face as she worked.
What on earth had that been about…?
CHAPTER TWO
A few hours later, Avery knew that she had the answer.
It was clear that Elle had a crush.
Okay, maybe not, like,
clear clear. She hadn't spelled it out or anything. But Avery liked to think that she was at least moderately good at reading people. Sometimes she missed big, obvious signs, but the rest of the time, she was on the money. And Elle, in that moment? She'd had someone on her mind.
Avery sat at the gallery cafe, drinking a milkshake. She'd very nearly asked Dakota out, after all. That was, like, 5% of a victory, and as such deserved a reward to sooth her jangling nerves.
But for once, Dakota wasn't the person on her mind. Avery frowned, staring down into the murky depths of her milkshake.
Elle… had a crush.
Cold, ruthless, perfect Elle… wanted someone.
But she couldn't have her.
Who knew that she had it in her? Avery certainly didn't. Elle was the kind of woman that gave you the impression she could walk into a lion enclosure and whip them into shape without breaking a nail.
But there was someone on Elle's mind, and she was holding back.
Avery smiled to herself. It was nice to know that cool, perfect Elle had a human side to her! Maybe underneath it all, she was just as insecure and awkward as the rest of them.
Well, maybe Avery shouldn't go that far. But something along those lines!
It was kind of impossible to imagine Elle doing normal-person date things. Going to the aquarium and pointing out all the funniest-looking fish. Cuddling on a couch. Making out like a teen.
Okay, maybe that one was not as difficult to imagine. Elle was gorgeous, with thick, glossy hair, kissable lips, a constellation of birthmarks on her neck, just peeking out from under her collar...
Despite the chill of the ice-cream and the cool breeze of the cafe, Avery felt a little flushed.
*
For the rest of the day, Avery eyed Elle. Her normal working aura-- smooth, unflappable, too cool for anything to bother her-- had been undone.
Just a little bit. Just one thread out of the tapestry. But Avery had spent a year working across from her, and she liked to think that by now she was moderately fluent in Elleneese.
Elle was flipping through the pages of a report, perfectly businesslike, but her knee was jiggling. Every few minutes, she scowled, deep in some unhappy train of thought.
And, more importantly, she didn't bitch Avery out. Not once.
After a while, it was clear: she had a crush, and their conversation about following your heart had put her in a bad mood.
But Avery could help with that!
"Elle," Avery announced, breaking the unnatural silence of the office. "You helped me, so I'm going to help you."
Elle looked up at her for the first time that afternoon, eyeing her suspiciously. "With the first quarter reports?"
"I know you have a crush."
Elle froze. "What?"
"I know that you like someone. You tried to help me with Dakota, so," Avery spread her hands, "can I help you with your mystery person?"
Avery's first worry was that Elle would laugh at her. Instead, Elle rolled her eyes to the heavens. And stayed that way.
"Elle?"
"Nrgh," said Elle passionately, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.
"Okay, you clearly need help," Avery nodded in satisfaction. She got up from her desk and walked around to Elle's side.
Elle's eyes dropped from their silent communion with the light fixture, and settled back down to Avery. "What kind of 'help' could you give me?" she scowled.
Avery decided to ignore the quotation marks in her voice. "What if I'm the person?"
"What?!"
"Like, how you were being Dakota for me," Avery explained. "I'll pretend to be your crush, and you practise asking me out."
"Oh, you--!" Elle smacked her folder against her desk. "Go away. Go far away. Go confess to Dakota, and never talk to me again."
Hmm. Something in the way that Elle wasn't looking at Avery began to get Avery's spidey-senses tingling.
Avery had laughed when she'd found out that her boss was into women. What were the odds? She'd never once wondered about Elle. The other woman tended to keep her personal life to herself, and despite the contents of a few rather indulgent daydreams early on in their working relationship (
oh, I'm just bending over to restock the photocopier, I sure hope that no hot femme drags me over her knee!), Avery had never got any vibes off of her.
But now… Avery watched the colour seep into Elle's face as she glowered at her stapler. Her expression was as stony as always, but her ears were going pink.
"Elle," Avery said, slowly. "Why are you so interested in getting Dakota and me together?"
Elle sucked in a breath, then cut her sharp blue eyes away from Avery's seeking gaze. "Are you kidding me? You've been mooning over her for a year. That's just sad. I want you two to get together so I can stop hearing you sigh over it every damn week."
Avery stepped closer. Elle took a step backwards, cut off when she bumped up against the desk. "Is that so?"
"Yes. You have no idea how annoying it is."
"No other reason?"
"What other reason would I need?" Elle said, and
oh, there was an edge of something strange trembling in her voice, somewhere between fear and desperation.
This was so much easier in video games. There was no way to find a walkthrough for this, so Avery just had to screw up her courage and take a breath and say: "Hey, Elle? Do you like me?"
"I'm not a silly little girl." Elle glared down at her. "I wouldn't try to chase someone who has their heart pinned on someone else."
Oh.
"What on earth does someone like
you see in someone like
me?"
Elle stared down at her furiously. "Your first thought on making me spill my guts is to try to get compliments out of the deal?"
"No!" It's just…" Avery gestured between them, fighting the urge to laugh. "You're gorgeous, and I'm just an awkward dork… It's like cats and dogs, if the cat is a prize-winning purebred and the dog is some kind of weird goofy pug."
"Ugh." Elle crossed her arms. "Fine. You're cute."
"What?"
"Are you going to make me spell it out?" Elle let out an annoyed
hmph. "You're cute. Your hair is cute. The way you smile is cute."
"I'm a mess."
"And that's cute too!" Elle growled. "I want to take you out to fancy restaurants and feed you things. I don't want a clone of myself. I've tried that. It's terrible. I want someone who makes me laugh."
"Oh."
"I want to see what your tits look like underneath those ugly shirts!"
"
Oh." Avery's world spun, her mind reeling. She felt like she'd been cold-cocked, all the sense knocked right out of her. "They're not that bad," she managed, plucking at the hem of her Vault-Tec shirt. "The shirts, I mean..."
"Infuriating," Elle humphed. "So either stop mooning over Dakota in front of me, or--"
"Or?"
Elle threw up her hands. "I don't know!"
Avery wasn't exactly the risk-taking sort. She'd never bungee-jumped, or gone white-water rafting, or stepped off of a high-dive platform.
At that moment, though, with Elle looking undone and vulnerable, she took the plunge.
Avery rocked up onto her tiptoes and kissed her.
CHAPTER THREE
It was a picture-perfect romantic moment.
Unfortunately, Avery was the one at its helm, so it was as clumsy as everything else in her life. Her teeth clacked against Elle's, making them both wince.
"God, I'm sorry!" she blurted, stepping back.
To her surprise, Elle laughed, the sound bright and clear. "When I thought about this, I never pictured that particular thing happening. I should have, though. What an oversight."
Avery's heart raced, and she grinned. "You have inappropriate thoughts about your coworkers? I'm pretty sure that's sexual harassment."
"Hmph." Elle tossed her head. "If you don't tell on me, I won't tell on you."
"Deal," Avery agreed, and then she leaned back up for another try.
This time, it was better. They took their time, tentative, finding the ways that they fit together. Elle's tongue swept into Avery's mouth, claiming her, and Avery let out a truly embarrassing sound.
Elle just laughed, and did it again.
Avery groaned against Elle's mouth, overcome. Her hands grabbed at Elle to anchor herself, one on Elle's waist, the other on her ass.
Elle inhaled sharply. Avery jerked her hand away.
"Sorry, sorry, bad call, that was too fast--"
"Avery," Elle snarled, "I have been thinking about fucking you for the better part of a year." Her icy blue eyes were blazing. "You can go faster."
"Oh," Avery considered. Carefully, she skated her fingers back down Elle's waist, settling her hand on her ass. "Good?"
"Good," Elle agreed.
Just as carefully, she slid her other hand upwards from Elle's waist, brushing against the swell of her breasts through her sweater. "Good?"
"Better," Elle said, her eyes ablaze.
For the next step...
Avery moved her hands off of Elle's body entirely.
She stepped away, and… "Good?" she asked again, firmly locking the office door.
"Best," Elle agreed, with a wicked grin, and then her hands were on Avery, possessive and hungry.
Elle's fingers teased Avery's sensitive nipples through the fabric, her palms cupping her breasts. Elle let out a possessive little sound; when Avery arched up into her touch, approving, asking for more, Elle's hands slipped under the hem of Avery's t-shirt, and roamed up along her stomach to grab greedy handfuls of her breasts.
Avery bit back a moan. This was all so fast…
She… kinda liked it.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When your hot coworker wants to get to second base in your office instead of doing her quarterly reports, well, Avery certainly wasn't going to say no.
Avery liked Elle taking what she wanted-- and she wanted to give her more. She grabbed the hem of her shirt, and then yanked it off.
This was crazy. Avery wasn't the kind of person to fuck on the first date, or on the job-- but here she was, in the middle of a two-for-one of bad ideas. And with the way that Elle was looking at her, she certainly wasn't going to stop.
If I'd known that I was going to fuck my hot coworker, I would have worn a better bra to work, she thought. Any embarrassment at her not-the-most-flattering bra, however, was soon off the table.
When she unhooked it, though, it became clear that Elle didn't give a damn about her bra. "Oh my god," Elle growled, her eyes ablaze, and the hunger in her voice went straight between Avery's legs.
Being looked at like that… was a lot.
But it was something that Avery could definitely get used to.
Elle closed the gap between them again. Her hands came up to caress Avery's breasts, gazing down at Avery with fierce desire as she toyed with her. Avery's nipples were achingly hard under Elle's touch, every brush against them making her suck in a breath.
"You're so cute," Elle growled.
Avery let out a shaking breath. "You sound mad!"
"I am," Elle said, steadfast. "I'm mad that these aren't already in my mouth."
"Oh, well, that's a problem we can work on," Avery started in her best talking-to-clients voice, but before she could continue to dither, Elle beat her to the punch.
Elle's perfect mouth on her breasts, her lipstick still pristine-- and how did she manage that, Avery's was always getting everywhere-- Avery let out a whine, her thighs clenching together.
As a teasing lap of Elle's tongue, Avery gasped and slid a hand into Elle's hair-- or intended to, at least. Her fingers bunted against her bun.
Oops, forgot about that. Clumsy move, Ave.
Without missing a beat, Elle reached behind her head and pulled her bun open. She shook her waves of wheatfield-blonde hair free, and then she pressed her mouth back against Avery's overheated skin, her tongue lashing hot stripes over her achingly hard nipples.
Avery obediently moved her hand back, brushing her fingers through Elle's wavy locks, pulling her closer. Was it possible to come just from having your breasts played with? She didn't know, but as she panted under Elle's onslaught, she thought that she was in danger of soon finding out.
As if reading her mind, Elle's fingers dipped lower, to toy with the button of Avery's jeans. She looked down at Avery with a question in her eyes.
This was crazy. This was
beyond crazy. It was twelve different HR issues in a trenchcoat.
Avery nodded.
Elle didn't even bother to tug them out of the way. She flicked the button open, unzipping her without fanfare. Then her hand pressed against Avery's stomach, sliding down underneath the elastic of her panties, then further.
Avery let her head fall back against the office wall with a thunk. She bit her lip to muffle a groan, her eyes falling shut.
There was a creak.
They froze.
From the other side of the wall, they heard Dakota's office door open and shut, and then her footsteps and she walked around.
The building was old. The walls were thin. A cold sheen of sweat prickled at Avery's skin. "We should stop," she whispered.
Elle made a thoughtful face, and nodded. "Probably," she whispered into Avery's ear, and then she went back to what she was doing. "But do you really want to?"
Avery fought back a yelp. She leaned her weight against the wall, arching up into Elle's hand, trying to breathe as silently as she could.
"No," she said, with fervour.
"Good."
Elle's fingers slid over her curls, curling down to slip between her lips. Despite the cramped space of Avery's jeans, her fingertips dragged sweetly back and forth over Avery's clit, as if she had all the space in the world.
When Elle walked into a room, it was like she owned the place. When she slid her fingers over Avery's clit, it was like she owned it.
And Avery was more than fine with that.
"Let me," she panted, as quiet as she could. Her hands grabbed Elle's ass desperately, pulling her closer. "You-- I want to--"
Without another word, Elle jammed her free hand up under her own skirt and yanked her stockings down, then grabbed Avery's hand and pressed it to herself.
Fuck, she was wet. Avery let out an involuntary whimper at the sensation, her hips bucking up against Elle's hand. Elle silenced her by claiming her mouth with her own, muffling her cries in the sweetest way.
After spending years with housemates, Avery had thought that she was an old pro at coming silently. Being quiet? No probs. She was an orgasm ninja.
But now, with Elle's touch insistent on her aching clit, Elle's tongue in her mouth, Elle's pussy hot and slick against her fingers, all for
her… it was too much. She let out a strangled squeal as her climax hit her, crashing white-hot and overwhelming through her.
The walls really were thin. "Everything okay in there?" Dakota asked from the adjoining office.
"Just stubbed my toe!" Avery managed, her voice as normal as she could manage with Elle's fingers still on her, aftershocks rolling through her, her heart hammering like she'd just run a marathon.
"Ouch," Dakota said pleasantly, and then went back to her work.
Elle's body shook with silent laughter, and Avery scowled at her. No longer distracted by her own desire, she exacted her revenge in the sweetest way possible.
She pressed her fingers inside Elle, and if she hadn't already just come, oh-- the feel of her pussy around her fingers was something primal and animal. Avery sucked in a breath, moving her fingers faster.
Elle rode Avery's hand with the hunger of someone who had waited far too long, rough and demanding more. Her thighs trembled around Avery's wrist, her hips angling up for more; Avery, always happy to please, gave it to her.
When she came, Avery slung her other hand around her waist, pulling her in in a tight embrace. Elle moaned softly against Avery's mouth, riding her climax, then broke the kiss to pant for breath.
As their bodies settled once more, Elle dropped her head to Avery's shoulder. "If you sigh over Dakota again," she whispered, her voice throaty and her accent thicker, "I will die. I will throw all of your stationary into the duck pond, and then you after it."
"That's fair," Avery agreed, and then she tucked her face against the curve of Elle's neck and began to laugh.
*
Dakota looked through the open door to her assistants' office, her head cocked.
They were both great at their jobs, but everyone had their little quirks around the workplace. For Avery, that took the form of being really eager to please-- wherever Dakota went, there was a good chance that she'd soon be underfoot for no reason that Dakota could see.
Elle, on the other hand, tended to be very hands-off. Her work was technically perfect, but she liked an orderly workplace.
Very orderly. Between her strict focus on work and Avery's habitual chatter, the vibe in the shared office was usually strained. It was like putting a dog and a cat in the same room, and then expecting them to give her an expense report.
Lately, though…
Dakota leaned against the doorframe and watched them work.
Instead of the office being silent, the result of an ongoing cold war over their irreconcilable tastes in music, something was playing quietly in the background.
"This textile artist's emails are terrible. He never answers any of my questions. It's killing me. I'm going to die."
"No you're not. If you do, I'm going to dig you up and make you answer them anyway. There's no way I'm dealing with his shit."
Avery twisted on her chair, spinning it back and forth, looking over at Elle with a fond, mischievous smile. "I'll trade you a cupcake to handle it."
Elle's stony face was implacable. "I don't want a cupcake."
"I'll trade you… one cupcake, and I'll also unload the staff room dishwasher for a week."
"I've seen that man's emails. No deal."
Avery's normally cheerful tone dipped down into something lower that Dakota had never heard. She wiggled her eyebrows. "I'll trade you a cupcake, a week of unloading the dishwasher, and something even better..."
Dakota's phone buzzed to let her know she had a message. The two of them froze, like they'd been caught out doing something ilicit.
"Hey, boss!" Avery trilled, dropping whatever silly thing she was about to say. "Do you need something?"
"No, I was just walking by, and the door was open." Dakota smiled. "You know, it's good to see you two getting on a little better these days."
"Us? Getting along?" Avery let out a peal of giggles. "What makes you say that?"
Elle gave Dakota a
do you see what I have to put up with? look.
Okay, maybe things hadn't changed that much. "I'll leave you to it," Dakota said, and moved on to the rest of her day.
Whatever was going on between the two of them, she wanted them to keep it up.
Workplace harmony was key, after all.
