The blonde woman blushed and stood there dumbfounded, waiting for something to happen. Giselle just beamed at her. Seconds ticked by and then she started to feel quite silly. Quickly she grabbed her coat and handbag, slipped into her prepared shoes and pulled the door shut behind her. Annie just watched and said nothing. Somehow the woman looked quite perplexed. Surprised even. Giselle reached out and wanted to grab Annie's hand, but hesitated midway. "Hi! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I guess I've been looking forward to this more than I want to admit", Giselle explained with a blush appearing on her cheeks. The stairwell was quite dark, it was not that apparent, but she felt like the blonde caught on anyway.

"That's alright. I guess I've been looking forward to it, too", Annie admitted and started walking, "Shall we? We'll miss the bus!". "Good idea. How have you been?", the brunette asked and tried to keep up with the younger woman that decided to wear flat shoes and therefore had an easier time descending the stairs. As soon as they were outside they walked next to each other toward the bus station. "I've been okay? Suppose turbulent is a word I could use. Work has been busy and the thing with us and Celestine didn't exactly help", Annie said as her voice went from cheerful to annoyed. Giselle shrugged and smiled, "I'm sorry you got caught in my mess. I want to hear about your work later, too. If you want to tell me!".

Her neighbour glanced over and raised both eyebrows, "How is that your fault? I kissed you first, remember?". A cute wink interrupted her and then she continued, "I'm not apologising though". "Why is that then? I am confused", the brunette inquired and turned to look at Annie as both had arrived at the bus stop and were waiting for the transport to arrive. Her friend chuckled and opened her arms slightly to gesture a light helplessness, "Guess somehow I was hoping we could be an item? I still do and somehow I have a feeling, you do as well. Am I right?". This topic turned from casual into something quite serious. Giselle chewed on her lower lip and avoided eye contact as often as possible. What was wrong with that woman? That cold, calculating side to her made her quite interesting and desirable somehow. Yet it was still cold. Why wouldn't she apologise? It's not that the brunette agreed with the conclusion that the kiss was at fault. She had started the wildfire long before that and the kiss just gave it more dry wood to burn even brighter. Annie didn't know all of this, or so she suspected. The gears in her head turned until she finally put one hand onto her hip while the other held her coat, "Did you sabotage my marriage on purpose?".

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This question, that almost sounded like an accusation, made Annie glare back. The bus pulled up and both got in and sat near the back next to each other. The blonde got the window seat and stared outside, disgruntled and quite distant all of a sudden. Her response was merely a whisper, "Not sabotage, no. All I did was offer and you followed. I didn't know back then, but Ian isn't good for you. I don't think he wants to fix your relationship". Giselle's jaw dropped and her eyes teared up. Anger flared and her bottled up frustration bubbled to the surface. At the same time her heart ached. It longed for the moments the two women had shared. The lock burst open and her feelings for Annie rushed through her in the same instant and concentrated inside her chest. It was heavy and she was hurt and cheerful at the same time. Composing herself took her more than a minute. The tears never left her eyes. She felt proud for managing this well. "Ian was good to me for eight years! Why wouldn't he be now?", her voice broke up as she whispered that. Annie offered a weak smile, "Celestine said that you were struggling a lot and Ian avoids you". The brunette wanted to burst out and yell at her friend. Hearing this hurt her and she didn't want to listen to it any longer. How the fuck would Celestine know all of this? Until it hit her. "Did Celestine by any chance cancel on you yesterday afternoon and today around six in the morning?", Giselle asked and pulled out her phone to double check. "And was she also not available two days ago in the evening?", she added and continued to list days when Ian told her something had come up. Annie gave her a questioning glance, but pulled out her phone and flicked through various screens. "We didn't have plans on all of those, but when she did cancel, it had always been on the days you mentioned". Giselle turned off her phone screen and looked up toward the ceiling. A whisper left her lips, "How could I have been this stupid!". A tear ran down her cheek, a second followed and then a third.