Walking out onto the balcony Bel handed Luisa a large glass of white wine. “White wine was what was cold.” A statement again, one that Luisa accepted without question.
Luisa stood facing Bel as she took a sip. Bel took a long drink of her own, eyes focused on Luisa the whole time, then sat down in one of the chairs. Luisa copied her.
“The parties get too much sometimes,” Bel said after a few minutes, breaking their companionable silence. “And always, always, there’s some guy who wants to hit on you. Always. He’s seen you all week, he confuses your professionalism with you liking him, he thinks he’s got a shot.” She looked at Luisa. “Thinks he's going to get to fuck a model. Don’t be tempted. Unless you can get something out of him, then maybe. But otherwise, don’t.”
Luisa took another drink, then replied, “That sounds like you’re speaking from experience?”
Bel looked away for a few moments, then her gaze settled back on Luisa. “Absolutely. Go with it if you want to, or if it helps you, but never…” She paused and looked at Luisa intently. “Neverbecause you think you have to.” A smile played across her lips. “Us women need to look out for each other in this business.”
Luisa nodded her understanding. “When’s your next job?”
“Too soon. Next week, I’m over in New York for the month.”
The conversation started to flow from there, talking about what Luisa had on the cards, Bel giving her some ideas. She promised to give Luisa’s details to her agent in LA, to see if he could help Luisa at all. Like the rest of the week, it was a good conversation but the dynamic remained, twenty year old Bel passing her hard-earned wisdom on to Luisa, all of two years her junior.
Before they knew it, they’d drained their glasses and Bel was topping them up. It was dark outside by then, just the sound of the waves and tropical insects floating up to them.
They spent a few more minutes in silence, then Bel lit a cigarette and went to stand, glass of wine in her other hand, looking out from the balcony. Luisa watched her, and then Bel turned and offered the cigarette to Luisa.
Luisa got out of her chair and stood next to Bel, letting her put the cigarette to Luisa’s lips for her to inhale, Bel’s little finger brushing Luisa’s jaw, almost imperceptibly. Bel was watching her closely, not stood far away at all, the red glow of the cigarette reflected in her dark eyes as Luisa inhaled, Bel’s lips slightly parted.
Bel seemed to reach a decision. She stubbed the cigarette out, flicking the butt out over the edge of the balcony, then drained her wine glass.
With a look at Luisa, a look she held for a few seconds, Bel walked over to the balcony door and stopped, turning to face Luisa, one hand resting on the doorframe.
“Come to bed.”
Three words. A statement not a question. Without even thinking, much as she had all week, Luisa obeyed and followed Bel into the bedroom. It felt inevitable. And it probably was.
***
She left the door open. A light breeze blew through carrying the sound of the waves and the smell of the sea into the room.
Bel was stood next to the bed, her hands held out towards Luisa, her eyes focused on Luisa at the exclusion of everything else.
Luisa walked over to her slowly, taking the hands that Bel had offered in her own, and as Luisa stepped closer, much closer, their fingers intertwined. Luisa felt a thrill run through her at Bel’s touch.
They stood, close, intimate, hands held in hands, looking at each other, for what felt to Luisa like an exquisite eternity, until Bel moved one hand up to stroke a strand of loose hair away from Luisa’s face. Her hand stayed there.
Then, slowly, ever so slowly, Bel moved her head towards Luisa, and Luisa moved her head towards Bel, and finally their lips met, a slow, sensuous, soft kiss, exploring each other’s lips and nothing more. Yet.
The kiss lasted and lasted, thrilling and exciting, an otherworldly experience. Eventually, letting go of Luisa’s other hand, Bel leaned back and her hands skimmed Luisa’s shoulders, sliding the straps of her dress down, peeling the dress away and letting it fall in a heap around Luisa’s ankles, leaving her naked save for the thong she was wearing underneath.
It should have felt weird, Luisa thought afterwards, standing in front of Bel with virtually nothing on, but it didn’t, it really didn’t. It felt natural, like it was something that had been preordained from their first meeting at the start of the week. And, she realised, it wasn’t as if they hadn't already seen each other nearly naked many times throughout the shoot already.
Bel kissed her again then, slowly but deeply, more passionately than that first kiss, their arms wrapped around each other, hands feeling the muscles in each other’s backs. One of Bel’s hands reached up to Luisa’s hair, her fingers slipping through it, while the other settled on her rear, sliding inside her thong and gently squeezing, making Luisa kiss her back harder.
Luisa didn’t think, didn’t hesitate. There was nothing in her mind, absolutely nothing, that wanted to do anything other than be stood there, nearly naked, kissing Bel. Nothing. The thought that she wasn’t into women, that she had a boyfriend, that this might not be a good idea, none of that entered her mind. It felt like she was living in the moment, outside of time, and nothing else mattered.
“Lie down.” Again, a statement, a command, not a question. Luisa gave a little smile to Bel and climbed on to the bed, lying down with her head resting on the pillows.
Bel stood at the foot, looking down at Luisa, her eyes hungrily taking her in, while Luisa lay there and let her, liking that someone like Bel could find her so appealing, so enthralling.
Holding her gaze, Bel reached behind her and unzipped her own dress, letting it fall, leaving her stood in her lingerie, an expensive looking black lace set. She undid her bra and slid it off, then bent over and slid off her underwear too, before climbing on to the bed herself.
Bel crawled over to Luisa, her hair hanging down, and from a kneeling position near to Luisa’s legs she reached for her thong, slipping it off. Luisa lifted her legs to help, throwing it to one side.
As Luisa lowered her legs, Bel guided them, parting them with gentle pressure, so that she was kneeling between them. She reached her hand out, all while still gazing into Luisa’s eyes, and touched her. Softly, delicately, her fingers tracing the outline of Luisa’s folds. Luisa gasped. She'd not realised until then how much she’d wanted to be touched like this all week, feeling her body respond to Bel’s touch in a way she’d never responded to anyone before.
