FRAGILE LIVES

CHAPTER 1

Portland, Oregon. October 22, 2000

Regina's dark eyes scanned the room. It was a skeevy bar, not her first choice, but it was the only one near her hotel. She hated Portland, and the prospect of a half-drunk hook up before she flew out the next day was the highlight of this entire trip.

It didn't take long for her to spot an ideal candidate. She could smell insecurity and desperation a mile away, and the bight-eyed blonde sitting alone across the room was emitting vulnerability like a beacon. Regina smiled to herself as she watched the blonde nursing some sort of fruity drink. She looked so cute, and a little bit innocent, as her eyes moved around the room, not staying on any one person for long.

Regina sipped on her red wine as she drank in the intoxicating woman who had captivated her. She was dressed simply enough: light coloured jeans ripped at the knees, and a black bra under a tight white camisole. A stark contrast to Regina's tight burgundy mini-dress with flimsy spaghetti straps.

Regina watched as a brown-haired man - or rather, boy, really, since he looked like he was about twelve - walked up to the blonde and seemingly introduced himself. She watched with half a smile as they made awkward conversation with each other, neither seeming to have a clue what they were doing. A fleeting idea of a threesome crossed Regina's mind, until she saw that the blonde clearly growing uncomfortable with the boy's advances. Regina decided now was the time to make her move.

Standing up, Regina picked up her glass of wine and sauntered over to the blonde's table, nonchalantly. She pulled an empty chair up beside the blonde's, and placed her glass down on the table. Sliding into the chair, she slipped an arm around the blonde's shoulders, pulling her close and planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Sorry I'm late, Sweetie," she cooed, turning her eyes to stare down the boy sitting across from them.

"Are you two, like, together?" He stammered.

Regina raised an eyebrow and smirked at him, relishing in his nervousness. "Well, you didn't think a pretty girl like her would be here all alone, did you?"

The boy flushed and stammered a nervous apology before quickly excusing himself, causing Regina's smirk to grow into a devious grin.

"Ta-ta!" Regina called after him, sarcastically, with a little wave.

"Thanks for saving me," the blonde said with a small laugh, "he was so obnoxious."

Regina smiled, and removed her arm from the blonde's shoulder, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. "Not a problem, dear. Men in bars are usually cads. My name is Regina, by the way."

"I'm Emma."

"Emma," Regina repeated, tasting the name in her mouth.

Emma shifted nervously in her seat, and played awkwardly with the straw in her drink.

"What are you drinking?" Regina asked, nodding towards Emma's nearly empty glass.

"Strawberry Daiquiri?" Emma replied, slightly embarrassed. Truthfully, this was her first time in a bar and she'd had no idea what to order. All she'd ever drank before was cheap beer swiped from a variety store on a couple of occasions.

Regina didn't comment on Emma's choice of drink, just smirked and got up to go to the bar. She returned moments later with two shot glasses of an opaque pink liquid, that reminded Emma vaguely of Pepto Bismol.

"Tequila Rose," Regina said, handing a shot glass to Emma, "you like fruity drinks, you'll love it." Regina clinked her own glass against Emma's, and they both downed the shots.

Emma licked her lips nervously as she set her shot glass back down, and looked at Regina, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do or say next. She'd never had someone buy her a drink before, and she and certainly never expected that the first time it happened it would be an enchanting dark-haired goddess like Regina.

Emma flushed at her own thoughts, and turned her eyes back to her empty shot glass, chewing on her bottom lip awkwardly.

For her part, Regina was reveling in the girl's obvious nervousness and inexperience. "So, Emma, tell me why a pretty girl like you is out alone on a Saturday night?"

Emma hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to tell this captivating stranger that she had just arrived in Portland, not even a week prior, after bolting from yet another foster home. This woman was gorgeous, and a little intimidating, and Emma was pretty sure she didn't want to hear her life story. So she decided to lie. "I was supposed to meet my friends here, but it looks like they stood me up."

"What a shame. Lucky for you I came along. More shots?" Regina didn't wait for an answer before heading back up to the bar. She returned again minutes later with a small tray containing an array of different shots, and Emma wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into.

Regina noticed Emma's eye widen at the sight of the shots, and she smiled. "You seem a little green, Emma, so I got a variety. Widen your horizons, you know?" Regina said, handing Emma a shot glass filled with blue liquid. "Kamikaze."

Emma could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, and she was glad the bar was dim. She hoped the poor lighting hid the crimson her face was turning, but she also noted that Regina didn't seem to be one to miss very much. She knew her naivety must be glaringly obvious. If Regina noticed, she at least didn't say anything, as they took the Kamikaze shots together.

Emma swallowed hard as she placed the glass back on the table. She could feel her lips starting to go numb, and even though she had never actually been drunk before, she knew that must be what was happening now.

"I can teach you so much, Emma, if you're interested," Regina offered, as she ran her fingers idly over the rim of her empty glass.

"Teach me? Wh-what… can you teach me?" Emma asked, completely mesmerized.

Regina smiled. "Whatever you want, dear. Another shot? Here, try a Lemon drop," Regina said, handing Emma a yellow shot, with sugar on the rim. They clinked glasses and downed this round as quickly as the one before.

Regina smiled as she watched Emma blink a few times. She guessed the room must be starting to spin a little.

Emma licked her lips as she set that glass with the other two. "That one, I liked," she said, a small smile spreading across her lips, as she looked at the remaining glasses on the tray. "What else you got?"

"Feeling bold, are we?" Regina smirked. "Maybe it's time to step it up a notch?"

Before Emma could question what that could possibly mean, Regina handed her another shot glass, with a golden yellow liquid. Emma noted that she didn't pick one up, herself, and she couldn't tear her eyes away as Regina put the tip of her thumb in her mouth, wetting it, and then rubbed it along her own collarbone. She then poured salt from the shaker on the table onto her palm, and Emma watched in anticipation as she sprinkled it along her collarbone, the granules sticking to her saliva.

"Here's something I can teach you Emma," Regina said, winking at her as she picked up a lemon wedge from the small bowl on the tray, and looked back at the glass in Emma's trembling hand. "It's tequila. Lick the salt," she instructed, running her finger just under the line of salt, from edge of her collarbone, inwards to her neck, "take the shot, then suck on the lemon."

Emma's heart pounded fast and hard as Regina placed the lemon wedge between her teeth. Shit! she thought to herself, thinking of the million ways she could probably screw this up. But she didn't want to let Regina down, so she took a deep breath, and went for it. She leaned forward and licked the salt off of Regina's soft skin, inhaling her scent. She smelled exotic to Emma, a scent she had never encountered before. She downed the shot, and met Regina's mouth, biting down into the lemon.

Emma felt her stomach flutter as Regina didn't release her teeth right away, but lingered for a moment, her eyes meeting Emma's. Emma held her breath until Regina finally let go. When she did, Emma gasped for air, and spit the lemon out into her hand, before placing it on the table. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might explode out of her chest.

For her part, Regina was very aware of, and very pleased with, the effect she was having on Emma. She could see the other woman was tipsy, but not completely drunk, and she decided it was time.

"You wanna get out of here?" She asked.

"Okay," Emma replied, before it actually hit her what Regina meant by that.

Oh shit! Emma thought to herself, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from getting up and following Regina out of the bar. This woman seemed to have a pull on her that Emma couldn't even begin to understand.

There was a slight chill in the air as they began walking down the sidewalk. Emma didn't have a clue where they were going, but Regina grabbed her hand, and intertwined her fingers between Emma's, and in that moment, Emma thought she probably would have followed Regina straight into the gates of hell, if it meant she could keep feeling her touch.

The walk was a relatively short one, and in that time, Regina told Emma about her business trip, and how she was leaving the next day. Emma's heart sank a little at the revelation that the woman who already had such a hold on her, lived on the other side of the country. But Emma tried not to think about that, and tried to focus on what was happening… and what she was sure was about to happen.

When they reached her hotel room, Regina wasted no time, pushing Emma against the wall, and pressing her lips hard against Emma's. Emma had never been kissed this forcefully before, and suddenly worried that her inexperience would show through. Regina grabbed Emma's wrists, and pinned her arms against the wall, her hands just above her head. Emma was a little grateful, because she wasn't exactly sure what she should be doing with her hands anyway.

Regina could sense Emma's hesitation, and wondered if she was having second thoughts about this liaison. She broke away from the kiss, taking a moment to look at Emma, who stared back at her with nervous expectancy.

"Emma… have you ever been with a woman before? Sexually?" Regina asked, bluntly.

Emma bit her lower lip and turned her eyes away from Regina, who still hand her hands pinned over her head. The situation had just gotten a lot more awkward, and Emma just wanted to disappear.

Regina narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side. Figures. Emma's silence said it all, but she wondered if there was more she wasn't saying. "Have you been with anyone before, sexually?"

Emma wasn't quite sure how to answer that. "um, yes…but…." Emma let her voice trail off, as she met Regina's gaze, finally. Looking into her eyes, Regina could see there was a lot of pain there. Shaking her head, Regina breathed a sigh and closed her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for dealing with some random girl's excess baggage tonight.

Regina opened her eyes again, and saw that Emma's face was crimson with embarrassment. Surprisingly, she actually felt bad for the girl. "It's ok," she said. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-one," Emma replied.

Regina rolled her eyes, and finally released Emma's arms. "I'm not trying to bust you for underage drinking. I would just like to know whether I'm about to commit a felony."

"I'm seventeen."

"Really? You look younger."

"I just turned seventeen. It's my birthday."

"Oh. Well, happy birthday." Regina ran her fingertips up Emma's bare arms, from her wrists to her shoulders, and then cupped her face in her hands. "You still wanna do this?" She asked.

Emma nodded. "Yeah, but… I don't know what to do."

Regina smiled another toothy grin, and leaned in to kiss her again. She traced a line of kiss across Emma's jawbone, and down her neck to her collarbone, while she slid her hands lightly over Emma's breasts and stomach to the hem of her camisole. She slid her hands under the soft fabric, laying her palms against Emma's bare skin, running them back up her torso, over her breasts to her shoulders. Instinctively, Emma raised her arms over her head, allowing Regina to pull her shirt off of her.

Regina continued her trail of kisses over her flushed chest, as she brought her hands back down to cup her breasts again. Emma's heart was racing, and she closed her eyes and tried to regulate her breath. Her legs started to quiver as Regina moved her hands to the top of Emma's jeans, popping open the button.

Kneeling before Emma, she ran her tongue down her torso, while sliding her jeans down to her ankles. She ran one hand back up Emma's leg, to her inner thigh, while tracing kisses along her hip bone. When she reached the top of Emma's panties, she stopped and leaned her head back, looking up at the blonde, who was biting down hard on her bottom lip. Regina smiled. She loved the power she had over her in this moment.

She stood up and kissed Emma's mouth again, before taking her by the hand and leading her to the bed. She pushed Emma down gently onto her back, and climbed on top of her, straddling her on hands and knees, leaning down to kiss her again. She worked her kisses down Emma's neck and chest again, the silky fabric of her dress brushing Emma's skin as she moved, sending chills throughout her body. She trailed kisses over Emma's stomach down to her panties, slipping her fingers beneath them and sliding them down her legs and over her feet before tossing them on the floor beside the bed.

She ran kisses up from Emma's ankle, and she crawled up between her legs, kissing over her calves to her inner thigh, until she reached her wet centre. Emma arched her back slightly, pressing her pelvis forward, as Regina's tongue went to work. Emma squeezed the bedding beneath her so tight her knuckles turned white, as her breath quickened with Regina's movements.

Emma was completely lost in the ecstasy of the moment. Her head was still buzzing from the alcohol, and her body was on fire with Regina's touch, aching for release. And it wasn't long before that release came, and Emma let out a low moan as the orgasm erupted through her.

Regina got back on her hands and knees, her body still between Emma's legs, and crawled over her, licking her lips, until they were face to face. Emma's eyes were closed and she was still breathing heavy as Regina leaned down and kissed her mouth again, letter her taste herself, before rolling off of her to lay beside her.

Emma turned quickly onto her side and looked at Regina expectantly.

"What?" Regina asked, stretching out and sighing.

"Don't you want me to..." Emma's voice trailed off again.

"Reciprocate?" Regina laughed. "I highly doubt you would know how, and I'm done playing teacher tonight. Maybe another time, dear."

Emma's face flushed again, and she wondered why Regina would let it go that far, just to stop so abruptly.

Regina watched Emma sulk as she climbed off the bed and retrieve her panties. "Emma, wait," she said, as Emma was slipping them back on. Emma turned back to see Regina sitting up, holding out a hand to Emma. She took it and sat back down next to her.

"I kind of like you, Emma," Regina commented, "and trust me, that's rare. Are your parents expecting you home tonight?"

"I don't have parents," Emma replied, looking away.

Great, Regina thought, baggage. But she still wasn't ready to let the blonde leave just yet. "Is anyone waiting for you?" she asked.

Emma shook her head, no.

"Stay the night with me tonight," Regina said.

"Okay," Emma agreed, even though she was pretty sure it wasn't a request.

Regina stood and slipped off her burgundy dress, letting it fall to the floor. "Scoot," she said, shooing Emma out of the way so she could pull the covers back. Emma slid under the blankets, followed by Regina. Regina gently coaxed Emma onto her side, so she could move closer and press her front up against Emma's back, skin on skin, save for lace bras and panties.

Regina put her arm around Emma, and kissed her shoulder lightly, and Emma closed her eyes and started to drift into sleep, while Regina's words repeated in her head: maybe another time, dear. Emma smiled, relieved that there was at least a possibility of another time.