Chapter 4: Steam
She woke up, head groggy from sleep.
Her hand touched the plush surface from the cushion underneath. Sitting upright, she got her bearings under control as her eyes scanned around the living room. The light from the windows had moved from its earlier position, she observed, and dimmer as it casted soft glows of pinks and yellows throughout the rest of house. Her line of sight fell onto the clock.
The nap stretched 2 hours instead of her typical 30 minutes. Light chalked it up to being very tired from her day. Looking down, she-
Ahh.
Something was seeking some attention. Very annoying.
Pushing down the urge, Light decided to prepare dinner instead. Before she started, she headed to her room to grab her phone, intending to text Serah about dinner.
"Will you be home for dinner tonight?"
She stared at the screen as the message was confirmed sent. Her thumbs typed after a few seconds:
"I need to talk to you."
Now to wait for her reply.
Light put the phone back in her pocket. Shuffling around her room, she finished tidying up, when her gaze landed on her nightstand. The secret phone was tucked with her badge, in the tray along with the other daily items she picked up before leaving the house.
"When did I...", trailing off. Ahh, she remembered grabbing the phone a few days ago for returning to the store. Perhaps she should do that tomorrow when it opened for the day.
Ping!
Message from: Serah
Hey a coworker invited me to dinner and I already said yes :(
Will you be up late?
Lightning frowned, disappointed that Serah wouldn't be able to join her for dinner.
"I don't have work tomorrow, so I can wait for you."
She added, "do you need me to pick you up?"
Message sent, Light scrapped her plans for making dinner for two. She stepped down the stairs. Heading over to the fridge, she pondered on what she could make for one plus some leftovers that Serah can re-heat.
Ping!
Message from: Serah
No need - will be getting a ride back. And you're home tomorrow?!
Any plans?
"I don't have any in mind."
Closing the fridge door, she opted to marinade some protein and set the dethawed meat out on the counter, while pulling out the cutting board and knife. Quickly scoring the filets, she rubbed some salt and pepper, and placed them in the bag along with a few spices and herbs. She then opened some cabinets for a few sauces, carefully measuring each one out and spooning into the bag. Sticking her hand in the bag, Light mixed all the ingredients together, until the meat was coated thoroughly.
Sealing the bag, she gave it one final shake, and placed it back in the fridge. With the free time, Light decided to kill some time flipping channels in the living room.
Sitting at the table, Light quickly ate her meal, with the screen as background noise.
Still no update from Serah.
"From what I'm seeing, it doesn't look like you two are on the same page at all. When was the last time you sat down and talked with her?"
The voice echoed and stayed in her mind, despite her efforts on pushing them away.
Like she said. It was difficult when your schedules don't align.
"I'm not Mom." She grumbled.
No, but as her guardian, you suck at keeping tabs on her.
"She's not a child anymore."
Fix this with Serah before you regret something.
Sigh, she hated when Amodar had a point.
Mulling over it, Light decided she should take out her frustrations on some gym equipment. Fortunately the gym was open all hours, even in the middle of the night. Typically that was Light's preferred time since there was no body around to hog the machines.
Quickly wiping down the table and washing the dishes, Light shuffled around the counter to start the blender and whip up a protein drink. She went back to her room and changed.
No further messages from Serah. But Light estimated that she would be home in an hour or two.
Picking up her drink along with a small bag, she locked the door behind her and descended the clear entryway into the main terrain. She powered up the hoverbike, secured the drink, and sped off to the gym.
-TWO HOURS LATER-
Her muscles were sore from the series of sets, aching as she dismounted from the bike. Adjusting her gym bag strap on her shoulder, she slowly walked up the entrance to the door, legs slightly strained as she used the rail to keep her balance. She enjoyed the breeze on her way home, wind drying off her skin as she rode her bike; however Light started to sweat again as she made her way to the front of the door.
Once the door unlocked, she noticed an extra pair of shoes as she was bending to take hers off.
"Serah?" She called out in the dim light.
"Light?" A faint voice responded, volume louder in tandem with the sound of footsteps coming closer.
"Oh, you went to the gym early."
Light placed slippers on, walking towards the voice. Her cropped shirt rode up as her hand gripped around the strap, and arched it over her head. Her bag dropped by her feet, near the sofa.
"Yea...had some time. Might as well."
Light rubbed the area of her shoulder where the strap pressed against skin, and slowly moved her head in each direction. She lingered, stretching her neck left, then right. Her head then moved in a small circular motion with her eyes closed as Light further worked out the tension and stiffness in the neck.
The two were quiet, both contemplating on their previous text conversation. After a few moments of silence, Serah shuffled closer to Light, eying her up and down.
"Did...you want to talk now? Or maybe later?"
"Now is fine."
Continuing, Light held her gaze on Serah, "I'm not sure if it's too late, but I was granted a few days off by Amodar, as long as I give him what days to take. I can rent something and give you all a ride to Eden."
"Ahh," Serah gave her a sheepish look.
"We -my friends and I -already decided on going by ourselves and visit the campus early this weekend. Majority vote, you know?"
"...I see-"
"But!" Serah interjected, "I figured you wouldn't want to babysit high schoolers on your days off, so...we could do something else?"
Hands clasped behind her, Serah tilted her head upwards, her gaze imploring. She took a step closer to Light as she held eye contact.
"We haven't spent some time together in forever...why don't we do a small getaway? Maybe next weekend?"
The corner of Light's lips curved upwards into a smile at the suggestion.
"Serah, that sounds like a great idea. Where do you want to go?"
"...How about Palumpolum? We can have a whole shopping spree!"
Upon seeing Light wrinkle her nose, Serah teased, "Oh come on Light, I know you love clothes shopping. You have more outfits than me."
"Not true."
"Very true."
Light arched her eyebrow, wanting to call Serah on that blatant "lie", but said nothing in return.
"Alright, fine. Palumpolum it is."
Serah gave a bright smile, excited at the thought of spending time together.
"Great! Date's set then."
Serah quickly moved to hug Light, her arms reaching around, wrapped against her midriff. Light can faintly smell Serah's favorite scent as they stood still in that position. Until her hands abruptly left her back as Serah took a couple of steps back.
Giving Light a confused look, Serah leaned forwards, her nose quickly smelling Light's abs, before leaning back.
"Eww stinky. "
"Hey-"
"The shower's all yours." She gleefully said, as she turned around to sprint to her room.
"We can talk more tomorrow!"
Serah bounded up the stairs, leaving Light before she could quip out a witty comeback.
"...Brat."
Drip, drop.
She panted as she unloaded the last spurts onto the tiled floor, quickly sucked into the drain.
'Oh fuck, it's getting worse and worse', she thought.
It was only a hug. It barely lasted more than a few moments.
And yet.
Yet.
Light found herself in the shower, giving into her lust. Stroking her stiff cock, as the water from the showerhead steadily drenched it with water. The sensation of the droplets had Light twitching from arousal.
Hand splayed on the wall, steading herself from post-pleasure, keeping her moans to a minimum just in case-
Etro, she felt so good hugging me. Her front pressed against mine. She could've easily slipped down and-
No. Light needed to do something, anything to stop her thoughts.
Shutting off the water, she grabbed the towel and dried herself. Light scrubbed the cotton against her skin a bit harder than she meant to, as she mulled over her options. Wrapping the towel around her body, she stepped out of the bathroom and made a beeline towards her room.
Shutting the door behind her, she went directly to the nightstand, by the spot where the tray was located.
The screen flashed again as the device powered on. A couple of button presses and a file was downloaded. After installing and credentials were inputted into the login screen, another text box popped up.
"HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?"
Light supposed she didn't have a terrible time. She picked a number on the positive side of the scale.
Another question appeared.
"DO YOU PREFER TO CONTINUE THE MEETING?"
...Yes.
"THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK. NEW OFFERINGS HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED."
The text box disappeared.
Notifications started to appear around the menu of the app. There was a private message function tab accessible, albeit with a limited number of messages that Light can send.
On the services tab, there was an extra option and a small box for "customizations". It was not that different that the initial screen a few weeks ago. Thumbing around, Light didn't find any other major changes that she remembered from the last time.
Not up to exploring any further, she saw a notification in the messages tab, and clicked on the tab. There was nothing but an audio file in the chatbox.
She will get around to that in the morning.