Suprise (2 page)

Remembering to answer the question, Vanessa breathed in, then exhaled softly on Sophia's ear, causing the other woman to shiver and put her hand on Vanessa's knee once more. Feeling naughty, Vanessa changed her mind and said, "The exotic erotic ball."

Blinking, Sophia had no idea what that meant, only that with her hand on Vanessa's knee, the other woman's arm around her shoulders, and the rum coursing through her veins, she could think of very little she wanted to say. Only things she wanted to do. "Oh," she said.

"It's a party that showcases all sorts of things," Vanessa purred, whispering into the younger woman's ear again. Inside, she could barely believe she was trying to tease the younger woman. "Usually, they have some strip shows, adult stars, costumes and toys." Pausing, she barely resisted the temptation to nibble softly at Sophia's creamy earlobe, "Sometimes, they have demonstrations of the toys, too."

Sophia's fingers dug harder into the blonde's knee, her insides nearly melting at the suggestive words. Breathing heavily, she tried to clear her head, the rum making her judgement cloudy. Blinking slowly, she turned her head. With Vanessa leaning into her, she could feel the other woman's breath on her face, her cherry lips only inches away. Licking her lips, she finally remembered where they were and straightened with an effort. Looking around the bar, not a few women, and far more men, were watching them with open interest. She glanced at her empty glass, unable to remember finishing it, half tempted to order another. A small part of her whispered,
this can't be happening
.
 

"Vanessa," Sophia finally said, her voice suggestive, lingering over the blonde's name. "I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you." She swayed, getting up off the stool, leaning heavily against the bar. "But it's late and I have to travel tomorrow." Hiccuping, she met the blonde's eyes, her own brown orbs glassy. She leaned forward, holding Vanessa's stool for support. "I'm so drunk. I could use some help, just to make sure I get back to my hotel safe." The innocent look on her face nearly made Vanessa laugh out loud, but instead she nodded, keeping her face smooth.
 

"Can we get a taxi?" Vanessa said, turning to the bartender.
 

"Sure, just wait outside, it should be less than a few minutes," the bartender, a middle aged woman with sallow complexion and long brown hair, gave a friendly smile. "This time of night, they know a lot of folks need a helping hand to get home. Stay safe."

The brunette swayed ahead of the blonde on the way out the door, despite the late hour, the dive bar was still packed. The floors were covered with peanut shells, the walls, cheesy Americana from the last fifty years. Sexist, impudent and outlandish, the very air of the scene breathed dirty possibility. Shivering slightly, Vanessa wondered what exactly she was doing, flirting with the younger woman.
I'm just going to help make sure she gets to her hotel safely
, she thought. Despite her inner monologue, she grew distracted on the way out of the bar, her blue eyes fastened to Sophia's posterior. Curious, she wondered if the other woman looked as good out of her jeans, or if the pants were the only reason the shape was so perfectly round.
She doesn't look like a computer geek
, Vanessa thought.
 

Chapter Two

Two

Outside, Vanessa shivered, pulling her shawl closer around her shoulders. "It's cold out here," she said.

Laughing, Sophia gave her a shocked look. "In Boston, this would be considered a nice summer evening. Here, it's only the start of winter, and you think it's cold?" The brunette looked around in an exaggerated motion, holding one hand to her brow, as if scouting something in the far distance. "Funny, I don't see a foot of snow, or even an inch."

"It was warmer earlier," Vanessa said, clutching her arms around her waist. "I guess I just expected tonight to be different." Her tone grew wistful as the taxi pulled up, and Sophia reached out to give her hand a squeeze.

"Let's hop in the taxi," she said, "You can rest your head on my shoulder. It'll help."

Nodding, Vanessa watched as the younger woman opened the back door and climbed in, clambering over the seat on all fours. Face flushed, Vanessa forgot about being cold as the younger woman moved in such a provocative way. "Hop in," Sophia said, voice muffled.

With a mental shrug, Vanessa climbed in, careful to make sure her dress didn't ride up and show anything above her mid thigh. Once Sophia finished giving the directions to her hotel, Vanessa caught the cab driver's speculative look in the mirror.
 

"I'm helping make sure my cousin gets back to her place safely," Vanessa said, loudly. "She's flying back home tomorrow now that her internship finished."

The older cab driver's face slumped and he nodded, remarking only, "Late night. Probably a good idea to make sure she gets there safely."

Sophia gave her a speculative look, then gazed out the window, watching the buildings start to slowly pass by as the taxi picked up speed. Still feeling a chill, Vanessa snuggled up next to the other woman, satisfied the driver at least had a plausible reason for their closeness. She flicked a glance into the rear mirror and he ignored them, so she closed her eyes for a moment. Breathing in the scent of Sophia's perfume and the old leather of the taxi, Vanessa could not help feeling a mix of dread and excitement.
 

Flirting with another woman was nothing new to her, she'd done that and more in college. However, that was a decade ago and tonight was no game of spin the bottle. Once onto the freeway, the ride evened out and she knew without a doubt, she had to talk or risk falling asleep.
 

"How was the internship?"

"Oh, it was good. I think the company was pretty fun. It reminded me of college," Sophia paused, frowning, and looked down at Vanessa's eyes, which were tilted up towards her face. "Both the good, and bad, parts." Making a mysterious face, Sophia whispered, "What do you do, by the way? You never said."

Smiling, the blonde batted her eyelashes and said, "I'm a nurse."

"Seriously?"

Nodding, Vanessa sat up a bit straighter, looking up to see if the taxi driver was still focused on the road. Still, she pitched her voice low and leaned into Sophia to whisper, "Cue the silly jokes. Every other guy I meet makes the same stupid ones."

Sophia swallowed, then shyly asked, "Do you have a remedy for a broken heart?"

"What do you mean?"

"Listen, you're really sweet," Sophia said, her eyes still glassy, "But I can tell the difference between real interest and girlish fun." Shivering slightly, Sophia gently removed her arm, which she'd wrapped around Vanessa's waist. "I have a feeling, after you say good night, I'm going to be miserable for a while." Her voice caught near the end, and she looked out the window once more. An uncomfortable moment passed and Vanessa felt guilty for taking things so far. Just before she could say anything, Sophia looked back at her, "So if you're a nurse, maybe you can give me tips on mending my soon to be broken heart?"

Vanessa squeezed her hand, just as she noticed the taxi slowing. "We're almost there, ladies," his gruff voice announced, "That'll be seventeen fifty."

The blonde sat up straighter, once again adjusting her dress, noticing when she did the cabbies eyes widening in appreciation.
Stupid dress
, she thought,
last time I ever wear this to a bar.
 

"Keep the change," Sophia said, passing him a twenty and opening the door. She reached to close it when Vanessa put out her hand, grabbing the door handle and looking up at her with an apologetic grimace.

"I said I'd make sure you got home safe," Vanessa said, forcing a small smile. "You're not home yet."

Sophia looked torn between happiness, and a look that could only come from a pet goldfish's passing, being flushed to the great big fishbowl of the sky. Still, she nodded, and simply held the door while the blonde exited the taxi. The courtyard of the hotel was large, however, at that time of night, most of the parking spots were taken. The doorman was absent, and Vanessa hurried to open the door, so she could follow Sophia where she would lead. Nodding her thanks, Sophia entered, pausing for Vanessa to catch up and grabbing the other woman's arm. Wrapping her arm around her own, she looked over as they walked, smiling tipsy encouragement.
 

"Evening," Sophia waved to the clerk at the counter, an attractive woman in her early twenties. She nodded, smiling at the two women as Sophia led them to the elevator. "I've been here for three months now," Sophia continued, "Tomorrow, I fly back home." She sounded wistful, and squeezed Vanessa's hand for a moment. "It's been impossible for me to meet anybody, with my internship being so demanding." She frowned, "Also, the sausage party aspect was clearly not my thing."

Nodding, Vanessa finally realized that Sophia had absolutely no interest in men. Only women. She'd had friends who had tried everything, but none of them fell in love with the idea. Her own escapades a decade before were just girlish fun, at least, that was what she'd always thought.
Every girl experiments in college, right?
After flirting with Sophia, she had started to consider, for the first time, doing something more. The thought was scary and she shivered as the elevator door opened, holding Sophia even tighter to her side.
 

"My room is on the fifth floor," Sophia continued, her voice slurring less now, "It has a great view of the pool, and the scenery around the area. "Though," Sophia paused, attempting to disentangle her arm, "I don't think it's a good idea for you to check out the view."

"Why not?" Vanessa demanded, withdrawing her arm and staring at the other woman, her temper flaring. "You suddenly think I'm not smart, or interesting?" She was furious, the woman's words hurt her more deeply than she could think. Despite the alcohol starting to wear off, being dumped, denied and feeling more lonely than ever, the last thing she wanted was to get rejected, by anybody. "Am I not good enough for you?" Shrugging, she pulled up her dress, adjusting the top more deliberately this time, watching as Sophia's eyes slid from her chest to her thighs, where the dress barely covered half their smooth, toned length.
 

"I know exactly how attractive I am," Vanessa continued, not giving the other woman a chance to say anything. "In your wildest dreams, you would be lucky to spend so much time with me as we did tonight." Vanessa took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, just as the elevator beeped. "If you don't want me to follow you, fine."

Sliding open, the door stood there, Sophia opened mouthed and grasping for words, staring at the haughty blonde. Vanessa tapped her foot, the heel beating an uneven rhythm on the carpeted floor. Finally, just as the elevator started to slide closed, she reached out to push it back open.
 

"Please," Sophia finally said, her heart pounding, "Follow me." Without another word, her heart in her throat, she walked down the hall and looked for the marker that said which way to her room. After a few months, she'd memorized it, but the drinking and lack of sleep was catching up to her, and it took more than a moment to start walking, carefully, down the hall. Afraid that Vanessa would not follow, she simply kept walking, telling herself not to cry if the woman had abandoned her.
 

Less than a minute later, she stood in front of her hotel room door and fumbled the key out of her jean's pocket. Nearly crying, she could not hear any steps from down the hall, and it seemed to take forever to get the card into position to slid into the keypad.
 

"Are you always this clumsy?" Vanessa's voice almost set her heart on fire, and when the door clicked open, Sophia pushed the handle wide, looking back to see the other woman standing there, her heels dangling loosely from one hand. "Care to show me the view?"

"Sure." Sophia could barely manage the one syllable, even then, she walked inside and held the door, watching in drunken surprise as Vanessa followed her inside and tossed her heels to the side of the queen size bed. "I can open the curtain," she said, letting the door close and walking swiftly, swaying, past the other woman to pull on the chain to open the curtain. Now that Vanessa was there, she hardly knew what to do or say. Mouth dry, she simply pulled open the curtain, and then pointed.
 

"I get tactless sometimes," Vanessa said, looking out the window. "Especially when I'm nervous." She reached out to grab Sophia's hand and gave it a squeeze without looking over.
 

Heart pounding, Sophia stood there, breathing deeply, trying to clear her head. When she reached brazenly over the bar to grab her drink, her only thought had been to tease the provocatively dressed blonde. Sure, she had desperately wanted to do far more than dangle her goodies in the woman's face, but she knew then that a woman like Vanessa was probably out of reach. Now, with her hand being squeezed encouragingly by the self confessed straight woman, alone with her in the hotel, she tried to imagine what she should do next. Unfortunately, her experience with women was very limited, despite her preference. She also was not about to reveal her secret, at least not so soon. The cover story of being an intern was partly true.

"Vanessa," she finally replied, "It's okay." Sophia took a deep breath and squeezed her hand, then looked over and stroked the other woman's hair. "I was just thinking, in my dreams, this happened." Laughing nervously, she squeezed the blonde's hand again and slid her hand down her back, lightly caressing the other woman's smooth skin. "However, those are dreams. I have no idea what I'm doing right now."

"Interesting," Vanessa replied, shivering slightly under the light fingered touch of Sophia's fingertips. "Well, have you ever had a one night stand?"

Flushing, Sophia withdrew her hand and her cheeks grew bright red. "It's okay, Sophia." Vanessa paused and reached out, squeezing the other woman's hand again. "I have before," Vanessa said, "But it was not nearly as fulfilling as you might expect, if you haven't done it before." She looked back out the window and whispered, "We all make mistakes."