CHAPTER 10
They have just finished eating, and Victoria is at the sink, her hands submerged in sudsy water, scrubbing the plates clean. Micaela, meanwhile, prepares two steaming cups of tea, her yawn loud and contagious, causing even the usually composed Victoria to respond with a more discreet one.
“We could take a nap,” Micaela suggests as she places the brimming cups on the table.
Victoria dries her hands on a dish towel and turns sharply towards her. “Is this how you plan to write the book? We’ve already wasted the morning with idle chatter; we can’t afford to lose the afternoon too,” she huffs, clearly irritated.
“Hey, relax, I was thinking of you. I know older people need their post-lunch sleep to keep functioning. I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable,” Micaela shoots back.
“You”re such a saint,” Victoria retorts sarcastically, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. “And I find it amusing that you call me ‘older’ when we’re barely seven years apart. I suppose you see the difference in your lack of maturity.”
Micaela clenches her jaw, feeling the sting of the remark. She knows it”s partly true; her impulsive suggestions do sometimes reflect her immaturity.
“Well, since you seem so alert, let’s start with that brainstorming session you mentioned,” Micaela says, her eyes following Victoria as she sips her tea slowly, the steam kissing her face softly.
“I was thinking, since you want to start the story with a bedroom scene, maybe you should write it. Whatever comes to mind,” Victoria suggests, shrugging slightly. “Depending on how it unfolds, it might give our ideas some direction.”
Micaela gazes at her thoughtfully, uncertain about the proposal since they haven’t even defined their characters yet. But Victoria is far more experienced, and it would be foolish not to learn everything she can during their time together.
“Alright,” Micaela agrees, sitting down at the table set up in the living room and opening her laptop.
“Great, I’ll check my emails in the meantime,” Victoria says, settling into the sofa with her back to Micaela. The sofa is so inviting that it seems to envelop her.
“Wait, you’re leaving me to do this alone?” Micaela protests, a hint of anxiety in her voice. “What if I get stuck?”
“Writing a sex scene? I thought that was your specialty,” Victoria teases, her tone light yet pointed. “Just put them to... you know.”
“To fuck?” Micaela helps out, her playful tone making Victoria visibly uncomfortable. “I don’t get it. You’ve had an open relationship, been with men and women, and you”re shy about saying ”fuck”?”
“I”m not shy,” Victoria snaps, her voice firm. “I just don’t see the need to be so vulgar. But since you’re pushing it, do you think you can write a scene where the protagonists do just that? Or do you need me to hold your hand?”
“You’re unbearable, you know that?” Micaela says, her eyes now fixed on her screen.
Victoria smiles, satisfied to have gotten under Micaela”s skin, and instead of reaching for her phone to check her emails as she had said, she readjusts herself and closes her eyes.
Micaela spends several minutes just staring at her screen. Although she usually relishes crafting steamy scenes, she suddenly realizes she can”t just dive into the writing without a backdrop, a storyline, and a motive driving the protagonists to their intimate encounter. She begins by conjuring a setting for the scene, then debates whether this should be a chance meeting between two strangers or a long-awaited rendezvous between two women harboring mutual crushes. Eventually, she settles on two old friends reuniting after years, their once-secret love for each other now only expressible through physical touch.
Once she decides on this narrative and randomly assigns names to her characters, Micaela shuts out everything around her—including Victoria”s sighs, which she”s yet to notice—and her fingers fly across the keyboard until the entire scene is down on the page.
When she”s done, she rereads her work, surprised at how effortlessly it flowed from her, yet she”s simultaneously frustrated that this part comes so easily when articulating the rest of the story often leaves her paralyzed.
”Done,” she announces, looking toward Victoria. ”You coming over to read, or should I bring it to Madame on the couch?”
Victoria doesn”t respond, and it takes a few seconds for Micaela to guess why. She scowls, frozen, waiting for a sign that promptly comes as a soft snore escapes from the sofa.
”Unbelievable,” she mutters under her breath and stands up.
Needing to see for herself, Micaela tiptoes to the sofa. Sure enough, Victoria is deeply asleep, slumped over while Micaela was busy writing. It dawns on Micaela that this was probably just a ploy by Victoria to snatch a few minutes of sleep. She”s been tricked into writing a sex scene that will likely be scrapped because it won”t fit the brainstormed plot. She needs revenge.
On her toes, so as not to awaken Victoria, she sneaks into the bathroom and retrieves an eyeliner from her makeup bag, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. Just as quietly, she returns to stand over the sleeping writer. Leaning down, she”s about to draw a mustache on Victoria when she pauses, her gaze lingering on Victoria”s features. A strange unease washes over her as she realizes just how attractive she finds Victoria—a fact she hadn”t fully acknowledged until now.
Victoria, in her relaxed state, inhales deeply, startling Micaela from her reverie and reminding her of her playful mission. She steadies herself with one hand on the back of the sofa and, with the other, starts to sketch the mustache, barely holding back her giggles.
She”s nearly finished when Victoria stirs, feeling a tickle on her face. Her lips pucker slightly, and then her eyes snap open, wide with shock. Seeing someone so close startles her, and not immediately recognizing Micaela, her first instinct is to defend herself.
Victoria”s hand connects squarely with Micaela”s cheek, sending her tumbling to the floor.
”Are you insane?” Victoria yells as recognition dawns.
From the floor, Micaela stares up, wide-eyed, her hand cradling a cheek that stings as if swatted by a flyswatter. ”Insane? Me?” Micaela retorts, exasperation coloring her tone. ”Maybe you should check your aggression at the door.”
Victoria narrows her eyes, suspicion threading through her groggy mind. ”You nearly scared me to death. Why were you hovering over me like that?”
Micaela knows she must answer quickly before Victoria”s imagination runs wild with theories. ”Just confirming you”re a total sham,” she shoots back, not moving her hand from her face.
”What did you say?”
”You heard me. You sent me off to write some ludicrous scene just so you could nap.”
Victoria might have had a snappy comeback on any other day, but her neurons are still sluggish from sleep. Instead of fighting back, she lets out a laugh that makes Micaela want to throttle her, but a sharp twinge beneath her eye turns her grimace into one of pain, startling Victoria.
”Let me see.”
Reluctantly, Micaela lets Victoria peel her hand away, revealing a cheek imprinted with five fingers. Victoria”s laughter fades as she notices the sprinkle of freckles across Micaela”s nose, a detail she finds unexpectedly attractive now, up close.
”Come on, let”s get some ice on that, just in case,” Victoria murmurs, pulling Micaela to her feet.
In the kitchen, Victoria wraps a bag of ice in a dish towel and gently applies it to Micaela”s cheek. Micaela gazes at the makeshift mustache she”s drawn on Victoria, and her lips twitch into a smile.
”What”s so funny?” Victoria asks.
”Nothing. Did you know you look really pretty when you wake up?” Micaela”s voice drips with a mischievous undertone.
Victoria would blush if she believed the compliment was genuine. A part of her wishes it were, which troubles her. Sensing the tease in Micaela”s gaze, she dashes to the bathroom. When she flicks on the light and sees her reflection, her blood starts to simmer.
”Seriously? You”re such a brat!” she snaps as she returns to the kitchen.
Micaela watches her and bursts into laughter, clearly unrepentant.
”It”s unbelievable,” Victoria mutters.
”Unbelievable is that you hit me. We”re even now,” Micaela decides. ”So, if you”re done sulking, please read the scene. It”d be nice if we haven”t wasted our time for nothing. And do wipe off that mustache; it”s kind of creepy,” she says, offering a fake smile.
Victoria mutters under her breath and heads back to the bathroom to clean up. Then she walks over to the living room, settles in front of Micaela”s laptop, and starts reading. As she reads, her pulse quickens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to contain her excitement. Micaela watches her with a clinical eye, noting how Victoria”s expression darkens and her legs cross subconsciously. A satisfied smile plays on Micaela”s lips.
”Want me to leave the Lelo? It”s fully charged,” Micaela tosses out nonchalantly, and Victoria”s head snaps up, her eyes wide with mortified realization.
”You”re unbelievable,” Victoria snaps, slamming the laptop shut. ”Figure it out yourself.” She rises, her movements stiff with irritation, and storms off to her room, the door slamming behind her with a resounding thud. Micaela remains seated, a smirk playing on her lips as she fights the urge to applaud.