Joanna paused when she saw Addison sway. “Have you been drinking?”

Addison bobbed her head. “Just a little.”

“Then you should get some sleep.”

“I can’t sleep. I can’t...work. I can’t...” Addison stopped and let out a sigh. “Please, just tell me the truth. Tell me...tell me why you’re so distant. Tell me what I did wrong.”

Thoughts flooded Joanna’s mind. Should she speak the truth and fear the agony of being spurned, or remain mute and forever live in a world of what ifs? She took a deep breath and gazed at the woman across the way. “Addison, I’m in love with you. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t want it. It just happened, but what we’ve had earlier this week, that’s not what I want. I feel like a tart. Like something being used just because I’m there and...and if the mood strikes you’re just going to toss me aside.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“How do I know that?” Joanna said quietly.

Drawing in a slow breath, Addison came closer and forced the words out. “I care about you. I do, but...but I’ve never known this...this feeling and I can’t say the words if I don’t understand them. I have no reference, no definition or...or connection that makes sense for me, and I need to understand what love is before I say that word to you. I’m not stupid. I know it’s a special word and not one that should be bandied about just because it’s only four letters and easy to say. I just need time to...to get my head around what’s going on in my heart.”

Her eyes glassy with emotion, Addison sat down on the edge of the bed. Slowly reaching out, she gently ran her fingers down Joanna’s face. “You’re so beautiful,” she whispered. “And I miss you.”

It was so simple, just a tender touch, but with one caress, Joanna’s heart melted. She reached over and pulled the knot from Addison’s tie, and slipping it from her shirt, Joanna let it drop to the floor. “I don’t need to hear the words,” she said as she pushed Addison’s jacket from her shoulders. “I just need you to show them to me.”

Addison swallowed the moisture building in her mouth and leaning over, she placed her lips on Joanna’s.

The kiss was like no other they had shared for it was tentative and gentle, and in slow motion, their heads moved this way and that. Neither feeling the need to rush, they caressed each other with their lips and their tongues, drinking in the sweetness they had both missed so much.