Chapter 5 #2
“Are you hungry?” Tora asked as she led Alisa toward the house and opened the door.
Warmth hit her immediately, along with soft music, laughter, and the sound of voices echoing from somewhere deeper inside, and the whole house smelled faintly of whiskey and cola and some kind of sweet pastries.
Tora took her by the hand and led her farther in, into a huge living room where everyone was gathered. There were not that many people yet, maybe fifteen in total, and among them Alisa recognized a few of the Finns, the Lithuanians, and the Danes from the competition.
She waved awkwardly at them, and then Tora leaned closer and murmured in her ear:
“I’ll be right back.”
And before Alisa could answer, she disappeared somewhere into the other side of the house, leaving her alone among unfamiliar people who were all talking loudly about something, laughing and drinking, while Alisa exhaled nervously and stepped farther into the room toward the people who were already smiling at her kindly.
* * *
Alisa did not hesitate. She crossed the room to the couple sitting on the black sofa, listening to the music. They were a pair of Danes, and she slipped down beside them.
“Congratulations on the medals,” she said.
They both nodded calmly. The girl, blonde hair cut short beneath the square cap, smiled sincerely and dipped her head, while her partner, a tall Japanese Dane, nodded as well.
“Are you planning to go to the Olympics?” Alisa asked.
They immediately shook their heads.
“We’re unlikely to qualify,” the girl replied. “We only came here to compete for ourselves. It was an interesting experience.”
“I see, but you can still try if it’s your dream.”
“No, no,” her partner said. “We don’t really want to go there. My father won the Olympics in the past, a few decades ago, and now he has his own show in Copenhagen, so somehow we don’t really need medals. It’s more like entertainment, something to amuse our self-esteem to some extent.”
“Oh, okay, I get it…”
Then Tora appeared with a plate of food for Alisa, and Alisa accepted it at once. On the plate was a salmon bruschetta, and beside it, judging by the smell, a slice of apple pie.
Tora sat down next to her with a glass of whiskey on the rocks in hand. The whiskey was pure. Alisa had never been able to drink whiskey neat, it was far too tart for her.
Tora took a sip without taking her eyes off her.
Alisa swallowed nervously, bit into the salmon bruschetta, and nearly moaned at how tender and delicious it was. She closed her eyes with a smile. Only now did she realize how desperately hungry she had been.
“Damn, this is insanely delicious. Will you give me the recipe?”
Tora shrugged and grinned.
“This is something like a family bruschetta recipe, but if you suddenly become my wife, maybe someday I’ll tell you the secret.”
She laughed, and Alisa almost choked, laughing nervously too.
“Well, for the sake of salmon bruschettas? We can get engaged right now.”
She gave in to the joke and answered in the same tone, which only amused Tora more.
Tora nudged her lightly and they both giggled, not even noticing that they had been left alone on the huge sofa while everyone else drifted toward the center of the living room to dance.
A new song began to play.
Tame Impala – New Person, Same Old Mistakes
Tora kept her eyes on Alisa, and it made her whole body burn. Maybe it was simply too hot in here. Or was Tora too hot? Or, I mean, fuck….
Alisa swallowed and glanced nervously around the room, searching for water to wash down the bruschetta, but Tora silently offered her the whiskey instead.
“I don’t drink anything that strong, sorry,” Alisa said quietly.
“What do you drink then?”
Tora watched her blinking slowly with a lazy smile. Her body looked completely relaxed, her cheeks slightly flushed from the whiskey. She licked her full lips.
Alisa parted her own lips before she could stop herself, unable to look away from Tora’s mouth, then let out a nervous breath.
“I don’t really like alcohol, to be honest. My grandfather… he struggled with alcoholism, and because of that I couldn’t stand it for a long time. I rarely drink, only on really special days.”
“Today is a celebration for you, isn’t it?” Tora asked. “Even a holiday, no? You won silver.”
“I wouldn’t call it a celebration. Or a holiday where I come from…”
“Why?”
“Because it isn’t gold.”
“For you, victory is only gold?”
“For me, yes.”
“Then it will be difficult for you to live in this world, Alisa.”
Tora looked at her seriously as she said it, still holding out the half-full glass of whiskey.
Alisa took the glass. Their fingers brushed lightly, and even that fleeting touch was enough to make heat rush into her cheeks. Her whole body shivered with a small, helpless tremor.
She raised the glass to her lips, inhaling the whiskey first. The smell was sharp, distinctive and strangely familiar. It reminded her of something long forgotten, something she could not quite place. Parties, maybe. Something careless and light. Though she had hardly ever gone to parties.
She took a sip, letting the whiskey spread slowly over her tongue before swallowing. Warmth slid down her throat, burning pleasantly, but she did not wince. Instead, she took another sip, deeper this time.
And suddenly everything inside her flared.
Not because of the whiskey.
Because Tora had moved closer.
While Alisa drank from her glass, Tora had shifted nearer until there were only a few centimeters between them.
Alisa swallowed nervously and looked up.
Tora’s face was so close that she could feel the warmth of her breath against her skin. Alisa trembled all over.
Is she going to kiss me now?
She looks like she wants to.
Alisa parted her lips.
Then the door burst open.
Loke strode into the room. Judging by the careless looseness of his movements, he had already had too much to drink.
“What are you doing, Russian?”
Before Alisa could answer, he crossed the room, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her up from the sofa, wrenching her away from Tora and from what might have happened next.
“I’m not doing anything, we were just talking…” Alisa said, swallowing hard as she felt his fingers digging painfully into her shoulders. “Let me go.”
She hissed the last words through her teeth.
He let go at once, but turned immediately toward Tora.
“Why did you bring her here?” he snapped.
“This is actually my house, in case you forgot,” Tora replied coldly. “I bring whoever I want here. And since when do you get to order me around?”
“They’re our direct competitors for the Olympics, Tora. Are you stupid or what?”
Even through the music, the crack of the slap rang out clearly.
Tora had slapped him.
“Get out. You’re drunk. We’ll talk when you’ve slept it off.”
Loke pressed a hand to his reddening cheek.
Before leaving, he looked back at Alisa, and there was something in his expression that made her skin crawl.
“You’ll see your failure again,” he said. “And you’ll regret ever getting involved with Tora.”
Then he disappeared.
Apparently no one else had noticed the scene. The music shifted, one track bleeding into another, and the crowd of figure skaters and Tora’s friends only grew louder, buzzing with laughter. The beat changed to a faster tempo now.
Charli XCX – Track 10
For some reason, the song sent goosebumps down Alisa’s arms. She had not heard it in what felt like a thousand years. Once, she had dreamed of skating to it. For a moment, memories washed over her, vivid and aching, before they shattered against the reality of where she was now.
And Tora was moving closer again. Step by step, until Alisa found herself backed against the wall, still clutching the whiskey glass. She handed it back to Tora. Tora took it from her hand and drained the rest in one swallow.
“I’m sorry about Loke,” she said. “Sometimes he gets jealous of everything that moves.”
“So you’re… together?” Alisa asked, frowning.
Even the thought of it made something unpleasant twist in her stomach.
Tora laughed loudly. “No, of course not. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
Alisa shook her head.
Tora licked her lips slowly as she looked at Alisa’s mouth. Alisa’s heart began to pound so violently she thought it might burst from her chest. Waves of goosebumps rolled over her skin.
“What are you…” she whispered, the words leaving her on a shaky breath.
“I…”
Tora leaned in even closer.
“Do whatever I want.”
The music turned a bit down and then the sounds of fireworks exploded in the beats of it.
The world around Alisa and Tora seemed to fade away, their focus narrowing to the electric connection between them.
Tora’s lips crashed onto Alisa’s in a searing, hungry kiss.
Rather than a gentle caress, Tora’s mouth claimed Alisa’s with a fierce, almost desperate passion.
Alisa gasped at the intensity, her lips parting in surprise as Tora’s teeth sank into the tender flesh.
It was a kiss that demanded surrender, that dared Alisa to resist even as it consumed her.
As if accepting Tora’s challenge, Alisa opened her mouth wider, as a clear invitation to continue.
Tora groaned with a deep guttural sound that sent shivers racing down Alisa’s spine.
She thrust her tongue past Alisa’s parted lips, seeking and finding, tangling with Alisa’s own in a sensual embrace.
Tora pressed her body flush against Alisa’s, molding her curves to the harder planes of her athletic frame.
Alisa felt like she was being consumed, engulfed by the heat of Tora’s touch.
It was as if Tora had set her skin ablaze, igniting a fire that raced through her veins and set her heart pounding.
Alisa had never known a kiss could be so intense, so all-consuming.
It was as if Tora had unlocked a door deep within her, releasing a flood of pent-up passion and longing.
Alisa felt like she was drowning, drowning in the sensation, in the taste and scent and feel of Tora. She never wanted this moment to end.
The track changed to another one…
alt-J (?) – Fitzpleasure