The moment I close the doors is when I get to breathe. Cold air from the air conditioner reminds me that I don't have to worry about anything for a few minutes. Using my hoodie to wipe myself down, I head up to my room to take a quick warm shower. It feels good on the skin as water goes down across my body.
It felt like an eternity had passed before I got out. Exhaustion poured out of my body as it gravitated towards the bed, all naked.
Whatever brand of silky, heated sheets these are, they're lulling my senses to take a nap. And the sheets are winning. My eyes feel heavy, my heart rate slows, shifting into a calm pulsing that supports the agenda. Ugh...
I don't really primarily socialize all that often aside from Kirie and necessary interactions at the editor's office...
So this, for the past few days... I think I deserve some rest...
All I can think about is how comfortable these sheets would be wrapped around my body. Little did I know, my body had already moved for me and turned me into a caterpillar.
Comfortable darkness seizes me, vignette growing stronger across the edges of my vision. Next thing I know, I'm fast asleep.
...
...
Faraway knocking slowly shakes me awake. My blurry vision is slow to refocus, but my body moves in accordance with the sound.
"Yes, yes... coming..." The breeze reminds me of my lack of clothing, prompting a brief, boxer-wearing detour.
Opening the door, "What is it...?" I eke out, seeing Sky before me in her bikini with a towel wrapped over her shoulders.
"Hey." Her deeper, brusque voice shaves off some of my grogginess, but the support on my body is wobbly. I lean against the door frame with an arm over my head.
"Hi, Sky... what's up? Need anything?" My voice isn't all there either, making it gravelly and hoarse.
"I-I- why are you dressed like that?" I can't tell if she's blushing, but she takes a preemptive step away from my door with a pitched voice.
"Oh, sorry... I just woke up from a nap." I yawn, stretching my arms upward as the door swings open more.
"Yeah, okay... They asked me to come get you," She says, fiddling with the hems of her towel, "but I wanted to ask something first..." Her eyes grew intense as they locked with mine. Red deepens across her cheeks.
"What..." Sky starts, looking away, seemingly worried about someone walking in on us.
"What's your relationship with Natasha?" Her question has an immediate weight to it that sinks in.
"What do you mean?" I was naturally confused. I hadn't met Natasha since, well, yesterday... among other things... but her question was as broad as it was focused. "She's an acquaintance that I met alongside you yesterday..."
"Don't lie to me," Sky steps forward, pointing an accusatory finger into my chest, "I saw w-what you two did last night...!" And her face looks like it's about to combust in redness.
"I..." Do not know what to say. If she saw what she saw last night, whatever it was, there's not really any excuse. It looks like I took advantage of a drunk woman last night.
"Well?" She'd cross her arms, still within my personal space.
"We met last night, right, and the dew shots Lorette gave us were too much." I scratch the back of my head, looking into Sky's eyes, seeing so much doubt and scrutiny in her gaze. It stings.
"I helped her into her room, got pulled into her sheets... it was so hot that we worked up a sweat, then dragged me into the bath with her..." The more I speak, the more I lose faith in my own words. This is no way to convince a doubting woman. Yet all I speak is truth, aside from omitting the intimate sex that happened in between.
Sky's face keeps getting redder and redder, and her frazzled composure is crumpling by every word, it seems like.
"Y-yeah, okay, stop! I get it- but that doesn't answer my question, buddy." She doubles down.
"I wouldn't know what to tell you, honestly." Whether last night was a one-night stand or not, I'm grateful there isn't some type of bitterness from Natasha- she seems like such a great woman outside of just laying her.
"I'm not in the business of hurting anyone. Lorette practically hired me to help everyone with anything." It makes me sound detached from everyone, but that's the truth. "You can ask Natasha for some more clarity," I tell her.
Sky looks for any angle to prod me with, but I stand my ground. "Just... don't do anything more than you should. Got it?" She flashes a clenched fist under my chin, to which I nod.
"I don't plan to." I say firmly, putting my fist down with my own, "Aside from Lorette calling me, do you need anything?" I ask her this time.
She freezes. "N-no. I don't need your help..." Sky looks away, turning her body towards the stairs. "Just dress up and come down quick." And she saunters away with her equally impressive rear jiggling against the hot pants and lower piece of the bikini.
This is the first time I've ever gotten a closer look at Sky. If we're making direct comparisons, she's much more physically comparable to Yulia rather than the two hourglasses- but her hips and below are much more... how do I put this- incredibly defined and focused.
Bottom-heavy. Yeah, that's the word.
I tuck that thought away for now, reapplying some cologne, then putting on a pair of black and white dragon-themed swimming trunks while draping myself with a subsequent towel and heading on down.
Before completely being in the vision of the glass doors that lead outside, I take a deep breath. Pause. Whether I have to cook, assist, or clean, approach it respectfully.
Giving myself a pep talk, I make my way outside to the pool, only to be greeted by a Yulia with puppy dog eyes, taking my arm away.