Ally was the first to say something. "I'd just like to say that I normally wouldn't jump on someone like this..."
"I'm definitely not complaining, but I know what you mean. I wanted to kiss you... All night really."
Ally tousled her hair, putting her weight fully on Sydney's thighs now as she leaned back. "Me too." Ally's hand found Sydney's, interlacing their fingers. "I also normally wouldn't suggest that we move this to the bedroom, but..."
Sydney's thumb caressed the side of Ally's hand, up along her index finger while her other hand slipped under Ally's top again, over her hip to her back, and Sydney didn't miss Ally's reaction, a shiver running through her body as Ally leaned in, parting her lips against Sydney's.
Ally's hips lightly rocked against her as their kiss intensified, their tongues dueling, and Sydney couldn't remember ever kissing someone like this.
As much as Sydney wanted to continue, she also wanted Ally in her bed. She pulled away. "Bedroom?" Sydney asked, and Ally pushed herself off her, reaching for Sydney's hand once she was on her feet.
"Lead the way," Ally said, her eyes dark with desire.
Chapter Fifteen
Ally let Sydney gently push her on to the black bedspread. They were both naked, and Sydney padded over to the doorway to dim the lights.
Ally couldn't take her eyes off her as she climbed on to the bed, her smooth, toned leg sliding between Ally's as Sydney covered her body with her own. Sydney's full breasts and hard nipples brushed against Ally's skin as she dipped her head to find Ally's lips.
Ally sighed into the kiss. She was already addicted to Sydney's lips, the way they kissed her with such intensity, such desire, that it made Ally want to kiss her back with that same level of emotion, but there was something tender about the way Sydney kissed her too, something soft and delicate.
Sydney's fingertips traced a line from her thighs over her hips, her hand on her ribs as it glided further upwards. Sydney's tongue skimmed across hers as she cupped Ally's breast, her thigh pressing against Ally's sex as they continued to kiss.
Ally's body was on fire. She knew she wouldn't last long. Just kissing Sydney had her dripping wet as Sydney was going to soon find out. Sydney had shifted her body weight as her hand left Ally's breast, moving over her stomach and her mound.
Sydney smiled into their kiss, her lips on Ally's neck as she whispered, "You're so wet."
Ally groaned, leaning up to capture Sydney's lips, kissing her back hungrily. Sydney hadn't even parted her lips yet, but she still could feel her arousal.
Ally moaned, breaking the kiss, when Sydney's fingers pushed through her wetness.
"I'd just like to remind you," Ally said, her eyes fluttering closed as Sydney placed feather kisses along her jawline and down her neck, moving over her clavicle, "That when I come in three seconds..." Ally gasped when Sydney took a nipple into her mouth, circling it with her tongue. "Fuck... That we have all night. Because I'm not going to last, Sydney. You're driving me crazy."
"Good," Sydney said, moving to the other nipple.
Ally gripped the sheets with one hand, the other reaching behind Sydney to caress her back, drifting lower until she was cupping her ass. Sydney's fingers were still hovering at her entrance, and Ally could hear her wetness.
Sydney kissed her way across Ally's stomach, moving down the bed, and Ally spread her legs a little wider.
Ally thought Sydney was going to use her fingers to make her come, but her tongue was pushing through her folds, and Ally's hips lifted off the bed as Sydney's tongue flicked across her clit.
"Oh my God." Ally sucked in a breath.
Whatever Sydney was doing, she was pressing all the right buttons. Ally's breathing was ragged, and she didn't think she could take much more, but then Sydney's fingers were inside her in one deep, long thrust. She moved her fingers inside her without withdrawing, her tongue flicking across her clit, and Ally saw stars, her hand in Sydney's hair as she came. Hard.
"Fuucckk." Ally tried to remember how to breathe. Her hips were rocking against Sydney, her orgasm rippling through her body, her eyes shut tight, her mouth open, and there were sounds escaping it that she barely recognized as her own.
Ally's body went limp, and she could feel Sydney's weight shifting on the bed, but she couldn't open her eyes. That orgasm had been mind-blowing.
When she finally managed to open her eyes, Sydney was beside her, her head propped up on her hand, her fingertips lightly stroking Ally's stomach.
"Hey," Sydney whispered, a smile on her lips.
"Hey," Ally echoed. "What did you just do to me?"
Sydney answered her with a soft kiss. Well, that was how it started, but it didn't take long for things to escalate. Sydney felt Ally's hands on her waist, encouraging Sydney to move on top of her.
Ally looked up at her. "I want to feel you against me," she said, her voice full of desire, and Sydney shifted so that she was straddling Ally's thigh. Sydney inched closer, sitting up fully as she moved so that her clit was against Ally's.
A low moan escaped Sydney's lips at the first bit of contact. One roll of her hips started a fire somewhere deep inside her, and Sydney knew she'd come quickly. Ally's hands were on her hips, encouraging her, and they rocked against each other, steadily picking up speed.
The noises Ally was making only made Sydney come undone faster, and Sydney was panting now, moving to the rhythm of her hips, her clit pulsating with every motion, with every stroke of Ally's sex against hers.
"I'm coming," Sydney breathed, falling forward, and Ally's hands moved to her ass, adding to the pressure against theirs clits, and Sydney could feel Ally's body trembling underneath her as they both came.
Sydney slowly pushed herself up when she'd caught her breath, conscious of the fact that her full body weight was on top of Ally. "Wow."
"Hmm," Ally agreed, brushing her damp hair away from her face. She managed to reverse their positions before Sydney even knew what was happening. "I have a feeling," Ally said, hovering above Sydney, her hand moving to Sydney's sex, "That with a little encouragement, you'd come again. Just as hard."
"I don't doubt that." Sydney took a deep breath, her hand reaching up to fondle Ally's breast, tweaking her nipple between her fingers, but when Ally pushed her fingers inside of her, Sydney forgot about Ally's breast, her eyes slamming shut as she threw her head back into the pillow.
Ally's hand moved faster and faster, her palm slapping up against Sydney's sensitive clit. "Come for me, Sydney."
Sydney managed to open her eyes. She wanted to see that look on Ally's face. She could hear it in her voice, that desire, that need to pleasure someone else, and Ally bent down to kiss her as Sydney clung to her arm, her hips bucking as she came.
"Ally," she moaned as she shook, her lips finding Ally's again as Sydney let her orgasm take over.
A heat swept through her, and her body was covered in a light layer of sweat, but Sydney was satisfied, and as Ally had pointed out, they had all night.
Chapter Sixteen
Sydney jumped, nearly spilling her coffee, when someone pounded on her door. She checked her watch. 10:22AM. She had no idea who it could be. She tugged at her robe, retying the knot, as she padded over to the door.
"Clarke?"
"Why is your phone switched off? I thought you were dead!" He didn't wait for an invitation, walking right by Sydney who let the door shut behind them and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"I sent you a text."
"Yes, with words I've never seen or heard you use before. I'm taking the day off? What? I tried to call you, but it went straight to voicemail."
"Hmm. A perfectly reasonable thing to do on one's day off."
"How would you know??" Clarke asked, his hands flying all over the place as he spoke. "You've never taken a day off. I thought you might be having a midlife crisis or a nervous breakdown or... Wait." His eyebrows furrowed, and he tilted his head towards the hallway. "Is that... the shower?"
Sydn
ey sat on one of the bar stools, sipping on her cup of coffee. "Maybe."
"Well, it is or it isn't, and it definitely is... Who is it? Please, tell me it's not Nina. Or Becky. Or Faye..."
"Since when do you care who I take home?"
"Since they were clearly good enough to warrant a day off," he said as he brought his mug to his lips. "Spill."
"It's nobody, really. It's not worth talking about."
"Ugh, don't tell me it's that tramp Donna."
"No. She's married now apparently," Sydney said. Hopefully, Ally liked long showers. Sydney didn't know what she'd do if Ally joined them. "Can I just enjoy my day off?" she asked him, and it came out snarkier than she intended it to.
Clarke quirked an eyebrow. "Okay. Okay. I'll just finish my coffee while I tell you what you'll be missing today, and then I'll be on my way."
"Perfect," she said, giving him a sarcastic smile.
Fifteen minutes later, she was ushering Clarke out the door, knowing that Ally had turned off the water five minutes ago and could appear any minute.
Sydney leaned back against the closed door. That could have been so much worse. She returned to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and then a few cabinets to see what she could cook them for breakfast, when Ally appeared wearing the clothes she had on her yesterday.
"Morning," Ally said, her damp hair pulled back in a messy bun.
Sydney crossed the kitchen to greet her, kissing her softly on the lips. "Morning," she said, a smile tugging at her lips. This was semi new territory for her. It had been so long since she'd actually wanted to spend time with whomever she'd shared her bed with the night before. And she definitely wanted to spend more time with Ally. Clarke was right. Taking the day off was something Sydney reserved for emergencies.
"Was someone here?"
"Yeah. Clarke dropped by."
"Oh. Everything okay?" Ally asked.
"Yes. He was just surprised that I took the day off."
"I imagine that's a pretty rare thing," Ally said with a smile as she pulled out a bar stool and took a seat.
"Yeah. I uh..." Sydney wasn't prepared to let Ally know exactly how much she cared about her. They really didn't know each other. Sydney didn't even know what Ally thought about last night, whether it was the start of something or a one night thing.
"We should put up your tree today."
"What?"
"Your Christmas tree? You said you hadn't gotten around to it. You're running out of time," Ally said with a chuckle.
"Oh, yeah. That's next week. Wow. I don't know where December went."
"You're not very big on Christmas, are you?"
"I don't mind it. I'm just usually very busy... Do you want some coffee?"
"Sure. So, who are you spending Christmas with?" Ally asked.
"No one. I have no plans."
"So, you'll be here?"
"Yeah. Same as last year and the year before," Sydney said, realizing how sad that sounded. She brought Ally her coffee and sat down beside her.
"Thanks."
"What about you? Where will you be for Christmas?"
"At the shelter," Ally said, adding some sugar to her mug.
"All day?"
"Yeah. I think so. I don't mind. I know most of our volunteers have kids and families they want to spend the day with, so..."
"You're dedicated."
Ally sighed. "Well, that place saved me so... I plan on spending the rest of my life giving back and doing whatever I can."
Sydney nearly choked on her coffee. "What do you mean? You stayed there?"
Ally nodded. "Two years."
"When?"
“Twelve years ago. I was eighteen."
Sydney swallowed the lump in her throat. "How...?"
"I came out to my parents, and they promptly threw me out."
"What?"
"Yeah. So, I slept rough for a while, but it got too hard, and I was lucky enough to find that shelter."
Sydney blinked back tears. "I'm so sorry that your parents... I just can't believe they could do that."
"I was shocked. I knew they wouldn't be happy about it, but I didn't expect to be told to pack my bags. But I did," she said with a shrug. "And I got through it."
"Fucking hell."
"It feels like a lifetime ago." Ally cradled her mug, gently drumming her fingers against it. "I made my peace with it. I haven't spoken to my parents since, and I'm okay with that."
"Do you...?" Sydney cleared her throat. No. That wasn't a good idea. Asking Ally to spend Christmas with her was a bit much for this situation.
"Do I what?"
"Well... I was just thinking since we're both not doing anything on Christmas, maybe... Would you like to come here?"
"I'd love to." Ally's smile did something to her. "Is it okay if I come over in the evening? I want to stay at the shelter until four or five o'clock. Get everybody their dinner."
"Of course. Yeah."
"If you'd prefer to be on your own, that's okay. I hope you weren't asking me because you felt sorry for me." There was a playful tone to Ally's voice, but Sydney didn't miss the way her expression changed, her smile all but disappeared.
"No. Not at all. I was reluctant to ask because, well... This is new. I didn't want you to think that I was loading up the U-Haul."
Ally laughed. "I'd hope not. I'd obviously move in here." Ally's arm was on Sydney's forearm. "I'm joking. No one's moving."
Sydney remembered to breathe. It wasn't just Ally's smile making her heart flutter. It was her laugh too. "Obviously... Are you hungry? I'll make us some breakfast."
"Starving."
"Any preferences? Eggs? Bagels?"
"Whatever you feel like," Ally said, pushing herself off the stool. "You can just direct me towards the Christmas decorations. I hope you have a fake tree boxed up somewhere? It's a little late to get a real one."
"Yeah. It's in the closet in the guest bedroom, but you don't have to." Sydney didn't want to put Ally to work. It was her own fault for not feeling particularly festive this year. Until now.
"I insist. I'm the one that decorates the shelter every year. I enjoy it." Ally brushed a lock of Sydney's hair away from her eyes as she leaned in to kiss her.
Sydney wanted to grab Ally's wrist as she pulled away and back her up against the counter. Visions of clothes flying and her robe falling off filled her mind, but Sydney let her go, knowing there'd be plenty of time for that later.
Chapter Seventeen
Ally stood on her tip toes to look beyond the line of people standing in front of her waiting to be served their Christmas dinners. She filled another plate, being generous with the gravy because she knew that Lora loved it, although she wouldn't have asked for it. She'd been coming here on and off for that last three years.
Normally, Ally loved spending the day here, but this year, she couldn't stop checking the clock. She couldn't wait to see Sydney. Ally had left her apartment almost a week ago, and they'd both been so busy that they hadn't seen each other since.
Ally also couldn't wait to sit down. The salon had been crazy in the lead up to Christmas with people booking at the last minute for work parties or family photos. Ally just wanted to stretch out on the couch with Sydney and watch a movie or talk.
So much had happened in the last few weeks. Her opinion of Sydney had completely changed, although she still cringed when she thought about the way Sydney was so dismissive of her DUI.
"Hey."
Ally turned to see Sydney tying an apron around her waist, covering up the black sweater she was wearing. "Hi. What are you doing here?"
"Thought you could use some help. I figured with the few inches of snow forecast today that you might have been extra busy."
"We are."
"And I may have missed you," Sydney added as she stood between Ally and the other woman helping her.
"Only may have?"
"Okay. I did. I do."
"Me too," Ally added with a chuckle.
/> Here they were, standing side by side dishing out food just like they had on the first evening they'd met. She'd been attracted to Sydney from the start, getting distracted by her skirt and toned legs, despite her attitude.
What a difference a few weeks could make. Sydney was here because she wanted to be, not because she was trying to log more community service hours.
"Hey, where's that Santa dress?" Sydney asked, leaning in so that only Ally could hear her. "I was hoping you'd be wearing it today."
"I may have it in by bag for later..."
"Oh." Sydney's eyes went wide.
Ally smiled. Sydney was joking, but it was still hanging in her locker, so why not?
"So, what's Clarke up to today?" Ally asked as she reached for another cracker and added a slice of mango flavored cheese on top of it.
Sydney tucked her legs underneath her and sat back, forcing herself to take a break from eating. "Do you remember that guy he was with the night you met him?"
"Yeah. He had a beard, fifties."
"That's him. James. And apparently, it's quite serious."
"Oh wow." Ally said, between bites. "That's great."
"So, Clarke is actually bringing James to meet his family."
"Very serious then."
"Yeah. It's not like him to settle down so quickly, so this guy must be pretty special. I've only met him twice, and he seems nice."
Sydney ran a hand through her hair, admiring the Christmas tree and how amazing Ally had made it look in only an hour or two. Sydney had offered to help, but by the time they'd eaten breakfast, and Sydney tidied up the kitchen, Ally was back at it, hanging the last few red and silver ornaments, carefully spreading them out among the white fairy lights that wrapped around the tree.
"Why aren't you with your family today?" Ally asked out of the blue.
"My parents are both dead."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"They were older when they had me, and I'm an only child, so... It's just me now. Normally, Clarke would spend Christmas Eve with me before he visited his family, but he left with James yesterday. What about you? No siblings?"
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