Fan Friction

by Savage Rose

  “Holy hell but it’s loud,” Cheri observed with an easy laugh that Lara couldn’t help but return. “Care to dance?”

  She felt like a complete dork, attempting to match the joyous, carefree way Cheri owned that crowded dance floor, her heart smashing about in her chest every time the woman locked eyes with her and shared a few moments bouncing to the driving rhythm of the obnoxiously loud music. Glancing about the room after a few songs, Lara noticed TV Ass-Hat had left, presumably to sulk. She wanted to feel good about that, but there was a distinct feeling of unfinished business to the whole matter of Darrek the Porn God Turned TV Werewolf. He definitely meant something more to Cheri than an actor playing her character, and she wasn’t saying what.

  Every time she found herself brooding, Lara took another pull from the bottle of schnapps until her belly was warm and her concerns about the quality of her dance moves evaporated in the hot, sweaty room. That heat and sweat was quickly turning her thoughts to a dance of a whole different sort, and her amber eyes lingered on the glistening skin of Cheri’s exposed cleavage as her large breasts bounced to the beat. What chance did a virgin have against a porn star anyway, never mind the fact that she had no penis to speak of.

  Cheri laughed and cheered as a new song began, something with enough bass to make Lara wonder if her heart was even beating on its own anymore or if it had just been commandeered by the song. As the woman brushed up against her, bumping her thick, round backside playfully against Lara’s thigh, she decided it wasn’t the bass beat that had commandeered her heart. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling as Cheri turned with a whoop and shimmied in time to the rhythm, breasts jiggling in Lara’s face. She tried to mimic the move, and Cheri laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. It was a fairly hilarious comparison, she had to admit. Despite herself, she was having fun dancing in the overcrowded room, because she was dancing with her.

  “Want to stay much longer?” Cheri asked, breathing hard as the song faded out and a new one took its place. Lara hesitated, then shook her head, urged on by the woman’s indulgent grin. “Me neither, sugar. There’s just one thing I have to do, then we can go.” Her curiosity piqued, the young woman watched as Cheri sashayed over to the sound system where Reggie sat. Apparently his skill set included more than just panel management. The two leaned close and talked for a few moments, then the music faded out. Lara cocked her head as Cheri turned to the crowd.

  “Can I please just have a moment of y’all’s attention?” Cheri asked in the sudden silence. If anyone was disinclined to acquiesce, they didn’t voice it. The woman’s warm smile beamed at the room full of ECCC guests. Whatever she was announcing, this was a notable departure from her earlier mask of excitement. This excitement was genuine. “My name is Cheri Van Pelt, and I’m the author of a little werewolf story y’all might be familiar with.” Titters of laughter broke out, clearly showing the degree of familiarity most in the crowd had with the popular series. “Well, I just got word from my publisher, and I wanted y’all to be the first to hear: I’m publishing another book in the ‘Werever’ series.” A confused murmur swept through the crowd, most audibly where the ‘Werever’ comic book and television series teams had congregated. “I know, you all thought the story was over after our heroine died to save Hunter. So did I. But thanks to a new friend, I realized that wasn’t the end of the ‘Werever’ story. So I am proud to announce that ‘Werever I’m With You’ by Cheri Van Pelt and Lara Love will be hitting the market next month. I’ll be doing a signing tomorrow at the con if you have any questions. Thank you for your time, and enjoy the party.”

  A smattering of applause sounded. Cheri gave a very stunned Reggie a smile, then a kind but pointed head nod, and he turned the music back up to nearly offensive levels. The applause grew, and then receded into murmurs mostly drowned out by the throbbing bass beat. Meanwhile, Lara felt as though she’d been frozen in marble, unable to move, to breathe, to think until Cheri returned to her side, plump dark cheeks flushed with excitement.

  “Well, that was fun, sugar! Let’s go!” she cried, taking the nearly empty bottle of schnapps from Lara’s immobile hand and drinking deep before grabbing the young werewolf and pulling her out of the room, laughing joyously.

  “Love?” Lara finally managed, her tongue as awkward in her mouth as when she was first learning to speak through a wolf muzzle. She wished she could blame it on the alcohol coursing through her body, but she knew better. Cheri gave her a wary smile as they walked to the elevator together, that grip on her hand never wavering.

  “We can change it if you want to use your real name… or even a different pseudonym. It’s not too late, I can just call my—”

  “It’s perfect,” Lara said softly, feeling her own cheeks blush. Love. She named me Love. “I didn’t know you were ready to publish.” The elevator doors opened. As she stepped inside, she found herself enveloped quickly and completely in a thick, dark vanilla and butterscotch haze of giddiness, her heartbeat erratically skipping at the closeness of Cheri, the heat of her skin as they nearly touched in the enclosed space. It was difficult to focus on the words coming out of that beautiful mouth she wanted so badly to kiss.

  “Honestly, it was that last scene you sent. Sasha was just so… human. So raw and vulnerable. Once I realized how torn Hunter was between the woman he lost and the woman he loved, I knew how it had to end. I didn’t sleep for three days, but I got it done.” The elevator released them to the 25th floor, and Lara slowly returned to her senses, registering what Cheri had said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you’d finished it?” she asked, trying not to sound wounded by the oversight. Cheri swiped her key card and opened the room to her suite, then took a breath and turned to Lara, guilt all over her beautiful, round face.

  “I wanted to surprise you.” Huh? Lara blinked, entering the room reflexively as Cheri gestured her in. “I mean, we had talked about eventually publishing and everything, but I was going to tell you the moment I wrote that last word and knew it was done. But then you sent me that message saying you were coming here, and… I just wanted to make it memorable, sugar. Are you mad?” Lara had to pause a moment and take stock, because she wasn’t completely certain whether she was or not. She was shocked, that much she knew. She was far more intoxicated than she’d intended to be. And she was hopelessly smitten with this woman who had just made her a published novelist and named her Love.

  “I’m not mad,” was the best she could manage. Cheri’s guilty look held steady. She’d have to do better than that. “I’m sorry, I’m not the most… reactive person. But I’m excited. Really, I am,” she said, wishing her tone wasn’t so flat, her face wasn’t so still. It was enough, though, because Cheri instantly brightened, and dashed to her large leopard-printed rolling suitcase. Rummaging through all the satins, velvets, and lace while Lara averted her eyes from those suddenly bared thighs and glimpse of white ruffled panties, Cheri pulled out an object wrapped in brown paper with a loopy ‘SSP’ inscribed on the front. She handed it to Lara with a triumphant flourish, practically vibrating in her excitement. “‘SSP?’” Lara asked. Cheri giggled.

  “It’s for you.” She smiled as the meaning clicked. Sexy Smut Partner. Could she BE more adorable? Lara unwrapped the package awkwardly, knowing it was a book, and feeling pretty damn sure which book it would be. The softbound cover was exceedingly plain, just bearing the title ‘Werever I’m With You’ and their names, just like Cheri had said. Lara Love… Opening the book, its virgin spine resisting the motion, Lara caught sight of her name in Cheri’s brief author foreword. But most of all, thanks to Lara Love who from thousands of miles away reminded me of why I began this project, and gave me all the strength, inspiration, and hope to finish it. She’s the best partner a gal could ask for, and I will love her forever for it. Lara couldn’t breathe. I will love her forever… The book slipped from her fingers, landing with a soft hush on the thick carpet. Tears stung the young werewolf’s bright amber eyes as she looked into Cheri�
��s face, the face that always made her heart beat faster, as if it could break out of its cage if only it fought hard enough.

  She was moving before she even gave her body the conscious command, hands cupping those smooth chocolate cheeks as her lips pressed to Cheri’s. The woman froze, taking in a sharp, startled breath. Lara pulled back, terror drowning out her previous intense joy like a flash flood. SHIT SHIT SHIT!

  “I’m sorry!” she gasped, a hand to her mouth. That was wrong. I was wrong. She’s STRAIGHT, dammit! Cheri touched tentative fingertips to her own lips, her dark, penetrating eyes never leaving Lara’s. Panic gripped her, set her mind screaming WRONG WRONG WRONG on repeat. “I’m sorry… I just… I need to go.” She wasn’t sure if it was intoxication, guilt, or sheer terror that made her stumble on her way to the door, but before she could hit the floor, she felt Cheri’s warm, soft arms around her.

  “Come on, sugar. You can sleep it off here,” the woman murmured, guiding her to the sofa and helping her lay back. Lara let out a sob, curling into a ball, her back to Cheri. Great, and now I’m crying in front of her. Fuck my life. Fuck it with a rake. She forced herself silent, though the tears still poured down her face, and before long the thick cloud of alcohol in her veins drug her down to sleep, hands clasped protectively over her pathetic, guilty, breaking heart.

  * * *

  She couldn’t sleep. Well, obviously, she had been able to for at least a portion of the night, considering the brightening sky signaling an imminent sunrise visible as she peeked out through the window blinds. But now that she had stirred, she couldn’t settle back down, her freshly-sober mind flashing the feel of Cheri’s lips and the soul-crushing way the woman had seized in fear at her kiss. That hard, scouring, wide-eyed look she’d given her.

  She could hear the soft, deep breathing coming from the bed, mere feet away from her. In the dim light, she could just make out Cheri’s curves under the comforter as she lay on her side, mercifully turned away from Lara… There was no way she would be able to leave if she saw that beautiful face.

  As quietly as she could, Lara rose from her makeshift bed on the sofa, trying to ignore the way her heart fluttered as she realized Cheri had tucked her in with blankets from her bed. The sheer injustice left her raw and angry, clenching her teeth, raging at the fates that had brought her this life, with two packs depending on her selflessness and the only thing she’d ever dared to want in her 23 years sleeping an arm’s reach away. She brushed her cheek with the back of her hand brusquely, pretending not to notice the wetness against her skin. She’d cry once she was back at her motel room.

  “Having trouble sleeping, sugar?” came a sleepy voice with an adorable accent. Lara froze, nearly dropping the duffle bag she’d been about to hoist over her shoulder.

  “Uh, yeah,” she answered quietly, unsure if she should say more or just wait and hope Cheri would fall back asleep. She settled for hoping.

  “Feeling any better?” Well, there went that hope.

  “Yeah,” she lied. She thought back to the blankets Cheri had covered her with, her heart breaking as she added an emotionless, “Thanks.”

  “Lara?” There was an obvious hesitation in the woman’s voice that sent a chill down Lara’s spine.

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you remember kissing me last night?” Of course she remembered! She would never forget that moment wherein she was simultaneously the happiest and saddest she’d ever been in her entire life.

  “Yes.” What else was there to say? It had happened, it was her fault, and it was horrible.

  “We both had a lot to drink, huh.” That was the second time Cheri had mentioned drinking as a potential reason for the Kiss That Should Not Have Been. She didn’t understand how badly Lara had been wanting that kiss to happen before she’d introduced far too much schnapps into her system. Lara crouched down to grab her bag and straightened up with a hard sigh. She had to just say it and go. That’s all there was left.

  “Yes. And I’m sorry. But it wasn’t the drinks. I’m just… I’m just stupid.” So much for waiting to cry in the privacy of a crappy motel room. She wanted to find a hole to crawl in and never come back out. In one stupid move, she had ruined the best night of her life, and now she had to relive it when all she wanted to do was forget. The woman turned toward her, making it feel as though her heart was shattering in her chest, snapping along all its many weak points as Cheri looked her over with a worried frown. She couldn’t hold the woman’s gaze. Damn it all. It was over. She was wrong. Couldn’t she go now? Tears slipped down Lara’s tanned cheeks as she struggled to find a way to set this wrong to rights, if that was even possible. “Cheri, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what—”

  “Come here.” What? Why would she— The sound of rustling cloth made her glance up to see that Cheri had pulled back her covers, one dainty hand patting the empty space beside her invitingly. There was nothing Lara wanted more than to be in that bed with that woman, but now it just felt like life was mocking her pain and shame. She shook her head.

  “I need to go,” she whispered, her voice shaking despite her effort to keep it steady. The traitor.

  “What you need, sugar, is to come here,” Cheri asserted in that same tone she’d used when Lara was protesting her paying for their meals. Lara blinked, confusion displacing some of the hurt and making her head cock to the side, wishing she could see clearly enough to make out the woman’s expression. Failing that, she set her bag down with a small sigh and sat on the edge of the bed timidly, struggling to keep herself from bursting into obnoxious tears at the closeness of everything she wanted and couldn’t have. Cheri simply patted the space next to her again, apparently oblivious to the cruel tease of it all. Lara took a choked breath and slid over, sitting too straight in the warm bed that was comfortable in a way she’d never felt before… but what gave her body comfort gave her heart quite the opposite, and she pushed back another sob.

  “What do you want?” she asked, almost accusatory in her pain. She didn’t mean to sound that way, not to her, but part of her was glad she had, because now maybe she could break away and be alone. The thought made her want to sob all the more. For a long moment, Cheri remained silent, then she sat up, the short, sheer black nightgown she wore bedecked with precious light green polka dots and trimmed with matching green ribbon baring her thick chocolate thighs in a way that held Lara’s gaze far longer than she should have allowed.

  “When you kissed me, you were drunk, sugar. Are you sober now?”

  “Uh, yeah.” She’d already told Cheri it wasn’t the drinks that prompted the kiss. Why was she still on about that? “But—”

  “How did it feel?” Like the best and worst moment of my life? Like falling in love with a straight woman? Like the biggest, stupidest mistake I’ve made in a long history of big, stupid mistakes? How was it SUPPOSED to feel?

  “It was wrong.” She heard the shocked, even hurt-sounding breath Cheri took, and second guessed her answer. “I knew better, and I’m sorry.” Cheri didn’t respond, and second guessing became one hundred and second guessing. “I shouldn’t have come in the first place. I knew how hard it was going to be, but I thought I’d be… stronger.”

  “Stronger?” From her tone, Cheri had just discovered herself to be on a vastly different page than Lara. She had to be blunt and just get the truth out, and yes, it would probably destroy what remained of their friendship after that damned kiss, but if anyone ever deserved anything, Cheri deserved the truth.

  “I’ve had feelings for you for a long time now. Strong feelings. Romantic feelings. Very, very sexual feelings. And so I’m sorry. I knew better than to act on them, because you’re obviously not—”

  Her desperate apology was halted in its tracks by Cheri’s hands on her cheeks, dark eyes locked with hers as the woman leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips. After a moment, Cheri drew back, smiled, and then leaned in again. Lara’s eyebrows arched high at the realization that the woman’s mouth was on hers again,
now kissing her with an undeniable enthusiasm. The rest of her words came out as a long string of moans as the person she had been infatuated with for a year kissed the ever-loving hell out of her.

  Manicured brown hands clutched her arms, holding her close, soft belly and huge breasts pressing against her slender, muscular frame. Her knees were jelly, and it was a very good thing she was already sitting down as those succulent lips continued their power play. She had completely lost the ability to think, but her body had no trouble keeping up with the sudden change, judging by the ready wetness building between her trembling legs.

  “Obviously not what, sugar?” Cheri murmured, and Lara could hear the smile in her voice. She couldn’t speak. She wasn’t even sure what she would say if she could. Cheri kissed her again— again! This was no spontaneous one-off. Lara’s lips parted as Cheri’s tongue stroked her, making her moan again, strong hands burying themselves in those glossy purple curls, pulling herself closer, their bodies pressed desperately together.

  None of this made sense. Lara didn’t care. Maybe Cheri was just feeling guilty because she’d been crying or grateful for the help with the book. Maybe she was just lonely. Right now, Lara didn’t care. She couldn’t. All she could do was let herself melt, moan, gasp with need for more, which Cheri gladly gave her. It didn’t matter how many reasons Lara had to throw her clothes back on, run out of the room, cry herself to sleep in her crappy motel room, and book the first flight back home… Reason didn’t live here anymore.

  “I’ve been thinking about kissing you all night,” Cheri breathed, leaning in to Lara as she captured her mouth once again, pressing her to the bed. So alright, maybe the woman wasn’t straight, or at least she was certainly not putting up much of a show of it currently. And even if she was straight, and this would only end in a colossal heartbreak, Lara was helpless to stop… not now, when she felt like this.