Chapter 11: Undress Rehearsal
The six decided to get some sleep on the big sailboat, everyone drained from the night before. Brittany was still really cold when she woke up, so she decided to take a hot shower in the full bathroom on the boat to try and warm up. Cuddling with Anna had helped a lot, but it turns out jumping into the freezing ocean in the middle of winter isn't really the smartest thing for a person to do.
They all managed to get a decent night's sleep, even though so much had happened the day before. When they all woke up, they packed up their things before meeting to decide what to do about Josh being taken hostage. "I say that we follow whatever trail the Healers left behind. That will take us right to their base, and right to Josh," Anna said.
"I agree, the Healers don't really think about what they leave behind." Ester said as she took a sip of water. Brittany then walked out into the main room in just a towel wrapped around her body. The shower had definitely helped her get warm, and she was now walking out to get a drink of water before heading back into the room to get changed, Anna's eyes following her closely, smiling at her girlfriend's beautiful form. That's when Ester smirked and cleared her throat.
"Let's finished getting ready and packed up so that we can leave. While we know the Healers have left a trail, we don't know how long the trail will stay, especially with the way that it's been snowing lately," Ester said to everyone.
"Yeah, we should probably get going, but we shouldn't go on foot, it's too cold and Brittany is still recovering from frostbite." Anna said.
"Well how do you suppose we go then? It's not like we can take this boat to the base. The only way that we can get to the base is following on the trail, and there aren't a lot of vehicles around here," Dale said to Anna, a hint of contempt still in her voice from her argument with Anna.
"We'll hotwire some cars." Anna said, avoiding direct eye contact with Dale. "It'll be better than traveling on foot in the cold. we do, we could all get frostbite or hypothermia."
Dale crossed her arms. "Well, does anyone here even know how to hotwire a car? And even if we successfully hotwire the car, what if there's no gas? What do we do then?"
"Why don't we worry about those problems if we come across them? It's no use worrying about potential problems, especially if we're not currently facing them. Let's just look for a car now and worry about everything else later," Anna replied coldly.
"You know, you're lucky your girlfriend still even trusts you after you left her a second time." Dale stated.
"Enough with that already, Dale!" Anna shot back. "I could've just ditched your boyfriend's sorry ass! You could be a little more grateful!"
"Stop it you two!" Skylar said, jumping between them before it got too nasty. "Your guys arguing isn't going to get anywhere."
"Skylar's right, it's better we focus on right now rather than what happened last night." Brittany added. "Let's just focus on getting Josh back."
"Yeah, let's focus on getting Josh back," Ester said, "Nobody seems to have any other ideas, so let's go find a car and attempt to hotwire it. If that doesn't work, we'll come back here and think of another plan. Does that sound good?" Everyone nodded. "Alright, then let's get to it."
"We'll split up. Anna, Dale. You two are going to be in a group together, so you can work out your differences." Skylar stated. "Brittany and Ester will go together and Melieke will be with me." Both Anna and Dale groaned but nodded.
As everyone got ready for the day, Anna stood in front of the mirror putting on a winter jacket and her head under a hat to keep warm. She then felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around her. "Do I have to go with Dale?" Anna sighed.
"Yes, you do. You two need to figure out how to not go at each other's throats every time you see each other. It's causing a lot of tension between everyone, not just you and her," Brittany murmured in Anna's ear. "Trust me, it'll be fine."
"She'll probably throw me in a ditch and leave me there." Anna deadpanned, biting her lip and trying not to roll her eyes. "I know I shouldn't have left you, but she doesn't need to keep beating a dead horse."
"Well, if she has any common sense at all, she won't try to abandon you in a ditch because she'd face my wrath if she did so," Brittany replied, making Anna smile a little bit. "I'm sure it will go by a lot faster if you two just try to talk things out right off the bat. That way, you won't be trying to kill each other the whole time." Brittany said.
Anna nodded then turned around and then placed her hands on Britt's waist. "I'm sorry again for leaving you last night, I broke the same promise twice and I usually never break a promise once." She said, leaning her forehead against Brittany's. "Dale did have a point when she said I was lucky you still trust me, I don't deserve your trust, let alone your love."
"Well, her point is wrong. You do deserve my trust, and you certainly deserve my love. You're the light for me in all this darkness, Anna. Sure, you might've slipped up, but we all do. We're human. None of us is perfect. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you don't deserve my love, because you do," Brittany replied, closing the distance between their lips and kissing Anna. The brunette pulled Brittany closer and kissed her back.
"You're wrong you know? You're perfect, you're beyond perfect." Anna murmured once their lips parted. "I honestly wonder sometimes if you're actually human." She said, smiling gently at her girlfriend. "You're funny, smart, and kind. Not to mention absolutely beautiful. This morning when you walked out in the towel, I couldn't take my eyes off of you."
Brittany giggled at Anna's words. "Yeah, I noticed that you couldn't take your eyes off of me. It was like I had you hypnotized or something," the blonde said, smiling and biting her lip.
"Well, as I learned last night, your body is sexy as hell." Anna whispered, smiling back at Brittany. "You have no idea how much I wanted you last night before we had to go to stop the shipment, it took every ounce of my strength to not take it further."
"And I thought I was the one who had to restrain myself," Brittany said, playfully raising an eyebrow at Anna. "Turns out that I'm not the only one who needs to keep her hormones in check."
"Can you blame me, Britt?" Anna whispered, smiling softly at Brittany. "You're so beautiful, so wonderful. Every time you kiss me, it's like alcohol. I get drunk off the taste of your lips, I get buzzed off the feeling of your breath on my lips. It's like you're a drug, but you're good for me, that I've become addicted to." She murmured, kissing Brittany's lips again, slowly and deeply.
Brittany blushed, smiling and leaning into the second kiss. "Well, you're full of compliments today," she said with a giggle. "And for the record, I feel the same way about you, babe. The exact same way," she whispered, looking into Anna's eyes.
"Every time you look at me like that, it makes me want to shove you against a wall and kiss you." Anna whispered back.
"I would tell you to do that, but we should get going," Brittany said with an apologetic smile. "We don't want Josh to be a hostage any longer than he already has been."
"If Dale comes back without me, she's killed me." Anna said jokingly, kissing Brittany softly.
"She won't kill you. Just go figure everything out." Brittany said before kissing her girlfriend one more time and heading out to meet everyone else. Anna sighed, knowing that Brittany was right, and followed her girlfriend out to meet the others, who were waiting for them.
"Alright, so we already know the groups that we're going to be in. We'll all be looking for a car and attempting to hotwire it. If one of us succeeds, we use our walkie talkie to let the others know so that we can find you," Skylar said.
Brittany kissed Anna's cheek before whispering, "Be nice," in her ear before heading off with Ester. Anna nodded reluctantly and looked over at Dale, who gave her boyfriend a kiss before letting him walk away with Meleike.
The groups went in different directions, Anna and Dale deciding to head northwest. There was minimal talking between them as they walked, neither one of them wanting to talk to the other. Then Anna remembered what Brittany had told her. "Start talking right off the bat so you're not trying to kill each other the entire time."
Anna nodded her head and then spoke up. "Look, I think everyone was right for pairing us up today, we need to sort out our differences. It'll be better not just for us but for the group. So if you have a problem with me, tell me now and I'll tell you my problems so we can try working it out."
"I think that I've already made it pretty clear what my problems with you are, so why don't you go ahead and tell me what problems you have with me," Dale replied.
"Alright, I'll tell you." Anna said, taking a deep breath as they continued to walk along a sidewalk, keeping their eyes out for cars. "I feel like you should be a little bit more grateful, I saved Skylar from getting captured. The fact that I left Britt by herself was stupid, I know that. But you had no right to judge me for my decision. There are so many things I feel guilty for in my life and I don't need you constantly reminding me of the mistake I made last night. If it had been you in my situation, if you had to have left Brittany to go get Skylar, you would've left her and you know it."
Dale was silent for a few minutes, not sure how she should respond to Anna. "You're right. I would have left to get Skylar," she finally said, looking down at the ground as they continued to walk. "If it had been me, I would have done the exact same thing in a heartbeat."
"I know I should've stayed with Brittany, but Josh is my brother. I couldn't just stay there without going to try and help him, if I could've done something to help him I would've." Anna said, stopping in her tracks. "That said, I still feel terrible for leaving Brittany because I broke a promise for the second time. But when you yelled at me, it only made me feel worse about the whole ordeal, like I had failed Brittany."
Dale was quiet for a second time. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, Anna. Yesterday was just a really stressful day, and I saw an opportunity to release my stress and anger on someone, and that someone just happened to be you. I apologize for that. You didn't deserve it."
Anna nodded. "I accept your apology, and I apologize for yelling back. It didn't make things any better." She said genuinely. She then held out a peace offering hand, hoping Dale would shake it. "Are we good here?"
Dale hesitated for a moment before shaking Anna's hand. "Yeah, we're good." After a silence between them, Dale cleared her throat. "Now let's go find a car and hotwire it."
Anna nodded and then they turned and continued looking for a car. They searched for about an hour or so before they found a big maroon pickup truck. Anna walked up to it and grabbed a knife, unlocking the door. She then chuckled.
"What is it?" Dale asked.
"No need to hotwire it, the keys are right here in the seat." Anna said, climbing into the driver's seat, turning the key in the ignition. When the car started, Anna smiled widely. "And it has a full tank of gas, let's tell everyone to meet back at the dock and then we will get out of here."
Dale took their walkie talkie out and told everyone to head back to the dock since they had found a working truck. "Alright, everyone's heading back now," she told Anna, opening the passenger side door and climbing inside the truck. As soon as Dale got her seatbelt on, Anna drove them the short distance back to the docks.
Everyone got back within twenty minutes considering they didn't go very far in that hour. Brittany got in the middle front seat next to Anna, and Ester, Meleike and Skylar got in the back. Anna started driving again, following the tracks of the Healers' tires from their trucks.
"So, I'm assuming that you two worked things out since you're not arguing," Brittany said to both Anna and Dale, who laughed.
"Yeah, we worked things out. We're on good terms now, right Dale?" Anna said.
"Yes, that is right." Dale said, smiling the girl in the driver's seat. Anna continued to drive until they reached a highway, where the tracks ended.
"Fuck," Anna said sighing. "How the hell are we going to track them if we don't even know where they which way they went on the interstate?"
Everyone was silent before Meleike spoke up. "I guess there's only one way we'll find out. We have to take one way, and if it doesn't lead to the Freedom Healer base, then we turn around and take the other way," he said.
"We could drive across the whole country and not find anything," Skylar said.
"And if that's what it takes, then that's what we will do." Anna said. "We'll head west first since we're basically a five miles from the coast, then we'll go east." Everyone nodded in agreement and then they drove to the coast. They didn't find anything out there, so Anna turned the truck around and started heading east.
By the time they got back to the fork in the interstate, night had already fallen. Since Anna had been driving most of the time, she agreed to switch with Skylar and take his place in the back of the truck with Ester and Meleike.
"The back seat is pretty tight, let's have Brittany and Dale come back here. Ester, Meleike and I have been sitting in the back all day." Skylar said. Once everyone had been situated, Brittany was sitting in the middle, her arm linked with Anna's and her head was resting on Anna's shoulder.
"This must be pretty comfortable for you, huh?" Anna said to Brittany with a smile. "I don't think you've moved at all in the last half hour."
"It's the only way I'm comfortable, plus you're really warm and I'm cold from walking outside in the cold all day. It must be my Florida roots, I don't like the cold." Brittany whispered, holding Anna close. "You know something that would make me feel better?"
"Unfortunately I can't read minds, so no, I don't know what would make you feel better. Can you give me an idea of what that might be?" Anna replied.
Brittany leaned in and connected their lips in the dark car, lingering there a while with their lips attached. They molded together perfectly and Anna cupped Britt's cheek, kissing her back.
Anna only pulled away when she needed to catch her breath, and she smiled at Brittany. "I'm assuming that's the something that will make you feel better?"
"Mhmm," Brittany whispered, biting her lip as she smiled. "I plan on doing it more when we stop for the night." She whispered, tugging at Anna's bottom lip with her teeth.
Anna groaned softly, smiling and getting excited for when they stopped. "We should find a hotel for the night, we didn't get a lot of rest last night and there are plenty of hotels still in business along the highway."
Brittany nodded. "Yeah, a good night's rest would be beneficial for all of us, especially since this weather has been so brutal," she murmured back, leaning her forehead against Anna's. Anna smiled and kissed Brittany's nose.
"Well, we're in luck, because there's a hotel at the next exit." Skylar said. "We'll check in there and stay for the night."
Once they checked into a nice little hotel, the three couples got three different rooms. Anna and Brittany got to their room and instantly began making out. "I've been wanting to do this all day," Anna mumbled softly as her lips connected with Brittany's in a passionate kiss. Anna pulled Brittany over to the bed, their lips still connected.
"Believe me, I've been wanting to do it all day too babe," Brittany whispered, running her hands through Anna's hair. Before they fell on the bed, Brittany stopped. "I don't want to go all the way, but I was wondering if maybe you wanted to take a shower with me?"
"A shower would be great," Anna replied, breaking the kiss and sitting up. She followed Brittany to the bathroom. "Do you want me to wait out here while you undress?" Anna asked.
Brittany shook her head. "I want you to undress me." She whispered, pulling Anna inside the bathroom with her. She turned the shower on, making sure the water was warm. Then she turned back to Anna.
Anna smiled at Brittany, looking down at the floor and shuffling her feet awkwardly. She didn't want to admit it to Brittany, but she felt a little bit nervous for some reason, and she couldn't quite figure out why.
"It's okay if you're a bit nervous babe." Brittany whispered, holding Anna's hands in her own. "If it helps in any way, I'm pretty nervous too. We're about to see each other naked for the first time." She said, leaning in and kissing her lips. When she pulled back she took a deep breath. "Are you ready?"
Anna hesitated, taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She then slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm ready," she said softly, looking into Brittany's eyes. "I'm ready if you are."
Britt smiled and then leaned in and kissed Anna's lips one more time. "You're beautiful to me," she whispered before letting Anna take off her jacket and shirt.
"Thank you, babe," Anna murmured back as the kiss grew a little more heated. They slowly began to take each other's clothes off, the kiss intensifying as they did so. Anna could feel her heartbeat quickening, and continued taking Britt's clothes off as they continued to kiss each other passionately.
Once both of them were completely naked, they took a step back to admire each other. Anna bit her lip and smiled, taking her hair out of the bun it was in while Britt left it in a braid. Anna then reached out and pulled Brittany into the the steam-filled shower. "You are so beautiful, Brittany. So, so beautiful."
Brittany smiled, letting her eyes travel up and down Anna's body for another time. "You're not too bad yourself, Kendrick," she replied before winking at her girlfriend. Anna pulled Brittany's body against her own, letting the water fall upon them. She placed her hands on Brittany's hips and began to kiss her gently.
With their bodies pulled flush against each other, Brittany let out a soft moan. "Mmm, Anna." She whispered. "This is perfect."
Anna smirked to herself, deepening the kiss by sliding her tongue across Brittany's bottom lip. "Yeah, this is perfect," she murmured back.
Brittany ran her hands along the back of Anna's neck, holding her close as their lips connected. She'd never felt so loved and safe inside, being with Anna was beyond perfect. She backed up against the wall and pulled Anna with her.
Anna gently pushed Brittany up against the wall of the shower, placing her hands on the wall on either side of the blonde's body. "I love you," she whispered, looking into Brittany's eyes.
"I love you too," Brittany whispered, holding Anna close to her. "Shit," she gasped when Anna's teeth began making love bites on the skin of her neck.
"Believe me, baby. This is only a fraction of how good it will feel when we go all the way together," Anna whispered.
"Oh my god Anna," Brittany moaned, holding Anna's head against her neck. She truly enjoyed the feeling she was getting at the moment. "Please, don't stop." She murmured.
Anna smirked again, loving the reactions that she was getting from Brittany. "I won't stop unless you tell me too," she murmured back, running her tongue over each bite she had left.
"Shit babe," Brittany whispered, just allowing Anna to do most of the work. "That feels so good."
"I'm glad babe," Anna whispered before moving her lips further down to Brittany's chest, right above her breasts. Anna's hand that wasn't tangling itself in Brittany's blonde hair began massaging one of her boobs as their lips reconnecting, instantly re-engaging in a tongue battle. "Tell me how this feels," Anna whispered, knowing it was driving Britt crazy.
Sure enough, Brittany was loving everything that Anna was doing at that moment. "Anna, I-" She said, biting down on her lip before she moaned. "It's so good."
"I know baby," Anna whispered, smirking and kissing Brittany roughly as their bodies pressed together in the steamy shower. "You're so beautiful," She whispered, moving her lips back to Brittany's chest, starting to suck softly on her boob, causing an instant moan from Brittany.
"How are you so good at this?" Brittany mumbled under her breath, running her fingers through Anna's hair and tugging at the ends. "Fuck, this is good," she moaned.
"Oh Britt, I just know what you like." Anna murmured, moving her mouth over to Brittany's other breast where she began swirling her tongue around. Brittany's moans turned Anna on like crazy and started sucking hickeys into Brittany's chest.
Brittany was unable to keep herself from moaning as Anna continued her ministrations. Brittany was experiencing so many feelings at once—pleasure, love, lust—that it was hard to distinguish between them. "Fuck, Anna!"
Anna smirked at Brittany cursed her name and then moved her lips up behind Brittany's ear, sucking softly on her weak spot while her hands moved down to Brittany's bum, where she began massaging her cheeks just like she did with her breasts. "You're so hot when you moan because of me." She whispered in Brittany's ear before sucking on her skin again.
"You're so good at making me moan," Brittany mumbled back, closing her eyes and sighing with content as Anna's lips trailed all over her skin.
"Your body is my paradise, you are my paradise, Brittany." Anna murmured, softly digging her nails across Britt's waist. She returned her lips to Brittany's, kissing them tenderly.
Brittany pulled away from the kiss to catch her breath. "As much as I'd like to continue this, we should probably stop before it goes any further," she murmured softly.
"Is everything okay baby?" Anna asked, placing her hands on Brittany's hips as the hot water fell down on them in the steamy, hot shower.
"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. I just know that you're still not ready to go all the way, and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable if things keep escalating the way they have been," Brittany replied.
"So, I must have you pretty turned on, huh?" Anna said, smirking a little with a sense of pride. Her hands ran up and down Britt's body softly.
"Yeah, you could say that I guess," Brittany murmured back. She looked down, smiling to herself, then looked back up at Anna.
"You're so beautiful." Anna whispered, holding her girlfriend close to her as the water fell upon them. "Everything about you," Anna whispered. "Is perfect."
"There's plenty of things about me that are nowhere close to being perfect," Brittany said, leaning her forehead against Anna's. "Believe me, Anna. I'm nowhere near perfect. If I was even close I wouldn't have those PTSD panic attacks and I wouldn't-"
Anna cut her off with a gentle kiss on the lips. "To me, you're perfect." She whispered as their lips parted. "And that's all that matters."
Brittany smiled, closing the short distance between them and reconnecting their lips. "You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say something like that," the blonde whispered.
"Well, I mean every word of it. I don't care about the fact that you have panic attacks or nightmares." Anna said, tucking some of Brittany's stray curls back. "I care about you; and every single thing about you, even your flaws…" Anna paused for a moment and cupped Brittany's cheeks, looking deeply into her eyes. "They're what make you, you. And I love you Brittany. I love all of you. Not just certain parts of you, all of you."
Brittany felt tears welling up in her eyes as Anna spoke, the blonde girl able to hear the truth and honesty in the brunette's voice. She had never felt more loved than she did with Anna; nobody could compare to how caring she was. "Anna, I-" She paused for a moment. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"I mean every word of it," Anna murmured. She leaned their foreheads together stayed there a moment, just letting the water run on top of them. "You're the one."
"You're the one for me too, Anna. You're my person," Brittany whispered back, her arms around Anna's neck.
"And you're my person," Anna said. "Always." She said, smiling and kissing her girlfriend again.
"If it's alright with you, could we maybe get out of the shower and cuddle for a little bit?" Brittany asked.
"No, that would be completely unacceptable," Anna said in a teasing and sarcastic tone, running her hand along Brittany's arm. "I would love that, and you know I would." She said smiling and leaning in to kiss Britt's lips.
Brittany smiled into the kiss. "If you really think cuddling is that unacceptable, we don't have to cuddle," she replied, playing along with Anna.
"I want to cuddle with you babe," Anna stated. She smiled and then turned off the shower, handing Brittany a towel as they got out of the shower. "I couldn't ever say no to cuddles from you."
"Well that's a good thing, because we'd have a problem then," Brittany replied with a chuckle as she wrapped herself up in her towel.
Anna smiled and then changed into some pjs before climbing into the bed and waiting for Brittany. "You're beautiful." She said as she watched Brittany change. "The most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Really? I'm the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" Brittany asked.
The young brunette stood up and walked over to Brittany, wrapping her arms around her from behind. "The most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Anna whispered, kissing the back of Brittany's shoulder and then up behind her ear.
Brittany smiled, noticing the genuine honesty in Anna's voice. "I love you for loving me," she whispered, turning her head towards Anna.
"There's nothing else I'd rather do than love you. You know, besides getting my brother back and stopping the Healers. But once all this is over, we'll be able to start a normal life together." She whispered, pulling Brittany over to the bed before covering them up with the blankets.
"Yeah, I hope so," Brittany said, cuddling up next to Anna. "It's going to be a while before all this dies down though."
"We will Brittany," Anna said smiling. "Like you said, you just have to believe." She tucked Brittany's hair back and smiled.
"Anna?" Brittany asked.
"Yeah?" Anna asked while softly tracing her arm.
"What's your biggest fear?" Brittany asked.
"Right now, it's not saving Josh or my parents." Anna stated, biting her lip and looking down. "But my deepest fear is losing you."
Brittany noticed Anna look away from her. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere, okay? You're not going to lose me." Brittany said to Anna.
"I know that I'm not. It's just the thought of it even being a small possibility is what scares me more than anything." Anna said, looking back up. "I'm going to do my best to protect you, because I love you. And the thought of losing you is what kills me the most."
"I promise that you're not going to lose me, Anna. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure of that. And I know that you're going to protect me, and I know that you're going to keep me safe," Brittany whispered, looking into Anna's eyes.
Anna nodded and placed her hands on Brittany's, which was resting on Anna's neck. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." She whispered.
"I know," Brittany murmured back, her voice just barely loud enough for Anna to hear. She leaned in and brushed their lips together gently.
"And I'm going to protect you with all that I have." Anna whispered, only pulling back from the kiss when Brittany did.
The blonde closed her eyes, laying her head down on the pillows of the bed. "I think I'm going to fall asleep soon," she mumbled, a yawn following her last few words.
"You're adorable when you yawn," Anna murmured, kissing Brittany's nose before turning off the lamp and hugging the blonde close.
"Oh sure I am," Brittany muttered back sarcastically, though she couldn't keep herself from smiling. Anna then leaned in, deciding to give Britt a goodnight kiss. Her lips formed a smile as soon as they connected with Brittany's.
"Goodnight, my beautiful love." She whispered. Anna's words were the last thing Brittany heard before she fell asleep, smiling and sighing happily before her eyes slowly closed.
Will Anna, Britt, Skylar, Dale, Meleike and Ester be able to rescue Josh from the Healers? Let's hope so. Plus, Dale and Anna are now on good terms again. And we thought you might enjoy a sendrick shower scene ;). Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Until next time,
Elle and Gabi
