"I didn't know you'd be home," I said very surprised to see her standing there. Amanda ran her fingers through her long hair, "I know what today is so…" she drifted off. Her eyes met mine and she gave me a timid smile.
"When did you get home?" I asked.
"I've been home a few hours; I was actually about to go to sleep when you walked in," she informed me. "Oh…sorry," I muttered looking down.
"I was going to sleep because I thought you were staying at Alex's but now that you're home…" Amanda let her words hang as she walked up to me. I watched her every step as she came closer to me; I let out a sigh when I felt her breath on cheek.
"How've you been today?" she whispered as her laced our fingers together. I glanced down at our interwoven fingers, "Manageable," I admitted.
"Lara…" she breathed out. I looked up at her as she leaned in closer and our lips met in a small light kiss. She pulled back for a second before leaning in again and this time prolonging the kiss; I felt her fingers release mine and move up to grip the back of my head and deepen the kiss.
I couldn't help the moan that erupted from the back of my throat. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her flush against my body; a decision I quickly regretted.
"Fuck…" I yelped as I broke the kiss and pushed Amanda back. "What?" she asked. She was looking at me confused as I gripped my side gently. I gave her a weak smile before I lifted my sweater and t-shirt over my head in one shot.
"What the hell?" she muttered. Her eyes were solely focused on the new permanent markings on my body. I couldn't read her expression; she just stared at the tattoo.
"Please tell me that isn't real?" she asked me. I bit my lip and just looked at her, "it's real," I confirmed.
"A tattoo…really? I thought you didn't like tattoos?" she questioned. "No…I don't like pointless tattoos," I clarified. Amanda briefly looked up at me before bringing her eyes back down to the fresh ink. She took a step forward and reached out to trial her fingers around the plastic covering the tattoo.
I sucked in a breath as I felt her fingers drift along my body. She moved away from the plastic and brushed them over my stomach causing my abs to flex involuntarily.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warm touch of her fingers; something that I haven't felt in a long time. I gasped when I felt warm wet lips press into my collarbone and leave kisses up and along my jawline.
"Amanda…" I moaned. She pulled back and I let out a whimper at the loss of her lips but she just gave me a little smirk before grabbing my hand and leading me into our bedroom. My breathing became shallow as she pushed me on to the bed and climbed on top of my lap. She quickly leaned in and pushed our lips into a messy kiss; I gripped her thighs as the heat between us increased.
Getting sick of just the kissing I wrapped my arms around her tightly before switching our positions so she was under me. I didn't hesitate to push my hands under her shirt and feel up her B cup boobs. Her moan sounded like music to my ears and I bit down on her neck.
"Just take it off…" Amanda groaned breathlessly. She tried to reach her hand between us to grab the hem of her shirt but I just pressed our stomachs closer together, completely ignoring the pain from my freshly drawn on skin.
She gave up trying to reach between us and moved her fingers to claw down my back as I continued to leave marks along her neck and collarbone.
When I felt her thrust her hips up against mine I decided to stop the teasing and reached between us to pull her dark blue shirt off; her grey bra followed soon after. The feel of her soft breast between my fingers caused the heat between my legs to increase by ten. It had been so long since we had even touched each other this close; I couldn't get enough of her.
I brought my lips to the valley of her breast and allowed it to slowly make its way across to the left breast before moving over to the right after leaving a wet mess on her nipple.
"God" she muttered. Her fingers were frantically tangling themselves in my hair as I let my free hands trail down her stomach to the zipper of her jeans. Her breath caught in her throat when I unclasped the lone button and took my time sliding the zipper down.
She tightened her grip in my hair and pulled my mouth from her breast to her lips and forcefully thrust her tongue into my mouth. While she was distracted with playing war with my tongue I slipped my fingers into her jeans and knickers and came in contact with her wet heat.
Amanda pulled back and let out a loud gasp. Her fingernails dug into my scalp when I wiggled my finger a bit spreading her arousal around her lower lips. I let out a little chuckle when I heard her whimper before I gave in and gave her what she wanted.
It wasn't long before I felt her body quivering underneath mine and her inner muscles tightening around my fingers. She was breathing fast when she started to come down from her orgasm; I waited until her body had stopped shaking to pull my fingers from her.
I leaned back to look down at her; her breasts were rising and falling rapidly as she attempted to catch her breath. She had started to form a thin layer to sweat on her skin and I grinned as I admired the love bites that were bruising on her pale skin.
Her arms were wrapped tightly around my neck and her eyes were closed; I took this moment to lean down and place a soft kiss against her lips.
"I love you…" I said.
"Mmmmm…" she moaned as she pulled me down for another tender kiss.
We spent the next few minutes just kissing tenderly; I was about to suggest going to bed but Amanda had other ideas when she flipped me onto my back. She didn't waste any time reaching for the buttons on my jeans and pulling them down along with my black knickers. She gave me a sly grin before she made her way down my chest and stomach, on the side that wasn't near my tattoo, to my begging arousal.
I gripped the sheets on the bed till my knuckles were white; her breath against my center was absolute torture. And when I felt her lightly blow against it I thought I was going to explode right then and there.
"A-Amanda…" I begged. I tried to thrust my hips up but her firm grip on my thighs prevented me from doing that. Amanda just teased…she wouldn't give ME what I wanted; she was being relentless.
After what felt like forever I finally felt the cool touch of Amanda's lips between my legs. I instantly gripped my fingers in her hair but was careful not to pull. It felt so good; she was changing her pattern every time I got used to one of them. I was teetering on the edge but she wouldn't push me over just let.
I let go of her hair and lifted myself onto my elbows to look down at her. I could only see part of her face since her hair covered half of it; I reached forward and brushed it away. I wanted to see her eyes but they were closed; I couldn't concern myself with that fact since at that precise moment I reached my limit.
Amanda kept going until my quivering had stopped and I slumped against the mattress. "Shit," I muttered as I threw my arm over my eyes and tried to catch my breath. I could feel Amanda move from between my legs to the spot next to me. I got a little bit of satisfaction out of the fact that she was also pretty breathless.
"So…how much did they pay you?" she asked. I lifted my arm over my eyes, "What?" I turned and elevated my top part of my body on my elbow and rested the side of my face on my hand.
"The tattoo…how much did Alex and Thomas pay you?" she repeated; she had her eyes closed. I didn't answer right away; I instead took time to look over her body. She was topless and her breasts were fully exposed to the cool air of the room causing her rosy nipples to harden. She was still wearing her pants and knickers but her jeans were unbuttoned and hanging a little low on her waist.
"They didn't pay me," I finally answered. Amanda opened one eye and rolled it towards me, "You're kidding right?" she said. I furrowed my eyebrows in uncertainty, "No?" I replied, a little unsure of what she meant.
She scoffed before opening her other eye and sitting up, "You willingly got a tattoo?" she asked; she wasn't looking at me this time.
"Yeah…we all got similar tattoo," I explained. I watched her shake her head and let out a little chuckle.
"Is there something you want to say," I asked getting a little annoyed.
"Why?" she turned to face me and the expression she held was one of annoyance. The type of expression you give a kid when they do something stupid.
"What do you mean why? To remember Roth," I said even thought I didn't feel like I had to explain myself to her.
"There are other ways to do that than getting yourself permanently inked," she muttered before getting up and grabbing her shirt off the floor and tugging it over her head. I sat up; I was angry now.
"I'm sorry that my way of remembering him isn't to your liking," I snapped. I got up from the bed and went over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats and a muscle shirt.
"Never have you ever given the indication that you'd ever be interested in a tattoo but here you come home with one on your ribs like it's no big deal," she argued. I pulled the muscle shirt over my head before turning to face her; she had her arms crossed and her leg pivoted to one side.
"Why does it bother you so much?" I asked. But I knew the answer before I asked. It had nothing to do with the way I remembered Roth…it had to do with one particular part of the tattoo.
"It doesn't make much sense to me…you'd get a fucking bow and arrow tattooed to your skin which may I remind you was a critical part of your endeavor on Yamatai but you refused to give any thought to going back to the island," she said, her voice slightly rising a bit.
"They are completely different," I growled.
"How…the bow is what you used to kill people and you have it inked into your skin. What? Are you afraid of going back and seeing the bodies you left behind using that bow," she snapped. I felt like I had been slapped in the face; I went dead silent and my heart literally lodged itself into my throat.
Flashbacks started to flood by mind; images of all the Solarii…of Grim, Alex, Roth…and…no…don't think of it Lara. I felt the tears coming and quickly pressed the flat of my palm hard against my eyes to stop the flow of the salty tears. Not a day goes by that I don't have nightmares of what happened on that island; I haven't gotten a good night sleep in eight months.
I felt the bile rising up my throat and rushed to the bathroom to deposit the vile vomit into the toilet. The familiar taste of guilt came rushing back into the pit of my stomach. I sat on the cool floor of my bathroom and rested my head against the side of the toilet.
My breaths came in short intervals; I could feel my hands shaking badly. The regret…the guilt that I had pushed down within the past eight months came back without a moment's notice; the wall I had built up around the buried guilt and regret broke down with just her simple words.
I jumped when I heard a knock on the bathroom door, "Lara," I heard Amanda's voice filled with concern. I clenched my fist…I couldn't help it but I was getting angry. I was livid…she had no right…what was the point of her coming home tonight. Did she honestly want to be there for me or was she hoping to get me at a weak moment?
I got up and pulled the door open and looked at her, "I think you should leave for the night," I said in a calm voice although I was screaming inside.
"Excuse me?" she asked; she had the audacity to look hurt.
"You have somewhere else to stay so I suggest you go and stay there," I clarified for her before walking pass her and out into the living room. I went into the kitchen and opened up the first aid drawer and grabbed the aspirin. I dumped two little pills in my palm before throwing them in my mouth and swallowing them dry. I slammed the bottle down onto the counter and leaned on my arms with my head down. The headache was pounding to the point that I could hear my heart beat beating in my head over the thoughts traveling around in it.
I rolled my shoulders after a few seconds and pushed myself off the counter; it was in that moment that Amanda walked out of the bedroom in a change of clothes. I watched her grab her shoes and jacket from the hallway and slowly put them on. She opened the front door but turned to look at me; we locked eyes for a few seconds before I turned away and headed back into the bedroom. I heard the door slam right as I walked into the room.
I was in the bedroom but I didn't know what to do; I felt everything flooding my mind; there was no way I was sleeping tonight. I was just standing there when I noticed my iPhone lying on the floor next to my forgotten jeans. I walked over to it and grabbed it; I scrolled to my voice mail and hit play on the message I wanted to hear. I heard the male voice speaking clearly about the idea that he had about the artifacts that I had found of Yamatai.
Amanda's words really hit home…and I wasn't ready to talk about Yamatai but sitting around at home for another eight months trying to hide away wasn't going to help. Maybe…just maybe the artifacts could be a step forward…a small step. It would at least get me out of the house and doing something that I used to enjoy.
Before I knew was I was doing I had already hit the call back button and had the phone pressed to my ear. "Hello," I heard a male voice answer.
"Hello…it's Lara Croft. I was calling back about your message on the documentary? It sounds interesting and I wanted to know more of the details."