Jennifer got home, and parked in the driveway, and then sat there for a moment, in her car, thinking. It was Valentine's Day, and she wanted to do something a little special, even though she knew that Rachel would probably have forgotten the day. Rachel was bad about things like that, and usually Jennifer didn't mind. Valentine's Day wasn't something they made a big thing of, usually, or otherwise they would already be out at a restaurant which they'd booked months ago, celebrating. It wasn't a big deal to them especially, but all the same, it was something. It was more than just any old everyday day, and Jennifer wanted to mark it somehow. Even if only by having sex more attentively than usual, having sex like it mattered, making time for each other, rather than just going through the same old familiar habits to make each other come.
She got out of her car, and went inside, and found Rachel in the lounge, with her work laptop and papers everywhere.
"Hey," she said, and Rachel looked up and smiled.
"I'm going to have a shower," Jennifer said. "Then I'm going to put on something nice, like a party dress, and heels, and do stuff to my hair. Then I'm going to wait for you in the bedroom."
Rachel kept looking at her, seeming slightly confused. She was sometimes a bit slow about everything else when she was busy concentrating on work.
"You can put on something fancy too if you like," Jennifer said patiently. "Or not. You can have a shower too if you want. Or not."
Rachel still seemed confused.
"We're having sex," Jennifer said. "Like fancy sex. I just decided."
"Oh. Okay."
"Really fancy sex. Because we love each other and we don't do that enough."
Rachel nodded. "Of course. If you want to."
"Because today is..." Jennifer said, giving up and hinting.
"Oh yeah," Rachel said, finally understanding. "Yep. Right."
"Me," Jennifer said. "In the bedroom. In about twenty minutes. Come find me. Or come get in the shower then. Whichever you like."
Rachel nodded. She closed her laptop lid, and started to stand up.
"Not yet," Jennifer said. "In twenty minutes." She appreciated that Rachel had stopped working so quickly, though.
Rachel stood up anyway.
"You don't need to," Jennifer said. "Finish what you're doing."
"I kind of do," Rachel said. "I need twenty minutes to work out what to wear."
Jennifer smiled, because that was probably true, even when it was just picking something to wear in their bedroom. She walked over, and kissed Rachel tenderly, and then went to get ready.
She had a quick shower, but didn't wash her hair, to save having to dry it. She shaved her legs, though, and scrubbed off her makeup, but mostly she just showered to feel clean and sexy. When she finished, she dried off, then went into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around herself.
Then she stopped, smiling.
Apparently Rachel was having trouble deciding. She had opened the closet, and taken three party dresses out, and laid them on the bed in their hangers. They were the three newest dresses she owned, as far as Jennifer remembered, and now she was standing there trying to pick which to wear. She also had shoes out, what seemed like half the pairs of open-toed sandaly heels she owned. She had taken them all out of the back of her wardrobe, and spread them, and their boxes, out on the floor. It really was half her sandals and open-toed heels, Jennifer decided, and a few of Jennifer's as well. There were about eight pairs of shoes on the floor, and Rachel probably hadn't even started picking from among them yet, because she would have to choose which dress she wore first. She had probably got a bit excited because she mostly wore flatter, sensibler shoes for work, and hardly ever had the chance to wear anything fancy, and so would want to tonight, just because she could. And that probably meant the effort they were making tonight was worthwhile, Jennifer thought. Although it also meant Rachel had been right that she would need some time to get ready.
"I can't decide," Rachel said, looking at the dresses on the bed.
"I know," Jennifer said, and kissed her. "You never can."
Rachel smiled. "I love you."
"Me too. Go shower."
Rachel went and got in the shower, and Jennifer lit candles in the bedroom, and dimmed the lights, and then tried to tidy up her hair. She fiddled, trying to do an elaborate updo braided thing, but fairly soon gave up. She put liner on around her eyes, instead, even though the room was dim she could hardly see.
She listened, as she got ready. When she heard the water shut off in the bathroom, she quickly pulled a dress out of the wardrobe and put it on, just so she was wearing something. She didn't bother with anything else, but she didn't want Rachel seeing her naked just yet, not if they were making a fuss of tonight. She wanted to start in clothes, like a formal night, a date night, and then undress each other later on.
Or not, as the mood took them.
Rachel came into the bedroom wearing a towel, and looked at the dresses on the bed. "I still don't know which one to wear," she said.
"The red one looks nice."
"Yeah..."
"The red one looks nice and I know its easy to get off you again."
"Oh yeah," Rachel said, and smiled, and picked up that dress.
Rachel started to take the towel off, but before she did, Jennifer grabbed a pair of shoes from the floor and went back into the bathroom. She didn't want Rachel seeing her naked yet, and she didn't want to see Rachel naked, either. Because it ought to be a surprise. For both of them it ought to be, even though they knew each other well. That just seemed right on a special night.
She waited in the bathroom, and looked at the shoes she'd picked up. They were Rachel's, but that didn't really matter. They were fairly simple, with a tallish heel. They were backless, though, which was the important thing, so she could step out of them easily if she needed to.
She waited, giving Rachel time to get dressed, and fiddled with her hair again while she did, smoothing it down, and wondering whether she should try putting it up after all. She almost didn't, mostly because Rachel would probably just grab at it and pull it out almost right away, and then she changed her mind and did. Rachel taking it out would be nice. It would be sexy. She twisted her hair up into a messy bun, and fastened it with a clip.
