They say you never forget your first time with someone, but Claire's second time had been far more memorable.
She awoke to daylight streaming in through the half-closed hotel curtains and the scratchy wool of cheap sheets against her naked flesh. Her only respite was the tender caress of someone's hand against her waist. There was a warm body pressed up against her back, and she could just barely sense shallow breath against her ear. It all came rushing back to her as Claire shook herself from her groggy dream world.
"Morning, pom-pom." And there was that familiar voice. "I thought you were going to doze right through our check-out time." Claire's heart raced as the situation increasingly dawned on her. Elle was sliding both arms around her waist now, pulling her close enough that she could nuzzle her nose against Claire's ear.
"That's funny, I never would have taken you as someone who likes to spoon." Claire managed to reply. She almost wanted to laugh out loud at how surreal her situation was √ the sociopath she had hated for so long rousing her from sleep with cuddles, after a long night of...
"Do you really think I'd turn down the chance to wrap myself around that tight little body of yours, cheerleader?" Claire felt Elle smirk against her ear. Before Claire could think of a witty comeback, Elle was sucking on her earlobe. That was the sweet spot. Claire gasped with pleasure as Elle's luscious lips worked their magic. Elle took advantage of the distraction to trace the fingertips of her right hand down Claire's body, stroking the length of Claire's inner thigh. Claire could only shut her eyes and shudder.
"Well? You're not so sarcastic with me now, are you?" Elle's tone of voice was practically daring Claire to stop her. "Miss All-American certainly didn't object to my methods last night."
Last night. Oh god. They had stumbled off of the plane, still dazed after what had transpired between them. They had decided to check into a hotel before taking on Pinehearst in the morning. Elle had immediately broken into the mini-bar and gone straight for the cheapest whiskey. It hadn't taken much for her to dare Claire into taking shots with her. "What's the risk? Your liver will just heal itself, right?" Before she even knew what had hit her, the two were swapping sob stories like the weepiest of drunks. The night was so blurry, but somewhere in there, Claire had decided it would be a good idea to rest her head on Elle's lap. Truthfully, she had been feeling the strangest of desires to touch Elle ever since she had let go of her hand on the plane, though she couldn't quite understand why. Elle had immediately blushed crimson and turned her head away from Claire's upward gaze. Claire started giggling uncontrollably, and had blurted out something about Elle's latent gay tendencies.
Elle's face contorted in rage and she had let loose with a jolt straight into Claire's shoulders. Like the lightweight yet indestructible drunk she was, it had only made Claire laugh more, and she took the opportunity to jump up and tackle Elle onto the bed. It was only supposed to be a play fight, you know...an innocent drunken play fight... They had rolled around on the bed, Elle sparking with electricity, each trying to pin the other down. And suddenly, seamlessly, Elle was kissing Claire and Claire was kissing her back, their hands frantically grabbing at the other like prom dates caught in the throes of passion. It was mostly a haze, but what Claire could remember the clearest was begging Elle for it, begging for her not to stop...
Claire snapped back to the present day. Elle was tracing soft kisses down her neck. It was the sweet gesture of a devoted lover. "I don't understand." Claire managed to spit out. "Why are you doing this? Why are you...being so affectionate with me?" There was a painfully long pause after that. Claire held her breath, bracing herself for how Elle might respond.
"It's because I've waited for this for so long." Her response was only a whisper. And Claire had to admit that some part of her felt the exact same way. Against the voice of reason, she turned around and kissed Elle, hard, desperately wanting to feel it without the haze of alcohol. As they kissed over and over, Elle gently eased herself on top of Claire. Claire knew that this was it. If she slept with Elle a second time, she wouldn't be able to rationalize it away later as drunkenness, or sexual curiosity, or empathy, or any other myriad of excuses she'd be able to come up with in the weeks and months to come. If she didn't push Elle off of her now, it would mean that she really and truly wanted the other girl in some way.
"Stop." Claire put her hands against Elle's shoulders. Elle gazed back at her, her face a mixture of confusion and nervousness at what Claire was about to say. Claire paused for a minute to gather up courage. "...I want to be on top this time."
Elle could only grin. "Only for you."