Awakening Ch. 01

This is the first of a two part story. The second and final part will follow shortly.

* * *

Ben tugged her cotton vest down and rolled her nipple around between his finger and thumb. Kiera lay on her back, staring at the white ceiling and mentally composing her shopping list. Her mind felt strangely detached from what was happening to her body. It was weird - she could feel what Ben was doing, but somewhere along the line her brain was curiously disengaged.

She wasn't exactly sure at what point this had happened. All she did know was that sex had always felt like a chore with Ben and she vaguely felt that maybe there was something she was missing. The trouble was she had no other experience to back up her theories. There had been nobody else in all her twenty-four years.

Fingers delved roughly between her thighs and she allowed an obligatory moan to escape so as not to hurt his feelings. He was liable to sulk for days if she implied their sex-life was less that perfect. Not that her enjoyment mattered particularly. As long as he was happy, that was all that counted.

The phone rang shrilly and Ben cursed loudly, pulling away from his exploration of her passive body.

"I'll get it," she said hurriedly, jumping out of bed and grabbing the phone. "Its mum," she mouthed at Ben, her palm cupped over the receiver so her mother did not hear Ben's curses. He rolled his eyes dramatically and turned away from her crossly. They both knew that it would not be a short call.

Struggling to hide her relief, Kiera straightened her vest up and walked out of the bedroom listening to her mum chattering away, telling her all the village gossip. By the time the call ended and she had made her way reluctantly back to bed, Ben was fast asleep and snoring softly. Once again she had been saved an unsatisfying half an hour. God bless her Mother.

Kiera edged under the duvet and rolled away from Ben's inert body carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was to disturb him and endure a repeat performance. No, she would rather go to sleep. Besides, she needed to get an early start in the morning. She wanted to arrive at the seminar in good time in order to ensure a decent seat.

* * *

The woman on the podium held the rapt attention of the entire audience. It wasn't her looks exactly, although she was very striking. It was her voice that soothed the senses like warm honey; melodious and charismatic. Her blonde hair hung in rippling skeins of white gold and her luminous green eyes captured the heart of every man in the room.

Kiera felt envious. She wished she had the same effect on the male population. Sadly that was never going to happen. She knew she was pretty enough, but it was in a girl next-door rather than a centrefold kind of way. Life could be very unfair at times.

By the time the seminar broke for lunch and everyone began to disperse eagerly into the bar, Kiera was feeling rather tired. She had not slept all that well last night -- Ben had snored for first half of it and the other half had been disturbed by fitful dreams. She desperately needed a stiff drink to inject some life into the remains of the day. Unfortunately the afternoon's schedule of lectures looked fairly dismal and she was seriously contemplating taking a seat at the back of the room and napping for a blissful hour or two.

"A glass of white wine please," purred a silky voice next to her as she stood at the bar waiting for the bar man to notice she existed. Kiera turned her head curiously only to see the woman speaker from the previous lecture. Up close and personal she was even more devastatingly beautiful.

Kiera was enviously aware of each and every man within a ten-metre radius practically salivating. This included the bar man who had miraculously appeared in front of them, despite the fact he had remained curiously elusive in the time Kiera had been waiting.

"Can I buy you a drink too?" the woman turned to ask Kiera with a gracious smile.

"Er yes - that would be lovely, thank you. I'll have a vodka and soda please."

The bar man simpered and produced the two drinks in record time, handing them over with a lingering look at the blonde. She gave him some money politely and passed Kiera her glass. "Join me at one of the tables?" she asked.

"Yes, I'd be happy to," Kiera felt rather relieved that she wouldn't have to drink alone. It always made her feel slightly sad when she knew nobody at these events.

The blonde headed towards a corner table, her shapely bottom swaying seductively in the short grey skirt she was wearing. Every single male in the room watched her progress with enormous interest, but she seemed surprisingly oblivious.

"My name's Alicia," the blonde said, holding out a perfectly manicured hand politely once they were seated.

"Hello Alicia, I'm Kiera -- pleased to meet you." They shook hands politely.

"Are you enjoying the seminar?" Alicia asked with interest.

"Yes, I thought your presentation was very good," Kiera said politely. And she had. The rest of the room faded out as they began to discuss all the points Alicia had made during her talk. Kiera soon found herself drawn to the woman on many levels - not only was she intelligent as well as devastatingly attractive, she was also incredibly sexy.

All around them, hopeful men strained to catch every word she spoke. It was almost comical the way some of them engineered reasons to walk past their table so that they could catch a glimpse of Alicia. What was more remarkable was the way she seemed utterly unaware of all the attention she was invoking.

She seemed far more interested in Kiera.

The conversation took a turn into more personal territory when Alicia asked, "So, are you married?"

"No, but I'm living with my boyfriend. We're supposed to be getting married next year though..." her voice faded as she suddenly realised that 'next year' was not all that far away. It was a scary thought.

"Wow, you seem really excited about that!" Alicia commented with a dry laugh.

"Hmm...am I that obvious?" Kiera sipped her drink and stared at the floor for a moment. "It's not going all that well," she admitted to her surprise.

Then she realised that Alicia probably did not want to hear all her problems. "Sorry," she apologised ruefully. "I shouldn't be dumping on you like this."

Alicia reached out her hand and grasped the other woman's knee lightly. "Hey that's okay -- I shouldn't be prying anyway," she said softly.

Kiera looked at her and smiled gratefully. "No, no -- it's good to talk about it sometimes." She wasn't exactly sure why she felt the need to open up to this woman who was a complete stranger less than an hour ago. There was just something about her that reached out to Kiera. The hand resting on her knee felt strangely comforting and...she hesitated now...it felt nice. Her skin pleasurably tingled beneath the other woman's warm palm.

She looked up into soft green eyes. There was a sudden silence between them and Kiera felt a strange tension descend. Electricity crackled as they stared intently at each other.

"Which hotel are you staying in tonight?" asked Alicia in an even voice. Her hand stayed firmly planted on Kiera's knee.

"I'm booked into The Hilton." Her voice sounded weird to her own ears and her breath caught in her throat. Why was she reacting this way? She didn't understand her behaviour at all -- it was totally out of character.

"Me too...fancy having dinner with me later?" Alicia's eyes gleamed in the muted light of the bar.

Kiera hesitated for a moment. She had been planning on ordering room service and having an early night. But then she thought, fuck it - dinner out would make a pleasant change. It wasn't like she and Ben ever went anywhere these days.

"Yeah, that would be great!" she grinned.

The other woman glanced at her watch and said, "Okay, meet me in the reception at seven-thirty this evening. I've got to go and catch up with some of my colleagues now..." She rolled her eyes and pulled a face.

"Looking forward to it," replied Kiera. She was surprised to realise that she really WAS looking forward to seeing Alicia again.

Several men's faces fell in abject disappointment when the cool blonde left the bar, her heels clacking on the hard wood floor. Kiera drank the rest of her drink and wondered just how she was going to stay awake for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

She examined her reflection critically. The woman in the mirror stared back at her, taunting her. Wild dark hair was tamed in a black clip and brown eyes shone with a rare sense of excitement. She had been forced to wear the same skirt she had worn all day. Not expecting to venture out of her room, she had packed nothing more exciting. But teemed with a cream silky blouse, it looked rather sexy in conjunction with black hold ups. These had been purchased on a whim from the chemist round the corner. Normally she wore tights, but tonight she decided to live a little.

Kiera added a touch of lip-gloss and another coat of mascara. Her eyelids were brushed with smoky grey shadow and she decided rather grudgingly that she didn't look too bad. It had been ages since she had put so much effort into her appearance. There never seemed much point with Ben -- he didn't notice what she wore these days.

The clock on the wall told her it was nearly half past seven, so she grabbed her purse and headed for the elevators. She hoped it would be a fun evening. From within her bag, her mobile sang out annoyingly. One glance at the blue screen told her it was Ben calling. For a minute she dithered about whether to take the call. Then she stepped inside the empty lift and the signal vanished, cutting the call off and saving her any further dilemma. Not that they had anything to talk about anyway. Chances were he was only checking what time she was due back tomorrow and could she bring some KFC home with her.

* * *

Alicia was waiting for her in the lobby when she emerged from the lift. Her blonde hair shimmered in the subtle lighting and she was dressed rather provocatively in a scarlet dress that hugged her curvy frame like a second skin.

It was perfectly obvious to Kiera that the male receptionist was in love. A loud American couple were patiently waiting to check in to their room, and the receptionist was leant over the teak desk ogling Alicia like she was doing a lap dance just for him. Kiera nearly laughed when the irritated husband slapped his hand down in front of the boy's face making him leap in the air in shock.

Alicia was oblivious; she only had eyes for Kiera. "Wow, you look lovely!" she said warmly, reaching forward and planting a small kiss on Kiera's cheek. With a tingling sensation running through her veins, Kiera stepped back feeling her face glowing with unexpected embarrassment.

"Thanks," she said with a shy smile. "You look great too -- I love that dress, where did you buy it from?"

They made their way to the restaurant chattering easily about clothes. Alicia had booked a table at a Thai place not too far from the hotel. It was dark and elegant; very much a couples restaurant, although Kiera presumed Alicia would not have known this when she reserved a table.

The food was delicious - spicy but not overpoweringly so. It had been years since Kiera had enjoyed a Thai meal. In fact the last time had been on one of her early dates with Ben. It had been a disaster -- Ben had had an allergic reaction to the food and ended up spending the night in casualty. That had been the last time they ate Thai. It was a shame really, because Kiera loved spicy food.

Alicia was wonderful company. She made Kiera feel like she was the only person in the entire room. She was witty, amusing and full of silly anecdotes. It was almost as if they had known each other for years and there was no sense of awkwardness at all.

"So...tell me about your man..." she asked as they shared a portion of coconut ice cream.

"Ahem...Ben..." Kiera wondered where to start. How could she condense seven years into a few sentences? "I met him when I was seventeen and we've been together ever since. I guess that's it really..."

"Happy?" asked Alicia carefully.

"I guess so," responded Kiera unconvincingly. She spooned a chunk of the ice cream into her mouth and wondered what the definition of 'happy' was. She felt certain it wasn't their relationship anymore.

"How about you -- anyone special?"

Kiera assumed Alicia was not married as there was no ring on her finger. Not that that meant anything these days.

"No, nobody at the moment," Alicia replied wistfully. "There was someone, but it ended a few months ago and I haven't exactly been looking since."

"Oh I'm sorry..." Kiera said when she saw the sadness briefly cross the other woman's face. She really felt for her -- it was never easy when a relationship broke down. Her own parents had divorced when Kiera was a teenager. The bitter recriminations lasted for months and everyone had been blighted in the emotional fall-out that ensued.

It was a horrible period of her life and it was one of the main reasons she had stayed with Ben, despite the nagging feeling that their relationship just wasn't working any more. The thought of ending it was too stressful. Maybe their relationship was as good as it got anyway.

"It's okay. I'm over it now." Alicia smiled brightly.

"How about we go for a drink at the wine bar down the road?" she said, changing the subject.

"That would be great!" The wine Kiera had already consumed was buzzing around in her head, but she was having too much fun to think about going to bed just yet. No doubt Ben would have a blue fit if he had any idea she was out on the town -- but at this point she really did not care.

He was obviously not all that fussed. Other than the aborted phone call as she stepped into the lift, he had not tried ringing her again. But then, she hadn't returned his call either...

She brushed that thought to one side and finished the wine in her glass. Why shouldn't she have some fun? Ben managed it often enough. He was always disappearing on golfing weekends and the like. For all she knew he was playing around on her left, right, and bloody centre.

"Finished?" asked Alicia as she signalled for the bill.

"Yes thanks -- that was delicious. Thanks for the company!" said Kiera sincerely.

"My pleasure!" replied Alicia with a wink. "Expense accounts are a wonderful invention."

* * *

By the time they rolled back through the hotel doors, Kiera was feeling rather drunk. Alicia had her arm looped companionably through hers and the pair of them giggled all the way up to the third floor where they both had rooms.

"Fancy a night cap?" asked Alicia when they reached her door first.

Kiera hesitated for a moment. It was late and she really needed to get some sleep. But on the other hand - she was having fun and it seemed a shame to end the evening here at the door. She could always sleep on the train going home tomorrow.

"Okay, I'll just come in for one final drink," she said.

Alicia opened the door and they both fell into the room trying to be quiet in the fashion of people who are not completely sober. She opened the mini bar and scrutinized the contents while Kiera sat on the bed and noted the differences between this room and her more modest one.

The small bottles were neatly lined up inside the small fridge and Alicia selected the vodka and a brandy. She poured each into a glass and added a mixer.

"Cheers!" she said with a flourish before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hey, let's see what's on the film channel," she mused. Scooting up the bed next to Kiera, she grabbed the remote and flicked through the channel selections before settling on a porn movie with a sideways glance.

"You don't mind do you?"

Kiera was stunned into silence. It was the first time in her life she had seen a porn film. Ben was not keen and she certainly would never have suggested it. To say she was shocked to find herself sat on a hotel bed with a woman she hardly knew, watching porn -- was the understatement of the year.

Alicia flicked the light switch next to her side of the bed, plunging the room into semi darkness but for the flickering images on the television. She half lay next to Kiera, her platinum hair cascading across the plump pillow and her dress rucked up her thighs.

The subtle scent of exotic perfume teased Kiera's nose and she tried to move away slightly, deeply un-nerved by the close proximity of this sexy woman, not to mention the action unfolding on the small screen.

She found herself helplessly watching the explicit sex. A statuesque red head was on her knees, licking the huge cock of some guy, while another stud fucked the woman from behind. Her pendulous tits swung in time with the hard thrusting cock ramming into her cunt. As shocking as the images were, Kiera soon found she was unbelievably turned on. She felt her pussy welling up with unfamiliar moisture and her nipples hardened through her blouse.

"Do you like porn?" asked Alicia suddenly.

The low seductive voice startled Kiera. "I've...err...never watched it before," she admitted, feeling her cheeks burn with pink colour. She was aware that her hair was threatening to fall out of the clip that bound the recalcitrant tresses. Nervously she flicked it back behind her ear, wishing the blood rushing through her veins would do so a little more quietly.

The sound of moaning filled the room and loud squelching noises emanated from the screen. Kiera was torn between wanting to watch the film and gazing at the blonde vixen lying beside her.

"I love porn," Alicia said with a seductive smile. Her eyes darkened subtly and Kiera watched enthralled as she reached out to tame a stray curl of dark hair. "Missed a bit," she explained huskily.

"I think maybe I should go..." Kiera spoke the words but made no effort to move. She felt like she was being hypnotised; all her limbs were paralysed in the other woman's sensual gaze.

"Oh don't go just yet," whispered Alicia. She reached out and stroked Kiera's arm gently. "You're very beautiful, you know."

"No I'm not."

"Well I think you are." The sounds of frantic fucking faded away. Alicia shifted slightly until her mouth hovered mere centimetres away from Kiera's lips. The sexual tension was excruciating.

"Do you really think so?" Kiera asked tremulously. Ben had never told her she was beautiful. She had never really cared anyone thought. Now she did care.

"Yes..."

Their lips met in a soft kiss. It was an exploratory kiss. It was a taste of something unexpected for Kiera. There was no sense of urgency or forcefulness; just the soft, sweet flavour of another woman whose breasts were now pressed against her own soft curves.

A hand caressed her hip, gently stroking and testing her reaction. She was surprised to find she was not repulsed by the touch of a woman. Quite the opposite actually...her skin was burning up and her arousal was acute. For the first time in her life she vehemently wanted another person to touch her.

She also wanted to touch Alicia. With her inhibitions rapidly disappearing fast, Kiera hesitantly reciprocated the sensual caresses she was receiving. She pushed her fingers though the blonde tresses and deepened the kiss, feeling Alicia pulling her closer until their breasts were touching.

A sly hand insinuated itself between their bodies and slid deftly under her blouse. Her breasts were crying out for attention, the nipples hard and aching. She was not disappointed when delicate fingers scooped the flesh from the pretty lace cup and rubbed the nipple teasingly.

She was unable to prevent a moan from escaping. It felt so wonderful; this sensual touch was everything she had been missing all this time. There was none of the roughness, the feelings of being pushed and pulled like a mannequin. Alicia gently teased her, coaxing her arousal from her, asking rather than demanding.