Page 5 of Kiss Me Softly

“When we knew each other in college, I was attracted to you. I had a huge crush on you, although I didn’t realize it at the time. I just knew there was something that drew me to you, made me think about you all the time.”

She looked surprised, and maybe a little bit pleased.

“I wasn’t aware of it back then, but now I know that my attraction for you is what made me start questioning my sexuality. A couple of months after graduation, I slept with a woman for the first time, and it was life changing. I’ve been pretty – flexible – with my partners since then. Now I date both men and women.”

“Wow.”

I waited for Frankie to say something else and when she remained quiet I continued.

“I’m very attracted to you, Frankie,” I continued. “Unless I’m completely imagining it, I think you’re attracted to me too. I’m single right now, so if you’re single too, why not have a little fun tonight?”

I gave her my brightest smile. It was the smile I used to wear when I was on top of the pyramid during cheerleading, a smile that had gotten me out of countless speeding tickets, especially when paired with a nice shot of my cleavage.

“You want to have sex with me?” Frankie clarified, as if she wasn’t sure that she was hearing me correctly.

I nodded. “I do. But I need to be clear that it can only be for tonight. I live in St. Louis and I’m flying home in the morning. And I don’t do long-distance relationships.”

“Awfully bold of you to assume that I’d want a relationship,” Frankie teased.

I felt a flush creeping up my cheeks. I wasn’t always as confident as I led people to believe.

“I don’t do relationships anyway,” Frankie said. “So even if you lived in Chicago, I’d only be on board for something casual.”

“It sounds like we’re on the same page then,” I said.

I reached across the small table and grabbed her hand. My skin tingled where we touched, and I knew by the way her eyebrows lowered that she felt it too. The restaurant suddenly seemed warm.

The waitress brought our dinners, and I stopped her before she could scurry away.

“Can we get these wrapped up to go please? And the check too?”

I turned back to Frankie. She was still staring at me like she didn’t know what to make of everything.

“We can take our food back to my room,” I said. “If things are as hot between us as I think they’ll be, we’re going to need our nourishment between rounds.”

Frankie

I’d forgotten the way that the most outrageous things would come from Aurora’s mouth. I was pleased to hear that she was bisexual now, and even more pleased to hear that she wanted me, because I wanted her. A lot. Then again, I always had.

We sat in a kind of suspended silence while we waited for the server to box up our food. Aurora insisted on paying the bill, saying she could put it on her expense report, and I certainly wasn’t going to argue with a free dinner. This was Chicago after all. Everything was expensive, especially for someone living on a teacher’s salary.

As soon as our food was packaged up we headed out of the restaurant, walking back to the hotel at a brisk pace. After a brief stop at the store in the lobby to buy bottles of water and a six pack of beer, we headed towards the elevator. We stood side by side, not looking at each other and not talking, as if we were strangers instead of two old kind of friends who were about to have a casual fuck.

I wasn’t kidding when I said I didn’t do relationships. Been there, got the tee shirt with the picture of the broken heart. Two years in a relationship with a cheater had turned me off of any ideas of sticking with the same person long enough to catch feelings.

Knowing that Aurora was only here for one night helped ensure that I’d stay detached, which was good because I was pretty sure that if she lived in the same city as me, I’d be hopelessly in love with her again. Just like senior year of college.

“This is me.”

Aurora tapped her key card against the reader, opening the door to her hotel room and setting the bag with our food on the counter just inside the door. There was a mini fridge underneath, and I put the water and beer inside to keep it cold.

Aurora paused long enough to kick off her shoes, then she grabbed my wrist, pulling me closer to her. My breath hitched in my throat as I looked up into her bright blue eyes. She really was stunning.

Then all thoughts flew from my head as Aurora pressed her lips against mine. They were as soft as I’d always imagined. I wrapped my arms around her waist and popped up on my tiptoes, trying to get closer.

With a grunt of frustration at our height difference, Aurora broke the kiss, turning us around. She grabbed my waist and lifted me onto the desk, kicking the chair out of the way so she could slide her hips between my legs. I opened for her willingly. She scooted closer, grabbing my shoulders and closing the distance between us again. I tightened my thighs against her hips.

This time when our lips met we were on the same level. Aurora tilted her head and slid her tongue along the seam of my lips, demanding entrance. The kiss immediately turned hot, our tongues tangling as we silently fought for control.

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