So, the summery is not exactly brilliant. But if you have gone that far, I guess somehow I caught your attention.

At first a big THANK YOU to my Beta ;) You did a great job here and I really appreciate your comments.

And second...well I don't actually have a second...so, as I said: Have Fun.

Chapter 1

Lauren's POV

A soft breeze was caressing her wet skin through the open door that separated the bathroom of the main room. Small goosebumps covert her body every now and then. The water was running down her aching back. A miracle of hot steam. A massage for her neck and the tightly wound points all the way along her spine.

Her head was leaning against the cold wall of the shower, eyes shut. She tried to let her mind catch up the phrases she had been reading for the last three and a half hours. Her lips were moving slightly with every word that was flying through her mind, imagining the scenery to step into the world the writer might have intended to create. Therefore she produced the feelings she needed to get between the lines to slide into the character she wanted to breathe life into.

This had become a habit of hers. After a long and stressful day she would simply step into this intimate and yet so mundane bubble of blessedness.

It all began on a cold day in early spring about 22 years ago. Ten year old Lauren and her mother had just found out that her father was used to have an overly obsessive relationship with his secretary in a more than work related way. Maybe that had been the place where her trust issue had stemmed from.

Her mother had cried a lot and the rather boisterous arguments her parents had gotten into in their bedroom, had been too much for the young adolescent to take sometimes.

So she had created her own place of peace and quiet. A place she had built up to perfection through the years. Losing herself in a fantasy world, where she would be a queen or rebel, fighting on horseback or dancing in the moonlight.

Knock knock

Blonde hair, dripping wet, stuck on her shoulders. A welcoming calmness fluting through the splashes of water against the shower base, singing a song of its own.

Back then she loved to sing along. Forming a symphony out of muffled trickle against the cast iron and soft melodic hums dancing through almost closed lips . No screaming voices nor slamming doors had access into her head to destroy this transformation from world of horror into wonderland. Even if it had only been for a little while.

Her parents had tried to work through the pain of cheating for a little more than six months but one day it had been too much for her mother to bear anymore. Lauren and her mother had moved to her grandmother's in the neighboring city. It was a small two and a half room apartment and the couch had been her night camp for a few months until her mother found a new job and rent an apartment for the two of them.

A small rivulet of foam bored its way down her upper body over her toned legs to converge on a place around her ankles before it drained down through an already rusty plughole. The intoxicating ensemble of the odor of argan oil, shea- and cacao butter was filling the small bathroom supporting the relaxing silence.

Knock knock knock

'What the-?'

Laurens' eyes shot open. Who would dare to ruin this after work bliss? To ruin her anchor, her way out of the real world to reconnect with her inner peace? One quick look at the small radio affixed under a- let's call it antique- mirror closet on the right side of the shower was telling her the early hours of the new day.

Two AM.

Maybe it was an emergency. While running one hand through the strands clinging to her chest to adjust her hair back over her shoulders, the other was wrapping her soaked form into a small towel that made a terrible job to hide the important spots of her body. Lauren stepped out of the shower base in a hurry.

"Gimme a sec,"

"Hey Lauren, I really need to... oh my god you're naked!"

The door burst open to reveal a highly flustered brunette in a fluffy yellow wardrobe with little butterflies on it. Trying to hide her assets, Lauren rearranged the now wet piece of cotton. Crossing her legs in the process and slightly bending forward that the unfortunate surrogate of clothing might actually conceal something. The brunette stood, doorknob in hand, staring at the crooked blond in front of her, mouth agape.

"I'm sorry, but isn't this the part where you would apologize and turn around or something?... and Bo, either you come in or you go away but in any case shut the damn door."

Wide eyed Bo stumbled forward, almost falling to the floor loosing one of her flip flops while the door smashed into the frame behind her. While still facing the blonde, who jumped at the sudden chaos and almost lost the ends of the only cover in hands, Bo came to a halt in the middle of the small motel room.

"Oh my god, I think I saw a nipple."

With that the brunette was hiding her eyes behind her left hand and turned on her heels. Lauren didn't get what she was mumbling. She wasn't shy about her body but seeing her coworker at this late hour in an outfit that was screaming of teenage- slumber- party while Lauren was standing in her, well, lack of woven fabric, was a different kind of situation. Were those Spongebob boxer-shorts?

"Stay like this and don't, I repeat don't turn around. I'll find something more... appropriate to wear than... this shred."

Searching in her oversea bag next to the left side of a small bed still covered in papers and the rest of her dinner, Lauren found a black shirt and her light blue sleeping shorts. Her damp hair immediately created an abstract painting of wetness along her shoulders. The carpet, which laid in the tiny room, had now dark footprints next to undefinable multicolored blotches that had already been burned in the fiber years ago. Her inner voice was screaming about the carelessness to step out of the shower without anything to avoid athlete's foot or other disgusting evils.

As soon as she arrived in her motel room two weeks ago, she had disinfected all surfaces and made the bed with her own sheets.

'I knew I should have dry cleaned this carpet.'

Leaving the room to wash her feet again, she slipped into her flip flops still waiting for her in rank and file near the shower base. When Lauren returned into the main chamber Bo was still standing in the same position the blonde had left her. Long curly hair was hanging loose fixed with a single clasp at the right side of her head. Her left foot was missing the security of footwear. Lauren wrinkled her nose and moved to the door. While passing the stature in the middle of the room she could hear Bo whispering something she couldn't make out. After opening the door she bent down for the abandoned flip flop on the doormat.

The night was clear and the stars were sparkling brightly each of them aching to tell their story to anyone who would listen. At nights like this the blonde had loved to wander around, looking up into the pictures of great battles and unfulfilled dreams of love and desire. The night air tickled her drying skin.

It had been a hot day for spring, almost 28°C and the sun had been burning, leaving light red marks on her cheekbones and nose. The now cooled air sent a sudden chill through her bones and left her shivering. She went back into the shelter of the warmth of her motel room shutting out the darkened beauty on the other side.

Prey in hand she walked right up in front of the frozen sculpture of flesh and bones, holding out the item.

"You know, if you behaved like this in the first place, it wouldn't have been that awkward afterwards."

Bo hitched, letting her hand fall beside her body. Looking up she tried hard to avoid eye contact with the woman she had found half naked earlier.

"I am so incredibly sorry. I just heard you say something and I couldn't make out what exactly. Just thought it sounded like 'come in' and so I opened the door and, well, you know the rest."

Finally settling her gaze on Lauren she smiled, apologetic. She took her shoe and slipped it back on.

"Yeah... Unfortunately I do. It's okay though. We will see each other naked anyway, so... it was some kind of general rehearsal. But I think you should work on your poker face until then."

Bo frowned skeptically as Lauren moved to the edge of the bed and putting the sheets of paper away to sit down, briefly expressing for the brunette to do the same. Both sitting on one leg facing each other.

"Excuse me, what was that about us seeing each other naked?"

Lauren could sense a slight wave of discomfort in her coworkers voice.

This was Laurens' first TV production. A smaller movie for local television, but nonetheless it was one of the two leading roles. She got some smaller ones on stage at the theater, but this was her first try for something more public. She had gone to read for the role as Ira. A young internist and the best in her department, who got kidnapped by some underground organization called 'The Dark' to treat an unknown disease their leader 'The Morrigan' suffered of, she had never believed in actually getting the job.

That day she had met Bo Dennis. Bo had been reading for the role of Rogue. The right hand of 'The Morrigan' and the protector of the captive. She had gotten a few smaller roles in some TV productions and this wasn't as unfamiliar as it had been for Lauren that day.

Both women got along perfectly right from the start. Lauren had felt this connection and had been hoping for the opportunity to work with Bo. Lauren liked being around the brunette. She was an inspiration to work harder, be better.

"You did read the script didn't you?"

Lauren lent back around the brunette, stretching awkwardly to find the pages she left on her pillow to reread them after this warm massaging water steam that was pelting down like some kind of meditation to her tensed muscles. Her shirt rucked up her abdomen, exposing the soft skin around her navel. Preoccupied with searching the scrip she wanted Bo to see, Lauren had to lean even more forward and brushed against the brunettes' knee with her now revealed front.

Smooth blonde locks of her warm stomach touching freshly shaved cold skin. The second their bodies met both women jerked and the blonde stilled her movement to look back, feeling a sudden rush of electricity. She could hear a hissing sound coming from the woman next to her. When her gaze wondered up Bos' bare leg, her childish boxer-shorts and a yellow tank top Lauren saw chocolate brown orbs fixed on the point where her belly was pressed against the brunettes knee. Suddenly Bo sat up straight, hands on her upper legs fingers clutching against the flesh tightly, holding her breath and staring at the wall on the other side of the room.

Lauren swallowed hard and shook her head to refocus on the task at hand. Holding the sheets of paper in her hand she sat back up and slit at the end of the bed farthest to Bo. What was going on? Where did all the tension come from? In the past two weeks the two women shared a uncomplicated, easy and amicable working relationship. Everything seemed quite comfortable.

They made up their own working schedule. First thing in the morning they would meet either in Bos' or her motel room for a light breakfast from the coffee shop right across the street. They had gone through the scene that would have been shot that day and helped each other with productive criticism of their acting. Even while shooting, there had never been a moment of discomfort. They had laughed together or gossiped about the odd way Sid the camera guy ate those curd cheese turnover. It felt like more than just work, like some kind of friendship.

Lauren had never been an easy one to socialize with. Always sitting on the substitutes' bench watching the game others played and never once having the chance to get herself on the playground.

She had only had one good friend back in high school but they had drifted more and more apart after graduating. They had sworn to keep in touch, but over the years it had been lessened. Lauren was sad for quite some time, but her studies and her dreams caught all of her attention.

As a kid she had loved to perform for her family. Some were even self made sketches, too. Sometimes on Christmas or other feast days she rehearsed a stage play at church. Not because she was very religious but because her family hadn't had enough money for the amateur theater course at the local community collage . After the divorce, her father had gone to -at that time pregnant adulteress- to build a new family and had forgotten all about Lauren and his former wife.

But she couldn't care less. Her mother had taught Lauren to fight for what she desired. She had worked hard for her dreams. One day she had promised herself to become an actress. So she got herself busy.

Now here she was. In the middle of shooting a movie that will be seen on TV. Her dream was coming true. In a few days she would be 32 and she could call herself an actress. Though the fee wasn't that much, but it was enough to make a living. Maybe this would be her steppingstone.

Lauren was good at what she was did. Never lost track or forgot the next line. Some of her colleagues called her 'one shot wonder'. She had some kind of photographic memory. Once she was done reading she could almost quote a whole page without reviewing it before. That had been one part why she had never really had to learn for school. Her IQ had also been tested when she was in middle school and without surprise, she wasn't dumb at all, actually she was some kind of genius.

She had been lucky to get a full scholarship, otherwise she would have never gone to college to go to a course of theater studies and English literature.

There was this one student in the same lecture she attended. He was a nice guy, quite a nerd himself, but he was kind and he could understand Lauren because he was as much peculiar as she was. One day she had found herself lying in his bed with him grunting over her. It wasn't what she thought it would be. No stars nor fireworks. But they stayed together the whole college time. Anytime they got intimate, she had an awkward feeling in her stomach. Where were those emotions she read all about in those old stage plays? Where was the so called passion or desire? Where was this love she was supposed to feel? Shouldn't she feel at least happiness to have that someone she could spend time with and talk to? Or feel sort of normal, now that she had someone by her side? Didn't everyone do exactly the same? Did they feel all those things?

So, when they went separate ways, she wasn't sad, rather relieved.

Now, Lauren reflected on the past days. Thought of the possibilities why the brunette in front of her could be so tensed up all of a sudden. Where was the funny and blithely woman she had met back then?

Bo acted kind of uncharacteristically. Lauren frowned. She could see the startled expression of the brunette.

Waving the papers in front of Bos' nose, the brunette backed off just a bit, but enough for Lauren to recognize.

"Yeah, well, here it is."

Taking the sheets, Bos' eyes wandered over the lines, some of the words mirroring on her lips. A few minutes pasted by and the blonde grew more and more impatient.

"So?"

Bo released the pages and placed them on the floor next to her feet. Urgh, that floor. Lauren fought the urge to pick the sheet of paper back up. She made a mental note to burn it after tipping it off on her laptop.

"Yeah, uhm... I didn't get that far. That scene isn't going to get shot in about at least another week. You know, there are some people out there who have to actually learn their lines?"

Lauren blinked several times. As the brunette locked eyes with her, Lauren shrugged mouth agape, not knowing what to respond to that comment. She felt a sting in her guts. Bos' voice held a bit of sarcasm Lauren hadn't heard so far and in a way it hurt.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"Ok."

"No really..."

Bo breathed out heavily, adjusting her sitting position to face the blonde. She reached out as if to touch Laurens' hand on the mattress but decided otherwise and fumbled at the dip of her yellow sleeping shirt.

"Why are you here Bo? It's late... or early... and I really need to get some sleep."

Lauren was no longer in the mood for small talk or to figure out what she could have done. She wanted Bo to leave her alone. She wanted to go back into that hot shower and to forget about what had just happened. Bo must have felt Laurens' distress. Shifting uneasily, she tried to catch the blondes eyes again, which were now fixed on the clock on the nightstand.

Two fifteen AM.

"Ok, listen, Lauren?... Would you look at me, please?"

Lauren turned slowly with a sigh, missing her secret place more than ever. The night could have ended so differently. She made up a list in her mind, of all the things she could have done, if she had only decided to ignore the knock on the door.

"Thank you. I'm sorry, ok? It wasn't my intention to interrupt you. I know how important it is for you to follow your rituals. I do. And I... I couldn't sleep. Actually, I did sleep, for a while... But I had a dream that just wouldn't leave me. So I thought about going for a walk. I saw the lights still on in your room and I was hoping that maybe you weren't asleep yet... And you obviously aren't."

The brunette was rumbling. And a nervous chuckle escaped her. Another uncharacteristic anomaly and so unlike the Bo Dennis Lauren had gotten to know this past few weeks.

Her gaze dropped somewhere in between her monologue. Lauren got alarmed. She hadn't seen her coworker like that ever. It was always easy talking to one another. She was one of those kind who always knew a brilliant respond to an impolite command of some random guy trying to get laid or how to light up a rather volatile topic in such a charming way Lauren had never known before.

"Ok, Bo, you got me scared enough. What is it? Is something wrong? Did anything happen after the shoot today? Was it Masimo again? I told him, he should leave you alone, if he wanted to raise a family one day."

"No. No nothing like that."

They fell silent again. There had to be a reason why the brunette acted that way. They had never visited one another after supper. Never ever.

"Did I do anything to upset you?"

Bos' eyes shot up meeting Laurens searching stare. Bulls-eye.

"No. You didn't do anything wrong!"

Lauren let out a small angry laugh and got up. Standing now in the middle of the small room, facing Bo with curiosity.

"Well, your reaction says different. As an actress of your caliber you could have performed better, Bo. We don't know each other very well and so I have to tell you that I was born and raised by a woman who attached utmost importance to honesty and straightforwardness. So, shoot it cowgirl!"

It was hard to tell what the actress in front of Lauren was thinking. It got Lauren even more angry. Her gaze dropped to the floor as she inhaled deeply. When their eyes met again, Bos' expression was blank. Chocolate brown eyes, which held so much warmth and benignity, were now blunt and without their usual sparkle.

"You know? I guess it was a mistake for me to come over. I think I should go and maybe we can talk another time, okay? We're both tired and tomorrow is going to be a hard work. And I think I should reread my lines anyways, so, thank you for your hospitality."

Lauren swallowed hard, her anger would be reaching boiling point within the next milliseconds. Her eyes could have burned holes in Bo's head if she had some kind of laser vision. Bo broke the intense stare down and headed to the front door. When she tried to open the barrier that blocked her way out of this misery and into the quiet, cool night Lauren rushed to stand behind her pushing the door back in its lock with a loud bang.

Bo jumped and turned around to find herself, face to face with the blonde. Lauren clenched her jaw and her challenging posture invading the brunette's personal space. Bo was trying to move away but Laurens other hand was darting out making that impossible, both hands now on the door of either side of Bos face. She was trapped. Lauren fixed her co-worker's gaze with a determined look. Those usually whiskey brown orbs turned almost pitch black with a mix of emotions about to erupt but kept firmly inside. The blonde could feel Bo's short and hot breath on her lips. The Actress' voice was low and remained dangerously calm.

"Now, you listen. You knock at my door in the middle of the night, making me look like a fool, all wet and with only this unbelievably tiny piece of cloth in my hand to cover up. The possibility of catching some kind of fungus at my feet increased up to 70% because I have forgotten to slip into my beach slippers. And the only thing you can come up with is 'thank you for your hospitality' after offending my intelligence with some incredibly implausible excuse of being tired? You've got to be kidding me, Bo. If you have anything to say, just do so!"

Lauren could see that the brunette was holding her breath. Bos' eyes flickered over her face. Lauren held a constant stare on those eyes, trying to make out what they wanted to say when their owner wouldn't. She had always been good in reading people. That came with the package of being a misfit she guessed. There had been plenty of time and space to observe and study the habits or idiosyncrasy of the human being in its natural environment. In some ways it had been entertaining, like some soap opera but in real life. Humans could be so amusing.

"I, uh..."

Bo was searching for the right words to say, Lauren could sense. The wall of anger she had built up was cracking and formed a path through the stones for a far stronger emotion. The one Lauren desperately tried to bury deep inside her. Disappointment.

How could she'd been wrong? Maybe Bo was a far better actress than she had thought. Always on stage, playing not only the role of Rogue the predator and protector but Bo the friend of strange and crazy Lauren.

"You know, maybe you're right. Maybe you should leave now."

Lauren dropped her gaze to the doorknob stepping back to release her former prisoner.

"You know I just thought, we... we were some kind of friends. But I guess I am just plain stupid."

'Great Lauren, well done. You had to force her into talking. Why can't you just let things go? Now, how are you supposed to work with her without feeling awkward? God!'

Lost in her own train of thoughts Lauren rolled her eyes and mentally slapped herself, hard, several times. She turned the knob and opened the door. When she felt back pressure, the knob slipped out of her grip. This time it was Bo who held the door closed.

"Lauren, but we are."

Suddenly she felt a warm and gentle hand on her right cheek. She forced herself to look up and met the most intense gaze she ever stared into. Bos' thumb stroke her cheekbone.

"We are friends Lauren."

Laurens' eyes went glassy. She let out a small laughter of irritation.

"Bo, I really am no specialist in terms of relationships in any universe but I believe that being friends means being in a position to talk to one another, being honest."

Bos' hand released her cheek and left her skin aching for the warmth it had provided. Their eyes still locked.

"Yeah, but what if the things someone has to say, might ruin everything they have built?"

"You know? I believe that to keep something hidden is worse. Somehow it'll come up and maybe then it'll be too late."

Lauren watched Bo intensely. What was it, that Bo thought would destroy their friendship? Lauren had never been in a situation like this. To feel the urge to fight for another person so that they would stay in her life. It had been easy to turn around and live her life like she was used to. Return to her acting and observations from afar. It wasn't that bad. At least it wasn't until she met a certain brunette who had turned her world upside down. Made her want to crawl out of her snail shell. Made her want to meet up for a simple small talk and have some coffee or tea. Made her see that there was more than the little bubble she called life.

"Bo... Just tell me. You are important to me even after this short amount of time and I really want to work things out."

They were still staring at each other. Lauren tried to crack a smile but probably it looked like a snoot. She was nervous. There was something in Bos' gaze she couldn't quite label but she could feel it. Feel it all over her body. An intensity that course through her veins to settle down in her heart. She felt warmth and acceptance and something else she hadn't experienced before.

Neither of them knew how they happened to stand that close all of a sudden. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, leaning in until their noses brushed and their breath became one. The temperature of the room must have elevated some how, because Lauren felt hot. Really hot. When she made out a ghost of a touch of lips on her lips, she closed her eyes. Her fingertips traveled their way up the brunettes upper arm, over her shoulder to linger ever so slightly on her cheek. Bos' hand came up to her chest and took a grip on her shirt pulling her more firmly into her, bodies touching on full length. Their lips brushing against each other gently in a slow and comforting way. Lauren pressed Bos' back carefully against the the cold wooden fabric. The moment Bo's back touched the door their shared intimacy got more urgent. Lauren felt Bos' hands roaming up and down her sides only to rest on her waist in a tight embrace. One hand in thick brown hair holding the woman in place Lauren deepened the kiss, exploring each others taste.

'Kiss? Wait.'

Pushing herself off of the brunette, Lauren stepped away to get some distance. Bo obviously needed some time to process before she opened her eyes to look with an expression burdened with guilt. The blonde turned around not able to hold the brunette's gaze.

When she found the strength to face the other woman again, she had already left with the door wide opened.

Her finger slid over her lips, swollen and still a bit of the sweet nectar of Bo left.

"Dammit!"

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