Chapter Fifty-One
The walk back along the sand, and up the short street to the cottage, had taken longer than it had taken to stroll there, five hours earlier.
Several beers and glasses of wine meant a lot of stumbling and giggling as each of them swayed or wandered off course and added a few extra minutes to the journey.
Now, with Grace leaning against the door, Caz having one arm around her to hold her up while her other hand fiddled with the keys, it was almost three in the morning.
“Shh, you’re going to wake everyone up,” Grace warned, with just the hint of a slur to her words.
“ You are everyone.” Caz laughed and finally pushed the key into the lock. As it turned, the door opened and they both almost fell through it, causing another fit of giggles as Caz landed on the arm of the sofa, pulling Grace on top of her to save her from falling.
“Hi.” Grace grinned, as she now hovered above Caz. “Do you prefer your women on top?”
“Sometimes,” Caz flirted back, “if they can handle it.”
“I can handle it,” Grace said, leaning down to kiss Caz, “if you show me.”
“What do you want me to show you?” Caz said, following it up with a hiccup and a wriggle as she tried to toe the door closed with her foot and failed.
Grace moved until she was straddling Caz’s midriff. “Everything.”
“You’re drunk.” Caz giggled.
“I am…” She pushed herself back up, palms resting against Caz’s shoulders. Then Grace exhaled slowly and slid her hands lower until each one covered the softness of Caz’s breasts. It was the first time she’d intentionally touched anywhere quite so intimate on the body of her best friend.
Their eyes locked, and for a moment the silence was palpable. Slowly, Caz moved her gaze away from Grace’s face and let her eyes roam until they were fixed on palms that now kneaded gently.
“Is this…okay?” Grace asked. All of the alcohol-fuelled daring she’d started with seeming to dissipate into a nervous disposition.
“Yes,” Caz answered with enough confidence for them both, as her right hand raised and slid behind Grace’s neck, pulling her closer and back into a kiss that said more in its intensity than any drunken words might.
Caz’s left hand landed against Grace’s thigh—bare skin, warm to the touch from where her skirt had ridden up. Without thinking, her fingers caressed and inched higher until they cupped the silk-clad backside she’d been trying so hard not to think about all these weeks.
“Is this alright?”
“Yes,” Grace whispered, moving in to continue kissing Caz.
From her supine position, Caz could only register two things: She loved kissing Grace, and it was freezing.
“Mmph, Grace, we should…” She didn’t want to pull away. Neither did Grace with the way her lips were chasing Caz’s, nipping and biting, encouraging them to return.
“Shh, just kiss me.”
“Door...open…” Caz managed, before Grace thrust her tongue back into Caz’s mouth and she groaned and submitted to it until cold air became a sobering factor.
“Grace.” She managed to extricate herself enough to create an inch of space between them.
Grace smiled at her, still a little drunk, but fully aware of what they were doing.
“Caroline…” she said with a little flirty wink.
“Don’t you ‘Caroline’ me.” Caz laughed, and wriggled until she could twist enough to drop Grace onto the couch and roll out, landing with a thump on the floor. “Door needs closing, and you need to get to bed…”
“Yes, with you.”
When Caz turned around, she found Grace kneeling on the sofa with her top off. It was a sight she had seen dozens of times before and yet, now, right here, it felt new. She stared and understood how much she enjoyed a naked collarbone, the curve of shoulder into neck, and watching shoulder muscles strain when arms reached behind, deft fingers loosening the bra.
“Uh, as much as I would really…and I mean really, like this to go further…you are not in any state to make proper decisions.” Caz slurred a little and swayed slightly before righting herself. “And neither am I…”
“Are you sure about that?” Grace mused, head tilting to the side as the flimsy material of her bra slid down her arms and revealed her breasts.
Caz closed her eyes and breathed deeply, uttering a silent prayer this moment would come again, before her eyes opened and locked onto Grace’s and she said, “Yes. I’m sure.”
Grace scrunched up her face. “Spoilsport.”
“I know…” Caz moved closer, touching Grace’s face tenderly. “And anyway, we can’t touch…” She glanced downwards. “You’re still bleeding and that’s… I’m never going to be so drunk I put my needs before your wellbeing,” she said, quickly followed by a hiccup.
“And that’s why I love you,” Grace whispered.