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"I saw you," Lori says flatly, finally, taking a swig from the bottle now that Tara's confiscated her glass.
Tara looks over at her in confusion, taking the seat beside her and a sip of what used to be Lori's drink.
"Saw me?" she echoes. "Saw me what exactly?"
She and Lori aren't close but seeing Lori drinking alone in her office, looking as though her world just ended... she couldn't in good conscience walk away. Now she wishes she had, because she doesn't know what's going on with Lori tonight but she does know that Lori isn't happy to see her, even if she isn't sure why.
"I saw you," Lori repeats more emphatically. "You and Shirley. Together. In her office."
Tara pales and the hand that holds the glass trembles slightly.
What Lori saw, what will never happen again, could end everything she's worked so hard for if Lori decides to cause trouble. It's not really in her nature to be that way but the Lori she's dealing with now isn't the one she's worked with for months. She doesn't know this Lori at all.
"Lori--" she breaks off to take another sip, bigger this time, using the time it affords her to decide how she's going to play this. "Look, I don't know what you think you saw--"
"I think I saw you kiss Shirley," Lori says clearly, slamming the bottle down on the desk in a way that leaves Tara's ears ringing from the sound. "And I think I saw her kiss you back. Are you going to tell me that I misinterpreted that?"
Tara doesn't have an answer, because what Lori says she saw is exactly what happened, more or less. She was standing right there next to Shirley, wondering what it would be like to lean over and kiss her, and then she did, and Shirley did, and... damn it, dating Alan is so much easier than this.
What she doesn't understand is why this upsets Lori so badly, except--
"Oh my god," she blurts out, eyes widening, "You like her don't you?"
"Shut up, Tara," Lori glares at her. "Just fuck off."
Now Tara knows she's right, because Lori doesn't swear, and she sits back in her chair, surprise warring with confusion warring with amusement, because it just figures that giving in to her impulses would have landed her in this situation. When she and Shirley broke their kiss, Shirley had looked at her almost as if she expected to see someone else, and now Tara wonders if it's Lori that Shirley wishes had been standing there instead.
She's always assumed that Shirley's affection for Lori was simply down to them having known each other for so long, but maybe there's more to it than she first thought. It surprises her less than she expects because, after all, this office and the people in it are anything but predictable.
"How long--"
"Years," Lori cuts her off, picking her bottle back up again. "Since we first worked together. I always figured she wasn't into women," she laughs bitterly. "I guess she just isn't into me."
"Have you ever mentioned it to her?" Tara asks, curious now about this side of Lori she never knew existed. She's always thought of Lori as too straight-laced for these kinds of feelings, has always made her assumptions about her based off the front she presents to the world and, if nothing else, working here should have taught her not to do that.
"Don't be stupid, Tara," Lori says, staring into the depths of her bottle. "We're friends, that's all. I'm not losing that over a crush."
"Lo--"
"I really don't want to talk about this anymore," Lori cuts her off resolutely. "Maybe you could just leave?"
"Or maybe I could stay," Tara says, leaning back in her chair to regard Lori thoughtfully.
Something about hearing Lori's confession has made her remember her initial reaction to Lori, made her remember back to the days when she idly used to wonder if her new colleague might be up for a little out of hours fun, before they got to know each other and before she got entangled with Alan.
Lori has always reminded her of the girl she dated in law school -- they have the same eyes, smile and facial characteristics -- but in the intervening months, she's somehow managed to find a way ignore the resemblance and the feelings it evokes. Now those feelings are back again with a vengeance.
Lori's looking at her warily and Tara looks back steadily, studying the way Lori's eyes flicker, and the way she's unwilling to hold her gaze. If today hadn't already been a day for risks, she probably wouldn't even be thinking about the action she's about to take, but it has and so she rises from her chair without another thought.
"What are you doing?" Lori asks, watching her warily.
Tara doesn't bother dignifying that with an answer as she rests one hand on either arm of Lori's chair, leaning in close until their lips are almost brushing and they're breathing the same air. Lori doesn't lean in to meet her but she doesn't back away, her breath catching as Tara crosses the almost non-existent distance between them to kiss her, half-disbelieving that she's doing this at all and half-sure that she hasn't made a decision this good in months.
Lori freezes for a moment before she gives in and relaxes, leaning into the kiss as she rests a hand on Tara's arm.
Kissing Lori is a little like kissing Shirley and entirely different at the same time. Shirley was no less willing but there's something there with Lori that wasn't there with Shirley, and even though she can't quite identify it she knows it makes a difference.
When Lori finally pulls away, looking at her with a dazed expression in her eyes, Tara realises she's looking at echoes of what she saw earlier with Shirley. It's less obvious that Lori would rather Shirley be here but Tara still sees it, until she blinks and sees that Lori's looking at her in an entirely different way. Shirley has a hold over Lori but so does she, and she's here while Shirley isn't.
"Why don't we go back to my place," Tara suggests, her fingers trailing down Lori's arm. "We could have a drink, spend a little time together..."
"Tara..." Lori says softly, her previous wariness returning, "I don't know if this is such a good idea."
"Fine," Tara says stiffly after a moment, straightening so that she can look down at the still-seated Lori. She isn't used to getting rejected, and this makes twice in the space of two hours, which is really more than she can handle. "Suit yourself."
She turns to walk away, only turning back when Lori says, "Tara-- wait."
Lori has risen to her feet, somewhat unsteadily, and taken a step towards her, so Tara waits as requested, crossing her arms and regarding Lori coolly.
Lori meets her cool gaze with a challenging one of her own, one that makes Tara suspect she still may not be giving Lori enough credit, and reaches for her coat.
"Good idea's are overrated," she shrugs. "Let's go."
Tara half-smiles at that as she lets Lori lead the way out of her office, picking up her own coat on the way. As they wait for the elevator she leans in close -- pleased when Lori leans into her in return -- and murmurs quietly into her ear, enjoying the slight shiver she gets in response as her breath ghosts across sensitive skin.
As the doors open and they step into the elevator, they don't notice Shirley watching them from her office with heartbreak in her eyes; don't see the way she watches Lori as Lori leans against Tara in preparation for the brief journey downstairs.
As the doors close they're only thinking of what'll happen when they reach Tara's home, what's a guaranteed certainty... if possibly not a good idea.
They don't notice anything but each other, and Shirley can only blame herself for that.