Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
Rosa followed Billy's lead, down a corridor and through another door that opened to reveal a grey sky, snow, and mountains that overlooked everything.
"We have to go outside?" Rosa asked. Her brow furrowed at the prospect.
"Uh, yeah, it's a thermal pool," Billy answered, and glanced to her left where a large, crystal-blue pool of water steamed.
"We'll catch our death!" Rosa exclaimed.
Billy chuckled. "I think we'll be fine. People have been using them for thousands of years."
"Not this people." Rosa's eyes widened as the snow began to get worse. Her teeth chattered. "It's f-f-freezing."
"Not in there it isn't." Billy walked towards the pool, letting her robe loosen and fall away as she did, revealing her back and a phoenix tattoo Rosa had never seen before—wings spread wide, rendered in deep reds and golds, rising up from the base of her spine to between her shoulder blades.
"Are you coming?" she asked as she dropped the robe onto a chair.
"Do I have a choice?" Rosa called out after her.
"You always have a choice, Rosa," Billy replied, laughing as she stepped into the water and slowly made her way down the slope backwards, her eyes lingering on Rosa.
"Fine, but if I get cold, I'm getting out."
Rosa took a moment. It had to be less than five degrees. It was snowing. She could feel it in her hair, on her face, in her feet.
Quickly, she kicked off the slippers, dropping the robe down on top of Billy's and entering the water.
It was blissful. The heat immediately warmed her feet and ankles, inch by inch, the rest of her skin warming as she walked deeper into the thermal pool.
"Oh, okay…this is…" She laughed.
"Good, right?" Billy laughed too. "I told you."
Rosa sank down until her shoulders were under the water, steam rising all around her as warmth seeped into her bones.
"Right now, this is heaven," she admitted. "And you win bonus points…but when we get out…"
"I'm going to be in trouble again?" Billy laughed again as they floated beside one another. For a brief moment, the gentle ebb of the water pushed them closer together and their fingers touched.
They didn't speak. When it happened again, neither pulled away. But on the third time, Rosa put her feet onto the floor.
"I think I might swim," she said, pushing off into a breaststroke before Billy could answer.
Her skin tingled, vibrating with a sensation she hadn't felt in years.
The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end, and nerve endings that were usually a private matter to deal with were pulsing between her legs.
"No, no, no," she said to herself as she swam and put distance between them.
Billy watched her, a smile tugging at her lips. Rosa didn't try to make sense of it. Some moments were better left unexamined.
For ten long minutes, she glided through the water in slow, aimless circles, never drifting too close to Billy. Occasionally, someone would smile or try to strike up a conversation, but her French was all but forgotten and she'd never learned German, so she politely nodded and continued on.
Every now and then she would chance a glance at Billy, still just floating where she'd left her. Her eyes were closed, face relaxed, unlike Rosa, who was the proverbial swan—all serene above water, kicking like mad to stay afloat beneath it.
The snow began to fall in clumps, no longer just gentle flakes. One by one, people moved out of the water and into robes and inside.
"Do you think we should go in?" Rosa asked Billy when she made her way around the pool once more. "It looks like this is getting worse."
Looking up at the sky, Billy agreed, "I think we should. We can make a dash for it and then warm up in the sauna?"
Rosa nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She swam under the water as long as she could before having to stand and let the cold air shock her body. Her teeth chattered as they made a quick exit from the pool, sliding wet feet into slippers.
Billy picked up Rosa's robe and held it open for her to slide her arms in.
"I could have done that. You're getting cold," Rosa said, but it didn't stop her from accepting the gesture and putting it on. "Thank you."
"No p-p-problem." Billy grinned, snow covering her dark hair. She made a grab for her own robe, pulling it on and tightly tying it at the waist. "Come on."
She reached her hand out for Rosa to take. Without thinking, Rosa's fingers closed around Billy's. Then reality crashed in and she pulled away.
"Sorry," Billy said. "Old habits."
"It's fine. Shall we? It's freezing."
The sauna seemed to be a good idea for many people and most of the spaces were taken. An older couple said something in a language neither woman understood, but the movement across to make room for them was clear.
Billy smiled and said, "Thank you," sitting herself next to the older woman and giving Rosa the space against the wall.
Thighs and arms rested against one another. Eyes stayed front and centre, staring at the wall opposite.
"The girls should be back from their first run soon," Rosa whispered.
"Yep," Billy said.
"Bet they'll have worked up an appetite."
Billy nodded. "Most likely, it's exhausting. Looks a whole lot easier when watching than when you're doing it."
"It's never interested me. I'd most likely break my neck." Rosa chuckled quietly.
"Oh, I dunno, you always had good coordination on the dance floor."
Rosa turned to face her. "Only when I've had one too many vodkas."
"Uh huh…is that what the reason was? ‘Shape-shifter Rosa’, they used to call you."
"Who did?"
"Everyone. The minute we'd get to the club, you'd be off, throwing yourself around the dance floor like you were Madonna's favourite backing dancer."
Rosa laughed. "I did not."
Billy's grin grew wider. "You did."
"Those were fun days." Rosa sighed. "I hope Imogen has that with her friends, you know? I want that for them. Somewhere safe, but fun to hang out, dance, laugh, fall in love—" She stopped herself, amending, "At some point. She's too young right now."
"She's the age we were when we met," Billy reminded her.
"Yes. And look how that turned out." Rosa nudged her.
"It wasn't all bad."
"No, it wasn't," Rosa said. She pulled her feet in when the older couple stood and moved past them to exit.
The space opened up beside them, but Billy didn't move, and Rosa didn't ask her to.
"We were just too young, weren't we?" Rosa said.
Billy nodded. "Maybe."