She realised that she'd always assumed that Bel was similar to her, focused on her career, no deep relationships around it. Hearing about Clem was a surprise, because it suddenly made her miss what she hadn't had since Miguel, all those years ago. She hadn’t thought about that for ages, but it hit her then, hard.
"Does she know about...?"
"No," Bel said simply. "It's not something we discuss. We’re not a couple, but we’re… very close." Then, turning to look at Luisa directly for the first time since the conversation began, she added, "You and me is different. What happens on shoots stays on shoots. That's always been our arrangement."
Luisa nodded, knowing Bel was right. That was their unspoken understanding. Yet that night, as she returned to her own room before dawn as she always did, Luisa couldn't shake the image of that bracelet, or the way that Bel had touched it with such affection.
***
The next day was their final shoot together, and they performed as consummate professionals as always. But as Luisa packed her bags that evening, preparing for her flight back to LA the following day, her mind kept returning to Bel and Clem. Not with jealousy for Bel's affections... their relationship had never been about that, and her and Bel could never have worked as a couple. No chance and no interest either.
But what there was for Luisa a growing curiosity about what it might be like to have that kind of connection with another woman.
Her relationships with men had always felt like they were following a script someone else had written. With Bel it was purely physical, contained within the boundaries of their arrangement. But the thought of something more, someone who would think carefully about her birthday, know what kind ofjewellery she might like, take enough care to choose something special... that thought lingered and wouldn't leave.
Back in her apartment in LA a few weeks later, Luisa found herself looking at the bracelet she wore on special occasions, the gift from Julian, her not-boyfriend. It was very expensive, designer, exactly what was expected. But she could tell that there had been no moment of choosing something uniquely for her, no real thought beyond the price tag and the brand name and the advice of the shop assistant.
When her phone buzzed with a message from her friend Maria asking if she wanted to come out that Friday night to a new club she wanted to try, Luisa's first instinct was to decline. She wasn't in the mood for another night of fending off men who recognised her from magazines or, worse, thought that revealing an overfamiliarity with her social media presence was somehow going to get her to go to bed with them.
But then Maria mentioned it was a women's bar... "A lesbian club but super chill, you'd love it, I promise". Suddenly something clicked into place.
"Why not?" Luisa replied, surprising herself. "Sounds fun."
She told herself she was just being supportive of her friend who was openly into that scene, that it would be a nice change from their usual nights out. But as Friday approached, Luisa found herself thinking more about what it would be like to meet women in a context that wasn't a photoshoot, that wasn't just about physical connection behind closed doors.
What would it be like to have someone look at her the way Bel had looked at that bracelet? To be with a woman who wasn't justpassing through her life between shoots, but who might stay, might learn what she liked, might think of her when they were apart?
By the time Friday night arrived, what had started as curiosity had evolved into something more intentional. As she got ready, choosing her outfit so as to bejust perfect, Luisa admitted to herself what she was really hoping for... to meet someone. Not for a night, not for a fling, but someone who might show her what she'd been missing, someone who might look at her and see more than just her body or her face and want her for more than because she'd make them look good.
When she walked into the club with Maria that night, Luisa's eyes were already scanning the crowd, open to possibilities she'd never considered before. She didn't know exactly what or who she was looking for, but for the first time she was actively seeking something beyond what she'd had with Bel all these years and what she'd experienced with any of the others.
And then, through the crowd, she saw her... a woman with brown hair tied back loosely, dressed casually yet somehow striking, radiating a confidence that held Luisa's gaze. Their eyes met across the dancefloor, and Luisa felt something flutter in her stomach, something that reminded her of the first time she'd seen Bel in Tulum all those years ago, but different too, more grounded, more real.
Amy.
Business Or Pleasure
Present Day
Arriving
Los Angeles
Amy felt her dress fall to the floor and Luisa was on her, her fingers trailing the straps of the bikini top, brushing across the fabric and gliding over Amy’s nipples. She looked into Amy’s eyes with a mischievous smile as she pulled Amy’s bikini top up and over her head, throwing it to the floor, before she leaned in to plant soft kisses on Amy’s neck and lower, finding Amy’s nipples with her tongue while both of Luisa’s hands moved down to hold Amy’s rear.
Letting out a sigh of something that sat firmly between satisfaction and pleasure, Amy reached a hand to stroke Luisa’s hair. Luisa responded by moving her head back up to kiss Amy on the lips, the slow, sensual, playful style of kissing that Amy had been fantasising about for the last three weeks since her and Luisa had last been together. She’d thought that Luisa was easily the best kisser she’d ever met back then, and Luisa was confirming it now.
One of Luisa’s hands had moved to hold Amy’s back, but the other stayed on her ass before gradually moving round to the front, touching Amy teasingly between her legs, never staying in one place for long but driving Amy all the wilder as a result.
Amy moaned into the kiss, and started to kiss Luisa back harder, her tongue finding Luisa’s. Amy’s hands fumbled for the zip on the back of Luisa’s dress and finally found it, sliding the zip down and letting the dress also fall to the floor.
“Come with me,” Amy said quietly, breaking away from the kiss and taking Luisa by the hand. She led her to the bedroom and they climbed on to the bed, resuming their kissing lying side by side, heads on the pillows.
Amy’s hand started to roam, touching Luisa’s breasts through her bikini top, feeling her nipples harden and gently applying pressure to them. She lightly pushed on Luisa so that she rolled on to her back, and Amy then leaned up, looking down at Luisa, admiring her body in the string bikini, tracing her fingers over her face and chest before moving them lower.
“I’ve been looking forward to this ever since we said goodbye at the airport.”
Luisa let out a sigh as Amy’s fingers moved between her legs, teasing Luisa through the fabric of her bikini bottoms. “Me too. Very much.” That accent… it did things to Amy that an accent had no right to do.
