Chapter 6
We sit on the balcony with only the moon lighting drinking cheap white wine.
I take a sip from my glass, squinting my eyes at the bitterness. I look over at Nora, appreciating her whilst she appreciates the sunset.
The blonde hair highlights her face just perfectly, almost contrasting the freckles on her face. Her eyes are a light blue, even lighter with sun reflecting off them, specks of green popped into the mixture.
Her lips don’t even need to be looked at, knowing they’re good.I have already tasted how nice they are. I place my legs up on the railing and sip on the wine, trying to get used to the taste.
“Not enjoying that wine?”
“No, it’s lovely!” I insist.
“Your face doesn’t hide that love very well.”
She takes a sip of the wine and mimics a scrunched-up face.
“I guess I’m more of a cocktail girl.” I shrug.
“What’s your favourite cocktail? As an ex barmaid, this tells me a lot about you.”
Nora turns to face me more.
“Probably sex on the beach?”
Nora licks her lips and looks me up and down, nodding slowly.
“Yeah, I can see you’re that type of girl.”
*
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” I grin.
“No, you just seem like that type of girl, especially with those bad boys.”
Nora nods her head towards my underwear. I bring my legs down off the railing quickly, crossing my legs and hiding them. I take a slow sip of my wine, avoiding eye contact.
“Only joking. I don’t care about that, only what’s underneath.”
I spit out the wine and cover my mouth with my hand. Nora burst into laughter, almost as if she enjoys seeing me flustered. She folds over on the chair holding her stomach, still laughing just as hard. I think of a way to get back at her, make her feel flustered. Standing up, I go over to her. She sits back and I straddle her lap. I lick my lips, hopefully sensually and not like I’ve just had some crisps.
“Then do something about it.”
I say bluntly, keeping eye contact although it’s killing me to be this nonchalant. Nora tries to say something but appears to be tongue-tied.
“Ophelia I-”
I put my hands on her shoulders and leaned into her face.
“I’m kidding, just wanted to see you flustered.” I smirk.
Nora shakes her head in disbelief and lifts me up, my legs wrapped around her waist. I giggle like a schoolgirl, demanding she puts me down. She lays me down on the bed and lies on top of me.
“You.”
She kisses me.
“Need” Again.
“Sleep”
This kiss lasts longer.
She pulls away and stands up, popping on her shoes. She scribbles something on the hotel notepad and passes it to me. It’s her number.
“Let’s do something fun tomorrow?”
Nora questions.
“Definitely”
Nora walks out of the room and leaves me laying on my bed, giddy. I feel that knot in my stomach again, knowing I can’t tell Coco about this.
*
Aged 18
Coco squeals and pulls me to the bathroom door by my hand, frantically locking it behind us. The party outside was booming with drinks and bad
BEYOND THE BLUES
dance music.
“Tell me everything!”
She yells.
“So, she came over to me and was being all flirty like, ‘you look pretty’ all that stuff, and then she just kissed me!”
“And then…”
Coco flaps her hands about, waving me to get on with the story.
“Then she…”
I motion my hand to my vagina.
“She what?!”
Coco’s face filled with confusion.
“Then she fingered me in the room upstairs!”I say, immediately covering my mouth with embarrassment.Coco screams and jumps around the bathroom with excitement before returning to face me.
“And how was it?”
“I’d say it was questionable?”
I say, unsure.
“She was kind of just playing with my labia more than anything, and I was too awkward to say anything, so I just faked it after a couple of minutes.”
Coco’s eyes open wide and her jaw drops open, before slowly turning into a chuckle.
“You idiot!”
“What?!”
I exclaim.
“All I’m gonna say is, you got to communicate what you like or you’ll never enjoy it fully, and instead you’ll just be doing it for the sake of it.”
“But besides that, my best friend is a player!”
Coco pulls me into an embrace. “I wouldn’t say one sexual interaction is me being a player.”
I scoff, folding
my arms tighter around Coco.
“You’re gonna win all those hearts.”
“Of course you’d say that, Coco.”
She pulls away from me and looks me in the eye.
“I mean it, you’re amazing… with a great rack, too.”
We burst into fits of laughter.