Riley points up. “Roof,” she says throatily.
“Hm.” Charlotte nods. She rubs her neck once for good measure, and turns to leave the bar with a light sway in her hips.
The water is nice. It’s late at night and because the sun has set a while ago, a chilly breeze blows over the top level of the hotel. Charlotte has sunk herself down in the large jacuzzi that could easily fit a dozen people. She’s submerged all the way to her shoulders, and soft lighting from inside the tub casts a subtle glow on her face, which is framed by a few strands of hair hanging loose from her bun.
She presses a button to activate the jets and wonders if she should doubt whether Riley will join her eventually, but there’s no question, really. She knows she will.
With her stomach nervously fluttering, she tries to embrace the feeling of anticipation.
The jacuzzi bubbles and buzzes loudly, sending steady streams of water through the tub. Not five minutes later, the door from the top level to the terrace opens and Riley appears in a light robe with a towel draped over her arm.
They acknowledge each other with a wordless smile. Riley places her towel next to Charlotte’s and discards the robe in one quick movement. For one brief secondCharlotte wonders if she should be discreet and look away, but no, she decides to shamelessly take in every inch of Riley’s bikini clad body as she lowers herself into the tub. What else would Riley expect her to do?
She lets her eyes roam over toned abs, thighs, flawless and tanned skin, the valley between her breasts… Yeah, Charlotte is definitely starting to understand what there is to appreciate about a woman’s body. But it’s not the first time she gets a look at Riley’s minimally covered skin, so where is this sudden attraction coming from? Has this really never stood out to her before? Has she beenblind?
Riley slides into the far end of the tub, across and out of reach from Charlotte.Smart move, she supposes as she watches the bubbling water splash up against her shoulders.
Riley blinks at her with a knowing smile, closes her eyes, and exhales. Charlotte decides to do the same, to just let her body relax for a while. She tries to focus on the comfort of the bubbling water, and not on the woman across from her.
After ten minutes the jets die down, and suddenly it’s nearly quiet. Charlotte opens her eyes and is met with the view of Riley’s bright pink cheeks from the heat. She catches Charlotte staring and sinks further down, until just her nose is above the water.
Charlotte shifts in her seat and smiles coyly. Now that the noise has died down, they can talk.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you how far into your lesson program we are,” she says, cocking her head to the side. “I’m waiting for my second quiz.”
Riley laughs, which causes the water to bubble up and splash up in her face. She tilts her chin up so she can reply.
“You didn’t exactly pass the first one, so I’m starting to think I’m a bad teacher.”
“I didn’t pass?” Charlotte cries out, deeply shocked. “Look, first of all, my answers weren’t wrong, your questions were open to interpretation. I might as well be right. Secondly, eight hours is ridiculous.”
“You must have been a menace in college.” Grinning, Riley pushes herself up again. “Your efforts were appreciated, though.”
“So why didn’t I pass?”
“You left the bonus question completely open,” Riley shrugs. “You failed for not even trying.”
Charlotte tries to remember what the bonus question was. “Oh! The ‘good girl’ one? To be honest: I still don’t understand that.”
“What is there not to understand?”
“Does that really do something for you? I just don’t… I’m not a dog, you know. I don’t need a reward for sitting down and barking on command.”
Shaking her head, Riley laughs again. “Hm. Yeah, no, you’re right,” she says, seemingly admitting defeat. “You’re not a dog. Fair enough.”
Riley starts tracing the water surface with her palm and asks, after a few moments of silence: “How do you feel it’s going?”
Charlotte thinks about that for a second. And while she likes to poke at Riley’s composure, she feels like they’ve approached the serious part of their conversation. She drops her gaze and studies her own legs, looking Twizzler-shaped because of how the light breaks through the water surface.
“I’ve been… thinking about it. A lot.”
“You’ve been thinking,” Riley repeats, just a hint of mocking in her voice.
“Thinking, yes. And… reading. Watching. Looking. Imagining. Fantasizing."
“Touching…?”
“No. No touching. Still can’t do it. I’m just still so aware of the fact that it’s about… a woman’s body.” Charlotte scolds herself for not daring to look up.
