“Stop gossiping about me,” Nat interjected. “I’m standing right here.” She was dressed in a tight-fitted, low-cut tuxedo, her hair gelled back and her swag on fire. “And baby, if turning fifty doesn’t earn you the right to blow out candles sticking from marzipan nipples, then nothing ever will.” Nat’s arms curled around Isabella’s waist and Isabella allowed her body to slide against Nat’s. She could hardly wait for the celebrations to end so she could tug that tux off of Nat’s frame.
“You need to give Nat some credit for handling the fact she’s weeks away from shacking up with a fifty-year-old so well.” Maddie joined the conversation.
“Hey, it’s not because you’re stealing my flatmate that I need to get the U-Haul out as well.” Nat tightened her grip around Isabella’s waist. Their relationship had not progressed as quickly as Maddie and Alex’s, but it was definitely going in the right direction.
“I told her she can’t move in before she gets rid of at least half of those ridiculous t-shirts she wears.” Isabella squeezed Nat’s arms.
“What am I doing with this woman who doesn’t appreciate a splash of colour in her life?” Nat asked.
Isabella spun around under Nat’s embrace and looked her in the eye. “Their colour is hardly the problem, darling.” Nat’s blue eyes sparkled.
“Enough bickering already. I want a piece of this boob cake,” Alex said.
“You always do, babe.” Maddie slung her arm over Alex’s shoulder and all four of them chuckled.
“It’s my cake, so I’ll do the honours.” Isabella pecked Nat on the lips and struggled free from her embrace. She divided the cake in four large pieces of half boob and distributed them amongst her three favourite people.
“We need an Irish coffee to go with these.” Nat headed towards Isabella’s liquor cabinet. “The lady must not stay sober on her fiftieth.”
* * *
An hour and two strong Irish coffees later all four of them sat watching the sun set from Isabella’s roof terrace.
“What a year,” Isabella said. “Remember my forty-ninth, Maddie? We sat here on this terrace feeling very sorry for ourselves.”
“We both hadn’t had any in months and even a few bottles of champagne didn’t bring out our festive spirit.” Maddie sipped from her coffee and pulled a face. She’d never be the whiskey drinking type, not even accompanied by coffee.
“I think my exact words were, ‘if things don’t change soon I’ll be as dry as the Gobi desert by the time I’m fifty.’” Isabella glanced at Nat, who sat grinning stupidly.
“Well, I do hope you will all show your gratitude to me for the rest of your now very moist lives.” Alex, as always dressed in a tank top, folded her hands behind her neck.
“You? You’re not responsible for this, Pizza.” Nat swept her hand through the air over the table. “This is all my doing.”
“As always, delusions of grandeur,” Alex said. “You had nothing to do with it.”
Isabella enjoyed the banter between Nat and Alex. She knew what Alex meant to Nat, and despite trying very hard not to show it, how sad she was to see Alex leaving her flat.
“I moved in here,” Alex continued, “and that started it all.”
Nat shook her head. “If it hadn’t been for me, you’d never have gone near Maddie. You were petrified.”
“Allow me to remind you that if it hadn’t been for me, you’d have pushed Isabella right out of your life just because you were frozen with fear.”
Isabella locked eyes with Maddie and shot her a smile. They might have been sitting in the same spot as last year, but everything else had changed dramatically. She remembered the first time they’d all gathered on her terrace together and the instant attraction she had felt toward Nat—how clueless she had been.
It had been two months since she had found Nat’s letter in her mail box, scribbled in almost illegible hand writing, but the emotions behind it were more than clear. As a declaration of love and intent, it sure had hit home. They hadn’t looked back since. Nat had spent every single night at Isabella’s. When Isabella left for work, Nat headed down to her apartment to write, but she was there every evening and every weekend. They had spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve together and had booked a trip to Phuket together with Maddie and Alex for Chinese New Year.
Maybe Isabella had been afraid to see it, but once they had taken the last hurdle, their affair had advanced just as rapidly as her best friend’s. Maybe she should ask Nat and make it official. She was fifty now. What was she waiting for?
NAT
Nat sat slouched in her favourite arm chair in Isabella’s living room. It overlooked the window and the million twinkling lights of the Hong Kong night. Isabella didn’t know that Nat often came here during the day when she was out. Just to sit and think and make some notes. She didn’t tell her because—she didn’t really know why. Maybe because she had forced herself to forget what the natural stages of a relationship felt like. Was it normal to want to be in someone’s house even when they weren’t there? To want to be around their things and be surrounded by their essence? Nat didn’t have a clue so she didn’t talk about it.
After Maddie and Alex had left, Isabella had gone quiet. She lay stretched out on the sofa, her legs crossed at the ankles, staring at the ceiling.
“Have you got the midlife blues?” Nat asked in a soft voice. “And more importantly, is there anything I can do about it?”
Isabella turned on her side, supporting her head on a bent arm. “You can come closer.”
Nat jumped out of the chair and sank down on the carpet next to Isabella. Isabella raked her fingers through Nat’s gelled hair.
“You looked very handsome today.”
“Who?” Nat pointed a finger at herself. “Moi? In this old thing?” She’d had the tuxedo tailor made. They usually didn’t come with a plunging neck line.
Isabella’s hand snuck down to Nat’s neck. “Yes.” Her fingers squeezed the sensitive spot at the base of Nat’s neck. “You.”
Nat let her head fall back on Isabella’s hand. “Hey, guess what?”
“What?” The sound of Isabella’s voice drifted lazily over Nat’s head.
“I quite like the thought of being with a fifty-year-old cougar.” It was Nat’s way of expressing her love.
“An age difference of less than fifteen years hardly makes me a cougar. You really should do better research.”
“You know me, Doc. I like to wing it.” Isabella’s hand had snuck beneath the collar of Nat’s top and her nails scratched lightly over the skin of her back.
“Do you want to move in with me?” Isabella’s hand stopped and Nat felt her muscles tense. Did she hear that right? She sat motionless for a few seconds, before turning to face Isabella.
“I understand if you think it’s too soon. I know you value your independence. You can always keep your place as an office…” Isabella’s words came quick and clipped.
Nat rose from her spot on the carpet and kneeled in front of Isabella. “Do you mean you are inviting me to live in a penthouse three times the size of my flat, with a roof terrace, a dish washer and a sexy cougar doctor as accessories?” Adrenalin rushed through her blood. She masked her growing excitement behind a crooked grin. “I’ll need a second to think about that.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “The answer is yes.”
A wide smile took over Isabella’s face, a sight so glorious Nat had to swallow the beginning of a tear away. She pushed herself up and straddled Isabella in the sofa.
“Does this mean you want to keep me, Doc?”
“I’ve thought about it long and hard for about ten minutes.” Isabella curled her arms around Nat’s neck and drew her in. “You’re a keeper.”
“Can I turn the furthest bedroom, the one where you store all your shoes, into my office? All that beautiful light is so wasted on them.” Nat had no intention of keeping her flat. It would only remind her of Alex and how she didn’t live there anymore.
“Are you
saying my shoes deserve darkness?”
“Most certainly not, but will your shoes write my next book?”
Isabella’s lips found Nat’s mouth. “The room is yours.”
Nat hadn’t shared a house romantically with someone since Claire. A mere couple of months ago the thought of it would have sent her reeling, escaping into the night, but now, everything was different. Now, she wanted to ring her landlord and end the lease. Find a moving company that could pack up her stuff tomorrow. She couldn’t wait to move in with Isabella and call her flat home.
“We must celebrate.” Nat’s knee already dug between Isabella’s legs.
“What did you have in mind?” Isabella’s voice softly caressed Nat’s ear.
“Have you ever banged someone in a custom-made tuxedo before?”
THE END
Dear reader, if you enjoyed this ebook please leave a review, however lengthy or brief, at the site where you purchased it. Your opinion matters and will help other readers as well as the author.
About the author
Harper Bliss has travelled the world in search of sexual satisfaction. She now resides in a hot Asian country and dedicates her time to writing down the stories that have inspired and aroused her.
Harper has had short stories published in anthologies by Xcite Books, House of Erotica and Storm Moon Press. She is the author of the High Rise series and several other novelettes and novellas for Ladylit.
You can e-mail her at [email protected]
If you want to receive exclusive content and free erotic stories, you can subscribe to the Harper Bliss mailing list
Website: www.harperbliss.com / Twitter: @HarperBliss / Facebook: facebook.com/HarperBliss
Scan the QR code to subscribe to the Harper Bliss mailing list (and get Hired Help for free!)
Other Harper Bliss books
Champagne
When Amanda spots a woman sipping champagne by herself in a bar at the mall, she is inexplicably drawn to her. She gives in to her instincts and tries to seduce her.
Bar Service
Marie has had her eye on seductive bar owner Veronica for a while. After waiting patiently for Veronica to make a move, she gets invited upstairs, where all her wishes are more than granted.
No Ordinary Love (High Rise Novella Three)
Hot fitness instructor Alex and posh banker Maddie are enjoying the delicious early stages of their love affair, until Alex’s ex-girlfriend Rita re-enters the scene. Adamant to win Alex back, Rita begs for forgiveness, leaving Alex torn between the past and the future.
Girls Only
Three different stories with three different settings that have one thing in common: girls only!
High Rise Novella One and Two
One building. Four women. A million complications.
This book bundles Fool for Love and Undisclosed Desires, the 2 first High Rise novellas.
Undisclosed Desires (High Rise Novella Two)
Nat, a successful American writer who came to Hong Kong following the love of her life, chases every girl she can after a brutal break-up. Her neighbour Isabella, who has shied away from relationships since her divorce five years earlier, finds herself compelled to help. They strike up an unlikely friendship and are soon faced with a growing desire for each other. But can their differences in age, aspirations and lifestyle be overcome?
New Girl (FREE!)
Liz has to share a room with the new girl on the volleyball team. What begins as a frustrating experience, soon evolves into something very satisfying.
Fool for Love (High Rise Novella One)
Betrayed by her long-term girlfriend, Alex moves into The Ivy to share a flat with her friend Nat. When she meets their neighbour Maddie, a jaded expat who’s had about enough of Hong Kong’s demanding life style, both Maddie and Alex are forced to reassess their warped view on love.
All of Me (FREE!)
Jess’s girlfriend Laila surprises her one night when she flips her over and demands all of her.
Can’t Get Enough
Eight sizzling tales of lesbian lust and love.
Harper Bliss takes us from romantic Paris and groovy Berlin all the way to the scorching beaches of Thailand. The stories in this sensual anthology include a threesome, a steamy locker room encounter, a teacher crush and old friends discovering each other in whole new ways.
The ladies in this collection just can’t get enough.
Endless Summer
Two women, one story
This book bundles Summer Heat and Younger Than Yesterday.
Younger Than Yesterday
Rose’s husband died seven years ago, but when she welcomes an unexpected guest in her Tuscan holiday home, she’s forced to remember what instant desire feels like. Desire for a younger woman no less.
This story shows the point of view of the character Rose from Summer Heat.
Summer Heat
When Cat is unceremoniously dumped by her girlfriend right before their holiday, she decides to join her parents on their annual trip to Tuscany. Prepared for two weeks of sun-drenched melancholy, she finds much more than nostalgia in the house where she used to spend her summers as a child.
A Hotter State
Three novelettes (Hired Help, The Honeymoon and Learning Curve), all set in a different part of the world, packed together with a previously unreleased short story.
Learning Curve
Ada’s company relocated her to Berlin, provided that she’d take an intensive course in German. It proves to be a steep learning curve, until her teacher Giselle implements some alternative educational methods.
The Honeymoon
A sizzling novelette featuring a couple of newlyweds honeymooning in Phuket. When they encounter a mysterious Asian woman in their beach side resort, they decide to give each other a very special wedding gift.
Wetter (FREE!)
Rachel has had a crush on her spin instructor Toni for months. One late night visit to the locker room steam cabin transforms her fantasies into hot, steaming reality.
Hired Help
Olivia’s girlfriend walked out on her months ago and she’s desperate for some action. Her best friend recommends some hired help.
Close Enough (High Rise Novella Four) Page 7