by Harper Bliss
“Would you like…” Alex hesitated for a split second. The pain in her shoulder flared up, fatigue crushing both her body and her mind—and that guard she’d been keeping up for weeks. A layer of resistance peeled away, drifted off in her weariness. “…to have dinner some time?” Heat rose to Alex's cheeks. She hadn’t asked anyone out on a date in years. And yes, this most certainly would be a date.
“I’d be absolutely delighted.” A softness glowed in Maddie’s eyes. “How about tonight?”
“Why the hell not?” The only plan Alex had for tonight was falling asleep in the couch around nine and dragging herself to bed at midnight—and possibly being woken in the middle of the night when Nat came home, alone or otherwise.
“I’ll cook for you. I do the best spaghetti carbonara. Real Italian style.” Maddie slapped herself on the forehead. “Oh shit. That usually works on women, but you’re half-Italian so I may have to eat my words later.”
“Don’t worry. My mom did all the cooking in our house. I was raised on soup noodles instead of home-made pasta.”
“Thank god for that.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that. She’s a terrible cook.”
They burst out laughing.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Nat chimed in. “Excuse me for interrupting your intimate moment.” She winked at Alex, in plain view of Maddie’s eye-line. “But I must take my leave. Life awaits.”
Behind Nat, Alex saw Isabella shake her head. If she and Maddie experienced a lull in conversation tonight, they could always turn to the fruitful topic of Nathalie Orange—and how Isabella’s interest was clearly growing beyond the professional.
MADDIE
Maddie filled her shopping basket with parmesan and pecorino to grate over the pasta. She was desperate to impress Alex, although she may have picked the wrong dish for that. Alex's question had surprised her, but she hadn’t hesitated for a second. With June’s recent news and her mind drifting off more and more to a departure from Hong Kong, a successful date was the only thing that could keep her from having to make a difficult decision.
She hurried to the cashier while keeping an eye on her watch. Cooking wouldn’t take long, but making herself presentable would. She wanted to look her best tonight. Every inch the lady she, admittedly, really wasn’t. If she were to stand a chance at all with Alex, she had to make up for her previous impromptu confession about June. Alex didn’t strike her as the type to be fooled by some make-up and a fancy dress, but Maddie wanted to make the effort anyway. She wanted to impress, like earlier that afternoon when she’d flaunted her bicep. Maddie giggled at the memory. Who did that? Who boasted about a bulging muscle in front of the most well-toned fitness instructor ever?
Alex arrived at eight o’clock on the dot. Maddie hadn’t expected anything else. She wore a white tank top—of course—and tight-fitting jeans. For the first time, Maddie saw her with her hair loose. It fell to her shoulders in dark wavy strands. Maddie could barely hide her excitement at what stood in front of her. Perhaps she had overdressed for the occasion though. Maybe this red number was a bit too statuesque for a relaxed home dinner. Still, she felt Alex's gaze glide appreciatively along the length of her body.
They kissed each other on the cheek a bit awkwardly before Maddie stepped aside and invited Alex to sit down.
“You’re not working tomorrow, are you? With your changed schedule.” She pointed at the bottle of Veuve Clicquot chilling in an ice bucket on the coffee table. “I have a nice Rioja to go with the pasta as well.” There’s nothing like making your intentions clear from the start.
“Heaven’s no.” Alex sat down with a sigh. “This new club opening has really done me in.” Maddie saw her eyeing the bubbles with gusto. Maybe she needed something to take the edge off as well. “And taking my responsibility as a senior member of staff has led to a few senior moments, I’m afraid.” Alex rubbed a hand over her neck and shoulder. “Perhaps for the first time in my life, I’m feeling my age.”
Maddie unscrewed the cage of the bottle, but waited to pop the cork. “You speak as if you’re over forty, while you don’t look a day over twenty-five.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Alex chuckled and held out the two glasses Maddie had prepared.
“Pity.” She locked eyes with Alex as she poured the champagne and shot her a little smile.
They clinked rims and sipped eagerly.
* * *
After dinner—which Alex had praised as ‘very authentic to the Chinese palate’—and half a bottle of red wine, they retreated back to the couch. Maddie couldn’t remember the last time she’d sat in her living room with an attractive woman—and half-tipsy at that. She relaxed and heeled her shoes off.
“I’m really glad we did this.”
“Me too.” Alex had kicked her shoes off as well and slipped one foot under her knee. She sat with her body facing Maddie. “I figured I owed you another chance after going MIA on you.” She rubbed her shoulder again.
“You’ve no idea how relieved I am you still want to hang with the sordid likes of me.” Maddie figured they’d consumed enough alcohol to allow some gentle teasing. “What’s with your shoulder? You keep touching it.”
“One too many push-ups, I presume. And it’s a hard spot to reach to apply tiger balm. Nothing too serious though, just a body in dire need of some rest.”
“Well, I simply can’t stand for someone suffering in my home.” She stood up. “Don’t move.” Maddie quickly darted off to the bathroom and unearthed a bottle of massage oil from the cabinet beneath the sink. She dusted it off before taking it into the living room. “You’ve come to the right place.”
“If I remember correctly, I owe you a massage.” Alex's eyes sparkled. Maddie was sure the wine was partly to blame, but she refused to believe that was all it was.
“As I said before, you don’t owe me a thing.” Maddie took position behind the couch. “Sit up straight, please.”
Alex dropped her leg and leaned back.
“Where does it hurt?”
“Around here.” Alex pointed at a spot above her right shoulder blade.
“At your service, madam.” Maddie scanned Alex's tank top-clad back. “I wouldn’t want to stain your clothes though. Would you mind if I pulled your top up?”
“Of course not.” Alex beat her to it and in one swift movement her back was bare, apart from the straps supporting her bra. Maddie stood there swallowing the dryness out of her throat. A naked back usually didn’t have this effect on her, but not all naked backs looked as perfectly sculpted as this one. She was almost afraid to touch it, scared she would ruin it somehow.
“Thanks.” She reached out her hand until her fingertips touched Alex's shoulder, the electricity zapping through her flesh overwhelming her. “I’m going to lower these a bit.” Slowly, she brushed the straps of Alex's bra down her shoulders. “Just for better access.” Maddie squirted some oil in her hand and heated it between her palms.
She took a deep but discreet breath, aware of the sudden throbbing between her legs, and got to work. Placing two lubricated hands on the soft skin of Alex's magnificent shoulders, she massaged gently but with focus. Not that she really knew what she was doing.
ALEX
Lust tumbled down Alex's belly. The pressure on her sore muscle was nice, but it wasn’t what was causing her to gasp for air. She was glad she sat with her back to Maddie—the gentleness of her touch almost moving her to tears. She had drunk too much, had gone way over her quota, but that’s what dates were for. And Alex really needed to let go a bit. She’d been too caught up in her own head of late, working crazy hours and pushing any thought of Maddie straight to the back of her mind. Until this afternoon.
“Does that feel all right?” Maddie’s voice seemed to have dropped an octave.
Alex wanted to reply, but she was afraid her voice would come out as a yelp, or a whimper. It wasn’t just that she hadn’t been touched like this in months. It was also—mostly—that she could clea
rly feel, despite not being able to see her, Maddie’s intent behind it. And her own desire was playing tricks on her as well.
“Like heaven.” Alex tilted back into Maddie’s hands, wanting to feel more of them on her body—not just her back. She closed her eyes and surrendered to Maddie’s fingertips dancing over her skin. The hair on her arms rose as Maddie’s thumbs pressed against a vertebrae. “I could get used to this,” she hummed.
“I wouldn’t mind if you did.” Maddie’s hands ventured upwards, over Alex's shoulders, her fingers stroking her collar bone. Instantly, Alex's nipples crinkled up. Maddie’s fingers caressed her neck next, her nails trailing over her skin. This was no longer a massage. This was foreplay.
Maddie’s fingers, red-nailed and long, travelled down, into the direction of Alex's bra cup. They trailed along the seam, teasing. As much as this excited Alex, and as much as she’d been willing to let go of restraints earlier, this was not something Alessandra Pozzato did on a first date. Ever.
“Stop,” she whispered. Her voice a far cry from its usual mock-menacing tone—the one she used in class. She wrestled her hands free from her tank top and put them on Maddie’s. “Too soon.” Alex seemed incapable of forming sentences. “Sorry.” Her tank top fell to the couch as Maddie’s fingers halted their descent.
“I got a little carried away.” Maddie retracted her hands and Alex suddenly felt very naked. She was scantily dressed. Her bra barely covering her nipples and her top a crumpled mess on the couch. She reached for it and clutched it to her chest, unable to pull it over her head. “I’m the one who’s sorry.” Alex heard Maddie swallow behind her.
“I should probably go.” Alex said the words but didn’t take any action towards making them happen.
“Stay a while.” Maddie padded to the front of the couch and sat down on the coffee table. She looked gorgeous flustered, lust glinting in her eyes and the thinnest layer of sweat covering her brow. “It was just a massage, after all. Nothing actually happened.”
Alex couldn’t say no to that smile. Already she wondered what her reaction would be to Maddie’s bedroom scowl. Instant surrender.
“You may want to put something on if you want it to stay that way.” Maddie stood up and refilled their glasses and Alex took advantage of her looking away to slip her tank top over her shoulders.
“I need to take things slowly,” Alex said in between drinking greedily from the wine. “I can’t just dive into bed with you. That’s not how I do things.”
“I respect that.” Maddie sat down next to her again, a little closer this time, their arms a whisper away from touching. “I hope you know I mean that sincerely.”
Alex nodded. She took another gulp and braved Maddie’s stare. “Have you always wanted to be a banker?” This was not what she wanted to say. She really wanted to ask Maddie if she could kiss her—as if the question needed asking. Instead, she’d opted for caution.
Maddie shot her the most disarming smile ever, a smile so generous and warm, Alex had to suppress the urge to snuggle up to her and luxuriate in an embrace of those luscious arms. “Of course not. Who does?” Maddie put her hands on Alex's knee, zapping sparks of electricity through the flesh beneath. “I wanted to be a vet, just like any other girl with lesbian tendencies in the Melbourne suburbs. When I was fourteen, I wanted to be a flying doctor for a while, but only because I had a crush on nurse Kate in the TV show.”
Alex allowed herself a silly chuckle. “You must think I’m terribly uptight.”
Maddie shook her head while digging her nails into Alex's jeans. “The only thing I think is that you’ve been hurt. Anyway, you must think I’m quite the floozy.”
“Floozy?” Alex suppressed a fit of giggles. “Yeah, that about sums it up. A banker floozy with a seriously deranged moral compass.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Alex adored Maddie’s self-deprecating sense of humour. “Now.” Maddie leaned a little closer and put her wine glass on the table. “This floozy would really like to kiss those uptight lips of yours.” Maddie took Alex's glass from her hand and put it away. “No tongue, I promise.”
“That’s about the most romantic proposal I’ve ever had.”
“I thought so.” Maddie slanted her head sideways as she inched closer. Alex smelled wine and that expensive banker perfume she remembered—often and usually when alone in bed—from the evening on Isabella’s roof top. Maddie’s lips tasted salty and promising. She brought her hand to Alex's neck and softly dug her fingertips into her muscles while parting her lips. Slowly, she trailed her tongue over Alex's lips. Alex immediately reciprocated by opening her mouth and allowing Maddie’s tongue to slip in.
Alex's blood hammered in her veins as Maddie sank her teeth into her bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth. Alex grabbed Maddie’s head and pulled her closer. She ran her fingers through Maddie’s hair to keep them from exploring anywhere else—somewhere with a point of no return.
When Maddie eased her head back, a big smile etched around the corners of her mouth, Alex yanked it back towards her immediately. Maddie brought her lips close to Alex's ear.
“Don’t you want me to stop?” She finished her question with a peck on Alex's ear lobe, soft, but enough to set Alex's flesh on fire again.
“God no,” Alex moaned. Maddie’s lips travelled along her neck, tracing a moist path of kisses on the way to her clavicle. “Kissing is perfectly acceptable on the first date.”
MADDIE
“Are you seeing her tonight?” Isabella sipped from her protein smoothie while waiting for an answer. Maddie had barely touched hers, her stomach too fragile to take anything in. After Alex had left last night, after a few more rounds of extensive—but chaste—kissing, she hadn’t slept a wink. Although exhausted, physically as well as emotionally, her mind had fallen prey to an onslaught of questions. What if Alex changed her mind again? What if she decided she didn’t want to be with a banker after all? What if she wasn’t ready? What if… she didn’t feel the same way? Questions Maddie hadn’t bothered with in years.
“No, she has a family dinner.” Maddie looked at Isabella. She was so happy to have a psychiatrist as a friend, someone with a soothing, sane influence. Maddie desperately needed some grounding—and the yoga class they just took hadn’t really helped. Possibly because it wasn’t taught by Alex, although that would probably have made it worse. “And she’s hardly the type to pop in after midnight for a quickie.”
Maddie giggled at the memory of last night. They’d made out like teenagers in a dark corner at a dance party. Kissing like crazy, but hands always in check. It was the most spectacular night Maddie had had in five years. Because, unlike any other woman she’d slept with since moving abroad—since leaving Emma—Alex was worth waiting for.
“You look shattered but still, you’re glowing.” Isabella winked.
“How things can change in twenty-four hours.” Maddie brought her hand to her chin and stroked it, still caught up in disbelief. “I was honestly thinking of leaving. What with June’s big announcement and having to face my mistakes every day. I was so bloody unhappy and I didn’t even realise.” Maddie opened her hands. “And look at me now. Smitten like a fool.”
“I sincerely hope it works out.” Isabella slurped the last remnants of her smoothie through the straw.
“I know this will sound dramatic, maybe even a bit fatalistic. But I seriously believe my decision to ultimately stay or go will depend on Alex.” Maddie sighed. “If this crashes and burns, I can’t see how I can possibly stay.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Just let things take their natural course.” Isabella reached out her hand to pat Maddie’s arm.
“I know. I sound like a sixteen-year-old. But I haven’t felt like this in a very long time.” Maddie’s head felt as if it were about to implode. So much impulsive emotion thrashing through her body, she hardly recognised herself. This was not how bankers operated. They stayed cool and responsible under every circumstance. They had
to.
“Really? You could have fooled me, Madison.” Grinning, Isabella squeezed her arm. “What am I going to do with you for the rest of the day?”
“Well, we’ve had our exercise and this is Hong Kong. We’re faced with the impossible dilemma of choosing between this city’s two favourite pass times—shopping or drinking. What would the doctor advise?”
“I have a really nice bottle of Shiraz and a killer view. Let’s go to my place.”
Maddie shoved her untouched smoothie to the side and, together, they exited the gym.
* * *
At work the next day, everything seemed different. Gone was the sense of gloom that had been hanging in Maddie’s office for too long. Impatiently, she waited until ten to text Alex. It was her day off and she wanted to invite her for lunch. Nerves eating at her stomach, she waited for the reply. It came almost instantly. How about organic pizza? Ludicrously hot, kind, principled and funny. This is meant to be, Maddie thought. If I don’t get this woman I will move to the Australian wilderness and live like an old maid for the rest of my days.
They ended up in a small Vietnamese place around the corner from Maddie’s office. As soon as they sat down opposite each other, Maddie couldn’t stop grinning.
“How was your family dinner?” Maddie didn’t really want to talk. She just wanted to stare at Alex's face for an hour, memorise the curve of her lips and get lost in the darkness of her eyes.
“You’d think growing up in a half-European family would make your parents less judgmental, but you would be hugely mistaken.” Alex shot her a weary smile. “After having been a fitness instructor for more than ten years, my mother still thinks it’s a big waste of time.”
“How can she look at you and think that?” Maddie was glad the wine arrived. She needed something to calm her down. Her heart drummed in her chest.
