Eve & Lucy Ch. 03: Off set

Dearest reader

How are you? I hope you're well. Obviously, if you haven't read parts 1 and 2, I would go and read those first.

Trigger warning: During this chapter characters discuss rape and film scenes of simulated rape.

All characters involved in sexual activity are over 18.

Massive thanks to Alina X and Mykymyk2 for their input, feedback and guidance. They've helped make this a better story. Any remaining flaws and errors are entirely my own fault.

Happy reading.

Love T x

Amanda - Thursday

Waaargh! Waaargh! Waaargh! Waaargh! Waaargh! Waaargh!

Ow! Fuck, that alarm is, like, loud. I shove a hand out from under the duvet and slap it around on the bedside table, but my phone isn't there. I nearly knock over a glass of water as I try to find the source of this hideous noise and then, suddenly, it shuts off.

I feel a draught on my back as the covers are pulled back from the other side of the bed, and it dawns on me that this isn't my bed, and this isn't my room, and that wasn't my alarm. I sit up, wincing as both my brain and my groin make their discomfort known to me, and catch sight of a tall, pale, red-haired and very naked female form disappearing into a bathroom.

I slump down in the bed, hands over my face, trying to remember how I got here.

The night before

"This was a bad idea!" I yell at Sarah, pointing at Samantha.

"I know," she yells back, "but she was determined!"

Samantha is sitting in the corner wearing DayGlo noise-cancelling ear defenders, the kind you see small children wearing at festivals, and big dark glasses. She's also wearing latex gloves. At least they are white, so the UV catches them, but I don't think she could look more out of place if she was wearing a sandwich board that declared God hates gays. She's reading her Kindle. Probably the latest page turner from the Journal of Cellular Physiology or something.

We're in the purple palace that is the Queen's Shilling, somewhere I've never been. Samantha insisted on coming, using the logic that if I went with Sarah, everyone would assume we were a couple and thus nobody would hit on me. The fact that Samantha will not dance, however, has rendered her logic redundant. Besides, I'm sure friends go to gay bars together and manage to pick people up, right? Not that I necessarily want to pull tonight... that isn't really the point. It is more just exploring, seeing how comfortable I feel here, whether it seems right. So far, it just feels like being at any other nightclub, which is good I guess, except that the boys are checking out the boys and the girls are checking the girls, and nobody has tried to cop a feel. I'm also wondering whether this is really me. Just like at the gym, while I can see many of the girls are objectively beautiful, there are none I want to walk up and beg a dance from. Nobody here sets my world on fire. Not for the first time, I find myself wondering whether it was just Carrie? That said, I've been having a great time, the wine and shots giving me a buzz and helping me fill the emptiness felt after Carrie fled.

"I think I'm going to have to take her home!" Renée Rap almost drowns Sarah out.

I nod. It's cool. I've got the vibe. I feel comfortable. I've also managed to go about an hour without thinking of Carrie and how pissed off I am with her, which is more than I've been able to do all day. Mission accomplished, I'd say.

"Sure! Whenever!" I yell back.

"You don't mind?!"

"Nah! It's all good!"

She nods. We start moving towards Samantha, but then Sarah grabs my hand and veers off towards the corner of the bar.

"Hey!" I hear her yell, "Kate! How are you?!"

She embraces a tall blonde woman with a pixie cut, who looks vaguely familiar. She's standing with a shorter brunette, though it's hard to be sure about hair colour under these neon lights. They are both sipping beer. Sarah hugs the other woman.

"Girls, this is Amanda, my flatmate! Amanda, this is Kate - she worked with me at the lounge - and Melissa, her housemate!"

We all say hey with a round of hugs.

"Look, could Amanda hang with you two?! This is her first time 'out'," the other two give me a smile and nod, "but I need to take Samantha home..."

"Samantha's here?!"

"Yeah, she's over there..."

"You, like, know Samantha?!" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm her tutor!"

"Cool!"

"Shall I come and say hi?!"

"I'll bring her over! Then we'll go; is that OK, Amanda?! Kate and Mel will look after you?!" They both nod, reassuringly.

"So, when did you come out?!" Mel shouts in my ear as Sarah nips across the small room to fetch Samantha.

"Not sure if I am, you know?! I mean, I slept with a girl last week and it was, like, amazing, but I don't know what that means for me yet! Like, maybe it's just her?!"

She nods reassuringly. "I'm a one woman girl too!"

"You and Kate been together, like, long?!"

"Nah! We're not together! We live together, but like, our girlfriends live with us too! They're at the studio tonight, recording, so we thought we'd come down for karaoke, but got the fucking night wrong didn't we?!"

"Shamel! I love karaoke!"

"Yeah, well, we fucked up: it's on Mondays apparently!"

"Bummer!"

I feel a tap on my shoulder. I hadn't noticed Sarah coming over. Samanatha is showing Kate something on her kindle.

"We're going to go then, babe, if that's ok?! Kate and Mel are lovely, and they live in Cotham, so they can see you most of the way home!"

I give her a thumbs up and a hug. "Thanks Sarah!"

"Look after the baby bi!" she yells at Kate, who nods.

Suddenly apprehensive, I signal a hug offer to Samantha, but I don't think she notices with the flashing lights and those sunglasses. Sarah is literally steering her out. A shiver goes through me. I'm on my own. In a Gaybar! Ok, these women seem nice, for all that I met them two minutes ago, but my chaperones have gone. Eeek!

"What do you want to do?!" Kate shouts.

"Sorry?!" What does she mean? What do I want her to mean?

"Well, do you want to dance?! Or we could head over to the Hatchett if you want to chat?! That's a pretty gay crowd too!"

Oh! I look at them both. "Like, what do you want to do?!"

Melissa sips her beer and shrugs.

Kate takes a slug. "Come on, Mel: let's dance for a bit! Be nice to dance without being fondled!"

"Does that, like, happen here?!" I'm suddenly apprehensive.

Mel leans in as we follow Kate onto the dancefloor. "Nah! But Priya, her girlfriend, gets super fucking horny when she dances! It's like a fucking floorshow in Ibiza when those two get riled up!"

As a child I knew that

"Tune!"

That the stars could only get brighter

I get my wiggle on, flicking my hips, swinging my hair. I love this song.

leaving this darkness behind

Kate can really move. She spins rings around Mel, leading the smaller woman in tight circles. Looks fun. I join in, trying to copy their moves. It feels good to dance, to let go, to lose myself in the music and forget the heartache of yesterday. It had been a while since I cried that hard.

From behind my hair, I consider them as we gyrate around each other. I know they are both taken, but would I fancy them? Mel, no. But Kate? She's tall, looks athletic, and that short hair looks good on her. Yeah, maybe?

Then from behind her I catch a flash of amber hair. A pale, freckled face. My pulse accelerates and I feel my insides contract. She's gone, obscured by bobbing bodies. I shimmy around Mel and Kate, looking for her, my eyes sweeping the room. I told her I was coming down here, maybe she's come to apologise. I'd sent a It's fine reply to her text this morning, but it's not really.

I can't see her. With a tightening in my gut I realise that maybe I imagined it. Too much wishful thinking and wistful drinking.

I try to lose myself in the music, which has segued into You've got the love. The bassline demands my full attention. Yeah!

Mel hip bumps me as our hands click their way up into the air, and we're passing each other, stamping and clapping like flamenco dancers, and then I spin - and there she is again!

Her back is to me, her hair shaking, shoulders grooving. Is it her? Surely, she'd be searching for me if it was? Our eyes meet for a second, before some guy's head interposes itself, and I'm sliding sideways, catching another brief glimpse of a wide smile, and she's gone again.

Turning, Kate and Mel invite me closer, and we ride the groove. Everyone is very respectful of space here I realise. The song changes, and a roar goes up from Kate and loads of the other girls on the floor. I don't recognise it.

All I want to get is a little closer...

I look at Mel and raise my eyebrows.

"Tegan and Sara!"

I shrug and raise my hands, palms upturned. Never heard of them.

She wraps an arm around my shoulders. "Oh my fucking God! Ok, here's a challenge for you my young bi padawan - can you fucking dance to Tegan and Sara?!"

I try it. Yeah, yeah, ok, it's got a groove. It helps that everyone else is into it, and I feed off their energy.

"Looking for me?!"

I spin, gasping, nearly getting a mouthful of hair and find myself meeting an arresting pair of eyes. They seem green under the lights. My heart skips, but then my joy crumbles.

It's not her. But she could be Carrie's clone.

Whoever she is, she's got a massive grin on her.

"I'm Lucy! What's your name?!"

"Amanda!" I yell back. I gesture to the others. "This is Kate and Mel!"

"Can I dance with you?!" Her smile and gesture takes in all three of us, but her eyes come back to me.

"Sure!"

Her smile gets even wider.

Here comes the spark before the dark, come a little closer.

She gets a little closer, leaning in and out, as I mirror her. Her moves are fluid and inviting. Finally, I feel my pulse start to race and my blood rush to my chest. My mouth goes dry. Shit, if she wants me, she's got me.

Okay, I think it's fair to say that when it comes to women I have a very specific type. I'm not sure this is going to help me forget Carrie exactly, but this could definitely be confirmation that I'm into women too.

I want you close, I want you

Oh yeah! Definitely into women.

Thursday again

I'm trying to remember what happened after the dance floor. Clearly, I'm at Lucy's place. I think we all went to the Hatchet in the end, for drinks and chat. I have a vague recollection of Kate insisting I text Sarah to let her know where I was.

I spot my bag by the bed and pull out my phone. Messages from Sarah, Kate and Louise asking how I am. I text back Hungover but happy. Thanks for checking x

The room looks like it could have come out of an IKEA catalogue. There are hardly any personal items and the pictures are all generic, trendy prints. It's neat and tidy, quite a contrast to my last boyfriend's messy pit, but there's no soul to it. It could be a hotel room, but I'm sure I'd remember if we'd gone to a hotel, right? The gauzy curtains conceal views of the harbourside. Must be one of those modern apartment buildings?

My eyes alight on a long, fat, pink dildo still strapped to a harness on the other bedside table.

Oh. Yep, I remember that. Yeah. That'll be why it's not just my head feeling sore this morning. That thing is huge. Certainly bigger than that belonging to any boy I've bedded. Flashes of being on all fours, screaming through an orgasm, flutter through my brain. I think I was also on my back for some of it. I'm almost positive I was sucking on that thing for a bit, but, like, why? What would be the point? I must have been rat arsed.

The toilet flushes and water runs in the sink. Then Lucy's head pokes out. In the morning light she bears some similarity to Carrie, but not as much as I remember. Her eyes are bluer, her hair more brown than red, her face rounder. She's fairly flat chested, but curves nicely below. Still hot though. Maybe it's freckles that do it for me?

"Good morning beautiful! I'm going to take a shower. Do you need the loo before I jump in?"

"Um, yeah..." I pull back the covers and John Wayne over. I see her eyes widen with concern.

"Shit, Amanda! Are you ok? Did I hurt you?"

I wince a little. "Just, like, a little sore. Um... we used a strap on, right?"

She nods.

"Yeah, never, like, done that before. I mean, that thing is definitely way bigger than I'm used to." Ouch, it does hurt to move, a raw throb inside. Did it tear me?

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry."

She ducks out of the bathroom so I can use the toilet. Please let there not be any blood. I really don't want a UTI. I gingerly lower myself onto the toilet. Luckily, my wee runs clear, and when I cautiously spot toilet paper around, there's no blood, so I don't think there's any damage done.

After I flush, Lucy pokes her head back in; she's got a glass of water in her hand. "There's some ibuprofen in the cupboard." Talk about deja vu! What is it with painkillers and Lesbian sex going together?

"Thanks." I swallow two. "Sorry, if, like, I was too drunk last night."

"Were you? You only had two gin and tonics in the pub."

"Yeah... but I'd had, like, the best part of a bottle of wine and, like, three shots before that. I mean, my first gaybar! I needed to psych myself up a bit, you know."

"Oh. Fuck. I hadn't realised. I just thought you were ditzy, not drunk. I'm so sorry. I should have been paying more attention." She sounds genuinely regretful. I run my eyes down her naked form. Her legs are toned and tanned (like, how? This is the UK!) and she has a neatly shaved strip above her slit. I feel a bit self-conscious.

"Sorry for being, like, so hairy. It's for, like, a play I'm in."

She laughs. "Yeah. I think you apologised for that about five times last night!"

Leaning into the shower, she turns on the water. "Come on, let me wash you."

"Um..."

She seems to sense my hesitation. "I'm just going to take care of you. Let me please? I feel really bad. I should have been more attentive last night."

"Okay..."

I let her lead me into the shower.

"Please tell me if anything bothers you." I nod and she guides me under the jets and squirts shower gel onto a sponge. "God you are so gorgeous. Your body is just amazing."

Wow, it's so... erotic isn't quite right. Sensual? Reassuring? I mean, my nipples stiffen as she gently soaps my stomach, shoulders and breasts, and I find myself purring as she massages shampoo into my scalp. It's clearly got menthol in it, as it makes me all tingly and goes some way to relieving my aching head. But more than turned on, I feel so safe, so cared for, leaning back in her arms as she strokes my neck, my arms, my stomach.

All the while she's pouring compliments into my ears - "I love your hair"; "You're so wonderfully soft"; "Your arms are incredible" - bathing me in care.

I can't help but giggle a little as she does my armpits. She spins me round, tucking my face into her neck as she returns to my head, rinsing my hair, then stroking conditioner through my curls. Then she's soaping my back, my shoulders, using the soft sponge, then moving slowly lower, bending her knees to soap my legs and feet.

"Are you still feeling sore down here?"

I nod.

She winces in sympathy. "Sorry." her eyes seem to shine with genuine regret as she looks up at me. "Shall I kiss it better?"

She clearly wants to, so I nod in acquiescence. My concern lest this hurt is overruled by my desperation to have an experience with this gorgeous woman that I can actually clearly remember.

As the warm water tumbles down my back, she plants a gentle kiss on my vulva. Then another. She's very tender, very loving, and I feel myself melting a little. The soreness, in both my head and inside me, hasn't gone anywhere, but the soft touches of her lips and tongue against me pushes that to the back of my mind for a moment. She's kneeling before me, stroking my legs and bum with her hands, lightly, occasionally using her nails and that, along with her oral caresses on my slit and clit, is stirring something soft and silky in me. Bracing myself against the walls of the cubicle, I lift a leg over her shoulder, allowing her better access. She's focussing all of her attention on my clit, bathing and teasing it slowly - mmmmmm - with her tongue as her lips surround it, applying a soft suction. This is..... mmmmmm.

I clutch her head to me with one hand, worried I might go over, but needing to increase the pressure. She responds by upping the suction and the pace of her lapping and "Oh yes!" I'm cumming.

It's not earth-shaking or anything. But it's a pretty fucking great way to start the day.

She stands up and holds me, rinsing the conditioner out of my hair. I just slump against her, enjoying the feeling of being petted and cared for. When she's finished, I tilt my head up for a kiss. She smiles at me and gives me a brief peck.

"So, like, what can I, you know, do for you?"

"Aw sweetie, you don't need to do anything. You're injured. Jump out and let me finish off, then we can grab some breakfast."

"Oh, ok." I don't know whether to be disappointed or relieved.

I lean out and grab a towel, and hobble back to the bedroom, searching for my clothes as I dry myself.

Lucy follows me out barely a minute later, her hair up in a towel, another swaddling her body. "Can I make you a tea or coffee? I've got toast and yoghurt too if you want."

"Er... tea. Milk, like, no sugar please? Yoghurt sounds good. Thanks."

"Okay, won't be a minute."

She heads through to the kitchen and I finish drying and dressing myself. Walk of shame time; luckily I kept it low-key last night, just jeans and a sparkly top that I can cover with my jacket. Not too obvious. I'm not looking forward to climbing the hill though. I limp through just as she's taking the teabag out of a mug. There's an espresso machine beginning to bubble on the hob.

"Here you go, beautiful." She puts the tea next to a yoghurt pot and spoon. "Look, please don't think I'm trying to get rid of you, but I've booked you an Uber - I'll pay - for 20 minutes. Sorry to rush you but I've got a meeting at 8:30. All work and no fun for me, I'm afraid"

"Oh... no, thanks. That's, like, thoughtful of you."

Leaning against the breakfast bar, not daring to try sitting on the high stool, I eat the yoghurt, wondering how I'm feeling. I've never been one for one-night stands and now, here I am, seemingly having my second in as many weeks. What does that make me?

"So gorgeous, have you got any plans for tomorrow night? I'm going to be on my own. Again. I'd love some company."

What? Oh, maybe this wasn't a one night thing. "Um, no."

"Ok. Do you want to hang out? Here?" She looks at me hopefully, biting her lip.

"Um... what..." I don't know how to ask, or even what I want to ask. "So, um, you just... like, you just want to see me for sex?" I wouldn't be up for that.

She blushes a bit. "No, Amanda, no, no. No pressure at all. You're lovely: I'd love to spend more time with you. Look, I know I'm only here for 4 more weeks until the pilot project is underway and I don't want to mess you around and promise something I can't commit to. So I get why you might be wary. But," and she flashes a weapon's grade smile at me that makes my heart skip a little, "Look, I'm totally on my own and I'd adore your company while I'm here... I mean, who knows how we might feel after that? You might be bored of me." Something about her tone makes me think she doesn't believe that for one second.

"Well... maybe." She pouts and puts on puppy dog eyes. "Like, I don't know if I'll be up for anything tomorrow, you know?" I gesture downwards.