Smiles By Trials (Rays of Sunshine Book 2)

by Leonard,Jewel E.

  Brianna’s apartment was the polar opposite of Huvie’s in that it had few decorations and was sparsely furnished. Nor had she dressed for company, in grey cut-off sweat shorts and a thin, stained, white tank top. Rhea saw Brianna’s tattoo and more than the vague outline of her breasts through it. Was she deliberately doing this sort of stuff to drive her out of her mind?

  “What’s going on?” Rhea asked.

  Brianna turned to her with puffy, blood-shot eyes, mussed hair and ruddy, blotched cheeks. She was still attractive as hell but Rhea didn’t realize until then how much makeup she wore in her pictures and on outings.

  The proud, confident goddess Rhea knew was devastated.

  At Rhea’s double-take, Brianna dropped her head and retreated for her couch, flipping the throw cover onto the top of the cushions. “I look like shit. I’m plenty aware of that, thank you very much.” She swiped a piece of paper from the coffee table and held it out to Rhea, plopping onto the couch with an oomph.

  Rhea took it and Brianna covered her face with both hands.

  After a quick assessment of the letter, Rhea said, “Bri . . . This isn’t an eviction notice. This is an extension of your leasing contract. And they gave it to you almost two months ahead of time. You don’t have to renew until the end of March. Why are you freaking out?”

  “Because it might as well be an eviction notice.” Brianna smacked her hands down on her bare thighs. “They’re raising my rent a hundred dollars a month. Travis used to pay half. Without a roommate I’ll be out of savings and checking in two months.” Tears streamed anew down her red cheeks. “I’m fucked.”

  “No,” Rhea said slowly. “You’re not.” She shrugged her purse onto the floor and sat on the couch beside Brianna. “Calm down. Things always seem far scarier in the heat of the moment. If you’re worked up, you’re not thinking straight and either you’ll make a bad decision or you’ll overlook a totally obvious solution, huh? Come on. Take a deep breath.”

  “Okay, I—I can do that.” She took a shaky breath.

  Rhea patted her on the shoulder. “Okay. Have you thought about finding a place you can maybe afford?”

  “Of course I have. Give me a little credit, I’m pretty, not dumb. I don’t have enough for security deposits. Travis covered ours for this place.”

  If she has enough to cover rent for a couple months, why can’t she cover a security deposit with cheaper rent from there, on out? Despite her internal monologue, Rhea nodded as though what Brianna told her made sense. “Okay then. What if you found a new roommate?”

  “I’m too scared to. I don’t trust strangers.” Brianna heaved a shuddery sigh, digging her knuckles into her eyelids. “I am such an idiot. All that time I should have saved my money and pfft, no, I had to repay my goddamn student loans like a fucking dumbass.”

  Rhea looked at the letter again. Brianna’s rent would be 300 dollars higher than hers. It must have been a stellar location when the apartment itself was no nicer than hers and maybe even a little smaller from what she saw of it.

  If they split Brianna’s rent in half, Rhea would spend less than she was on her current place. She glanced around the apartment, her stomach knotting in warning. I offered to help. And if I’m in the position to, what kind of awful friend would I be to stand idly by? “What if . . . What if I moved in?”

  Brianna’s head snapped up. “Don’t tease me, Rhea.”

  “I’m not. Look.” Rhea took a deep breath; she felt nauseated. “My lease ends in a few weeks. I’m lonely and I could always benefit from paying less on where I live, y’know? I mean sure, the commute will be shitty on a good day, but you know, whatever.” She shrugged.

  Brianna lifted a shaking hand to her lips.

  “We could essentially have the same arrangement you and Travis did. Say I move in for six months with a definitive end-date. That should be plenty of time for you to save up enough for a security deposit and then I’d help you move into a place you can afford on your own.”

  “So . . . when you say same arrangement as me and Travis had, like . . . does that include sexual favors?” Brianna chuckled weakly.

  “If you don’t judge me for having never been with a girl before.” Rhea’s lips pulled taut in an uncomfortable smile. “I mean, besides myself.”

  Brianna’s tentative smile fell. “Okay now you are teasing me. Quit it.”

  Rhea put the letter on the coffee table, sitting back into the couch cushions and white-knuckling her hands in her lap. “I . . . had—okay, promise me you won’t freak out—the biggest crush on you when we were in high school.”

  “Oh—my—God.” Brianna straightened, casting her a hard stare. “Wait. No! You talked about the girl you had a crush on in your blog once. I thought you were just blowing smoke for attention.” She gasped, putting a lithe hand over her heart. In a tiny voice, she asked, “Was that me?”

  Rhea nodded once. Well if nothing else, this confession might get her out of the ridiculous promise to move in with Brianna she was already regretting.

  “Well . . . How’s that crush doing now?”

  Rhea licked her lips and bit down, refusing to make eye-contact. “How couldn’t I still have a crush on you? You’ve been so fun and so sweet and you’re hotter now than you were in high school if it’s even possible.” She blinked. “And oh my God what the hell did I just do, now I’m babbling and freaking out—” Rhea jumped to her feet, hands shaking. “I’m so sorry, this was a huge mistake—” She raced to the front of the apartment.

  “No, wait—” Brianna caught her at the door by her shoulder and turned her around.

  With her eyes locked to the floor, Rhea blurted, “I don’t know what I was thinking telling you any of that, I’m so embarrassed!”

  “Don’t be.” Brianna’s voice softened. “It’s always nice to hear someone thinks so kind of you. I mean . . . How would it feel if I’d prattled off a list like that about you?”

  Rhea swallowed, hesitantly lifting her gaze, her cheeks aflame. “Why would you do that?”

  “What if someone had a similar list but could add things like . . . You’re brave. And smart. And talented. And jeez Christ, generous to a fault, don’t even get me started.”

  “Well—” Rhea chuckled despite herself. “I’d think she was nuts—”

  Brianna shoved Rhea against the door, pressing their mouths together.

  After several heartbeats of deafening silence, Brianna retreated. “Oh. Shit. Oh God. I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have done that—”

  Rhea put a couple fingers to her own lips in a daze. “No. Don’t. Don’t apologize.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure. I mean, yeah. You’re single. I’m . . . single—” —ish. “It probably wouldn’t be wise to pursue an actual relationship or whatever if we’re gonna be roommates,” and apparently that’s happening, “but who’s to say we couldn’t maybe screw around sometimes?” At least once. Tonight, while I’m on a roll?

  “Oh my God,” Brianna whispered, a giddy smile spreading across her beautiful, flushed face. “Do you even know how long I’ve dreamt of doing something like this?”

  She shrugged coyly. “Can’t be for as long as I have. I was gross in high school; you didn’t give me a passing thought.”

  “Well I’m giving you more than a passing thought now. Holy shit, I’ve dreamt about doing stuff to you since I found your blog and those amazingly hot stories with Surfer Boy. Only I may have put myself in his shoes a teeny, tiny bit. And that, by-the-way, was back when I envisioned you still looking like you did in high school. Where there’s a woman behind glasses and beneath a bun, there’s a sexual goddess in hiding.” She grinned. “Librarian porn taught me that.”

  Boring-as-brown-grass Rhea would have left a Rhea-shaped dust cloud in her wake after Brianna kissed her. Train-riding, anonymous-sex and one-night-stand having, so-called New Rhea was more concerned with taking advantage of fulfilling a long-standing fantasy before making any long-term commitment to Adam.r />
  Because she was sure as hell going to demand a relationship the next time she got him on Skype after what she’d done with Huvie.

  “Okay, you’re not saying anything. Um. I owe you big time for coming to my rescue tonight,” Brianna continued. She lowered her head and stepped closer to Rhea, entwining their fingers. “Now I should warn you: I’ve never done this before, ‘cept for in my dreams, so . . . I don’t know how good I’ll be at it.”

  Rhea’s heart fluttered. “I’ve never done this before either so I have no frame of reference. You could be the worst in your inexperience and I won’t care. I’m just excited for the opportunity.” She knew she sounded desperate and cringed. “Oh my God I sound like a job applicant.”

  Brianna laughed. “Okay, let’s agree we’re both awkward and inexperienced. So why don’t you lead?”

  “What?” Nerves shoved Rhea’s voice upward half an octave. “Me? Hell if I know what to do. Why don’t you . . . start by kissing me again.” She hesitated, deciding to quote something she read in a romance novel. “Kiss me slow. Sweet. Just how I always dreamed you’d kiss me.”

  Brianna’s beautiful mouth curled into a wicked smile. “I read that book too!” She tilted her head and leaned in, touching her lips to Rhea’s. Brianna’s were dewy, plump and warm, her pout gentle and relaxed.

  Rhea reeled as she tried to memorize every last thing about the moment: Brianna’s soft lips tasted salty, the faintest hint of bubblegum on her breath. She applied the perfect pressure, her body moving in closer, her shaking hands grasping Rhea’s and squeezing. It had been an eternity since she’d been kissed just so.

  How can that be? I left Huvie’s place less than two hours ago.

  Huvie hadn’t kissed her on the lips, and maybe that was what accounted for the overall lack of intimacy in the encounter. The same lack of intimacy being compensated for—and then some—by the simple, gentle touch of a woman who clearly longed for the same things Rhea did.

  Brianna pulled away. Her voice low, she asked, “How’s that for starters?”

  Rhea smiled, pulling her right hand from Brianna’s grasp and putting a couple fingertips to Brianna’s lower lip. “Good enough that I want more.”

  “Really?” Her face lit up.

  “Oh yeah, much more.” Rhea gave a small nod, her smile turning sly. She wrapped her arms around Brianna’s shoulders and pulled her close, seeking her luscious mouth for more.

  Brianna sighed in her embrace, sneaking her tongue out against Rhea’s lips.

  Rhea’s first impulse was that it was so wrong she should have pushed away. Instead, she invited her in with coy flicks of her tongue.

  “Oh my God,” Brianna whispered, “this feels so naughty!”

  What followed were words Rhea had never spoken for as many times as she’d written them: “I know, right?”

  “So kiss me like you mean it.”

  Rhea lifted her eyebrows and smirked. She teased, “What if I did and you fell in love with me?”

  “Well, then . . . I guess I’d be grateful same-sex marriage was just legalized here.”

  Rhea’s eyebrows jumped another several feet and she leaned back, knocking her head against the door. “Ow.”

  “I—” Brianna cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean it that way.” She cringed, caressing the back of Rhea’s head. “You okay?”

  “I’m . . . really not in this for a relationship.” Because it could never be good enough with anyone else to replace Adam, not even with Brianna. No matter how sexy she was.

  No matter how long I fantasized about this.

  Rhea was in love with Adam, and she flat-out refused to be tangled in a love triangle. Not even for the sake of making her dumb old blog a little more interesting. Not even if it meant having fodder for the second book she longed to write but for which she lacked inspiration.

  Brianna nodded. “I was just saying—”

  “Stop. Don’t. I was just saying I’m looking for affection. Companionship. But it’s so nice to know someone actually might actually someday actually care enough about me to actually want a commitment. You know?”

  “Actually?” Brianna teased with a wink, “I’d be happy to be your bestie ‘til the end of time. Say the word and I’ll go full barnacle on your ass. How’s that for commitment? Actually.”

  “. . . Ignoring how you mocked me?”

  “Hey, hey. Don’t be pouty. We mock ‘cause we love.”

  Rhea snorted. “The barnacle part sounded real sexy.”

  “We could even be besties with benefits. Bestiefits? Breastifits!” Brianna tittered, leaning in for another kiss. Rhea met her halfway, wondering how much alcohol Brianna drank prior to her arrival. There wasn’t a hint of booze on her breath; was it possible she was just a closet geek?

  Focus on the moment, dumbass!

  They explored each other’s mouths, toyed with each other’s tongues. Encouragement came in the form of little giggles and sighs, Brianna sliding her hands down Rhea’s back all the way to her ass.

  “You really know what you’re doing with those buns,” she said.

  Rhea laughed, her cheeks aflame; gin blossoms had nothing on the upshot of kissing another woman. “Thanks. So do you. Hey, um . . . How’s your tattoo doing?”

  “You don’t have to play games to get me to take off my top.”

  “I’m not playing games. I was just asking for a friend—” who fucked me about two hours ago. Rhea’s smile faltered. Why? Why did I have to think of that? Immeasurable moron.

  If Brianna noticed it, she didn’t pursue it. “Come on.” She pulled Rhea into the living room, nudging the coffee table away from the couch with her knee.

  “Um . . . Whatcha doin’?” Rhea squeaked.

  “Don’t be nervous.”

  “I’m not—”

  “—says someone who sounds super nervous,” Brianna laughed.

  Rhea couldn’t help laughing at her own expense. “I’m not nervous. This is how I sound when I’m aroused.”

  “To answer your question about my tattoo, see it for yourself.” Brianna pulled off her tank top, tossing it onto the kitchen table.

  Her breasts were as full and perky as advertised; she apparently didn’t wear padded bras and Rhea didn’t think she needed to. She didn’t need any bra at all and opted not to wear them in the comfort of her own home. Or at least she chose to forgo wearing the undergarment on nights she planned to seduce a friend. God only knows what she does on a normal night.

  “Wow,” Rhea breathed. She couldn’t even bring herself to drop her gaze the couple inches to see the tattoo in question. “Those are . . . Wow.”

  Brianna smirked. “Shut up baby, I know it. You wanna touch ‘em?”

  “Uh huh.” It wasn’t eloquent, not by a long shot, but the whimper of desire was a tiny gesture that screamed volumes.

  So why the hell were her arms pinned to either side of her?

  “Here.” Brianna took Rhea’s hand, guiding it to her left breast.

  “This is so weird,” Rhea squeaked.

  Brianna sang, “But you’re smiling. You like it.”

  I love it. It was wonderful, in addition to being weird. It was silken, soft, and heavy like her own, but infinitely better because it wasn’t. Rhea asked, “Can I kiss them?”

  “Frankly, I’d be offended if you didn’t.”

  “Oh. Well. I wouldn’t want to offend.” She took a deep breath before bowing her head and pressing her mouth to Brianna’s breast; it was everything she imagined it would be and then some.

  “Could I maybe do this to you?”

  Rhea pulled back. Though she’d have been happy to fondle Brianna’s chest more, she replied, “Uh, yes please.”

  With a wide smile, Brianna removed Rhea’s shirt, dropping it on the coffee table. “Oh that’s pretty. Maidenform?”

  In disbelief, Rhea replied, “Seriously? That’s what you’re concerned with, the brand of bra I’m wearing?”

  Brianna smirked. “You could sa
y I have a little bit of a bra obsession.” She unhooked Rhea’s and pulled it off. “Oh yes, yes, very nice. I love what you’ve done with them.”

  “Ha! Do you suppose this is how the ‘first time’ goes for other girls?”

  After musing a moment, Brianna answered, “Probably not.” She glanced at the tag of Rhea’s bra and set it atop her shirt. “Maidenform. I love being right.” She used her fingertips to circle Rhea’s nipple around its barbell adornment. “Did it hurt?”

  “The piercing?” Rhea shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad.”

  “Got any others like it?”

  “Only one way to find out . . .”

  “No!” gasped Brianna. “Your clit? Your hood? Oh my God, both?”

  “Oh no, no. But the thought’s crossed my mind . . . a few times.” At least. Rhea put her hands on the button of her jeans. “Are we doing this, doing this? Whole hog? Or just making out?”

  “I’d personally prefer not to call it ‘whole hog’ when talking about doing it. But if you’re in, I’m totally down for going down.”

  “Oh,” breathed Rhea. “I’m all in.”

  “Okay.” Brianna pushed Rhea’s hands away from her pants. “Let’s both stop being so shy, huh?”

  “I’m not shy.” Rhea lied as she watched Brianna unbutton her jeans on her behalf and drag them down. “You’re shy.”

  “You go commando. And Brazilian.”

  Rhea was going to correct her about the commando remark but decided against it. She didn’t want to explain why she wasn’t wearing her underwear and there was nothing inherently wrong in Brianna’s belief she was that sexy and cool. So she chirped, “Yep.”

  “Christ. The kids in high school had you figured all wrong.”

  “You have no idea.” She reached for Brianna’s shorts, bunching them down her legs along with her disappointingly conservative underwear.

  “Well it’s their loss, that’s for damn sure.” Brianna stepped out of her shorts and leaned in to Rhea, pressing their chests together, rubbing their breasts against each other.

  Rhea was captivated by the sight.