It was a twenty minute walk from the Solar Flare pub to the apartment building where I lived. Val and I walked inside. I proceeded to lead her up two flights of stairs.
“Can’t we, I don’t know, use the elevator?” she protested.
I chuckled. “Sorry. Force of habit.”
I called the elevator from the second floor and went with Val up to the fifth. I unlocked one of the doors, and walked with her into my apartment.
I saw Valerie take a quick look around.
“It’s nicer than mine,” she said, admiringly. “What do you work at?”
“Freelance,” I explained. “Art, software, video, whatever pays. Can I get you something? Water, maybe? Or wine?”
She chuckled, and sat down on my couch. “Wine would be nice.”
I nodded, and took the bottle of red wine from the fridge. I had originally intended to save it for celebrating the little things, like landing a big job for an important client, or getting a medal at a competition, but this looked like a very reasonable excuse to open it.
Soon, I was back in the living room. I handed Val her glass.
“Cheers,” she said, touching her glass against mine. She took a sip, and nodded in approval. “I’ll say, you actually have good taste in wine.”
We drank in silence for a moment. That peaceful ambiance was a nice change of pace from the Solar Flare. It made me want to ask the questions that I had been avoiding this far, feeling more comfortable with opening up now that we were alone.
“Why me?”
She looked puzzled after hearing my sudden question. “What do you mean?”
I had to explain it. “Why choose to go out with me, and not a fan, for example? Someone who actually knows who you are.”
She chuckled, then shrugged, smiled, and looked around. “I don’t know. I guess that when I met you that day, the whole thing about finding a stranger in the dark was kinda cool. Dangerous, maybe? And you’re sexy, too, I’ll give you that. But… if you don’t mind me asking, how did you break in, that day?”
“I could tell you…” I began saying, trying my best to sound serious, “…but then I’d have to kill you.”
She snorted when she heard that, and I saw wine come out of her nose. I had to laugh.
“Sorry!” she said, smiling and covering her face with one hand. She placed her glass of wine on the coffee table.
“Here,” I said, taking a box of paper tissues from nearby and using one of them to carefully wipe the wine from her face.
It felt good to touch her face. I finished cleaning her skin and discarded the tissue into a wastebin by the door, before coming back to the couch.
She cleared her throat.
“Sorry… you know, for that…”
I smiled earnestly at her. “You’re cute.”
Oops. That came out as an accident. I had actually meant to say something in the lines of “don’t worry about it,” but I guess looking at her face from up close made me lose that train of thought. Some of it may have been due to all the gin, the wine and the other drinks we’d had.
Val, too, had already noticed how the distance between us had shrunk.
She brought one hand to my cheek, caressing my skin. I felt hot from her touch. Then we slowly reached closer to each other.
“Hey…” she said softly, closing her eyes. “…kiss me, Gigi.”
That earned her a pillow right in the middle of her face.
She laughed heartily.
“You’re ridiculous,” I said, grinning astounded.
“You know what?” she began to say. “We need music. I kinda feel like dancing tonight.”
“Ooh, you can dance?!” I teased her, as I got up to choose a CD from the pile next to my laptop.
“Well, I can something,” she joked, “but most people wouldn’t call that dancing. Can you dance?”
I shrugged. “A bit, maybe? I took some classes a long time ago.”
“Let me guess… was it for prom?”
I nodded, embarrassed.
“I’m afraid I don’t know your musical taste,” I told her.
She got up from the couch and dashed to me.
“Where?” she asked. “Watcha got there? Lemme at it.” Valerie took the CDs from my hands and started examining the covers. “Nope,” she said, as she laid the rejected CDs on a separate pile. “Nope… Not this one either… Huh? You like Blues? That’s a bit of a surprise.”
She was holding one of my father’s old CDs, one that I had managed to snatch away from his house when I finally moved to my own place.
“I can’t really say I know much about the style, but I like this one,” I told her.
She took the disc from its clear case, and placed it in my laptop to play. The familiar sound of saxophone filled the room.
“This is nice!” she said, admiring the music.
I giggled. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Dance with me, ma’am?” she asked me, offering me her hand like a gentleman from the past would have done.
I smiled, before taking her hand.
“Gladly.”
Moments later it became clear to me how being a musician didn’t really mean someone would be a good dancer. Valerie Lira had no technique, she just did her own thing. It was really cute, if not funny too. I chuckled, looking at her go without a care in the world. Sure, it would be fine to let her do that, but I didn’t like dancing alone, myself, so I decided that I had to do something about that. Some teaching, if nothing else.
I approached Valerie and wrapped one hand around her waist. That really surprised her. She stopped dancing and looked me in the eyes.
“Let me guide you,” I told her, my voice barely more than a whisper. “I want you as my partner, tonight.”
That made her blush, which then made me realize exactly what I had just said. The double entendre that my statement carried made me blush, as well. Oh, whatever. I just dismissed my embarrassment, and led Val around the room in a slow dance.
Dancing to Blues was fun. The whole atmosphere of the songs just took away some of the uneasiness of that situation. It wasn’t corny like a pop ballad, nor as technical and upbeat as tango and the like. It just felt natural.
Val tripped on my feet, and I had to catch her.
“Oops, sorry,” she said.
I laughed. “I guess it would be better if we were sober for this.”
She giggled. Hearing her do that, when we were both alone together in my apartment at night, dancing and flirting with each other… that giggle was the sweetest sound in the world.
“Um… where’s the bathroom?” she asked.
Oh. Of course.
“Right here,” I led her to the suite, which had the only bathroom in that single apartment. I could swear I saw her steal glances at the bed. I rolled my eyes at that.
I went back to the living room and took the wine glasses to the kitchen sink. Maybe we should stop drinking for the night. I mean, Valerie still had to work on whatever documents she had to sort out for her band, which was the whole point of her coming anyway.
I sat down on the couch and closed my eyes. I was tired. The night was being a lot of fun, but the pile of work next to my notebook was weighting in on my mind, reminding me that I still had to wake up early and finish some projects that were due that afternoon, and that this would have to take precedence over practice. Hell, I just hated skipping practice.
When I opened my eyes again, I realized that Valerie had come out of the bathroom and was sitting next to me on the couch. The album she had picked earlier was still playing in my laptop, though the latter half of the songs were more mellow, slow-paced ballads in 3/4s. It set a nice mood.
“How are you feeling?” she asked me, sweetly.
Did I really look that worn out from my routine that it actually showed on my face?
“I’m… fine. You?”
“Bit dizzy,” she admitted it.
“Need me to get you something? Water? Medication?”
She chuckled, and looked me in the eyes in such a caring manner that I could have melted right there on the spot. Then she shook her head.
“No thanks. I’ll manage.”
I smirked, unsure if I should feel worried about her or not. She was sitting sideways on the couch, leaning her head on her arms while she looked at me. Valerie Lira Cooper really had the most dashing eyes a human could have. She looked at me in such a heartfelt, caring way that I simply couldn’t keep my desires in check anymore.
There was it again. That vibe again. It had been strong before, when we left the pub, but right now it felt exhilarating. She leaned in for a kiss.
But I wasn’t going to let her win just yet.
I placed my index finger on her lips, blocking them from the kiss she had expected.
She opened her eyes, surprised. I was smiling.
“You’re not going to call me Gigi again, are you?”
Valerie giggled.
“Of course not.”
I nodded. “Good.”
This time it was I who went for the kiss. I touched her lips with mine, caressing them. I felt her tongue lick my upper lip, and then the tips of our tongues touched, sending a shiver down my spine. She placed one hand on the back of my head, holding me still as she kissed me, and I slid my hands under her shirt, feeling her skin with the tips of my fingers.
The longer it went, the more intense it became. We had both been craving that moment for hours.
She took the rim of my shirt and decided to pull it up above my head, revealing my bra and my bare skin.
“Fuck,” she exclaimed, breathless. “You’re hot.”
Valerie didn’t give me much time to reach. She pushed me down on the couch, kissed me, then went for my ear, biting it lightly and causing little shockwaves to run through my body.
“Val…” I called her, worried that we might be going too far, “didn’t you… didn’t you have work to do? For… your band?”
She softly whispered in my ear.
“That was a lie.”
Another shiver ran down my spine.
That girl was dangerous.
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