#god i thought your writing was amazing in SWW but this story is SOMETHING ELSE

[ssa-sapphic]

Tastes Like Sugar (ch. 12)

Summary: India Mae, or Indi, is a music major, struggling to pay bills, tuition, work, and make good grades.  Emily Prentiss is a BAU profiler, as well as a DC socialite thanks to her huge family fortune.  The two enter into a mutually beneficial arrangement: Emily will pay for Indi's school if Indi accompanies Emily to her social functions for a few months, posing as her girlfriend.  As weeks go by, the lines between their arrangement and their true feelings start to blur.  But money can't buy love, right?

Pairing: India Mae Banks x Emily Prentiss; OC x Emily Prentiss

Warnings: eventual smut; sugar baby relationships; age gap (16 years - but all over 18)

Word Count: 2.2k

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Taglist: @ssa-sapphic 🧸; @5raysofsunshine 🌮; @reidselle 🦭; @milfprotector 🐝💚; @gaelic-symphony 🎻 ; @scargarcia-magshotchner 💜; @sadgirlml 🌻💌; @hotchs-bitch ; @multiverse-mxdness ; @spencersendgame

Chapter 12 - Make You Feel My Love

I peeked up over my book surreptitiously once again.  I couldn't help it.  Emily looked so cute at the other end of the couch completely engrossed in her own book.  I wished I could get into mine, but after five minutes of reading the same page over and over again, I deemed it a lost cause.  How could I keep my eyes on my book when she looked that precious?  I loved Emily in a suit, but there was something so carefree and adorable about her in jeans and a tank top with her hair piled on top of her head.  Not to mention those damn reading glasses perched on her nose.  Those did it for me every time.

No matter how long I stared at her over the top of my book, she didn't seem to notice.  So I stared unabashedly.  With my eyes, I traced the lines of her lips, her jaw, the slope of her nose.  She was so pretty it hurt.  Without looking up, she asked, "Play for me?"  I froze.  "Since apparently you aren't going to read," she teased.  I shoved her thigh with my foot from across the couch.  I should have been embarrassed, but I couldn't really find it in me.

"How did you know?!"

"Profiler, remember?" she asked, pointing to herself, her mouth twisting up into a smirk.  I got lost looking at her sweet smile.  "So?" she asked again, tickling the bottom of my foot. 

I screeched and wrenched it back.  "So what?"

"Are you going to play for me?  It's been over a week since I've heard you play."

I chuckled.  "I can't help it if you're always leaving to go on a case, Em," I said hopping up from the couch.  I needed to work on my recital piece anyway.  I crossed the room, pulled the bench out, and sat down to play.  It was unnerving to feel Emily's eyes on me.  As I warmed up with some classics, I felt self-conscious about my every movement.  Emily had never watched me play.  She was often home when I played, but she had never been in the same room.  What would she think?  Why was I so hung up on this?

I started in on my recital piece.  I needed it to be perfect by next week.  The pressure was increasingly weighing down on me.  It didn't help that Emily was watching.

When I finished the song, I heard her softly ask, "Do you sing too?"

I looked down, embarrassed.  "Yes," I whispered.  I was hoping she wouldn't hear.

"Sing for me."  It wasn't a question.  "Please," she said softly.

I drummed my fingers over the keys frantically trying to come up with a song to sing for Emily.  I was sure it was no coincidence that the first one that came to mind was Adele's version of "Make You Feel My Love" by Bob Dylan.  As I started singing the lyrics, I knew this had been a mistake.  It was too telling.  Surely she would understand my feelings after I finished.  I had made a grave error choosing this song; everything would change after this.

As I got to the last verse, something in my heart shifted.  I couldn't do this anymore.  I needed her to know.  I just needed her.  She had changed my life completely.  I wished I could look in her eyes as I sang the last bit, but I was too much of a coward.  My choice in lyrics would have to suffice for now.  "I could make you happy, make your dreams come true.  Nothing that I wouldn't do, go to the ends of the Earth for you, to make you feel my love."

I let the last notes hang in the air, the gravity of the moment pressing down on me.  I didn't know if it was just me or if she felt it too.

"Indi," she gasped reverently.  I stood up, about to leave the room, too embarrassed to stay.  "Hey wait!  Where are you going?"  She snagged my arm and pulled me down next to her on the couch.  "That was so beautiful, Indi.  You're so talented, I am constantly in awe of you."

Me?  Surely I had heard her wrong.  Her hand softly brushed my hair away from my face, her thumb brushing over my cheekbone.  "I mean it, India Mae.  You are something else."

"Thank you," I said shyly.

Sensing my discomfort, she changed the subject.  "Look, I know it isn't on the schedule, so you don't have to say yes, but will you go to this dinner at the country club with me next week?  It's going to be dreadful – so many of those insufferable women there.  I don't want to go alone."

You make it sound so appealing, Em, I thought dryly.  "What day is it?"

"Next Friday night."  She looked so hopeful; I was sorry I had to decline her request.

"I can't that night.  I have a recital," I responded.

"Why didn't you tell me??" she asked, genuinely upset I hadn't told her.  I suddenly was nervous I had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry, Emily.  It slipped my mind until recently.  And I saw the schedule was empty, so I didn't think-"

"You misunderstand," she interrupted.  "I'd like…I'd like to come to stuff like that," she said nervously.  I sat back, shocked.  Just last week I had been lamenting the fact that Emily wouldn't be there to support me.  I was upset with myself for even wanting that, because she wasn't my girlfriend, and I wasn't entitled to her support.  "That is, if you want me there…"  She seemed nervous, as well.

I don't know what emboldened me – the song, her closeness – but I grabbed her hand and said, "I didn't ask, because I didn't think you would want to come.  It's just a boring, old piano recital."

"Are you going to be performing?" she asked softly.

"Yes…?"

"Then it isn't a boring old anything," she said firmly.  My breath caught in my throat at the feel of her finger lifting my chin.  I stopped breathing.  "So can I come?"

"What about your dinner?" I asked breathlessly.

"This is way more important.  I can always reschedule."

"You really want to?" I asked trying to tamp down the hope blooming in my chest.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she said softly.

______________________________

I stared up at the ceiling, willing myself to fall asleep.  The recital was tomorrow night, and I couldn't sleep.  My bed felt huge, empty, and cold.  I was anxious about tomorrow, and my usual calming remedies weren't working.  Normally, on a night like this, I would beg Penelope for a cuddle during a movie night.  But she wasn't here.  I was all alone.

I threw the covers back with a huff.  There was no hope of sleeping any time soon, so I sneaked downstairs to read or watch TV.  I laid down on the couch, anxiety swimming through me.  It was completely ridiculous to be this anxious.  This was my third year in school, and I'd had a million recitals before this, often for much higher stakes.  Entrance and scholarship auditions were far more important than this mid-semester recital.  This should mean nothing to me.

But it wasn't nothing.  Because Emily had never been to one of my recitals before.  I cared about her opinion more than I should.  But I couldn't lie to myself and say this recital wasn't important.   It would be my first performance with her.  I wanted to be perfect for her.

I squirmed around on the couch, not quite sure what it was I was missing.  I was craving something, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to hold myself together.  How could I be craving something I couldn't name? 

This was insane.  I needed to get a grip.  I flopped on my side and groaned.  I guess a little too loudly because I heard Emily call out, "Indi?"  She popped her head around the corner.  I sat up in shock.  I drooled at the sight of Emily in tight leggings and a tight pullover as she walked in the living room.  Her outfit left little to the imagination.  It was the perfect distraction from the chaos in my mind.  "What are you doing up?" she asked coming to sit down next to me.

My heart rate increased by her close proximity, as it always did.  She smelled incredible, even at the end of the day.  "Uhh what are YOU doing up?" I hedged.

"I asked you first."

I sighed.  "I couldn't sleep," I admitted softly.  She flopped her arm over the back of the couch, enclosing me in her space.  My breathing increased.  I needed her even closer – when had I gotten so needy?

"Why's that?" she asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

"I don't know, just normal jitters," I downplayed my feelings.

"Jitters for what, baby?"  I melted at her pet name.  Why was she using them so much recently?  It was playing games with my head.

"It's nothing important, Em.  Honest," I dismissed.

"Indi," she said disappointed.  "It's not nothing.  I want to be here for you."

My heart swelled.  I smiled softly.  "It's stupid."

She cupped my face and stared deep into my eyes.  "Nothing keeping you up could be stupid.  Let me help."

"I-" I swallowed thickly.  I had never really expressed my fears with anyone but my mom and Penelope before.  This felt incredibly personal and vulnerable.  "I'm just nervous."

"For what, baby?"  Her thumb started tracing over my cheekbone, and I closed my eyes at the comfort.  Now that she was touching me, I felt safe and at home.  I never wanted it to end.

"I'm nervous about tomorrow.  Which is so stupid because I've done a hundred recitals before.  Some with even harder pieces.  This piece is easy!  This recital shouldn't be any different than the others!" I ranted.

"Hey!"  Her other hand lifted to my cheek to sandwich my face between her hands.  "Look at me.   It's not stupid to be nervous, but you have no reason to be.  You are incredibly talented.  I know you are going to blow everyone away, tomorrow.  And I'm really looking forward to it."

"Thank you."  I felt better just hearing her reassurances.

"Of course, angel."  Her hand fell and tickled my side.  I shrieked loudly, trying to move away from her, but her arm circled around my waist and pulled me closer.  I was trapped between her and the couch.  And her fingers were relentless.  "I like seeing you smile like that," she admitted quietly.

The air shifted; it charged into something intense.  Her fingers stilled.  She was looking at me so intently.  And it clicked for me: the yearning I had felt earlier that I couldn't identify was a yearning for Emily, for her touch.  I was addicted to Emily, and I needed her. 

She leaned in, closing the gap between us.  The electricity sparked between us, nearly scorching me.  "Em," I gasped breathlessly.  And her lips were on mine.  If I thought the electricity between us was strong before, it was nothing compared to now.  Involuntarily, I leaned forward to deepen the kiss.  All kisses before this were nothing.  Emily felt like heaven.  Emily's lips were divine.

Her tongue sneaked out to trace the edge of my lower lip.  I opened my mouth, and her tongue caressed my own.  Before I could hold it back, I moaned into her mouth.  Emily's kiss was magic.  I was frantic for her, desperate.  Her hand dug into my hip, drawing me closer.  I swung a leg over her lap and straddled her, tightening my hand in her hair.  I pulled back, gasping for air, "Emily."  Her lips never left my skin, falling instead to my neck where she continued her barrage of kisses.

I felt her hot tongue trail up from my collarbone to behind my ear.  "Fuck, Em," I gasped again.  I had never been this vocal before, but I couldn't be embarrassed.  I was too lost in the moment.  She felt incredible below me.  I had never wanted someone so badly.  I rocked my hips into hers and reclaimed her lips.  Her hand fell to my ass, pulling me closer, helping me grind into her faster.  "Em, please!" I begged, though I couldn't identify for what.

"India, my god," she said just as breathless.  I rested my head against her forehead.  Her thumb traced patterns into my hip.  I shuddered at the feel.  She reached up to peck me once again on the lips. 

I stared into her eyes, my chest still heaving from her kisses.  "Em, what are we doing?"

"I don't know," she said with earnest eyes.  "All I know is that I need you.  And I'm tired of ignoring it."

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