“You look–” Cameron began and stopped, looking beyond Lacey and into the apartment. “What’s all this?”
“Remember that massage you ordered but never got?”
“Yeah,” Cameron replied with a little laugh and walked into the apartment.
“I’m going to give it to you.”
“Youare, huh?” Cameron asked and pulled Lacey in by wrapping her arms around her waist before she kissed her. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Lacey greeted.
“So, first of all, you look amazing. I really love this dress on you. Secondly, you give massages for a living, sweetheart. I don’t need you to do all this.”
“I want to,” she said. “Trust me, it’s more for me than it is for you.”
“How’s that now?” Cameron asked, pulling her in even closer and hugging her.
Lacey hadn’t ever been hugged by a partner as much as she’d been hugged by Cameron since they’d started dating, but Cameron seemed to just love hugging and holding Lacey almost as much as she enjoyed kissing her. Lacey kissed her on the neck and gave in to the hug, loving the fact that Cameron seemed to love showing affection like this.
“I want my hands all over your body tonight,” she answered Cameron’s question. “I have since I met you. Well, specifically, since I saw you in that bikini top and board shorts combo. God, Cam… You were so hot.”
Cameron pulled out of their hug, laughing, and replied, “Andyouwere in a bikini. All I wanted to do was touch you everywhere. When you got that scratch, I touched your skin, and that was it. I wanted to pick you up, take you inside the house, and–” She stopped.
“Hey, we didn’t, and that was the right thing to do. All of us were faithful, despite the fact that I clearly wanted you and those two wanted each other.”
Cameron nodded to the table and said, “I love that you did this, but you don’t have to give me a massage, Lace. I know how hard you work. I want this to be a date.”
“It will be. I’m about to put our dinner in the oven. It’ll take about an hour. I have a cold beer for you in the fridge, and you can have it now or after, but I’m ready to give you a nice, relaxing massage.” She moved out of Cameron’s grasp. “No uniform, andI set the mood very differently than I do for my clients, who don’t get the sexy music.”
Cameron chuckled and asked, “What music dotheyget?”
“Babbling brooks and Enya.”
Cameron laughed and asked, “You really want this?”
“Yes. Now, please go change. I left a robe hanging on the bathroom door for you.”
“A robe, huh?”
“Yes. You can leave your underwear on, but everything else comes off.”
Cameron lifted her eyebrow at her and noted, “This is some interesting foreplay there, Lacey.”
“Well, I like that you know where I’m going with this,” Lacey replied, feeling confident that they might just be on the same page.
“Oh,” Cameron said with wide eyes. “I was just kidding. But you… You’re ready for that?”
“Are you not?”
“No, I am. I–” Cameron licked her lips. “I want to, but I’vealwayswanted to with you.”
“Always?”
“Red bikini with white flowers, Lace… Yes, I’ve always wanted to.”
“Then, why haven’t we yet?”
“Because I wanted it to be special and, I don’t know, I wanted to make sure that I was really good and that you were good after River and Kennedy.”
