Nothing really much to say, trying to just plow ahead on some writing whenever I'm not doing schoolwork. Here's two new chapters that I was able to lovingly produce in between an endless slew of essays.
The fabric of Lara's shirt parted with her flesh, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Try as Lara did to stay relaxed and composed, she couldn't stop her abdominal muscles from tensing in anticipation as Sam's piercing gaze scanned over her midriff. Lara had only lost her shirt, yet she already felt bare and vulnerable before Sam.
"Bra," Sam instructed, and Lara turned around obediently. Cold air nipped at her newly exposed breasts as her bra slid off her shoulders and down her arms in slow motion. She found herself incapable of holding any air in her lungs when she turned back around to face Sam. Only silence hung in the air between them as they stared back at each other.
Then Sam took a step forward.
She didn't grab the fresh t-shirt that was laying on the bed like Lara expected her to, she just kept drawing closer. With every step she took towards Lara, Lara took a step back until her back was up against the wall. Sam drew closer still.
"S-Sam," Lara choked out when Sam was fully pressed up against her. She could feel the tickle of Sam's breath on her collarbone, feel the heat radiating from Sam's form. Lara swallowed thickly. "Sam," she breathed out once more. Sam let out a small puff of amusement through her nose and took Lara's hands in her own and pinned them up against the wall beside Lara's head. Lara was completely defenseless and at Sam's mercy.
Sam leaned in closer for what Lara thought was a kiss. Instead, her head went to the side of Lara's face and she took a playful nip at Lara's ear. In spite of herself, Lara bit down on her bottom lip and let out a throaty moan at the electric volts that were sent blossoming from the site. Sam let out a small laugh into Lara's ear that sent further waves and tingles shooting down her spine and into her base of coital pleasure.
Lara melted and surrendered to Sam's will as Sam began to kiss down on her neck. Lara mentally pleaded for Sam to keep going, to explore and savor every inch of her body like a fine wine. She wanted Sam to suckle and nibble on her breasts, to work her way down her abdomen, to lay her bare and throw her down on the bed to pleasure her with her warm, soft tongue-
Lara bolted upright in bed coated in sweat. She threw a hand up to her injured shoulder with a hiss when it throbbed in protest of her abrupt motion. A dream. It was all just a dream. She took her hand off her shoulder and brushed her bangs out of her face.
It's a good thing Sam isn't still here, she thought to herself. She could just picture trying to explain herself to Sam.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, weird dream."
"About?"
"Well, you see…you were shagging the shit out of me."
Lara buried her face in her hand. How did one go about explaining to their best friend that they may or may not fancy them? Lara frowned as she removed her hand from her face. Did she fancy Sam? How could she even be certain that she actually went that way, and was it worth their friendship to find out? She knew that Sam was certainly into women, but when Lara stopped to think about it, she herself never personally experienced 'attraction' to another person until Sam. How could she be sure that she wasn't mistaking a close platonic bond for 'attraction'? By the same token, she hadn't experienced 'attraction' until Sam. So was it out of the realm of possibility for herself to be…?
Lara let out a long groan of frustration. Everything was too confusing, and they only had a few days left in New York. She could put off her crisis of identity until they both got back to London. She shook her head to clear it.
Where is Sam, anyhow? Lara wondered. The sounds of an electric guitar seemed to come as an answer from down the hall. She clambered out of bed to seek its source.
Lara found Sam in the in-home studio that Sam had mentioned on their first day in New York. Absorbed as Sam was in the music she was creating, she was completely oblivious to Lara leaning in the doorway and listening in silent admiration. Lara let herself enjoy the way Sam tapped her foot and swayed to her own music for a few more moments before disrupting her trance.
"Can I get an encore?"
"Huh?" Sam's head snapped in Lara's direction and she blinked, "Oh, hey."
"Just feeling in a creative mood today?" Lara asked. Sam shook her head.
"Just bringing out some old equipment out of storage to test it. I might wanna start shipping some things back to London soon." Lara wondered if that statement had anything to do with the argument she'd heard between Sam and her mother the previous night, but decided not to broach the topic. "Want some breakfast?"
"I am a bit peckish," Lara admitted.
"I'll see what I can throw together, then." Sam set her guitar aside and got to her feet to lead the way.
"Do you happen to have anything other than coffee?" Lara asked as she followed Sam to the kitchen.
"I don't think we have any caffeinated tea blends, unfortunately. I think you might just have to deal with the coffee, sorry," Sam said as she opened the fridge and peered in, "hmm…can you do me a favor and check the pantry for English muffins?" Sam motioned to a door in the corner.
"Yeah." Lara approached the door and opened it to reveal a full walk-in pantry. It didn't take her long to find the bread section since the Nishimuras were very organized. "You have some," she called out to Sam as she grabbed them.
"Perfect," Sam said as she began to pull out eggs, butter, lemon juice, and various other ingredients, "eggs benedict it is."
"You can make that? I always mess up the hollandaise when I try."
"Jealous?" Sam asked with a grin.
"A bit."
"One of my favorite things to do whenever I get stoned is cook because my palate becomes impeccable. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a goddamn wizard in the kitchen. Just ask Molly," Sam said as she pulled cayenne and salt out of the spice cabinet. She glanced over at the clock display on the stove top, "I doubt Naomi's up right now, but I guess I could make some extra sauce for when she is…"
"Need any help?" Lara asked. Sam stared back at her in a way that suggested she'd just grown two extra heads.
"You? Help? Do you see yourself right now? Nah, you don't need to do anything besides keep me company while I work."
"Fair enough," Lara said, leaning back against the counter while Sam pulled out a French press and a bag of coffee grinds. She added some grinds into the bottom of the press before resealing the bag and putting it away.
"How's your shoulder today?" Sam asked as she pulled out two pots and a stainless steel mixing bowl out of the cabinets beneath the island. Lara watched as she filled one of the pots with water and put it on the stove to boil.
"It still hurts a lot unfortunately," Lara said as Sam filled the second pot with a much smaller amount of water and put that on the stove to boil as well. She then threw some butter in a measuring cup and put it in the microwave to melt.
"Did you ice yet?"
"I…did not."
"Well, you should probably get on that." Sam flipped open the freezer door and pulled out a fresh ice pack, "Here," she held the ice pack out to Lara, who accepted it and held it to her injured shoulder.
"Thank you, Nurse Sam," Lara jibed with a smirk.
"That's my name, don't wear it out," Sam fired back, "if you misbehave and ignore my instructions, I'll make you swallow castor oil next." She transferred water from the first pot, which had come to a boil, into the French press and threw two English muffins into the toaster oven. By that point, the water in the second pot had come to a simmer and Sam put the mixing bowl on top to start preparing the sauce.
"Maybe I enjoy the taste of castor oil," Lara retorted.
"Maybe you're a sick fuck in that case." Sam pulled a frying pan out from underneath the island, setting it on top of the stove and turning the burner on before she opened a pack of Canadian bacon.
"Really, is that the best you have, Queen Nishimura of the Anglo-Sass-on Kingdom?"
"...Okay, now I might actually give you castor oil just for that god awful pun," Sam said, and Lara could only laugh in response, "seriously, you're such a spicy meatball this morning."
"Oh, I'm the spicy meatball?"
"Yes, you are," Sam grabbed a wooden spoon and playfully rapped Lara with it as she continued to laugh.
"Attacking the cripple now, are we?" Lara asked, pressing her verbal assault.
"And whose fault is it that you're crippled?" Sam demanded as she dropped four pieces of Canadian bacon into the pan before returning her attention to the sauce to whisk it.
"Yours, for not teaching me how to stop and turn." Lara burst out laughing again at the way Sam's brows shot up and her jaw dropped at the sheer audacity of her statement, though Lara could see the vestiges of an amused smile fighting to be seen.
"My fault? Who was the one who decided to take off again after the first crash?"
"Hey, don't burn your bacon." Lara doubled over in laughter at the frustrated screech that Sam let out.
"Spicy. Fucking. Meatball." Sam flipped the bacon and took the finished hollandaise off of the burner, "You're in time-out now, go sit at the table and think about what you did wrong." Lara continued to snicker as she took a seat at the kitchen table. Sam finished prepping their meal and assembled their plates. When Sam set down her serving and a cup of coffee, Lara took a moment to admire her handiwork.
"This looks lovely," Lara said as she reached for a fork.
"That's probably the nicest thing you've said to me all morning."
"I could stop if you'd like." The corners of Sam's lips twitched upwards, but when she didn't respond Lara continued, "What, no comment?"
"I just know better than to give you more ammunition at this point."
"Hey Sam?"
"Hm?"
"I can't cut my food," Lara waved her right hand pathetically from where it sat nested in her sling. It was Sam's turn to laugh.
"Jesus Christ, you're like my child right now. Want me to feed it to you too?"
"Only if you make airplane noises," Lara replied as Sam cut apart her food.
"'Kay, open wide," Sam said, holding a fork full of food up for Lara's mouth to receive.
"I didn't actually-"
"Here comes the airplane!" Sam made faux-airplane noises as the fork made its approach to the runway. Lara rolled her eyes but went along with Sam as the fork stuck its landing. There was a lot more food on the fork than Lara realized. "How is it?"
"So good," Lara said, her voice muffled behind the food. She put a hand to her mouth as she dissolved into a fit of snickers while chewing.
"Told you I know what I was doing," Sam said with a self-satisfied grin.
"You do," Lara agreed once she'd swallowed, "it's honestly excellent. You did a great job."
"Well thank you. As a reward for your praise, I'll let you feed yourself now."
"The serf thanks the crown for its generosity." The sweet sound of food silently being appreciated ensued thereafter. When every last morsel had been consumed and Sam cleared the dishes, Naomi made her first messy-haired, sleepy-eyed appearance of the morning.
"Hey kid," Sam said as she loaded dishes into the dishwasher, "you just missed breakfast, but I made extra hollandaise if you want some eggs benedict."
"Ooh, yes please!" Naomi said as she took a seat at the kitchen table. Lara watched as Sam immediately set about putting the frying pan back on heat and putting more water on to boil for poached eggs.
"Gimme a few minutes, then," Sam said as she toasted more muffins and pulled out more bacon to cook.
"It's very weird that Julia isn't back yet," Naomi remarked.
"Probably because Antonia's still trying to put on her 'good mom' front. But also, good for Julia. She deserves Christmas off," Sam said.
"Wait, so she's not making Christmas dinner this year?" Naomi asked.
"Probably not. Dinner's tomorrow and she still hasn't been in for prep. So either Christmas is canceled this year or Antonia plans to cook."
"You think they'd actually cancel Christmas?" Naomi asked with a hint of incredulity to her tone. Sam shrugged as she set a plate of food down in front of Naomi.
"I dunno, but nothing they do really surprises me anymore. Eat your eggs before they get cold though."
"What were you two arguing about last night anyways?" Naomi asked as she picked up a fork to eat. Lara saw Sam freeze mid-stride on her way back to the sink.
"I…" Sam shot a glance over at Lara.
"Sam, I heard everything if I'm being honest," Lara said.
"Oh." Sam sighed before turning on the spot to face Naomi, "Well, kid, what happened last night was me giving Antonia a much overdue bitching-out. Only I'm allowed to do that though because I'm the oldest, and I'm disinherited anyways. That's about that." Lara knew that it wasn't just that. She didn't say anything on the topic, however, out of courtesy to Sam.
"That's not true, actually. I heard him and mom talking about giving you another chance." Lara watched Sam's eyes widen and her nostrils flare.
"What?"
"I was listening in on them while you two were out-"
"It's a mind game. They probably let you hear them knowing you'd tell me and-" Sam held the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, "forget it, this changes nothing. Antonia needed to be bitched out. I'm not capitulating to them and their micro-manipulations."
"These eggs are poppin' though," Naomi interjected. Lara suspected she did so in order to tactfully change the topic. Sam and her sister were quite similar in a lot of ways.
"Thanks, kid."
"I'm going to shower," Lara murmured and got to her feet.
"Alright, do you want to meet up with my Uncle for coffee in a couple hours by the way? He texted me a little bit ago. He wanted to do lunch, but I told him we just ate."
"Sure, sounds lovely," Lara replied. She exited without another word and strode purposefully back to the guest room. When she had walked through the room and into the bathroom, it occurred to her that she couldn't get her sling wet. "Shit," she hissed through her teeth. Did she go back and ask Sam for help again? Lara's dream from the night before came surging back into the forefront of her memory with the force of a freight train. Feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, Lara shook her head aggressively. She didn't need Sam's help. She just needed to find a way to manage. Besides, with how tumultuous the last few days were for her, Sam deserved to have a moment of zen.
Lara's new question was: how was she going to manage without help? Was it really okay to take her sling off for an entire shower? The last thing she needed was for her shoulder to pop back out of place again and warrant another expensive visit to an American hospital. There was a knock on the bathroom door.
"Hey, I just realized you probably need a shower sleeve for your sling. Wanna open up so I can give it to you?" Sam asked through the solid wood. It was decision time for Lara: another blush-inducing encounter, or another four thousand dollar charge to go to the hospital? Lara sighed.
"Yeah." Lara let Sam into the bathroom, much to her own chagrin. Sam scrutinized Lara's features once she had stepped into the room.
"I know that face."
"Do you?"
"You need help but don't wanna ask for it."
"I don't want to be a bother," Lara murmured. What else was she supposed to say?
"I get that you're fiercely independent, and that's great, but last I checked it was your right shoulder that popped out of its socket and you aren't left-handed. It's only natural that you need help, dude. Honestly, I'm amazed that you're able to wipe your own ass…you have been able to wipe your ass, right?"
"Sam!" Lara exclaimed. Sam only laughed in response.
"You know I'm right, though. Now, stop being stubborn and accept my help."
"Alright," Lara relented, and she braced herself mentally for what was to come. The situation was uncomfortable, but even if she had hurt herself back at home, Sam would still be the only person whose help she'd be willing to accept. She trusted Sam implicitly. The only person she didn't trust in the present scenario was herself. Lara didn't trust herself to not say or do something to make the rest of the trip awkward, or worse: make the very foundation of her and Sam's friendship awkward. Things already were awkward though.
Her breath fluttered in her chest as Sam undid her sling and started to work her shirt off. Between the light brushes of Sam's fingertips against her skin, the way Sam's breath tickled her neck, it took all Lara had to not squirm. They were so up close and personal. Sam's very presence seemed to exude some sort of magnetic pull on her. She wanted to pull Sam in and kiss her. Lara knew these weren't normal thoughts to have about a friend.
Things were already awkward.
Sam sharply drew air in between her teeth when she took Lara's shirt off. The harshness of the sound caused Lara, who had been wading through the murkiness of her own mind, to start.
"Jesus Lara, that looks terrible," Sam remarked. Lara's eyes followed hers to see that she was referring to the bruises on her injured shoulder. Indeed, it looked a little worse for wear as it had adopted a shade of deep red not unlike the cabernets stocked in the Manor's cellar.
"I'm…sorry about that?" Lara replied.
"I didn't even think skin could get that color."
"It can get really dark purple, yellow, and green too."
"You sound like an expert in the field."
"Well…" Lara hadn't even noticed Sam putting her sling back on until it was already done.
"'Well…' meaning I'm right?" Sam asked as she worked the shower sleeve over Lara's sling.
"Honestly, I dislocated my shoulder when I was young. I took a good tumble in the Manor's library. One of those sliding ladders on the bookshelf, you see. Plus a hiking accident here, a sprained ankle there…"
"So you're a prolific klutz is what I'm getting from this?" Sam asked.
"Something like that." Lara gave Sam a small, crooked grin as Sam finished what she was doing.
"Hmm…" Sam hummed as she made for the door, "Well, don't fall in the shower now."
"I will do my best to acquiesce." It wasn't until Sam had completely exited the bathroom that Lara fully realized they just had a casual conversation while her breasts were exposed. She found that fact strange, given how much of a bashful wreck she had just been the night before and even a few moments ago.
She finished undressing with her left hand and turned the shower on. As she waited for the water to heat up, she caught a glimpse of her bare figure in the mirror above the sink. Her curves were certainly lush, but they were starkly contrasted by the masculine harshness of her muscular bulk. Lara frowned and turned to examine her back, which was nothing but ripples of beef. Her eyes then drifted up to her face. Strong. Angular. Chiseled. She turned her head away and made her way into the hot water that rained from the showerhead.
Am I attractive? She wondered. She looked down at her palms, which were calloused from years of strenuous physical activity, manual labor, and unsanctioned parkour around the Manor. Were those hands something that would be considered pretty? She turned her hands over to reveal her pronounced veins and short nails. Hardly befitting of a woman. Am I someone that Sam would find attractive? Lara wondered. As she lathered up her body, her thoughts drifted to Sam's ex-girlfriend, Jess. Jess's figure and features were much softer, more feminine than her own. Was that Sam's type, perhaps? Lara then thought of Sam's friend, Molly. She was rather soft and feminine, too.
Lara shook her head vigorously, shocked at the unsolicited jealous ire that surged within her.
She's your friend, you don't own her, you damned narcissist! Lara admonished herself. Sam was entitled to do whatever she wanted with her life. Lara knew she wasn't entitled to Sam's affections by the simple virtue of developing feelings for her. In her rational mind, she knew that. In her emotional mind, however…
A tempest raged, rain lashing against her flesh, and the wind's howl mixed with the scream she wanted to expel aloud. Lara ran a hand through her hair. Did this mean she actually liked women? Lara had trouble abiding by that conclusion. Why was it, then, that she never experienced any form of attraction towards the girls at Marymount, or towards her gymnastics teammates? Admittedly, the girls at Marymount were vile to her, so that she could understand. But why, for instance, did she not feel primal impulses towards Lexie? She was perfectly attractive–healthy BMI, good teeth. Why didn't Lara want to be absolutely demolished by her?
Why was it only Sam? And why did it have to be Sam?
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