They Met in a Diner

"Hey Em, could you drop a fresh cup of coffee at table 12? My bladder is about to burst and she's been waiting too long." Jeff begged, dropping plates in the sink and shoving the clearing tub underneath.

"Jeffery P. Davis you know damn well my shift was supposed to be over three hours ago. I want out of here." Emily glared at him, already untying her apron.

His only response was an intense pout and a knee knocking dance to prove his dire need.

"Fine. Leaded?"

"Yes. ThankyouIloveyouohmygod." All of it was a rush as Jeff sprinted to the restrooms with a wave over his shoulder.

Emily left her apron on and snagged a pot of coffee from the machine before making her way out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Table 12 was a small booth tucked in the back. Emily only saw one head, for which she was grateful. Conversation wasn't something she wanted right now.

"Here you go, sorry for the wait. We had a busy dinner rush tonight!" Emily automatically apologizes when she comes to the table, pouring steaming coffee into the empty mug. She offered the guest a smile, then gasped when she recognized her. "Max, wow, I didn't know you guys were here!"

Startled blue eyes met hers, Max removing her hands from her hair, the short strands standing on end. "Hey, Emily. No, no, it's just me. Kids are with my parents."

"Ah, so you get some much needed 'mom time'." Emily cocked her hip and gave Max a smile.

"Something like that." Max returned the smile, then looked down at the table, pulling the coffee towards her. She flicked her wrist, checking the time on her watch.

"Is this a last stop before picking up the kiddos? I can get you a cup to go if you need one." Emily offered, reluctant to leave. She had known Max and her family for the last year, striking up a rapport with the kids. She knew they were going through a rough time, had been for the last year ever since Arthur, Max's husband, had died. She wasn't clear on the details, just what the kids would randomly share before Max could cut them off. It had never felt like her place to pry, so she would always follow Max's lead and change the conversation. This was a new thing, Max being here alone and Emily felt like this was a rare chance to get to know the real Max.

"No, they're spending the night there. The house was too quiet without them so I drove around, ended up here. I don't really want to go home yet." Max admitted with a self deprecating chuckle.

Emily chewed her lip, considering. "You know, if you wanted a bit of friendly company, my shift ended, like, hours ago. I could sit and talk with you, or just keep you company."

Max looked up at Emily, surprise evident in her eyes. "Oh, geez, you don't have to keep boring old me company. It's Friday night, I'm sure you have plans, don't skip out on them on my behalf."

"Nonsense, you're not boring. Let me put this away, and I'll be right back." Emily swiftly poured another mug of coffee for herself and winked at Max before hustling back to the kitchen. She traded the coffee pot and apron for her purse and jacket, then returned to Max's booth, sliding gracefully into the opposite bench.

"So, how did your day go?" Emily asked, blowing off her coffee.

Max huffed a laugh. "Really?" Emily just raised an eyebrow, "Alright then. Uh, I woke up, got the kids to school, worked for a few hours. Picked the kids up when school was over. Fed them dinner and dropped them off at the grandparents. I've just sort of wandered around until an hour ago when I came here." Max looked up at Emily, absently brushing her hair out of her eyes. "What about your day?"

"Much the same as yours. Woke up, came to work, stayed late because the girl who gets the late shift was late getting in, then we had a crazier than usual dinner rush so I got sucked into helping with that. Now I'm here, talking with you." Emily crossed her legs under the table, her foot brushing Max's knee.

"So, an average day then?" Max asked. Emily laughed quietly. "Pretty much."

They sat quietly sipping their coffee, Emily trying not to be obvious in her staring at Max's hands. Emily had noticed Max's hands after a chance run in in the restrooms. Max had been helping her youngest wash her hands, lifting the toddler up to reach the sink. Something about the way Max's hands had wrapped around the kid's torso had caught Emily's eye and she'd found herself looking at Max's hands every chance she got. The breadth of her palm, the length of her fingers, the evident strength in them, Emily was familiar with it all.

"Sorry I'm not very chatty. Without the kids to keep my on my toes I tend to be quiet." Max tapped her fingers on the curve of the mug.

"There's no need to keep me entertained with conversation. It's nice to sit and enjoy the quiet sometimes." Emily assured Max, looking up to see an apologetic expression on Max's face. "I mean it. Don't feel like you have to wow me with riveting conversation."

Max fidgeted, ducking her head for a second. "I just never know what to say anymore. I spend so much time talking with the kids, interacting with them that adult conversation is actually a struggle."

Emily reached a hand out to Max, who looked at it with uncertainty and hesitation. Slowly one of her hands crept across the table to meet Emily's. "I can only imagine how hard things have been for you. I hope you know that if you ever need a friend, you've got one in me." Emily squeezed Max's fingers, keeping her eyes on Max's.

"Okay, Woody." Max smirked, chuckling when Emily rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, though Max. All you have to do is ask." Emily watched a blush spread across Max's cheeks, curious what that meant.

"Thank you, Em. That, um, that means a lot." Max squeezed Emily's hand before pulling away.

They sat and talked until closing, touching on anything that wasn't strictly personal. Finally, Emily nodded to Jeffery, who came to tell them that the doors were closing and they needed to leave.

"I have one more question, Max. Could you tell me about that book there. Are you writing or drawing?" Emily stood and slipped into her jacket, looking pointedly at the black book sitting on the table by Max's elbow.

"Oh, shit. That's nothing." Max picked the book up in a hurry, fumbling with a pen and pencil.

"Bull. Can I take a peek?" Emily leaned on the table, grinning at Max's panicked look.

"I don't think so." Max swallowed, tugging a slate blue beanie over her short hair. She smiled nervously, "Can I walk you to your car?"

"Only if you let me see what you're working on." Emily straightened and crossed her arms over her chest.

Max wavered then handed over the book, keeping a hold of it even after Emily took it with both hands. "Just...I don't...fuck. It's not going to be what you're expecting. Sorry." Max grimaced and let go, standing to put on her own coat and repack her backpack.

Emily made a sound of disbelief in her throat and opened the book, initially seeing nothing but some simple sketches, realizing on closer inspection they're drawings of naked women. She walked when a firm hand at her elbow led her forward, too busy flicking to the next page where she finds a fully rendered scene, two women wrapped in each other and a passionate kiss. On the neighboring page the women were undressing one another, the word "Hurry" in the lone speech bubble.

The next pages showed a six part progression, one woman kissing the bared breasts of her partner who was still working on ditching her top. Then they were both naked and reclining on a bed, bodies slotted together. The final shot of the first page showed the woman on top inching down, raining kisses as she moved. The second page had the most action, with the first woman performing oral, the fucking her partner with a strap on before cuddling sweetly.

Emily turned the page, eager for more and gasped quietly. The scene on the next two pages were explicit and told the entire story with the subtle details. The first page showed a woman spreading herself lewdly in a chair, one hand busy between her widespread thighs, the other hand pulling open the delicate negligee to expose a plump breast. A second woman stood over her, commanding and regal, a hand wrapped around the first woman's throat with the word "Mine" written between them. The opposite page showed the second woman with slender fingers under the chin of the first woman, the simple command "Cum for me" clearly the cause of the clenched eyes and open mouth of the masturbating woman.

Sudden cold brought Emily's head up, her pulse pounding in her ears and throbbing between her legs. Max stopped their forward progress at Emily's sharp inhalation, looking up in concern.

"Em?"

"Holy fucking shit." Emily looked back down at the pages she had flipped through, then at Max, her eyes unable to focus on much.

"You...guh...you drew these?"

Max blushed bright red and broke eye contact. "Yes."

"Wow. I don't normally...I mean, I enjoy sex as much as the next lady, I don't consider myself a prude or whatever. But I've never see artwork like that, ya know, erotic. Um. Ever. This was, this is very..." Emily put a hand to her head and exhaled roughly. "How did you draw this?"

Max shrugged and wandered to the side of the building, leaning against the wall. "I can't seem to draw anything without adding sex. It's just the way my brain is wired, I guess."

"So, you have more like this?" Emily leaned next to Max, shoulder to the wall so she could face her.

"Yes." Max looked up at Emily, something in her eyes, something Emily felt mirrored in her own, felt in her chest, fluttering in time to the thump of her heart.

"Where do your ideas come from? For a drawing, or for what happens?" Emily asked, opening the book again, her eyes lingering on the word 'Mine.'

"Mostly my own head. Fantasies. Uh, sometimes it's a scene in a movie, or on tv. Sometimes just a single phrase will be enough. Sometimes it's just my own head and what excites me." Max shuffled her feet, her fingers twisting each other.

"Are..are they all like this one?" Emily asked, holding up the book.

Max looked up, eyebrows raised. "Which ones did you see?" Emily passed the sketchbook over, "Oh. Huh...this one." Max cleared her throat and glanced up at Emily, blushing again.

"What's that mean?" Emily asked, inching closer, to peer at the pages.

Max straightened and exhaled a shaky breath. "I actually did that for someone. She had a bit of an ownership kink."

Emily giggled, "That came across pretty clearly. Did she enjoy it?"

Max smiled then, large and with a laugh bursting from her mouth. "Very much. Of that I'm sure."

"Oh, so confident. How do you know that she enjoyed it so much then? What did she say about it?" Emily bumped her shoulder into Max's.

Max swallowed and hesitated before glancing up at Emily. "It wasn't what she said, so much as what she did."

"What did she do?" Emily asked, her eyes rounding in anticipation. Max just grinned at her shoes, blushing in the dark. Emily slapped her arm playfully. "You are an insufferable tease."

"I'm not teasing! Well, maybe a little. She sent a video. One I cannot show you, but could tell you about...in varying degrees of detail."

"I'd rather you demonstrated for me." The words spilled from her mouth without Emily's permission. Both women paused, acknowledging the offer and silently gauging each other's reaction. Emily could see the want in Max's face, had seen it on more than one occasion in the past too. She'd never been sure it was real until now, and oh how she ached to take Max by the hand and show her how much she wanted her too.

"Em, I don't know if that's wise." Max whispered, her eyes darting down to Emily's lips as her tongue flashed out, wetting them.

"Is there any harm in it? Really?" Emily asked, too caught up to be embarrassed by her lack of thought. "I want to kiss you, Max." She pleaded, reaching out to tuck hair back under Max's beanie.

Max closed her eyes and shivered, turning her cheek into Emily's lingering hand. When she opened her eyes again, her pupils were visibly blown, black nearly engulfing the deep blue. Without another word she brought her hands up to cup Emily's face, stepping close to bring their lips together.

Emily had initially braced herself for a rough, hungry kiss, based solely on her own arousal and the roughness of Max's hands, calluses scraping softly against her skin. What she found herself relaxing into was soft, gentle, and desperately hungry. If it weren't for the rapid puff of Max's breathing across her cheek or the warmth of Max's body pressing hers into the wall, Emily might have thought Max was less affected. Emily pushed her hands inside Max's jacket, clutching the fabric of her shirt, needing something to ground herself with. Her head was spinning with imagery from Max's confession, her own arousal, and the quiet intensity of Max's kisses. The fact that much of her blood was traveling south didn't help.

It wasn't long before Max took her kisses away, scattering them instead along Emily's jaw and down her neck, the cold brush of her nose bringing goosebumps to Emily's skin, only to be warmed by the sweep of a hot tongue. Emily panted under the sweet torture, hips wiggling and hands fumbling badly with Max's shirt, struggling to get underneath so she could touch skin. She pulled at the next layer, grunting in victory when her fingertips brushed the hot skin of Max's side.

Suddenly, Max was two steps away, disheveled and panting hard, hands pushing into her hair, knocking the beanie off entirely. "Fuck."

Emily sagged against the wall and tried to remember how to breathe. "Okay."

Max made a rough sound and bared her teeth at the sky. "No, Em. I, I, maybe we're making a mistake."

"How can you say that? Jesus. I'm literally weak at the knees. You did that. Don't leave me now. Max." Emily opened her arms but Max didn't budge. "Please, come here."

Moving slowly Max stepped back into Emily's space, stumbling when Emily tugged her the last couple of inches so they were pressed close. "Emily, what are we doing?"

"Exploring." Emily smiled down into Max's eyes, amused by her seriousness. "Why?"

Max sighed and wrapped her arms around Emily, but didn't sink into her the way Emily wanted. "I need to know what you want from this...exploration."

"You." Emily smirked, hoping Max would soften.

Max snorted and shook her head, smiling softly, "You silly girl. I have kids, Em. I need to know what I'm getting into before we go further. Is this a fling? Once and done, or are we starting something more in depth? We both have a tomorrow to deal with, and mine has complications."

"Max, are you asking if I want to date?" Emily leaned down and touched her nose to Max's.

"Yeah. I am."

"Good. I think I do. Is it okay that I'm not concretely positive?" Emily asked, beginning to understand Max's hesitation.

"Of course. I just want to be aware of your headspace before we, you know-" Max paused, lost for the right phrase.

"Get down to business? Do the dirty? Horizontal mambo? Metaphorically hide the salami?" Emily smiled widely when Max burst out laughing.

"Yeah, all of that." Max smoothed Emily's hair over her ear, her thumb tracing the curve.

"Now that you're aware, that I'm interested in more than just one night of naughty deeds, do you want to go to my place, or yours?"

******

They tripped over the threshold of Emily's apartment, half falling in when the door opened under her blind attempts to unlock it. Max used their forward momentum to spin them, landing hard against the wall. "Shit, sorry."

"Whatever." Emily kicked the front door shut and pulled Max's mouth back to hers. She pushed Max's coat and jacket off, hands greedily running over broad shoulders and bunched biceps. Emily squeezed Max's arm, moaning when her grip barely made a depression in the muscle. She wanted to see those arms, wanted to see what Max looked like without clothes. Emily pushed her hands between them and found Max's belt, managing to get it loose, but not unbuckled before hands were helping her out of her own jacket.

Free of her coat Emily found herself pushed into the wall again, Max kneeling between her legs and somehow sliding her work pants down her legs already. "Oh God, Max, you don't have to - Christ!" Emily swore, grabbing a fistful of Max's hair and beanie in her shock. Hot breath and a nudging nose against her swollen, wet pussy was enough to make her world spin, even through her panties.

"Can I?" Max asked, her words slightly muffled as she spoke them into Emily's lower belly. Strong hands slid up her thighs, rubbing gentle circles, soothing her as she panted and struggled to find the correct words.

"Yes, yes, you can do anything."

Emily watched with an open mouth as Max pulled the drenched gusset of her panties aside and swept her tongue through the wet mess of her sex. Max's eyes fluttered as a pleased moan vibrated against Emily, followed by hot suction on her throbbing clit.

"Oh, holy fuck, Max," Emily sighed, her hips twitching at the direct pleasure. "Damn that feels so good, I can't even, like, oh," Emily gasped when Max's lips released with a sharp slurp.

"Sorry." Max apologized breathlessly, bringing a hand up to introduce a single finger between puffy labia. "Is this okay?" she asked, teasing Emily's pulsing hole.

"God, yes!" Emily humped forward trying to get Max's finger inside where she craved it. Max made a comforting noise and slipped her finger in, plunging deep until her knuckles met wet flesh. Her unsteady breath at the hot, silken grasp was muffled around Emily's clit.

Emily rested her head against the wall and tried not to let her trembling legs give her away. "Fuck Max, your mouth is amazing. I already wanna cum. How is that even possible?" she asked the ceiling.

Max let go just long enough to encourage her, "Cum for me, whenever it happens, cum in my mouth."

"Give me more, please, Max!" Emily begged, eyes squinting shut as the heat in her belly reached a boiling point.

A second finger was added, then a third when Emily whined plaintively. Max didn't retreat to thrust the way Emily expected, instead pressing deeper, rotating her hand with every push. Emily choked out a gasp and tugged Max's hair in her fist as an orgasm ripped through her. "Jesuschristimcumming!"

Max held her up with a hand splayed on her chest between her breasts as Emily twitched and shuddered through the pleasure. Such a show of strength was arousing and Emily decided she needed to see Max naked. Now.

With a whine Emily pulled Max's soft tongue away from her still throbbing pussy and sank to her knees. She kissed her, purring at the taste of herself on Max's tongue, then whisked the tee shirt up and over Max's head.

Or, she tried to. Max knocked her hands away and broke their kiss, chest heaving, lips kiss swollen. She stared at Emily, dazed, then shook her head. "I'd rather leave it on."

"Oh." Emily blinked at Max, just as dazed. She tried to figure out if she'd done something to make Max uncomfortable, but her brain couldn't process much.

She stared too long because Max shifted self consciously, moving as if to rise. "No, no. Don't." Emily reached out, fingers curling in Max's shirt. She looked up, blinking through the need swamping her to see Max's shy glances between her and the floor. Words failed Emily, the right ones to reassure Max just not coming to mind. Instead Emily rocked forward and kissed Max again, her fingers relaxing to slide up and settle on the warm curve of Max's waist.

Trembling hands framed her jaw, a gentle tongue slipped against hers. Max settled into her and Emily hummed her pleasure. "Don't hide from me." She whispered against Max's mouth. "You're beautiful."