Berry's Second Chances Ch. 02

Samantha opened the door with a sweepy, gameshow-hostess wave and even before it was open wide enough to step into, I could see over her head and inside. The view made me stop.

The room was done up in grand old British plantation estate style. Except it was more than a room. It was a—

Jesus. "Bubble, sweetie, this is a penthouse."

Heather nudged me inside at my waist. "So, I said it was big."

Sam followed and shut the door behind us. "Bear with her, she doesn't like the wordpenthouse. She thinks it sounds snooty."

Heather sniffed. "C'mon, you know it does."

I swallowed my frustration when a door opened to the left and Hero stepped into the penthouse's living room. Tall, square and solid in his slacks and perpetual button-shirt, he grinned as he gestured for us to join him while drying his hands on a hand towel draped over his shoulder.

For all his barrel-chestyness and dark-haired good looks, I've always thought Hero's real appeal was his gentle smile. He was soft spoken and funny and quick-witted in a real world way. He balanced Heather's book smarts perfectly. No wonder she'd made the first move. Tonight though, the poor lug had evidently pulled bathroom duty.

"Hey, Red." He gave me a big hug because it was physically impossible for him to give small ones. "The tub is filled. Finally. It's huge. Insanely huge. I picked the floweriest, girliest bubblebath in the place. I can barely stand it, so I'm guessing you ladies will love it."

The three of us were already scooting closer, the smell luring us in. Jasmine. A lot of it.

"White jasmine," Sam beat me to it.

Heather peered into the palatial bathroom first and her mouth fell open. "Dude!"

I saw the tub next. "Whoa, that sucker needs a diving board."

"Or at least a slide," Sam cheered.

Basically, the tub wasn't a tub in the same way the penthouse wasn't a room. Hero hadn't been kidding. It looked like a match for the kiddie pool down in the hotel's main deck area, an acre of white, foamy bubbles. A separate faucet curved in each of its three enclosed sides.

Hero's voice broke in from behind us, "Sooo... you two have your fun. We'll be in the master suite. Shall we, Sam?"

So there'd clearly been some sort of plan, still, in the pause of three heartbeats that followed, I watched Samantha eyeing the tub wistfully.

Reluctance. She wanted to stay.

It made my stomach roll with guilt for intruding. If I'd stayed downstairs where I belonged, she and Heather would be the ones splashing away in there.

I screwed up my courage. "Actually Hero, can we borrow Sam for a little bit?" I asked quickly.

Heather's head whipped around, and she blinked at me. "Really?"

"Sure, why not?" I didn't mind. Did I? Surely Sam would leave at some point so that Heather and I could be alone. That was the idea right?

Samantha beamed, and returned the favor, proving she'd read me scarily well by the way she smoothed things over with Hero while still looking at me. "I'll catch up to you in a bit, studmuffin. Watch something naughty on pay-per-view for me? I'll come find you to get dirty once I'm clean."

Hero looked at Heather for her vote. "Pleeeeaaase?" she piped up her support.

Hero rolled his eyes but smiled. He'd already explained to me that there were downsides to his love-triangle fantasy life. One was that the girls ganged up on him regularly to get their way.

"Okay then, ladies, have your fun." He turned to go. "But Sam," he called over his shoulder, "don't let me get too lonely?"

Heather didn't wait for him to leave. She simply stepped into the bathroom and jerked her little top up over her head while heading straight for the tub. She was bare from the waist up.

"Hold it right there, blondie," I threatened from the door. "Where's that drink you promised? I'm way too sober for all of this."

It brought her up short and she turned to answer, but I barely heard what she had to say because when she turned, I was looking at her astounding body in profile.

Real boobs? They're not supposed to be able to, gravity doesn't, good Lord. I had to look away.

Heather didn't seem to notice. "Sam? In the fridge, there's two bottles of cava."

Samantha nodded. "Hallelujah, I'm going to need something to get through this too." She padded off on her little bare feet.

It left me facing a semi-nude Heather and picking my chin up off the floor. I swallowed, hard, still alternating between staring and not staring. She hadn't changed a lick since high school, not a single millimeter—twenty-three with a teenager's shape. Some things just weren't fair.

Heather finally caught on to my perving and swept her hands down herself. "Oh, please. You've seen all my stuff before."

"True. I just, I don't know, either I took it for granted back then or maybe I've forgotten. Either way, Jesus, Bubble, you're a little bit past perfect."

"Aww, that was really sweet." She cocked her head, in just the way she used to, and stared at me funny. I watched her change, her superconfident, hot-chick shield melt, the one she'd built up through college and was polishing in med school. The one I admired and hated at the same time.

"C'mere?" She waved me closer until I was standing right in front of her, next to the marble lip of the giant tub. "Berry, remember our first shower? At the hotel we stayed at for the field hockey semi's?"

"Yeah."

"I still think about it, you know."

"Hehehe, me too."

"We never had a bath together, though did we?"

"That's true."

"I thought maybe we could now. Since things are more... settled, I want you to know—"

POP!

Samantha's reappearance broke the moment. It was hard to hate her for it since she was grinning ear to ear and waving two foaming green glass bottles, one in each hand.

"Okay, who wants bubbly?!" she whooped. "I skipped glasses. Fuck 'em, we don't need 'em." She chugged a few gulps from the bottle in her right hand, then snorted cutely when the bubbles got the best of her.

Heather's eyes never left me, but her serious expression melted and she giggled through an apology, "Hehehe, okay, I'm wearing off on her a little. She drinks more now. Good luck keeping up."

Heather winked at me as she folded at the waist and dragged her little yellow undies down and off. Her compact bubble butt, with its eye-catching thong bikini tan line, swished in the air.

Samantha stepped up next to me, taking in her now naked girlfriend while handing me a bottle. "If it helps, Red, I've been looking at her naked regularly for five years now. I've never get tired of looking at her ass either," she said wryly.

It was wicked timing. I was in the middle of a long drag from the bottle. Her frankness made me mis-gulp and sputter my agreement. "She does have a fine heinie, doesn't she?"

Heather rolled her eyes at the compliments, her attention still on the tub. She winced when her test foot broke the surface of the water. "Holy crud this is frickin' hot. You'll like this Sammie, it's just a few degrees under boiling."

She dipped in further as we watched, her little gold eyebrows knitting together when neither of us moved. "Aren't you guys coming in?" Then she held her breath and dunked herself in completely.

"Right behind you, Peaches." Sam set her bottle down on the edge of the tub and started tugging her dress up.

I stopped her. "Sam? Hold on? What are we doing?"

Samantha let her dress fall back into place. Her head tilted and it shifted her long dark hair. "Uh, we're drinking in a giant bubble bath?"

"You know what I mean. Why am I here?"

The look she gave me was long and steady. She wasn't nearly as tipsy as I'd hoped. "Because I know how it feels to have your heart divided. And how it feels to have someone you love snatched away. They both suck."

Ding-aling-aling. Bullshit, she's humoring me.

Sam knew what happened, knew what my step-brother had done to me, to Heather.

"Heather wasn't snatched, Sam, and you know it. I pushed her away after... Glenn."

Samantha's eyes narrowed. "Red, what happened that day, with you and her and your brother? It wasn't your fault. She forgave you the minute it happened. Forgive yourself. Let it go, Stace."

We stared at each other. I was far too sober for this too.

I had another long pull from the bottle. My nose itched in the way that said a good cry was coming from nowhere. Samantha had a little more insight than I was ready for. Or maybe it was all the stupid cava bubbles. Or both.

I swallowed and tried again. "Sam, what if I can't?" My voice was raw, tight. I had to swallow again to fight back tears I never saw coming.

Samantha's smile was full of sympathy and she gave my arm a squeeze. "Sure you can. That stuff? In the past now. We need to hold onto the good parts and forget the crummy ones. And, that, my curvy, pale friend, is going to start tonight. Ditch the robe. Get in the tub. "

I shrugged, unsure. I'd hesitated at being naked in front of Heather. Stripping down in front of Samantha? Even harder. "I... I don't know."

Sam clucked her disappointment. "Suit yourself, but I plan on getting naked. I've got my weaknesses, but shame isn't one of them. In fact, mind helping me out of this thing? There's a zipper up top." She turned her back to me and pulled her chestnut mane to the side. A zipper was at the back of her neck.

"Oh go on, Red. I won't bite." Sam chuckled. "Well, not unless you ask and three other people say it's okay, anyway."

Her flirty tease actually helped. "Gee, thanks."

I dragged her zipper downward, peeling open the silk to her waist. The soft fabric fell away to reveal the most beautiful back I'd ever seen.

I'd been around Samantha plenty, she and Heather were inseparable, but I'd never been this close to her and she'd never been so... bare. Flawless, dew-fresh olive skin stretched over her delicate muscles. From behind Samantha was a perfect canvas of femininity.

"So pretty," I whispered out loud without meaning to.

Samantha thought I was talking about her dress. "Awww, thanks. Hero had it made special. Clothes are a problem when you're extra little. Hero tracked down a real, old-fashioned dress maker. Our big guy has his moments."

I watched as Sam shrugged her way out of the dress, looking away hastily when she pushed it down over her hips. I still saw enough to tell me she wasn't wearing underwear.

The trouble was that the bathroom was heavily mirrored and everywhere I looked, there were was a very pretty and very nude Samantha slinking out of her dress. I locked my eyes onto absolutely nothing in a corner of the floor until I heard the little splash she made on the way in.

This was starting to feel less and less smart. What the hell was I thinking exactly?

I was left standing out in the middle of the bathroom with Heather staring at me.

"C'mon, take it off, Berry!" she cheered from the safety of the thick bubbles covering her up to her chin.

I fiddled with my robe's sash and moved closer to stand by the tub. Samantha sat next to Heather with an intrigued smile, one that was helping things.

I kept fiddling with my sash. "Okay, you two. Sam? Could you maybe?" I twirled my finger around.

"Fine fine." Sam frowned, but did me one better than spinning, which would have been useless with all the mirrors anyway. Instead, she took a deep breath and dipped down into the water, disappearing beneath the white foam.

I hastily untied my robe and let the safety of its thick warm terry thump to the floor.

Heather whistled softly. "All that running's made you crazy skinny, Berry. Except for your boobs. How the heck is that possible?"

"Mmmm, good genes?" I flung a leg over the edge and stuck a toe in. "Holy Jesus, this wateris hot."

"Told you. Hurry up, Sam can't hold her breath forever."

I grit my teeth and sank into the ridiculous heat then sat next to Heather. The inside perimeter of the tub was a cushiony bench. I figured this out at about the same time that Heather cooed out of the blue.

"Oooh."

"What?"

"Sam's rubbing my foot."

Samantha popped up, wiping bubbles off her face. "Like that, luv?"

Heather nodded eagerly. "Definitely. More please."

Sam looked at me. "Take her other leg. We'll double team her."

I squinted suspicion at Heather as I slid off my seat to kneel in front of her. "You're used to getting double teamed nowadays aren't you?"

Her confession came with a sly half-smile. "Yeah, sometimes."

"I bet." I searched for her leg under the water, picked it up, and began digging my thumbs into the soft underside of her foot. As Samantha and I worked, Heather sighed dreamily.

Sam chuckled next to me. "God, you're easy."

"What's not to like?" Heather answered, eyes still closed. Her smile stretched wider. "I have the two prettiest girls I've ever met rubbing me."

"And they're both naked," I added tartly.

"Even better." Heather giggled without shame.

It made my heart ache. Her bright laugh. The rosy blush on her cheeks from the heat. The sweet little-girl smile filled with grown-up promises.

Dammit, dammit, dammit. I'm in love with you, girlie. Still.

My desire for her welled up again, here in a hotel room rented by her boyfriend and sharing a tub with her girlfriend. My husband asleep in our honeymoon suite downstairs. I'd lost my mind. This was insane.

The insanity ticked up a notch when Samantha began humming while she worked her hands over Heather's foot with practiced ease, as if they did this sort of thing every day.

I passed Heather one of the cava bottles and looked over at Sam for guidance but she seemed content with her rubbing. She began to rotate Heather's ankle in gentle circles.

Sam continued humming as she went. Her voice was mismatched to her little body, deeper, richer than it should have been. And yet sweet.

The sound of her voice filled the room, bouncing off the tile walls in doubling then tripling echoes. Wonderful. Sam could probably sing too.

How am I supposed to compete for Heather's attention with someone like this?

The humming stopped and Samantha paused to flick knowing green eyes at me. "Go on Stace, kiss her." She went back to her rubbing, cool as ever.

I looked helplessly at Heather, but her eyes were closed and she was still wearing her little-girl smile. "Yeah, kiss me, Berry."

"Sooo... what? Just like...?" I stammered.

"Yeah,just like," Samantha teased, parroting me awfully.

But it was too awkward.

"What? Can't do it just because I'm here?" Sam needled.

Duh. I kept quiet.

"The two of you." Samantha chuckled and slid her hands up to Heather's knee. "So secretive in high school. Sneaking around behind everyone's backs. You're grown-ups now, you know. It doesn't have to be like that anymore." Sam's green gaze flitted up again to drill into me. "Stace? Seriously, this thing you share? Set it free, honey. It's safe now."

Set it free. It echoed in my head, though my knees remained rooted to the bottom of the tub.

Samantha's nose twitched shrewdly. "Need me to show you, Stace? Remind you how to kiss her? Have you really forgotten already?"

Heat bloomed in my chest, equal parts jealousy and arousal. I tugged the half-empty bottle back from Heather and tipped it up for another gulp of courage.

Samantha inched closer to Heather, whispering as she went, "I like the way she smells too, you know. So sweet. Like candy. Did anyone ever tell you why Hero and I call her Peaches? She used to have this shampoo that—"

"I still have the shampoo," Heather interrupted, eyeing Sam tenderly.

"Fine, she has this shampoo," Samantha corrected, "that drove everyone at our accounting firm crazy. Dear God, Red, I watched three dozen accountants, two janitors, and an entire mail room, sniff after this girl for a summer. Made me want her more."

They giggled together. Heather's was a brighter version of Samantha's, but they shared the same rolling lyric. "You're crazy, Sam."

"Crazy for you."

The gap between them closed and I watched as their lips met finally. A peck at first. Then Samantha's chin turned a little and their passion mounted, mouths working together.

This wasn't helping. I wanted to leave. Slink away. Get out of the tub and put on my robe. What was I doing here? I didn't belong. Not anymore. And my husband, my brand new husband, was right downstairs. They'd invited me here to rub this in my face.

Cue the confetti, it's official, I'm the world's biggest idiot.

I would have left if Heather's hand hadn't found my arm under the water. She closed around my wrist and, though she continued kissing Samantha, she tugged me closer, dragging me nearer to them both.

I was repulsed and attracted at the same time, watching their lips play together. I'd kissed my share of girls, but I'd never watched two before. Silly but true.

Still, interesting as it was, I was close to pulling away when another hand, Samantha's, circled the back of my neck and drew me nearer too. Only inches separating the three of us, Samantha backed away from Heather. They both looked at me with sleepy, bedroom eyes.

"Your turn, Berry," Sam whispered—a wicked challenge that plucked at my heartstrings. She'd used Heather's pet name for me, the one that was Heather's and Heather's alone.

Heather didn't flinch at Sam's intrusion. Her eyes were locked on my mouth. "Yeah, your turn, Berry."

Sam's hand behind my neck steered me towards Heather's face and she backed herself away to make room.

Heather and I stared at each other. I was dizzy from the water's heat and her closeness. Plus, a healthy dash of jealousy for good measure. And about half a bottle of cava that was just beginning to work its way to my head, everything going blurry and soft focused.

I still knew this was wrong on so many levels. Heather wasn't mine. Not anymore. And I wasn't hers. And Samantha was here. And my husband was—

But she'd been in and out of my dreams for so long. And her cheeks were flushed the way they used to be after we'd made love in her childhood bedroom. I watched a bead of sweat gather at her hairline then wick its way along a lock of cornsilk hair plastered to her cheek and drip from her rounded chin down into the bubblebath. Her eyes, sky blue and heavy-lidded, glittered up at me.

"What're you waiting for Berry?" she whispered.

You know what? Fuck it. We'll sort out the bodies later.

I lifted her chin with two fingers. "Nothing. Not anymore."

I kissed her the way I'd wanted to almost five years ago, the very moment after I told her I never wanted to see her again. Slow. Tender. I poured my soul into it, every inch of the desperate, fucked-up needing and wanting I'd felt over the years I'd kept my careful distance. If she didn't already, I wanted Bubble to know now. I needed her to.

It must have showed. My effort drew a pleased groan from my old lover. I took it as a good sign and threw a leg over her lap to straddle her thighs. Her hands found my hips, then circled me at the base of my spine, pulling me closer.

Her nose twitched a millimeter from mine and she licked her lips. "Guess this means I can have more?"

This whole thing, this whole, screwy, I still need her and she still wants me, but we also love other people, one of whom was barely two feet away—I just didn't fucking care anymore.

"Yeah."

The unbelievable part was that Samantha didn't seem to mind, because a minute after Bubble's lips mashed into mine again, a second pair of hands came up to rest on my shoulders.

I stiffened at Samantha's touch, but her voice purred into my ear. "It's okay, Red. Keep going."

I could feel her breath on my neck. Her strong little fingers began sinking deep into my shoulders, stroking, soothing. Calming. "Relax, Red. Relax."