Chapter 8 #3
The elevator dings and the doors slide open, yanking them apart like two same poles of a magnet.
Charlotte can’t help but be deeply flattered by Riley’s flushed cheeks and unsteady breathing, before she realizes they’re at risk of being seen by Gabi and Lou.
She turns around, but the hallway seems empty at first glance. Have they already gone to their room?
Tentatively sticking her head out the doors first, she suddenly jumps forward when she feels a playful slap on her right ass cheek.
Throwing a warning look over her shoulder, she almost loses her footing when she catches Riley’s smug smile, tongue gliding past her teeth.
The elevator next to theirs dings too, and Charlotte and Riley share a knowing look when Gabi and Lou step out.
“Well hello there. Didn’t yours go up before ours?” Riley mockingly points out, crossing her arms like she’s caught them red-handed.
Lou seems to be breaking out in nervous sweat, but Gabi walks past them with an unimpressed look on her face.
“Do we really have to explain?” she asks haughtily. “When mommy and mommy really love each other—”
“Alright, that’s enough!” Riley instantly admits defeat, throwing her hands up.
Lou starts jogging to catch up with Gabi who stoically keeps walking, and hastily says: “Okay you guys, it’s been a really fun night, see you tomorrow!”
“Yeah, you two have fun!” Riley calls after them. “Just keep the volume down, I need my beauty sleep!”
Lou flips her off without looking back.
Riley turns toward Charlotte, shrugging and raising a mischievous eyebrow. “I don’t think they’d notice anything if we were literally making out right in front of them.”
Charlotte wants to berate her, but smirks despite herself. They walk down the hall together and Charlotte points out her room, which is next door from the one Gabi and Lou just disappeared in. Riley’s is all the way at the end, at least ten doors down.
“Poor you,” Riley says half-jokingly when they come to a halt in front of Charlotte’s room. “Did you bring earplugs?”
Charlotte groans. “Yeah, what do you think? I’ll only make that mistake once.”
“Well, I’d say knock yourself out with whatever’s in your mini fridge, but I think you’re already more than distracted enough to get through the night,” Riley says, her voice low.
Charlotte playfully slaps her arm, a stark contrast with the smack earlier that night.
Before she can pull away, Riley catches her wrist with her opposing hand, opening Charlotte’s side up to be reeled in by the waist. The force with which Riley plants a kiss on her lips makes her bend backwards a little, but Riley’s hand in the small of her back keeps her up.
“I’m so glad you chose the kissing option,” Riley whispers against her lips before releasing her.
“You’re being too smug. Keep it in your pants, Riley,” Charlotte murmurs, but her words lack any bite.
Walking backwards, Riley pensively taps her chin. “Hmm. I don’t think it’s any of your business what’s about to happen in my pants once I close the door behind me.” She opens her arms and shrugs. “Guess you’ll never know. Sweet dreams, Charlie.”
Charlotte rolls her eyes, but can’t stop her lips from curling up. Riley has already turned around, so she quietly sneaks back into her room. She’ll see about those dreams.
The next day, Charlotte feels extremely productive spending her entire afternoon rotating between two positions on a lounger by the pool. It’s hot, too hot to do anything, except maybe reading and occasionally sipping her drink.
She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night: she’d decided to read one more chapter of her book before going to bed to distract herself and settle her thoughts.
She should’ve known it would have the opposite effect as one of the characters in her book started appearing as Riley in her imagination. Great.
Every time their little meeting in the elevator pops up in her mind, the sensation of her core sucking in on itself is so intense it almost makes her moan again.
She’d been so sure she wasn’t ready for any physical progress in her journey, but when it comes to Riley her body doesn’t seem to agree at all.
But do I mind it? she asks herself. No, she doesn’t think she does.
But do I think it’s fun? Oh shit, yes. It’s fun.
She squeezes her eyes shut to alleviate the throbbing in her groin, and turns onto her stomach out of fear someone can actually see what it does to her.
She considers dipping in the pool to cool off.
A nice bonus would be that soaking her bikini in pool water takes away the risk of showing any other undisclosed visible wet spots.
She lets herself get lost in her fantasies for a moment when she hears the sound of footsteps approaching. Even before hearing her voice, she knows who it is. The universe has two passions, she decides there and then: irony, and fucking with Charlotte.
“Want me to do your back for you?” Riley asks playfully. Lying on her stomach, Charlotte can only see the sneakers in front of the lounger. Wait—sneakers?
She pushes herself up seal-style, and squints to take in Riley. She’s wearing shorts and a sports bra, hair in a bun, and one earbud in.
“Are you trying to sound like a bad porn movie?” Charlotte asks stoically.
Riley chuckles and adjusts the bun on top of her head. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
“Why do you look like… like you’re actually about to go do something?” Charlotte vaguely gestures at her outfit.
“I’m going for a run.”
“For a what?! Look—I already knew you had a few screws loose, but I’m afraid the entire fucking building came apart up there.” Charlotte swirls her index finger around her temple.
Riley defiantly puts her hands on her hips. “Wanna join me?”
Charlotte cackles. “Ha! Join you? For a run? Listen sweetheart, because I’m only going to explain this once.” She lifts a finger for emphasis and turns onto her side so she doesn’t strain her neck looking at Riley.
“If you ever see me run, you should start running too. Because either something’s on fire, or I’m being chased by a bear.”
Exhaling loudly, she lets herself flop on her back, tucking her hand under her head.
“It’s two thousand degrees and she’s going for a goddamn run,” she mumbles, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Yeah…” Riley drawls calmly. “I guess you’re right. It is too hot for old people to get some exercise in.”
Fifteen minutes later, Charlotte walks down the hotel stairs in a tank top, shorts, and sneakers, securing her own hair in a ponytail.
“There you go,” Riley smiles proudly. “If you do well, you can relax in the jacuzzi later.”
“Or!” Charlotte holds up a hand, pretending to suddenly get inspired. “I could relax in the jacuzzi now.”
“You have to earn it first, chief,” Riley deadpans. “Now, let’s see how far we can get.”
The answer, much to Charlotte’s embarrassment, is not even far enough to not see the hotel when she looks over her shoulder, wheezing like a kettle.
And Riley, showboat in human form, is literally running circles around her.
Backwards. Charlotte is a few seconds away from accidentally sticking out her leg.
“I hate running. I hate this, I hate you, and I hate everything on this entire planet.” She puts her hands on her knees and lowers her head in defeat.
“Alright Ebenezer Scrooge, that attitude isn’t going to get you very far.”
“You know what isn’t gonna get me very far? Running. Know what is? A taxi.” She coughs. “Or an ambulance. I think I might be dying.”
“How are you so fit if you can’t even jog down the street without acting like you’re going through a near-death experience?”
Charlotte briefly looks up to glare. “Once again, I hate running. I don’t hate exercising.”
“Yeah? So what do you do when you work out?”
“I just go to the gym.”
Riley finally stops hovering around her, and comes to a halt. “You go to the gym? And what do you do when you go to the gym?”
“I lift,” Charlotte says, looking up at her with one eye closed against the sun.
“Ha!” Riley throws her head back. “Why do I find that hard to believe?”
Charlotte straightens her spine and shrugs. “You don’t have to. I don’t care.”
“Alright, alright,” Riley quickly says, crossing her arms. “Humor me. How much do you lift?”
Looking Riley up and down, Charlotte brushes her own sweaty hair out of her face. “How much do you weigh? 145?”
“Something like that,” Riley muses with a faint smile.
Charlotte nods slowly, cracks her knuckles for show, and turns to stand beside Riley. Acting quickly, she unceremoniously digs her foot in the hollow of Riley’s knee, making her buckle—only to catch her legs with her one arm, and then scooping her up bridal style.
Walking over to the side of the road with a speechless Riley in her arms, she hoists her up on a brick ledge at waist level.
Smirking at Riley’s baffled expression—she doesn’t catch Riley off guard that often, so she’ll milk this for as long as she can—she pulls Riley’s knees apart and steps in between her legs.
She looks up at the other woman, who is a bit higher up now because of the height of the ledge, and places her hands on Riley’s thighs, squeezing lightly.
That seems to cause Riley to completely come undone.
“I happily stand corrected,” she utters. “Remind me to never pick a fight with you.”
Charlotte slides her hands higher up Riley’s thighs. “And yet,” she murmurs slowly. “You can’t refrain from taunting me at every opportunity you get. Let this be a reminder of the risk you take every time.”
Riley laughs, puts her hands on top of Charlotte’s and slides them up her arms, ultimately resting them on her shoulders.
“Honestly?” she says, still smiling in disbelief. “You can literally do this to me anytime. And if I ever complain about it, you need to shake me upside down until I come to my senses.” Her hands clasp together behind Charlotte’s neck.
“Careful what you wish for, dear,” Charlotte hums, and spurred on by a rush of confidence in the heat of the moment, she adds a quick wink.
Riley goes slack jawed, shivers, and can’t seem to grasp any words or actions. Still, Charlotte watches a million things happening in her eyes.
“Time for an impromptu lesson,” Riley manages on a shaky breath. “But it’s an important one. This...” She nods down at herself. “This is gay panic.”
“Gay panic?” Charlotte cocks an intrigued eyebrow. “What does that mean?” She can make an educated guess, but where’s the fun in that?
“It… it means that my bones melted straight out of my body somewhere on the road behind you. It’s a check mate. For me. I lost. You won. Fucking hell.”
“Oh, I see,” Charlotte whispers. “It means I’m in control now?”
“Hmmaybe.”
“Because… I impressed you? And now you don’t know what to do with yourself?”
Riley just whimpers.
“So if I won—what’s my prize?”
“Shit,” Riley grunts before leaning down and pulling Charlotte in for a desperate kiss.
Charlotte can hear Riley mumbling other words against her which get lost somewhere between their lips, but she does vaguely register the words 'so hot'. It’s the second time in twenty-four hours Riley tells her that, and she can’t say she hates it. At all.