Hairpin Curves

by Elia Winters

Scarlett pulled her hand back, her gaze snapping over to Megan, and then smiled an absolutely filthy smile. “That’s not very beige at all, is it?”

  Megan’s skin felt tight and hot. “No, it isn’t.”

  Scarlett made a thoughtful noise, a low “hmm” that went right to Megan’s clit. “You know, a little impulsiveness is good for the soul, now and then.”

  “I suppose.” Megan licked her lips and wished they were Scarlett’s.

  “Truth or dare?”

  Megan pressed her hands into her thighs. “You wanna do this now?”

  “If I weren’t driving, I’d do a lot of things right now.” Scarlett’s grin was wide, teasing, tempting, and Megan knew they were crossing into uncharted territory.

  Right now, Megan would do nearly anything. “Dare,” she said.

  “Take off your bra.”

  Megan tried to laugh, but it was hard to breathe in this car. “Just the bra?”

  “That’s up to you.”

  Megan would normally never do something like this, but it was dark out, and she was feeling reckless, and so she pulled her sweater and shirt off all in one smooth, fluid motion. Scarlett’s gaze stayed fixed on the road ahead, but her lips parted slightly, giving Megan a surge of satisfaction. If this was some kind of game of chicken, if Scarlett was expecting her to wimp out, Megan wasn’t going to do it. But she needed a moment to get her bearings, sitting here beside Scarlett nearly topless.

  “You need help?” Scarlett asked.

  “You’re gonna help from over there?”

  “Sure.” Without another word, Scarlett reached behind Megan and flicked the clasp of her bra open with one deft hand.

  Megan let the bra slide down her arms, onto her lap, and she was sitting there naked from the waist up. The cold air brushed across her skin like a phantom touch, and it might have been that air or the tension that hardened her nipples into sensitive peaks. “Truth or dare?” she asked, forcing her voice to stay steady.

  Scarlett exhaled shakily. “Okay. You win. I take it back. If you don’t put your shirt back on, I’m gonna drive off the road.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Scarlett knew she’d have memories rolling back into New York City, but the moment they crossed over the bridge into Manhattan, some neurons in her brain lit up like a fireworks display. It had been almost three years since she’d been here, but the memories flooded back so fast it stole her breath.

  “You all right?” Megan asked from the passenger seat, watching Scarlett in that intense way she’d developed during this trip. Or maybe she’d always looked at Scarlett like that, and Scarlett had just never noticed it.

  She’d done the whole stretch of driving from DC, which had given her something to focus on other than thoughts of Megan’s round, perfect breasts, their peaks seemingly begging to be nibbled and kissed. For the whole first part of the drive, she’d been gripping the steering wheel with intent just to keep from reaching across the space between them and touching everything she wanted to touch. Now, though, with Manhattan spreading out around them like a dazzling tapestry of light, she could think about something other than Megan: the traffic, the one-way streets, the GPS guiding them to their hotel in midtown. Normally, Scarlett would have tried to find something cheaper, maybe down in the financial district or way up in Washington Heights, but midtown would make it easy for sightseeing. Less easy, however, for driving.

  There were a few benefits to arriving near midnight, though, and one was the way the traffic had eased from totally horrific to just terrible. She never drove in the city when she lived here, only on the rarest of occasions, and only a few blocks reminded her of why that was the case.

  Megan, though, was rapt. She had her face nearly pressed to the windows, gaping at all the lights, trying to see up to the top of the skyscrapers. “This is nuts,” she breathed once, quietly but loud enough for Scarlett to hear, and her face was all alight.

  Their hotel had a parking garage next door, and they got checked into a room on the tenth floor. “I can’t believe there are fifteen floors of this hotel.” Megan threw open the gauzy curtains and stared out at the city. “I’ve never stayed in a hotel with more than two floors before.”

  “That’s not a New York thing. That’s a cheap motel thing.” Scarlett smiled anyway, flopping down on her back on the bed closest to the door. She’d take the murder bed, again, so Megan could look out the window. Megan had taken off her backpack, but she was still fully clothed and wearing her shoes, like she was ready to run outside even though it was nearly midnight and they’d been driving for four hours after walking around DC in the cold all day. She looked wide awake, breathless with happiness, her eyes sparkling in the reflected light from outside.

  Scarlett didn’t even have to think hard to make up her mind. “You know, we could go out if you wanted.”

  “What, now?” Megan bit her lip, but her eyes betrayed her eagerness even as she frowned. “It’s late.”

  “This is the city that never sleeps, though.” Scarlett forced herself to get up, because if she stayed in bed, she was going to fall asleep. “Or it can wait until tomorrow if you’re still tired.”

  Megan hesitated. “I want to shower.”

  “Me, too. We can go out after.”

  “You really don’t mind going out late?”

  That was enough of an answer. Scarlett smiled. “Go hop in the shower. We’ll head out after.”

  They were only a few blocks from Times Square, so they walked. Megan carried her instant camera tucked into a pocket but hadn’t yet taken any photos, instead staring all around in endless wonder. Even at this hour, there was a crowd, a fact Megan commented on immediately. Scarlett took Megan’s hand so she wouldn’t lose her.

  They stopped next to the “same day tickets” booth at the center of everything, and Megan turned in a slow circle to take it all in. “What do you think?” Scarlett gave her a gentle nudge, speaking loud enough to be heard over the noise. “Everything you expected?”

  Megan nodded, her smile as bright as these neon billboards. It was enough for Scarlett to watch Megan instead of Times Square. She’d seen the billboards, spent enough time pressing through crowds to last a lifetime. Now, she’d walk through all those crowds again to see Megan this happy.

  Eventually, Megan sighed and turned that thousand-watt smile to Scarlett. “You must be so bored of this after living here.”

  “It’s all right.” Scarlett didn’t need to tell her that all New Yorkers avoided Times Square except with visitors they really liked.

  She didn’t have to say anything, though, because Megan saw through it. “You hate it.”

  “It’s all right.” This time, Scarlett had to laugh. “It’s all right because you’re here. I’m glad you like it.”

  Megan pulled her camera out of her pocket and looked down at it, then up at all the lights. “None of these pictures are going to come out, are they?”

  “I don’t know. You’re the photographer.”

  “I hardly think this qualifies me as a photographer.” Megan held up the little instant camera and made a face. “But I think everything will get washed out. This doesn’t have any manual settings.”

  “So take one and see. You’ve got a ton of film in your bag.”

  Megan snapped a shot of the billboards and then frowned down at the image as it slowly developed. Scarlett could kiss her. She could kiss those sweet, soft lips, currently downturned in a worried expression, feel the cold of Megan’s nose press into her cheek, lose herself in the warmth of her mouth. She wanted to know what Megan tasted like, wanted to feel the sweet press of her mouth and the way her body moved against Scarlett’s when their tongues tangled together.

  “It’s no good.”

  The words snapped Scarlett out of her daydream, and for a minute, she thought Megan had read her mind. “What?”

&nbs
p; Megan held up the photo, with its distorted colors and too-bright, blurred billboards. “The shot. It’s no good.”

  “Sort of artsy, though, right?” Scarlett squinted down at it. The blur could look purposeful.

  Megan hesitated, then her expression brightened. “Back up.”

  “What?”

  Instead, Megan backed up. “Never mind. Stay right there.” She held the camera up and looked through the viewfinder.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Look up and to the right. Look at that billboard.” Megan waved her hand vaguely toward where she wanted Scarlett to look, but she was already lining up the shot. Scarlett did as she was asked, staring up at a billboard advertising some movie she didn’t care anything about, until Megan called her over.

  They watched the shot develop, and then there was Scarlett, lit by the red glow of some advertisement nearby, smiling off at something unseen. The photo was beautiful. Scarlett didn’t normally like pictures of herself, but Megan had captured something unique in that shot.

  “I like this one.” Megan slipped it and the camera back into her pocket.

  “But you don’t have any of the actual Times Square!”

  “This is enough.” She looked up at Scarlett, and something in Scarlett’s chest plummeted with need and longing and anxiety all in one bundle. Again, she looked down at Megan’s mouth, and they were so close. It would be so easy to lean down and kiss her. Megan must have known it. She stayed in place, her lips parting softly, eyes widening almost imperceptibly. But neither of them moved.

  And then a taxi honked nearby, they both jumped, and the moment was gone.

  Scarlett felt dizzy and breathless, like she’d just run up several flights of stairs. “Do you...do you want to get some cheesecake?”

  Megan checked the time. “It’s after midnight.”

  “So? Junior’s is open late.”

  Megan smiled and nodded, and it wasn’t a kiss, but it was something else, something sweet. Something Scarlett could reasonably handle without getting in way over her head.

  * * *

  Two in the morning was a time ripe with the potential for bad decisions, and yet knowing that did not stop Megan from standing all too close to Scarlett on the elevator back to their room. She could blame it on sleepiness, but it wasn’t sleepiness. Her whole body tingled with excitement and adrenaline and the overtired manic energy that softened all the edges of her vision and made the world seem beautiful and unreal.

  “You okay?” Scarlett gave her a nudge, and Megan jolted out of her daydream to see the elevator doors open and Scarlett holding them open with her foot. “Too much cheesecake?”

  “The perfect amount of cheesecake.” Megan preceded Scarlett out of the elevator and down the hallway to their room. She fumbled the door key card once before letting them in, and immediately went back to the window to look out at the city, leaving the room lights off.

  Behind her, Scarlett chuckled. “You should get some sleep. We’ve only got the room for one night.”

  “But I got us late checkout.” Megan was grateful she’d had the foresight to ask at the front desk. “We can sleep in.”

  “You don’t sleep in.”

  “I might.” Megan turned her back to the window, looking in at the room and the way the lights of the city reflected off the metal fixtures gleaming on different surfaces. “I don’t know if I can sleep at all.”

  Scarlett sat down on her bed. She was not as relaxed as Megan, holding herself tense throughout her shoulders and back. The dim light from outside cast her into shadows. “Too much excitement for one day.”

  “Is it, though? What’s wrong with too much excitement?” Megan walked forward, her legs carrying her a few steps toward Scarlett without her making the conscious decision to move them. She knew what she was doing. She’d known since the car, even if she hadn’t wanted to read too much into her own desires. This was something chemical, something physical, and she had to deal with it or she would burn up from the inside out. “What if I want more excitement instead?”

  Scarlett’s expression changed. Her eyes brightened, first, and she licked her lips, a quick flicker of tongue that made Megan’s knees wobble. Then, though, Scarlett frowned, and she bit her lip, a tiny crease appearing between her brows.

  And because it was two in the morning, and they’d driven across several states and nothing felt real, all Megan’s inhibitions had retreated to the back of her brain and were, blissfully, silent. “I’m a little restless.” Megan’s legs weren’t even trembling anymore, and she began to unfasten her jeans with Scarlett’s eyes fixed upon her. “What about you?”

  Scarlett audibly sucked in a breath as Megan undressed in front of her. “Yeah. Definitely—definitely restless. Getting, um. More restless.”

  Taking the lead in this moment made Megan smile. How seldom Scarlett was flustered. She wanted to slide her fingers into Scarlett’s hair and cup the side of her face, wanted to kiss her. But she couldn’t be sure she’d stay detached with Scarlett the way she was with her other partners. She couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t lose herself and end up hurt again. In this, at least, she could have some control. Scarlett’s attention as she undressed made her body feel like it was on fire.

  How strange for her mind to be quiet in all this, to not be analyzing or assessing everything alongside the slow reveal of her skin, especially with Scarlett’s gaze roaming across her body. Was it just days ago she’d hesitated at the thought of this kind of vulnerability? It felt like a different person, a different world, like she had been dreaming. Or maybe she was dreaming now.

  In the half-light, Megan climbed onto her bed in front of the window and lay back on top of the covers. Scarlett still sat on her own bed, watching Megan, her lips parted and chest rising and falling rapidly. Megan slid her hand down her body, over its planes and angles, through the tight curls at the juncture of her thighs, down to the wet folds around her clit. Scarlett sighed, nearly a moan, never looking away. Scarlett kept watching the entire time she stripped off her own clothes until she was sitting naked on the other bed, still watching, her breath loud in the quiet of the room.

  Megan had been watched in moments like this before, but it never felt like she was going to catch fire. She’d never felt so seen. Looking away seemed impossible, especially as Scarlett dipped her hand between her own legs.

  “Fuck.” Megan breathed, the word slipping out of her lips at the sight. They watched each other, fingers moving over their own bodies, the moment frozen and unreal and captivating.

  Megan didn’t even realize she was coming until her body seized up, stealing her breath, pleasure rocketing through her like a force of nature. Her eyes slammed shut in reflex, and distantly, Scarlett moaned. It went on far longer than she’d expected, the feelings too sharp and consuming, the kind of orgasm that wipes away everything. When she finished, she collapsed back and opened her eyes. Scarlett was frozen, head back, thighs clamped tightly around her own fingers, mouth open in a silent scream. She was beautiful.

  Scarlett sagged, her hand falling away from her body. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and looked at Megan. They stared silently at each other as if trying to figure out what to say. Megan’s throat was too tight for words, the tangle of emotions too much to parse.

  Scarlett finally gave a delicate half-smile. “I’m less restless now.”

  Megan laughed, all her breath escaping at once. “Yeah. Me, too.”

  She could lie here and look at Scarlett all night, and that was dangerous and too much like something else she didn’t want to name. So instead, she got up and started rummaging around in her bag for clothes. “I should sleep. I’m exhausted.”

  “Right... Right.” Scarlett also rolled off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Away from Scarlett, Megan could catch her breath. She pulled a nightgown down over her head and
sat back down on the bed. The room smelled like sex, like their bodies, an intoxicating combination. In a few minutes, she’d go brush her teeth, and then crawl between those sheets and sleep. In the morning, maybe she’d be ashamed, or worried. For right now, though, all she felt was content.

  Maybe that should worry her most of all.

  * * *

  “Where are you taking me?”

  Scarlett waved off Megan’s request and checked her phone again. “It’s just another half a block. I promise you. Best bagels in the city.”

  “All the bagels are probably great.” Megan trailed after her, not quite able to keep up when Scarlett was moving at full city-walking speed. So far this morning, Megan hadn’t said anything about last night, but she also hadn’t been awkward or weird about it. In the grand balance of things, Scarlett would consider that a win. She’d fully expected awkward, weird Megan, full of regrets and excuses. Instead, she had this chill, friendly person, who didn’t seem to think what they’d done last night was at all significant or life changing.

  Not that it was either of those things. It was just sex—not even sex, not really—and it didn’t have to be any kind of significant. Scarlett smiled bitterly to herself. She could only lie to herself for so long. She never had emotionless sex, never fooled around with anyone she didn’t then fall for to some degree. That’s just who she was; she got attached and stayed attached, and she got hurt. That was life. And if she kept fooling around with Megan, or near Megan, or whatever it was they were doing, eventually she would get hurt.

  The bagels were as phenomenal as Scarlett had remembered, and Megan grudgingly admitted it was worth the long walk in the cold. “So where now?” Megan asked, leaning back in her chair and sipping her tea.

  “I was going to take you on Scarlett’s patented landmarks tour, where you can see the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and the New York Public Library.” Scarlett ticked off the items on the list. “Then, Battery Park to ride on the Staten Island Ferry and see the Statue of Liberty. Chelsea Market for lunch. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.”