Chapter 10 Yvonne
Yvonne
Ihadn’t planned on kissing Toni, but somehow this seemed inevitable.
As soon as I found out that we’d been assigned to be roommates some part of me knew this would happen.
I didn’t know if Toni felt this same crazy attraction for me that I felt for her, but after twenty-four hours together, it was clear that this thing, whatever it was, wasn’t one-sided.
The air between us seemed electrified. Knowing she’d been sleeping on the bunk beneath me last night, I’d been tempted to slide my hands between my thighs and get myself off, just to relieve the pressure.
And then this afternoon, after practice, I’d glanced over, innocently I swear, just as she stepped out of the shower.
I’d gotten a glimpse of her body, a combination of tight and soft, with those pendulous breasts and that enticing little patch of hair between her thighs and I’d nearly dropped to my knees and begged her to let me lick her clean.
That’s why I’d taken my lunch to go. The explosive attraction coupled with the way she seemed to see me, understand me, sense what I was thinking, it was too much to deal with.
My plan was to take some time away from her to rebuild my defenses.
Develop a plan to spend as little time as possible with her while were involuntary roommates.
The whole plan fell apart when she came back, calling me out on my shit in a way that felt like maybe she cared about me, just a little. It made her even more attractive. I couldn’t resist stalking towards her, getting closer. Judging by the look on her face, she didn’t mind it at all.
Our lips crashed together, and we both stilled for a few seconds. Then Toni sighed, and I slipped my tongue between her lips, exploring her mouth, and the kiss turned hot. Desperate.
She tasted delicious. Minty, like she’d stopped to brush her teeth on the way back from lunch. I pressed against her, hands gripping her shoulders as our tongues tangled, both of us fighting for control.
I loved it. My heart was pounding frantically, and I could hear a buzzing noise in my ears.
It was my brain turning off, I realized.
With all my focus on Toni, everything else seemed to fade away.
It was the damnedest thing, something that hadn’t happened with any of the other women I’d kissed – or the one guy I’d dated in high school before I came out.
We broke apart to take a breath, and Toni spun us around until I was the one pressed against the door.
She ground her hips against mine, nipping at my lower lip until I opened for her.
She dominated my mouth, taking control in a way that should have scared me.
I always was the one in control when I was with a woman, but with Toni, I was glad to submit, at least a little.
I’d have to analyze that little factoid later. Right now, I couldn’t focus on anything except for this kiss. I ran my hands down her back, then gripped the muscled globes of her ass, pulling her even closer to me. We were already plastered against each other, but still it wasn’t enough.
I couldn’t say how long we kissed, but by the time we pulled apart, it seemed like hours had passed.
My lips were tingling and when I touched them with my fingers, they were swollen.
My nipples were pressing almost painfully against the stiff fabric of my sports bra, and when I shifted, I realized that my panties were damp from my arousal.
Judging by the look on Toni’s face, she wasn’t faring much better. I glanced down, noting the way her nipples protruded through her shirt, then forced myself to step away before I ripped that shirt off her and sucked on her nipples until she begged me to stop.
Were her nipples sensitive? I wondered. Was she the kind of woman who screamed when she came, or was she more of a silent scream kind of girl? I was dying to find out, but with a few inches of distance between us, common sense was beginning to return.
The International Games. We were being paid to represent the U.S., not make out against the wall.
Can’t you do both? the voice in my head asked plaintively.
I didn’t disagree with the voice, but I also had a bad feeling that I was falling for this woman.
Whatever I was feeling right now, it was more than just physical attraction.
It was ridiculous, I knew, but I could feel emotions coursing through me.
I couldn’t name them, not yet, but they were new.
When I closed my eyes I could picture us sitting in our backyard watching our children play.
I could picture years of birthdays and anniversaries and fighting over the remote.
Then I pictured my father screaming at my mother because she didn’t cook dinner to his exact specifications, and I tamped all those feelings down, way deep inside me where they belonged. Love is an illusion, I reminded myself, a fairy tale told to children, not something for the real world.
“That was something,” Toni finally said, watching me carefully.
I didn’t know if she was talking about the kiss or the play of emotions I was pretty sure she’d seen cross my face. Why did she see so much when other people didn’t?
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
I moved back to the table, sitting in my chair to keep myself from reaching from her again. I picked up my water bottle and took a huge swig.
“Why?”
“Why am I sorry or why shouldn’t we have done that?” I clarified.
“Both.”
When I just shrugged, Toni sat in the chair across from me again and reached for my hand. For some reason I let her.
“We clearly have good chemistry, so there’s no reason we can’t have some fun while we’re here,” she said. “The International Games are famous for the number of athlete hookups, surely you know that’s why they gave us a long strip of condoms in our welcome bags.”
“We won’t need those,” I said wryly.
“Have you been with a woman before?” she asked.
“Yes, of course, why do you ask?”
“I thought maybe your hesitation was because you, uh…”
“I’m not a virgin,” I said firmly. “I just… well I try to avoid complications. You’re a complication.”
“But a fun one,” she said lightly. “And I lick pussy like a champ. Or so I’ve been told.”
She gave me one of her sunny smiles and I couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of me. This woman was outrageous.
“Look, we’re gonna be here for at least a week, maybe longer if we win.”
“When we win,” I corrected.
“We don’t have to make any decisions. How about if we just get to know each other, be friends?
” she suggested. “And if we decide we want to add benefits, well I just want you to know I’m one hundred percent open to that.
But if you’re not, if you just want to be platonic friends, I’m good with that too, okay?
Life’s too short to stress about stuff.”
For some reason, her words made me feel lighter.
“I don’t know,” I said in a teasing voice. “Being friends will ruin that big rivalry thing we’ve got going on.”
After twenty-four hours together I already felt more comfortable around her than anyone I could remember. It’s like I’d known her forever, which technically I had, but things had changed dramatically since we walked into this room for the first time.
“That kind of hostile rivalry is for the men,” she said. “We can be rivals on the ice. We both take the game seriously, and when we’re on opposites sides, you’re my sworn enemy. I will show you no mercy. But when the skates are off, we can just be Yvonne and Toni, hockey buddies.”
“Hockey buddies?” I asked. “I like that.”
“Okay hockey buddy, how would you feel about watching some tape? I downloaded Finland’s last game in the world championships. They have a lot of the same women on the team, including the same coaching team. How about we eat M&Ms and get some intel?”
“You have M&Ms?” I asked in surprise.
I had a secret sweet tooth, although I rarely indulged it.
She got up and rustled through her bag, coming back with a ‘share size’ bag of M&Ms. “I never travel without them.”
“I’m pretty sure I just fell a little bit in love with you,” I said.
I was only half joking.