It was back out into the rain as they headed towards their room. Of course it would be the room furthest from the lobby. Not that they could really get any more soaked. Catherine fumbled with the key a moment before finally opening the door.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sara said, sounding more annoyed than she'd intended. Catherine saw what she was looking at; the room contained only a single, full size bed. Now it was Sara who stood wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Catherine looked from the bed to Sara and smirked.
"Oh, c'mon Sara, I don't have cooties," she said, walking further into the room.
"I… sorry…" Sara stammered, though Catherine seemed un-phased, sliding out of her jacket.
Sara followed suit, but then noticed Catherine peeling off her baby pink tank top to reveal a lacy, baby pink bra. Of course Catherine's bra would match her outfit. Of course. Sara realized she was staring, as she was snapped out of her trance by Catherine beginning to unzip her pants.
Averting her eyes to anything else in the room, Sara all but yelled, "What are you doing?" her voice sounding just short of terrified.
A puzzled look flashed across Catherine's face, then contorted into a smirk as she quickly recovered.
"Sara, I am so wet," Catherine replied with a mischievous grin. Sara wondered whether Catherine had made the phrase sound dirty on purpose, or if it just came naturally with her. At the same time she tried to ignore her own body's response to what her coworker had just said.
Sara had been noticing more and more of this behavior lately with Catherine. Little touches, smiles. Innocuous phrases turned sensual simply by the inflection of her voice, or placing emphasis on a certain word. Though she sincerely doubted it, she couldn't shake the feeling that Catherine was flirting with her. But even that notion isn't what confused Sara the most; Catherine was a very sexual person after all, innocent flirtation wouldn't be all that far out there. What Sara really couldn't wrap her head around was the little butterflies that kept showing up in the pit of her stomach every time Catherine showed her this kind of attention.
"You wanna spend the whole night in sopping wet clothes," Catherine started, pulling Sara out of her thoughts, "be my guest. But don't think for a second your soaking ass is laying next to me on that bed!" she finished, slipping off her shoes.
She did have a point, and Sara reluctantly began removing her shirt. By the time she'd pulled the material over her head, Catherine was kicking the last of her pants off her feet.
And then there was Catherine, half naked in her bra, and matching thong. A thong? You've got to be kidding me, Sara thought for the second time tonight, though this time she kept it to herself. She had to spend the night with Catherine, in a thong.
Ok, no big deal, she told herself. It's not like I've never seen a woman in a thong before. We're coworkers, friends. This shouldn't be awkward…
Again, Sara realized she was staring, and busied herself with unlacing her boots. After a minor struggle they were off, and she began peeling off her pants, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed about her own under garments: blue cotton bra and black boy shorts; not matching. Catherine looked ready to pose for a Victoria's Secret catalogue, and she looked like she'd grabbed what was left the day before laundry day.
Catherine made her way into the bathroom, and Sara heard the buzz of the little wall-unit hair dryer come on. Making her way to the edge of the bed, Sara grabbed the remote and turned on the television.
Static.
She flipped the channel. More static. A few more flicks, nothing but marching ants. She sighed, flipping the television back off. Well that's just great, she thought. After sitting idly for several moments, and not really being sure what else to do with herself, she joined Catherine in the bathroom.
Catherine had finished drying her hair, and was now directing the dryer over the rest of her body and drying her panties. She saw Sara enter, and playfully directed the dryer at the brunette's face before switching it off and laughing.
"Thanks for that," Sara said sarcastically, suppressing the smile that played at her mouth..
"Your face was priceless," Catherine replied, still laughing. Sara just smiled.
"Cable's out," she told Catherine, as her laughter subsided. Catherine simply nodded and held the dryer out to Sara.
"Thanks," Sara said, taking the dryer as Catherine left the bathroom. She flipped it on and began drying her hair and panties as well, more so for something to do than anything. She found herself fussing with her hair a little more than she normally would under the circumstances, trying to make it look halfway decent. Again, she noted her own strange behavior, and decided to leave her hair as it was. Hair and panties thoroughly dried, and no real reason left to remain in the bathroom, she made her way back out into the room.
Catherine had made herself comfortable near the middle of the bed, on top of the covers. Sara took a moment to decide which side appeared to have the most room left, settling on the left side. She laid down next to Catherine, trying to leave some room between them without looking like she was trying, and trying to ignore Catherine smiling her knowing little half smile as she watched Sara settle in. The two sat in silence for several moments.
"Something bothering you, Sidle?" Catherine asked, frowning slightly.
"I'm fine," Sara said flatly, eyes fixed on the useless television screen. "Really."
Catherine eyed her suspiciously before sighing and turning her gaze to the same location, as the silence resumed.
This shouldn't be awkward, Sara repeated to herself. We've gone out numerous times, we work together everyday and converse just fine. Just because we're stranded at some motel, half naked and sharing a bed… this shouldn't be awkward. Say something!
"Well," Sara finally said, "this is fun."
"A blast," Catherine snorted.
"If you have any ideas how to pass the time, I'm all ears, Cat."
Catherine was quiet a moment, till Sara finally turned to look at her.
"I have one…" Catherine said as she turned her whole body to face Sara.