Rose One Shots/Drabbles

It was the day after the Met Gala. Everyone had met at Lou’s place around noon to discuss and toast to their success, the celebration stretching for hours. It wasn’t until the sun was starting to go down that there was a lull in the conversation.

“Lou.” Daphne said suddenly.

Lou turned towards her in acknowledgement, and Daphne pointed a perfectly manicured finger towards the window. “There’s a beach out there.”

“I am aware.” Lou said, amused at the obvious statement.

“Do you own it?”

“Some of it.”

“Oh, I love private beaches.” Daphne slid off the counter she had been perched on. “I’m going out there.”

“It’s almost dark.” Leslie chimed in.

“Haven’t you people ever heard of the golden hour? And there’s supposed to be an absolutely gorgeous full moon tonight.” She turned to Rose, running her hand down her arm and interlacing their fingers. “You should come with me.”

Rose was startled, to say the least, and looking down at their clasped hands she hoped desperately that her palms wouldn’t start to sweat. It was a rather embarrassing nervous habit. “I… Right now?”

“Yea!” Daphne flashed her trademark dazzling smile, and Rose had a hard time pulling her eyes away from those luscious lips. “It’ll be a date.”

Before Rose could question what exactly Daphne meant - a date? Like a date-date? Romantically? - She was being pulled out of the kitchen and towards the door. Daphne stopped and backtracked for a moment.

“We’ll be needing this.” She said to the group, grabbing a half full glass of champagne off the counter. Without another word, she was out the door, dragging Rose in her wake.

Outside, Rose noticed, there wasn’t a dock or anything of that sort. Harsh concrete gave away to soft beach sand rather suddenly, with little plants spotting the beach for only a short length before stretching into pristine white dunes. Except now, illuminated by the sun setting, the dunes seemed to glow a soft orange.

“Oh goodness, hold on a sec.” Daphne grabbed Rose’s shoulder for balance and leaned down to remove her shoes. “I can’t exactly go treading through the sand in 6 inch heels, can I?” Rose did her best to remain still. She briefly thought of reaching a hand out to Daphne’s waist, just to steady her, but banished the thought away. After a moment, Daphne straightened and carefully set her heels on the threshold where concrete met sand. She flexed her toes and rolled her ankles, sighing in relief.

“God, those were killing me. You know, you should take your shoes off too. I’d hate to see them get ruined, they look so damn good on you.”

Rose looked down at her flats. They were her favorite pair. Floral patterned, and surprisingly comfortable. After a moment she slipped them off and placed them next to Daphne’s. Daphne took her hand once again and lead them down the beach to the water’s edge. They were standing so close, their shoulders were almost touching. Rose could swear there was a buzz of electricity between them.

Daphne was trying to pull the cork from the champagne bottle. It wouldn’t be too hard, as it was already opened, but it still took her a moment.

“We didn’t bring any glasses.”

The cork came free with a pop. “That’s alright. We can share.” She took a drink from the bottle, the glass sparkling in the dying sun as she brought it to her lips. Then she passed it to Rose, who took a more timid sip.

“It’s so beautiful.” Daphne said quietly.

“What?”

“The sunset. The ocean. Sometimes I get so caught up in…” She made a swirling gesture with her hand. “All this. The celebrity life. The glam, the make up, all the fake shit. I forget to appreciate things like this.”

“Oh.” Rose said simply. If she was being honest, she forgot to appreciate things like this too. Life just gets in the way sometimes. Or, in this particular case, a stunningly charismatic and attractive model. Rose had hardly been able to take her eyes off of Daphne all day, enraptured by her laugh, the way her eyes sparkled. But now she did, looking out across the sea to share in the appreciation. Daphne was right. The sun was almost gone, streaking the sky with red that faded to a deep purple, and then the beginnings of night. Every small wave sparkled with the reflection, and standing at the edge like this, waves lapping at their feet, it seemed to stretch on forever. It was enchanting.

“Wanna go skinny dipping?”

The spell of tranquility shattered around Rose. “Oh no, absolutely not.” She refused, adamantly shaking her head.

Daphne threw her head back in a laugh. “I was only joking. I knew you’d say no.”

“I guess I’m pretty predictable, then.” Rose said.

“No, not predictable, just…” She pursed her lips, trying to find the right words. “Easy to read.”

“Well that’s even worse!” Rose exclaimed.

“No it’s not!”

“Yes, it is.”

Daphne crossed her arms over her chest. “How?”

“ ‘Cause.” She stopped to take another sip of champagne, not meeting Daphne’s gaze. “If I’m predictable, then at least I can surprise you by being uncharacteristically unpredictable. If I’m easy to read, well then I’m just… boring. Aren’t I?”

“Rose, you could never be boring. Look at you! You’re a fashion designer! An amazing one, amazing enough to design a dress for one of the most exclusive parties you can get into. You’re sweet,you’re smart, you're…” Daphne made another motion with her hands. “You’re addicted to nutella.” She said with a laugh. “And you’re certainly not boring to look at.”

Rose’s gaze jerked to hers in surprise, and she paused, the cogs in her head spinning. “You're…flirting with me.” The tone of her voice was almost disbelief.

Another laugh escaped Daphne’s throat, awakening butterflies in Rose’s chest.

“I’ve been flirting with you since I met you, but thanks for finally noticing.”

Rose blushed, looking down at the ground. Water swirled around her feet, barely touching her ankles before receding back into the sea again with each new wave.

“I’m not good at these types of things.”

Rose thought Daphne would laugh again, how could she not? She was so… her. So sociable, so confident. She must find it amusing that Rose was… inept. But no laugh rang across the beach. Rose glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

“That’s alright. You don’t have to be.” Daphne said.

She brushed a blonde curl behind Rose’s ear. Rose didn’t move. She didn’t have to be good at this kind of thing to know that Daphne was about to kiss her. The look in her eyes. The slight parting of the lips as she leaned in. Although her body was still, Rose’s mind was haywire. Should she stay still? Should she lean in? Could she touch her, cup her face with her hands and pull her closer? She didn’t have time to think it through before Daphne’s lips were on hers, and a small gasp escaped her. The kiss was short, only a few seconds, but sweet, and left a lingering heat spreading across her cheeks and throughout her body. The butterflies in her chest had turned to birds, flapping around to escape the cage that was her ribs.

Daphne pulled away. “Was that alright?” She asked.

Rose nodded quickly. Her lips still tingled. “Could you… Could you do it again?”

Daphne smiled, and as their lips connected again, Rose realized it was only one of many more to come.