Hold Her Steady
Emma’s Point of View
It has been a long week and I am finally off for the weekend. I am sitting outside of Starbucks because today is one of the odd August days that the weather is in the 70’s with low humidity. I can actually sit outside without feeling like I am sitting in the deep end of swimming pool. I am waiting on David to get off work, so we can hang out and get ready. We are going out tonight with Hood, his boyfriend whose name is actually Robin Locksley, and Ruby. I call Robin "Hood" because he is in charge of his father's company's charitable donations, which means he is taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor. I know it is not the same as the real Robin Hood, but his name his Robin and it amuses me. My amusement in this regard is really all that matters and his initial eye-rolls made it worth it.
I am so concentrated on reading my book that I did not hear my phone ring. I look at the caller ID and see that it is my mom calling. I really do not have time to deal with her right now, so I ignore it. I go back to reading my book and my mother calls me again. I silence it because my mom needs to get the message that I do not want to talk to her.
Right then I hear a sultry voice say, “dear isn’t kind of rude to ignore your phone?” I look up and there she is. The sun is behind her head giving her the look of an angel. I look her up and down and she has on tight black slacks, a white button down, and a black vest. As usual, she takes my breath away. On my visual trip back up her body, my eyes pause on her breasts and she clears her throat. My eyes immediately return to her eyes and I feel my cheeks getting hot. She smirks and there is something going on in those chocolate eyes that I cannot quite figure out.
She licks her lips and then says “Dear it is quite rude to stare.” I am momentarily speechless because I can only stare out her lips that are still set in a smirk. “Hhow are you today Dr. Mills?” I manage to stutter out. “Oh, I am just fine dear. Especially now that I have seen you.” All of a sudden I swallow weird and choke a little bit and all I can think is she wanted to see me. All of a sudden she is next to me and rubbing my back and asking if I’m okay. I only nod and manage to ask what brings her by Starbucks.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here for coffee.” I blink and then laugh, “I guess that makes sense, since that is what we sell here. Are you getting your usual or are you getting something different?” “I will probably get my usual, why?” I look at her and chuckle, “Dr. Mills take a seat. Let me get that drink for you.” She looks at me confused as I pick up my phone. I dial the store number and David picks up. “Good Afternoon, thanks for calling Starbucks, this is David.”
“Hey charming, will you make me a grande soy chai tea latte with an extra shot and then bring it outside.” David responds back, “what the hell Em? Just come inside and get the drink. Wait, that’s not your usual. Is SHE outside?” I mumble “yes David, she is sitting right here and she really needs a coffee. Will you do this for me?” “Of course I will Emma!! On one condition, you have to say that this drink is for the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“David” I hiss. “I cannot say that right now. What if that’s not okay? What will happen then?” Em, trust me.” I look up at Dr. Mills who has lazily pulling my book towards her and pretending to not be paying attention to my phone call. I think about grabbing my book from her because what will she say when she sees the book I am reading? At the same time, it could distract her from my conversation with charming. David is saying something to me, but I am too busy watching Dr. Mills. She picks up the book and looks at the cover. She raises an eyebrow and looks at me then starts reading the notes that I have written in the margins. I am starting to wiggle in my seat because she is a professor, what if she thinks that I am unintelligent when she reads my notes. I am trying to resist the temptation to snatch the book out of her hand.
All of a sudden, I am brought back to reality by David’s voice. “Emma?? I am going to need you to say it because you will not ever know if there is something there until you make a move. Plus, if she does not react then you will know to move on from your crush. Now say it!! Also, I want details when I get off.” I take a deep breath and look over at the woman of my dreams, who is intently reading my notes, and say what David wants me to say. It’s not so bad, but I am so nervous because I really do not want her to reject me. I could live the rest of my life with simply exchanging pleasantries with this woman and be content. “Charming, will you please bring the drink I ordered outside for the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” David busts out laughing and says “I’ll be right out” and I mutter a thank you. Dr. Mills looks up at me with a smirk on her face and says “ the most beautiful woman you have ever seen, huh? Surely that is not true dear. My face turns bright red and say with the strongest voice that I can muster “oh believe me I have never said anything truer in my whole life.” I give her my best smile and this time she blushes.
In an attempt to change the subject, she holds my book up and flips to the cover. I’m reading The Federalist Papers in an attempt to understand where we went wrong in the election or at least so I can hold my own in any discussion about the constitution. “Isn’t this a little deep for a beautiful afternoon, such as this? Also, your notes in this book are truly profound. I have never seen someone breakdown this information in this way. Where did you learn to this?” I looked at her for a second and tried to read her features because I was not sure if she was shocked because I am a barista or if she is just genuinely curious. I decide to go with the latter, because I refuse to believe that someone as beautiful as she is would think that I would not know things because of my job. So, I answer simply “I have by bachelors in political science.” The part that I do not mention is the hardships that it took for me to receive my degree, but she doesn’t need my sob story.
She raises an eyebrow at me and smirks. “Did you know that I teach political science?” I reply, “no I did not. I knew you were Killian’s professor, but I never imagined him taking political science. I would think that it would be too much of a challenge for him, since he would actually have to create his own thoughts. He would rather read Donald Drumpf’s tweets over the New York Times or any news source for that matter. I hope you can break him of that or at least teach him where the nation’s capital is.”
All of sudden she busts out laughing and tries to control it. Her laugh is beautiful and almost sounds girlish in comparison to her usual husky voice. She tries to cover her mouth to hide the laughter, but she can’t stop it and I never want her to. After she catches her breath, she says “I honestly could not have described him better dear, but I can only hope to teach him something. At least I got him to stop wearing those damn leather pants.”
Right when she said damn, I started chuckling. “So, you got him out of his leather pants? Thanks for that.” She raises her eyebrows and then I think over what I said. “Shit, not what I meant. I mean that those pants are a plight upon society and you are lucky that you get out of seeing him in them because everyone else thinks that they are hot. Then there is me, who thinks that yes they are hot temperature wise, but they are hideous in general.“ Then I mumble “stupid Killian.” She gives me a look as if sizing me up and is about to say something in response, but I do not get to hear it.
Right at that moment, David walks out with her drink and he goes to hand it to her, but then he does the unthinkable and asks the question I was working towards. “Good afternoon Dr. Mills. So, I have your drink and I was wondering if you would be interested in a trade. I will give you your drink if you give us your name.” I feel my eyes bulge out of my head “David” I hiss. “What the hell are you doing? Just give Dr. Mills her drink and go back to work.” He winks at me and says "Calm down Emma Swan. It is a simple question and she is an adult. Dr. Mills can either accept the coffee and tell us her name or refuse and not have any coffee. Obviously, if she's smart then she will choose coffee." I look at the brunette across from me and she has a smirk on her face. All I want to do is choke the life out of David and I cannot because I would have to deal with Hood. I do not have time for that.
While I am shooting daggers at David, Regina chuckles lightly across from me. I glance at her and she has a huge smile on her face. “Dear, it would probably be wise to not commit murder at your place of work with so many witnesses. Your friend is simply curious about my name and I have refused to tell you, but since he is so charming about it with his use of coffee bribery, I guess I have no choice.” David looks at Regina and tries to maintain a poker face and I know he has decided I owe him a drink tonight if this works out. If I find out her name then I will buy him and Robin several drinks, but I will cap it because those boys could bankrupt me with the amount they drink. She looks at him for a moment and holds her hand out for her coffee. He reluctantly gives it to her and she says “Regina.” David gives a whoop and goes back to work.
I am sitting there marveling at the beauty of her name and to think my friends wanted to name my car Regina. That would have been a huge disservice to such a name. “Regina,” I repeat back and savor it as it rolls across my tongue and over my lips. She smiles at me for a second and I am once again struck by her beauty. “A beautiful name for such a beautiful woman” is all I can muster. She takes a sip and seems to revel in the compliment. “Thank you dear.”
While I am marveling in her beauty, I start thinking about the woman sitting in front of me. Regina Mills, then it clicks who she is. She is Senator Cora Mills’ daughter, but at the same time it means something else entirely to me. I think she notices my the wheels turning behind my eyes and she starts to get nervous. I unintentionally say out loud “Regina Mills.” She starts as if shocked by electricity and stares at me for moment before taking a deep breathe. “So, I am guessing you figured out who my mother is and now you are trying to decide if you want to be around me for my money, influence and power or if you hate me.” Her eyes start to fill with water and she stammers out “I I ththink I liked it better when I was just Dr. Mills to you.”
I stare at her confused for a moment because I am not entirely sure what is going on right now. She starts to get up and grabs her drink then thinks better of it and puts it back. She starts to walk away, more like storm off, and I wake up from whatever stupor I was in and I finally understand what she is thinking. “Regina, wait!”
I get up and reach for her hand and a surge of electricity surges from her fingers and up my arm. She tries to snatch it away from me, but I hold tight. I look at her face and she looks scared and angry at the same time. “Let go of my arm, now.” I look at our hands and I say “no” because nothing has ever felt as right as her hand in mine right now. She could chop my hand off and it would still be the best minute of my life. I look at her face and stop at her full lips, which she is biting, and travel back to her eyes. Those chocolate eyes are telling me a story and I decide that I have to tell her what I was thinking. After all, I cannot continue to hold her hand against her will because some could consider that kidnapping.
I look deep into her eyes and say “A truly successful politician is an altruistic one. The politician who goes in to office for the good of all people and considers him/herself only answerable to those people and the laws that govern the land. Women are more likely to accomplish this because they are less focused on power and more focused on the good of all, so they are more likely to cross the aisle for success of goal. Political bodies with a higher percentage of women achieve better human rights records and have less gridlock than male dominated bodies.” I complete the quote and hope that I have it as close to verbatim as I can because it has been awhile.
Her eyes are welling with tears and she looks at me like she is seeing me for the first time. Regina still hasn’t said anything, but she has stopped trying to pull away from me. So I continue, “yes, I know who your mother is and she has done a lot for woman on the national stage. At the same time, I do not always agree with her methods to get what she wants and I am guessing she is one of the few exceptions to your theory about altruistic female politicians.”
I hear her gasp and she is still looking at me as if I am a piece of IKEA furniture that she can’t figure out how to put together because she has lost the directions. I have been there and it is a tough exercise to conquer without the paper that tells you where everything comes together. Since I still have no response, I continue “Regina, I said your name out loud because I have had a huge crush on your brain since I was in college. I used a piece of your dissertation for my senior thesis. Then from the first day you walked into the store, I have had some sort of crush on the physical you and now I find out you are THE Regina Mills. Your mind is so fucking beautiful and so are you. I had no idea then you were related to Cora Mills and I would not have figured it out if I had not read the profile piece on your mother. I am being uncharacteristically forward because I want you to know that my interest in you is for you, Regina. I do not think you hear that enough and I think you are brilliant. College of Charleston is lucky to have you and I am so pissed that your gifts are wasted on Killian."
I let go of her hand and look at her one last time. She looks stunned and I can almost see the steam coming out of her ears as she processes. “Regina? Are you okay? Do you need to sit down or I can get David to help you back to your office because I am guessing you probably don’t want me to help you.” All of a sudden, her head snaps up and she gives me the side eye. “Why is he available?" I look at her in shock and then she winks at me. I chuckle and decide to joke back. “Ah so a blatant insult of your favorite student gets nothing, but an offer of having prince charming escort you to your office wakes sleeping beauty?” She raises an eyebrow, “Well dear, I would hardly say prince charming, as you call him, could do anything for me because he is simply not my type.” As she says this her eyes are roaming my body and her eyes set the butterflies off in my stomach.
“As for being sleeping beauty,” she starts to rub the back of her hand up and down my arm “I do not think that name fits me either.” She leans up to my ear and starts to whisper “I think I qualify as more of an evil queen.” Her warm breath on my ear and her sexy voice turn me on in a way that I have never experienced. Her touch has set me off more than the trashy romance novels I read when no one else is around.
I start to squirm because between her light touches on my arm and then her sexy whisper, I think I might orgasm on the sidewalk. I close my eyes and hold them tight and take a deep breath. When I open them she has her classic smirk and I can tell that she knows what she did to me. Then she say simply states “at least that’s what I have been told.” It takes everything I have to hold in the groan that is trying to escape from my throat. Then she chuckles and heads to sit down at our table.
I know she added a little extra sway to those hips because she glances over her shoulder to make sure I am paying attention to that masterpiece most would call a rear end. This woman is going to be the death of me. I sit back down as well and gather my courage. I am not even out to anyone besides David and I am about to make a huge leap. “Regina, can I take you out sometime?” She looks at me confused for a second, almost like she was not expecting to be asked. Then her face turns into a smirk and she has a mischievous look in her eyes and all I can think is the things this woman is doing to me with her facial expressions because my body literally feels like it is on a wild roller coaster ride. What the hell is going to happen if and when we actually touch because my underwear is getting damp from her damn winks. She starts to lick her lips and then begins to give me my answer. “Well Em-ma…”