Chapter 9 #2
“You’re right,” Charlotte says, dropping her hand to her own chest, absently tracing her clavicle with her middle finger.
“It is exciting. But the tension—it’s almost too much.
” She watches the slightest twitch in Riley’s eyes, and so she swaggers on.
“I believe you mentioned something about a jacuzzi the other day? That sounds exactly like something an old crone like me needs, tonight around 11 or so.” Riley inhales sharply through her nose, and Charlotte gets up. “Where did you say it was again?”
Riley points up. “Roof,” she says throatily.
“Hm.” Charlotte nods. She rubs her neck once for good measure, and turns to leave the bar with a light sway in her hips.
The water is nice. It’s late at night and because the sun has set a while ago, a chilly breeze blows over the top level of the hotel.
Charlotte has sunk herself down in the large jacuzzi that could easily fit a dozen people.
She’s submerged all the way to her shoulders, and soft lighting from inside the tub casts a subtle glow on her face, which is framed by a few strands of hair hanging loose from her bun.
She presses a button to activate the jets and wonders if she should doubt whether Riley will join her eventually, but there’s no question, really. She knows she will.
With her stomach nervously fluttering, she tries to embrace the feeling of anticipation.
The jacuzzi bubbles and buzzes loudly, sending steady streams of water through the tub. Not five minutes later, the door from the top level to the terrace opens and Riley appears in a light robe with a towel draped over her arm.
They acknowledge each other with a wordless smile.
Riley places her towel next to Charlotte’s and discards the robe in one quick movement.
For one brief second Charlotte wonders if she should be discreet and look away, but no, she decides to shamelessly take in every inch of Riley’s bikini clad body as she lowers herself into the tub. What else would Riley expect her to do?
She lets her eyes roam over toned abs, thighs, flawless and tanned skin, the valley between her breasts…
Yeah, Charlotte is definitely starting to understand what there is to appreciate about a woman’s body.
But it’s not the first time she gets a look at Riley’s minimally covered skin, so where is this sudden attraction coming from?
Has this really never stood out to her before? Has she been blind?
Riley slides into the far end of the tub, across and out of reach from Charlotte. Smart move, she supposes as she watches the bubbling water splash up against her shoulders.
Riley blinks at her with a knowing smile, closes her eyes, and exhales. Charlotte decides to do the same, to just let her body relax for a while. She tries to focus on the comfort of the bubbling water, and not on the woman across from her.
After ten minutes the jets die down, and suddenly it’s nearly quiet. Charlotte opens her eyes and is met with the view of Riley’s bright pink cheeks from the heat. She catches Charlotte staring and sinks further down, until just her nose is above the water.
Charlotte shifts in her seat and smiles coyly. Now that the noise has died down, they can talk.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you how far into your lesson program we are,” she says, cocking her head to the side. “I’m waiting for my second quiz.”
Riley laughs, which causes the water to bubble up and splash up in her face. She tilts her chin up so she can reply.
“You didn’t exactly pass the first one, so I’m starting to think I’m a bad teacher.”
“I didn’t pass?” Charlotte cries out, deeply shocked. “Look, first of all, my answers weren’t wrong, your questions were open to interpretation. I might as well be right. Secondly, eight hours is ridiculous.”
“You must have been a menace in college.” Grinning, Riley pushes herself up again. “Your efforts were appreciated, though.”
“So why didn’t I pass?”
“You left the bonus question completely open,” Riley shrugs. “You failed for not even trying.”
Charlotte tries to remember what the bonus question was. “Oh! The ‘good girl’ one? To be honest: I still don’t understand that.”
“What is there not to understand?”
“Does that really do something for you? I just don’t… I’m not a dog, you know. I don’t need a reward for sitting down and barking on command.”
Shaking her head, Riley laughs again. “Hm. Yeah, no, you’re right,” she says, seemingly admitting defeat. “You’re not a dog. Fair enough.”
Riley starts tracing the water surface with her palm and asks, after a few moments of silence: “How do you feel it’s going?”
Charlotte thinks about that for a second. And while she likes to poke at Riley’s composure, she feels like they’ve approached the serious part of their conversation. She drops her gaze and studies her own legs, looking Twizzler-shaped because of how the light breaks through the water surface.
“I’ve been… thinking about it. A lot.”
“You’ve been thinking,” Riley repeats, just a hint of mocking in her voice.
“Thinking, yes. And… reading. Watching. Looking. Imagining. Fantasizing."
“Touching…?”
“No. No touching. Still can’t do it. I’m just still so aware of the fact that it’s about… a woman’s body.” Charlotte scolds herself for not daring to look up.
Riley hums softly. “Once again, I think it comes down to the question: would you want to?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know.”
As she hears those words leaving her own mouth, she wonders if they’re true. It’s what she’s been telling herself from the beginning: kissing a woman is fine, but anything more—no, that makes it too real.
Just the idea of undressing and being undressed, having to caress boobs or a pussy, with her hands, fingers, or god forbid, her tongue… She wouldn’t even know what to do.
Sure, she can imagine it when she reads about it, but if she had to be the one doing it… Her brain can’t even go there. The thought alone has always made her shiver.
But that conviction had been from a time when, if she were to imagine herself touching a female body, it would be the body of an unknown, random woman. Just skin, muscles, birthmarks, nipples, body hair, a vulva; all of it on one torso with a faceless head.
She slowly comes to the realization that the person sitting in front of her does have a face, and not even an ugly one at that.
It’s not just a face either; she has charisma, she has opinions, she has her own ideas.
She has this look in her eyes, and a way with words.
She has a deep and lasting effect on Charlotte.
She has a beautiful body which she wouldn’t mind studying for hours.
She has a personality, and she has a name. Riley.
And that switches things up.
“Actually… I do know. I know I want to.”
It makes sense now. She doesn’t want or need a random woman; she wants Riley, who just happens to have those features she’s so scared of exploring on a different body than her own.
Features which now, from this new perspective, seem a lot more appealing and have an interesting effect on her libido.
“I just don’t know how. I’m not ready. I’m so scared to… get it all wrong.”
When Riley doesn’t immediately answer, she bashfully looks up through her eyelashes.
“As long as everything that happens is consensual, there is very little you can do wrong,” Riley says with an encouraging smile. Then, after taking a breath, she adds: “And I’m sure the first woman you’ll sleep with, will agree with me.”
Charlotte shakes her head in confusion. What?
“Wait, is that not going to be you?” she asks out of pure astonishment, but as soon as the words leave her mouth, her eyes go wide.
Oh my god. Can she drown herself here? If she submerges herself all the way, how long would it take to actually die? Are there any other possibilities? She could always fling herself off the roof.
Charlotte is used to Riley’s smugness and her smirks, but when she looks up at Riley this time, she’s not sure she has ever seen her this self-satisfied. Shit.
“I’m not sure I’m your best option,” Riley acts all timidly. “I’m a bad teacher, remember?”
Charlotte scoffs. “Please. I wouldn’t want to sleep with you as my teacher, but as my—”
Her words get stuck in her throat. How does she manage to turn this into even more of an awkward confession?
“As your what?” Riley asks, and that hopelessly disarming smirk is back.
“Shut up,” Charlotte snaps, deliberately splashing her with a large amount of water. It’s a larger wave than she’d meant to hit Riley with, but honestly, she deserved it.
Riley swipes her dripping hair back, uncovering a devilish expression on her face. Charlotte gulps. She half expects Riley to get back at her, but the other woman seems to be choosing the high road by taking long, slow breaths through her nose.
“Just remember what I told you a few months ago, Charlotte,” she says calmly, closing her eyes and leaning back against the edge of the tub. “If you’re ever ready, you know where to find me. Just say the word.”
Charlotte decides that that’s a dick move, because by closing her eyes, Riley has made it totally her call whether she wants to continue this conversation, and ultimately whether she wants to take initiative in asking for what she wants. Thoughtful bastard.
Charlotte huffs and leans her head back. “Why can’t there just be… some gateway, instead of having to dive all the way in?”
“We can make one,” Riley suggests. “We can just talk about it.”
“Talk about what?” Charlotte knows the answer, but she needs Riley to be clear.
“About sex.” When Riley opens her eyes, there’s no challenging grin like Charlotte expected. Instead, she looks genuine and inviting. “What do you usually like?”
“What do I…?” Oh god, are they really talking about this?
“Yes, let’s start at the beginning. When you have sex with a man, what is your favorite part?” Charlotte’s eyes dart away, and Riley’s voice softens. “Hey, if you’re not comfortable with this, you can say no. Okay?”