by Jill Gates
Smiling, the blonde batted her eyelashes and said, "I'm a nurse."
"Seriously?"
Nodding, Vanessa sat up a bit straighter, looking up to see if the taxi driver was still focused on the road. Still, she pitched her voice low and leaned into Sophia to whisper, "Cue the silly jokes. Every other guy I meet makes the same stupid ones."
Sophia swallowed, then shyly asked, "Do you have a remedy for a broken heart?"
"What do you mean?"
"Listen, you're really sweet," Sophia said, her eyes still glassy, "But I can tell the difference between real interest and girlish fun." Shivering slightly, Sophia gently removed her arm, which she'd wrapped around Vanessa's waist. "I have a feeling, after you say good night, I'm going to be miserable for a while." Her voice caught near the end, and she looked out the window once more. An uncomfortable moment passed and Vanessa felt guilty for taking things so far. Just before she could say anything, Sophia looked back at her, "So if you're a nurse, maybe you can give me tips on mending my soon to be broken heart?"
Vanessa squeezed her hand, just as she noticed the taxi slowing. "We're almost there, ladies," his gruff voice announced, "That'll be seventeen fifty."
The blonde sat up straighter, once again adjusting her dress, noticing when she did the cabbies eyes widening in appreciation. Stupid dress, she thought, last time I ever wear this to a bar.
"Keep the change," Sophia said, passing him a twenty and opening the door. She reached to close it when Vanessa put out her hand, grabbing the door handle and looking up at her with an apologetic grimace.
"I said I'd make sure you got home safe," Vanessa said, forcing a small smile. "You're not home yet."
Sophia looked torn between happiness, and a look that could only come from a pet goldfish's passing, being flushed to the great big fishbowl of the sky. Still, she nodded, and simply held the door while the blonde exited the taxi. The courtyard of the hotel was large, however, at that time of night, most of the parking spots were taken. The doorman was absent, and Vanessa hurried to open the door, so she could follow Sophia where she would lead. Nodding her thanks, Sophia entered, pausing for Vanessa to catch up and grabbing the other woman's arm. Wrapping her arm around her own, she looked over as they walked, smiling tipsy encouragement.
"Evening," Sophia waved to the clerk at the counter, an attractive woman in her early twenties. She nodded, smiling at the two women as Sophia led them to the elevator. "I've been here for three months now," Sophia continued, "Tomorrow, I fly back home." She sounded wistful, and squeezed Vanessa's hand for a moment. "It's been impossible for me to meet anybody, with my internship being so demanding." She frowned, "Also, the sausage party aspect was clearly not my thing."
Nodding, Vanessa finally realized that Sophia had absolutely no interest in men. Only women. She'd had friends who had tried everything, but none of them fell in love with the idea. Her own escapades a decade before were just girlish fun, at least, that was what she'd always thought. Every girl experiments in college, right? After flirting with Sophia, she had started to consider, for the first time, doing something more. The thought was scary and she shivered as the elevator door opened, holding Sophia even tighter to her side.
"My room is on the fifth floor," Sophia continued, her voice slurring less now, "It has a great view of the pool, and the scenery around the area. "Though," Sophia paused, attempting to disentangle her arm, "I don't think it's a good idea for you to check out the view."
"Why not?" Vanessa demanded, withdrawing her arm and staring at the other woman, her temper flaring. "You suddenly think I'm not smart, or interesting?" She was furious, the woman's words hurt her more deeply than she could think. Despite the alcohol starting to wear off, being dumped, denied and feeling more lonely than ever, the last thing she wanted was to get rejected, by anybody. "Am I not good enough for you?" Shrugging, she pulled up her dress, adjusting the top more deliberately this time, watching as Sophia's eyes slid from her chest to her thighs, where the dress barely covered half their smooth, toned length.
"I know exactly how attractive I am," Vanessa continued, not giving the other woman a chance to say anything. "In your wildest dreams, you would be lucky to spend so much time with me as we did tonight." Vanessa took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, just as the elevator beeped. "If you don't want me to follow you, fine."
Sliding open, the door stood there, Sophia opened mouthed and grasping for words, staring at the haughty blonde. Vanessa tapped her foot, the heel beating an uneven rhythm on the carpeted floor. Finally, just as the elevator started to slide closed, she reached out to push it back open.
"Please," Sophia finally said, her heart pounding, "Follow me." Without another word, her heart in her throat, she walked down the hall and looked for the marker that said which way to her room. After a few months, she'd memorized it, but the drinking and lack of sleep was catching up to her, and it took more than a moment to start walking, carefully, down the hall. Afraid that Vanessa would not follow, she simply kept walking, telling herself not to cry if the woman had abandoned her.
Less than a minute later, she stood in front of her hotel room door and fumbled the key out of her jean's pocket. Nearly crying, she could not hear any steps from down the hall, and it seemed to take forever to get the card into position to slid into the keypad.
"Are you always this clumsy?" Vanessa's voice almost set her heart on fire, and when the door clicked open, Sophia pushed the handle wide, looking back to see the other woman standing there, her heels dangling loosely from one hand. "Care to show me the view?"
"Sure." Sophia could barely manage the one syllable, even then, she walked inside and held the door, watching in drunken surprise as Vanessa followed her inside and tossed her heels to the side of the queen size bed. "I can open the curtain," she said, letting the door close and walking swiftly, swaying, past the other woman to pull on the chain to open the curtain. Now that Vanessa was there, she hardly knew what to do or say. Mouth dry, she simply pulled open the curtain, and then pointed.
"I get tactless sometimes," Vanessa said, looking out the window. "Especially when I'm nervous." She reached out to grab Sophia's hand and gave it a squeeze without looking over.
Heart pounding, Sophia stood there, breathing deeply, trying to clear her head. When she reached brazenly over the bar to grab her drink, her only thought had been to tease the provocatively dressed blonde. Sure, she had desperately wanted to do far more than dangle her goodies in the woman's face, but she knew then that a woman like Vanessa was probably out of reach. Now, with her hand being squeezed encouragingly by the self confessed straight woman, alone with her in the hotel, she tried to imagine what she should do next. Unfortunately, her experience with women was very limited, despite her preference. She also was not about to reveal her secret, at least not so soon. The cover story of being an intern was partly true.
"Vanessa," she finally replied, "It's okay." Sophia took a deep breath and squeezed her hand, then looked over and stroked the other woman's hair. "I was just thinking, in my dreams, this happened." Laughing nervously, she squeezed the blonde's hand again and slid her hand down her back, lightly caressing the other woman's smooth skin. "However, those are dreams. I have no idea what I'm doing right now."
"Interesting," Vanessa replied, shivering slightly under the light fingered touch of Sophia's fingertips. "Well, have you ever had a one night stand?"
Flushing, Sophia withdrew her hand and her cheeks grew bright red. "It's okay, Sophia." Vanessa paused and reached out, squeezing the other woman's hand again. "I have before," Vanessa said, "But it was not nearly as fulfilling as you might expect, if you haven't done it before." She looked back out the window and whispered, "We all make mistakes."
"Listen, you're awesome," Sophia said, "But I don't want to be some kind of mistake for you." Stepping closer to Vanessa, Sophia slid her other arm around the woman's waist, "I'm a programmer. I detest making mistakes."
Smiling impishly, the blonde star
ted to play idly with Sophia's fingers, the smooth, long digits feeling strangely electric beneath her touch. "I can tell you're hurting," Vanessa said, "That's what I do. I help people feel better." Blue eyes wide, she leaned closer to the brunette, staring into her eyes, "You seem very anxious. What can I do to help you relax?"
"Stay the night," Sophia blurted, without thinking. "Please?"
In response, Vanessa slid one arm around the other woman, marveling at her mixture of nervous anticipation, reluctance and desire. "I'll stay," she said, "As long as we do something fun. I haven't had a sleepover since I was in high school." They both giggled drunkenly at the statement, leaning into each other naturally, hands starting to slide along their waistlines, back and hips. Drawing a deep breath, Vanessa stopped chuckling and rested her arms around Sophia's waist, mentally admiring the younger woman's trim, athletic hips. "I can follow your lead," Vanessa said, her voice low, sensual, "But I need some water first." Grimacing, "On second thought, bathroom, then water."
Nodding, Sophia untangled her fingers from around the blonde and watched her saunter to the bathroom, heart full and pounding out of control. A second later, she remembered the in room fridge had water, snacks and other beverages. She grabbed a few bottles of water from the fridge and noted the rum and cokes, just in case. In moments, she had them settled on the windowsill. Sophia double checked the closet was shut, to ensure the blonde would not see her equipment. She wasn't sure where the drinks should go and was about to move them a second time when Vanessa emerged from the bathroom.
"Thanks," Vanessa said, "I'm so thirsty." She strode confidently over to the windowsill, her hips swaying seductively. Sophia could not help but stare, drunkenly, forgetting anything else as she just enjoyed the way the blonde walked across the room. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be right back," Sophia said, cheeks flushed. Scurrying off to the bathroom, she left Vanessa standing there, holding the bottle of water.
"What am I doing?" Vanessa asked herself, breaking the seal on the water bottle and draining almost half the arrowhead in one go. "She's so cute, and fun," pausing, she swallowed a smaller sip of water, "But so young. At least she looks young; and in college." Frowning, she finished in her head, and a woman. Irritated, she thought back to the steak head in the bar, and had a sudden, overwhelming desire to strangle the next guy who approached her with that kind of cocky smirk.
The alcohol fading from her system, she just felt tired, and lonely. Sophia's hotel room was neat, clean and organized. Vanessa guessed her clothes must be in the closet and probably packed already for her flight. All in all, it was a strange situation. Another time, she could easily see becoming great friends with the young woman. At that moment, after all the flirting, her own frustration, she just wished she was at home, with a nice bubble bath and her favorite toy. Shivering, she set the water bottle down and rubbed her arms, debating on what she should say to excuse herself.
"Vanessa?"
Turning, she saw the young brunette had changed into a towel, showing off her long, slender arms and trim thighs. Shocked, Vanessa could only stare, her body reacting without thought, nipples stiffening and her thighs aching for no reason she could rationalize. I looked like that when I was twenty-three, she thought, finally regaining some composure.
"Would you please keep me company tonight?"
Chapter Three
Three
"I don't know," Vanessa replied, cheeks flushed despite her body's reaction, the rational part of her mind was still screaming no. "I'm not interested in a one night stand."
"Neither am I."
"You also realize, I'm straight," Vanessa continued, without a beat or pause.
"That's okay," Sophia replied, smiling slightly. "I can't believe you're here, with me." She blushed prettily, running a hand through her now loose long brown hair. "When I leaned over the bar, I desperately wanted to irritate you." Her face turned brighter red, and she shrugged, almost loosing her towel before grabbing it to rewrap it around her ample chest. "Only because I envied your confidence, your charisma," Sophia paused, gulping. "Your body."
"You envy me?" Vanessa was stunned, her blue eyes wide.
"You're what, twenty-six?" Sophia asked. Inwardly, Vanessa corrected, twenty-eight. "And less than one percent of the woman I go to school with even remotely compare." Taking a deep breath, Sophia continued, "I know we're drunk but, I'd love to be your friend. Is that okay?"
"Sure," Vanessa replied, sipping more water. She licked her lips, without thinking, eyeing the younger woman's towel clad body once more and feeling decidedly uncomfortable in her dress. "Ah, would you mind if I change into a towel as well?" She shrugged, the dress again clinging to her chest, "This isn't the most comfortable of dresses."
"Go ahead," Sophia replied, "Mi casa es su casa." Vanessa smiled gratefully and whisked past her, tempted to tug the towel off the younger woman but restraining the naughty impulse.
Moments later, she emerged from the bathroom, clad in the towel and her undergarments. She had considered shucking those for a moment, but in her mind, she could not come to grips with what she was doing. So, by keeping those on, she told herself it was just a friendly sleep over, like she'd had in high school. Emerging from the bathroom, she saw Sophia standing at the windowsill, drinking from her water bottle. The brunette's hair hung lose, reaching half way down her back. Vanessa paused, breathing deep, the drunken impulses from earlier having left nearly an hour ago. Now, she was just nervous, self conscious and frustrated. If it was a man, she knew what to do, though she would hate herself in the morning, as she had twice before. With Sophia, she honestly didn't know what to expect or do.
Sophia must have heard her footsteps, or the frantic beating of her heart. The young brunette turned, her pink lips wet from the water bottle, and nearly dropped it. She strutted over to the bed and lay down. "The bed's big enough for both of us," Sophia said, patting the pillow to her right, "Join me."
The blonde climbed onto the bed, irritated briefly that the night stand was on the opposite side and she'd have to ask the other woman to grab her water bottle. Still, the bed was comfortable, and after a moment of laying down, her inhibitions started to wane, while her frustration mounted. Turning over onto her side, she started at Sophia's profile for a moment, wondering what she should do. The brunette seemed lost in thought, staring at the ceiling.
Finally, Sophia turned over and looked at her, brown eyes no longer glassed over from booze. "Sorry," she muttered, cheeks flushed, "I hadn't gotten this far, or anywhere close, in my own head." She breathed deep, tentatively reaching out and stroking the long, shiny tresses of Vanessa's blonde hair. "Any ideas?"
"I'm more confused than you," Vanessa said, honestly. She shivered underneath Sophia's touch, and added, despite herself, "I know that in the bar, I thought about kissing you." She paused, searching the other woman's eyes for a moment, "And I'm not a total prude. I've played truth or dare with girlfriends before."
"Really?" Sophia squeaked, surprised. "Did you like the truth, or the dares?"
"It all depends," Vanessa replied, shivering as the other woman's hand trailed down to her bare shoulders. "On the truth, and the corresponding dare." Her eyes brightened, and she arched an eyebrow. "How about we play?"
"Sure, but," Sophia paused, "We need to set some boundaries, first. I don't want to upset you."
"Fuck that," Vanessa replied, "Game on. I'm sure I can beat you, ground rules or no."
"So what do I get if I win?" Sophia was suddenly very, very optimistic about their evening together. However, the dizzying possibilities flying through her mind made her heart race, and she could not resist tracing her hand further down the curve of Vanessa's back.
"You won't win," Vanessa said smugly. "But how about this. If I win, I get what I want, no questions. You win, you tell me, and it's yours. Deal?"
"What do you want exactly?"
"If I win, you'll find out," Vanessa said, shivering slightly and winking, the touch of the oth
er woman's hand catching her slightly off guard. A small part of her wanted to just start touching Sophia and see where it led. The more rational, tired and becoming more sober by the moment part, screamed how wrong the entire evening had been. Regardless, she could no more deny her feelings of lust than she could her competitive nature. "You go first."
Pausing, Sophia withdrew her hand from Vanessa's back and studied the other woman's blue eyes. "Truth; what's the farthest you've been with a woman?"
Vanessa wasted no time in responding, "Tongue kissing, heavy petting, with clothes on." She smiled, licking her lips, "Dare; take off your towel and then strip for me."
"What?" Sophia exclaimed, without thinking.
"Giving up already?" Vanessa smirked at the other woman's sudden discomfort, enjoying the idea of the shoe being on the other foot. "Just say, 'I give up', and then I'll tell you what I want."
"I need music," Sophia said, "If I'm going to do anything close to a proper job." She gave a long, considering look at the blonde and then rose up off the bed, slightly awkward but showing no signs of her earlier inebriation. "Can you set the TV to play something?"
Before Vanessa could respond, the brunette dropped her towel and strode to the foot of the bed, smirking at the blonde. Mouth suddenly dry, she reached for the remote and frantically flipped through to the music channel on the hotel entertainment system. Seeing the younger woman's near naked form for the first time, she felt as if she'd stepped into a steam room, her every pore suddenly open, dripping and eager. The brunette danced awkwardly at first, shaking her hips back and forth and swinging her hands side to side. The black, full cup bra had no lace and her matching panties were seamless. Curious, Vanessa wondered idly if the younger woman shaved, as she did, or kept things au natural. After a moment, Sophia started to get into the song, a hip hop rhythm full of innuendo.
Swaying to the music, Sophia finally started to feel a bit more comfortable, standing nearly naked in front of the sultry blonde. Despite her nervousness, the other woman's rapt gaze, and occasional tongue sliding out to lick her lips, she started to feel sexier than she had in a long, long time. Gyrating side to side, Sophia arched her back and then turned, looking over her shoulder. She unbuckled her bra clasp, gratified to hear a startled, "Oh," from the blonde. Letting the bra fall, she swiveled her hips, hiding her nipples with one hand, still moving to the music.