Undisclosed Desires (High Rise Novella Two) (5 page)

The taxi pulled up on a wide street with cars parked on either side.

“Welcome to Tai Hang,” Sophie said. “I’m looking to buy here and am desperate for a second opinion.”

NAT

“What’s with the frown, Hemingway?” Nat was about to take the first bite out of her chocolate bomb—a small, perfectly shaped dome of nothing but dark chocolate. Alex interrupted her most pleasurable moment of the day.

“It’s my dessert biting face.”

“Allow me to disagree.” Alex sipped her coffee. If anyone worked her body hard enough to deserve a luscious piece of pastry on a Sunday afternoon, it was Alex, but she was more the abstaining type. Her restraint drove Nat crazy sometimes. “I think it resembles more of a jealous scowl.”

“You reap what you sow,” Maddie cut in. “If you hadn’t insisted on Isabella going out with Sophie again, you wouldn’t be sitting here feeling sorry for yourself.”

Nat tuned out Alex and Maddie’s voices. She should have stayed in The Bean this morning and waited for Cindy. The day had begun so full of promise. Bright blue skies after two days of rain. A clear head. Good intentions. An innocent flirt. She bit into the dome, too big a bite for a posh establishment like Pierre’s, and didn’t wipe the chocolate from her lips. As far as acts of rebellion went, it was the only one she could resort to at the moment.

She could be in bed with Cindy. Or revising her novel. Or just cruising through the city on this lovely sunny day. Instead, she was watching the worst pair of matchmakers on the planet lick crème patissière from each other’s fingers.

Nat swallowed and fixed her eyes on both of them. “Here’s the deal, lovebirds. Whatever strange kick you think you might get out of Isabella and me getting together, the time has come to forget about it. It’s not going to happen. We’re friends. She and Sophie are a good fit. It’s how I want it. Deal with it.”

“So defensive.” Alex half-smiled. “Who are you trying to convince, Orange?”

“Leave her be, babe. Let things play out naturally.” Maddie winked at Nat and jabbed Alex softly in the bicep.

“It’s all right, honey.” Alex didn’t let up. “She can take it.”

“Please buy your self-righteous girlfriend a strawberry tartlet so she’ll shut up for five minutes.”

Maddie touched the fingers of her right hand to the palm of her left in a ninety degree angle. “Time out, you two.” She turned to Alex. “Babe, give her a break.” She pinned her glance on Nat. “And you, everyone’s entitled to a bout of grumpiness from time to time, no matter the reason. Ignore Alex. Oh, and…” She leaned a little closer. “Maybe you should consider a shag.”

“You know I mean no harm.” Alex joined the huddle and put a hand on Nat’s arm.
 

“I know, Pizza. I love you too.” Nat finished her dessert and said her goodbyes. When her poker face failed, she knew it was time for solitude.

On her way up the escalator, she passed The Bean and looked inside. Cindy’s shift had ended long ago.

Alex had read her like an open book. At first Nat had tricked herself into believing it was the-third-wheel blues. Alex and Maddie being so ridiculously happy in front of her and Isabella going off with Sophie to that
special place
. All four of them building something meaningful. Nat had a phone bursting with numbers to call, but none of the women those numbers belonged to would ever mean anything to her.

She was jealous.

When she arrived home she poured the remainder of the wine Isabella had brought the previous night in a glass and settled in the couch with another copy of
The Stranger
. She guessed Isabella would join the book club now. Another two-some to see flourish in close proximity.
 

Fuck this, she thought once she’d drained the wine in a few greedy gulps. She tossed the book aside and glared out of the window, into the million lights of the Hong Kong evening. She straightened her t-shirt in the reflection, shot herself a wink and was out of the door in a matter of seconds.

When she arrived at Volt, a primarily gay hang-out of which the lesbian clientele had increased substantially once Nat had started frequenting the place, it was packed with goodies.

“Scotch on the rocks?” Freddy, the bartender, asked.

“No need for ice today.” Nat leaned on the bar with one arm and scanned the small venue. It had its very own lesbian corner now. A slew of tables pressed together tightly where gay boys feared to tread. The little waves of recognition started quickly. Tiny-fingered hands greeting her. These girls weren’t so much literary groupies. It was more a fame kind of thing. Chinese girls seemed to love famous people more than anyone else in the world. Nat had taken great advantage of that fact and she was about to resort to it again.

Nat slammed the Scotch back in one long gulp. It burned her throat a little but only a fraction of how it set her insides on fire the first time she had tried it, with Claire back in New York.

One of the girls felt bold and walked over to her. Nat recognised her face but couldn’t immediately place it. She gestured at Freddie for a refill. Was that Cindy approaching her, sans glasses? This day could be saved after all.

“Hey.” Cindy waved nervously, the beginning of a smile conquering her lips, waiting for Nat to instigate further conversation.

“I hardly recognised you out of your uniform and without those glasses.” Her hair was down, reaching her neck, and her tiny body was squeezed into a tight black dress. “You look very glamourous.” Nat shot her
The Smile
. God, this was almost too easy.

“I heard you come here often.” Cindy’s voice sounded pitchier than at The Bean, more girlie and frivolous.

“I do.” Always the same conversations, and never about anything interesting, like a Hitchcock film or a Vonnegut book. “Can I get you a drink?”

“I’ll have what you’re having.” Cindy eyed Nat’s Scotch with a hint of fear in her glance.

Nat raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure? This is pretty heavy stuff.”

“Yes.” Cindy’s voice trembled. She probably didn’t even drink alcohol.

“How about we both have a glass of wine?”

“Sure.” Cindy nodded, her hair bobbing up and down.

Nat placed the order and returned her attention to the girl. That’s what she was, a girl. Hardly a woman. Probably wore a Hello Kitty backpack to work. “What have you been up to today?”

As she asked the question, Nat realised she had absolutely no interest in the answer. She used to enjoy this endless small talk. This nothingness. All these conversations going in the same direction—her bed. What would Sophie and Isabella be talking about? Knowing Sophie, she wouldn’t wait too long to make a move. Had they kissed yet?

“I went to Times Square mall with my friends. Just hanging out after work.” Cindy’s eyes started sparkling. “We saw a picture of you in the bookshop. I told my friends I knew you.”

Nat shot her a weary grin. “That’s nice.” She handed Cindy her glass of wine and they clinked rims.

ISABELLA

“I’ve been here before, but back then it was mainly auto repair shops. Taxis parked all over the place, waiting for an oil change.” Isabella sat across from Sophie on a sidewalk terrace, sipping an oversized cappuccino. Cosy outdoor space like this was rare in this city. “The neighbourhood has a very un-Hong Kong vibe to it. It almost feels like escaping. I love it.”

“Did you like the flat?” Sophie’s eyes glinted with the hope of newness and positive change.

“Definitely.”
 

“Would you come visit me here?” Sophie glued a wide smile on her face.

“Without question.” Isabella shot Sophie a seductive grin back. She was happy to be out of her every day environment, away from the crowds and the noise. Her muscles relaxed and her mood improved by the minute. “I should speak to Graham about this neighbourhood. In a few years it’ll be crawling with expats and prices will skyrocket. He invests a lot in property.”

“That’s your ex-husband, right?” Sophie’s eyes narrowed.

“The one and only.” Isabella briefly looked away to check out a cute corgi padding by. “We split on good terms.”

Sophie nodded pensively and hesitated. “I was surprised you called me this morning.”
 

“I can imagine.” Isabella pulled her lips into an apologetic pout. “Sorry for stalling.”

“I suppose our friend Nathalie had something to do with that?”

“With stalling or calling?” Isabella gave in to the urgent need to inspect her hands.

“Both.” A sharp edge manifested itself in Sophie’s voice.

“Full disclosure time.” Isabella prided herself on being able to look Sophie in the eyes now that it mattered. “I don’t believe in starting something based on assumptions and half-truths.”

Sophie didn’t blink. She sat there awaiting the verdict, legs crossed and lips tight.

“I do feel something for Nat, but I’m a grown woman and I can deal with it. Especially because I fully realise Nathalie Orange would be about the worst choice of partner for me. She’s going through certain issues she has to deal with on her own and at her own pace. I’ll be there for her, as a friend.” Isabella slanted her upper body over the table and let her hands rest inches away from Sophie’s. “And I’d be a total nutcase to not be grateful for what I have sitting right in front of me.”

Sophie sipped from her coffee before responding. “I appreciate your candour.” She withdrew her hands and put them in her lap. “And I like you enough to see where this might go, but I refuse to be messed with.” She drew a breath. “Despite knowing full well how you feel about Nat, this is not exactly what I was hoping to hear.”

Isabella grabbed onto the spoon Sophie had discarded on the table, just to hold on to something. “I totally understand. Which is why I’m asking for a fresh start. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t think it possible.”

“True.” The stiffness seemed to recede out of Sophie’s muscles. “It’s not every day one meets an attractive, intelligent woman like yourself on this island, even if she has taken temporary leave of her senses.” A small smile tugged at the edge of her mouth. “Are you up for a little hike?” Sophie cast a glance under the table and checked out Isabella’s shoes.

“I guess.” Isabella pinched her eyebrows together. “You’re full of surprises today.”

“Oh yeah.” Sophie stood up. “Come on.”

She guided them out of the cluster of low-rises, all the streets lined with terraces and tiny restaurants. They crossed the main road and zigzagged through a couple of narrow alley-ways until they arrived at the foot of a mountain.

“There’s a small path over there.” Sophie pointed to an unlit, impossibly steep gravel trail meandering uphill.

“Really?” Despite the cooler evening air, Isabella already had to wipe her brow. “Are you related to Indiana Jones by any chance?”

“The reward is worth it, trust me.” Sophie grabbed Isabella by the hand and pulled her forward.

Isabella puffed her way up the path, grateful for the hours she put in at the gym but feeling her age nonetheless. She focused on Sophie’s slender calves, the muscles underneath her skin flexing and relaxing with every step she took. They were all alone—no one would come here after dark. The city glow was growing ever more distant.

“This is it.” Sophie spun around, her smile baring a sliver of white teeth. “Turn around.”

Despite having one of the most spectacular views of the island at home, Isabella was floored by what lay beneath. It was the contrast of total darkness surrounding her and the scattered light pattern in the distance that did it. Sophie breathed heavily into her neck, her body heat radiating onto Isabella’s back.

“Was I right or was I right?” Sophie’s hand landed on Isabella’s shoulders, soft and a little bit damp.

“Not bad.” Isabella downplayed it because she knew it didn’t matter what she said anymore. The next thing she knew Sophie’s lips grazed the skin of her neck. Isabella had a lot of pent-up lust to deal with and Sophie’s touch throbbed throughout her body.

“This way,” Sophie whispered in her ear and coaxed her toward a tree just off the path.

Isabella stood with her back against the tree. Twinkling lights below and an unfamiliar silence around her. Sophie’s eyes glinted in the dark, her body more contour than shape.

The kiss didn’t come as a surprise, but it zapped through Isabella’s bones like an electric shock—current after current making her head spin. It had been a while since she was last kissed.

Sophie’s fingers found her cheekbones, tracing them while she caught her breath. “This is how I like to spend my Sundays.” She leaned in for another kiss, another round of reducing Isabella’s synapses to breaking fuses.

“I can see why,” Isabella said, in between biting Sophie’s lips and, slowly, finding her breasts with her hands.

“Do you need to process before this goes any further?” Sophie’s lips were at Isabella’s ear. She could feel them stretch into a smile.

“Heavens no.” It was more a sigh than a reply.

“Good.” Sophie clearly took this as the go sign. “Because we don’t have all night.” She slipped her hands under Isabella’s top and caressed her nipples over the fabric of her bra.
 

All Isabella heard was the sound of her own breath deepening as her excitement grew. The rustling of clothes in the dark. The smacking sound of their lips as they connected over and over again.

She produced a bit of a yelp when Sophie squeezed her nipple, and responded by hiking up Sophie’s skirt and slipping a finger under the waistband of her panties. To feel someone’s skin react under her fingers again, to hear someone breathe sighs of pure excitement in her ear. The walk up the hill had been enough foreplay. Isabella let her finger dip down and was astounded by Sophie’s wetness.

“You really do like me,” she hissed.
 

Sophie’s sole reply was a low grunt as Isabella pushed a finger inside.

Isabella retracted briefly to let Sophie gather her composure—and hoist up her skirt.
 

Nat. Blind dates. Unusual deals. Quid pro quo. It all didn’t matter in that moment, the moment in which she knew she couldn’t go on unless someone fucked her there and then.