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She tilted her head back, the water hitting her scalp and cascading down through her thick black hair. Rinsing the conditioner from her hair felt absolutely decadent. She closed her eyes, enjoying the water sluicing down her back and rear. As her mind wandered, she imagined soft hands stroking her as the water did.
Sarah's hands.
That's enough of that. Liz switched off the water with a vengeance. She needed to quit thinking about Sarah that way. This was not a date. It was just television and junk food. No matter how much she wished otherwise.
* * *
A scant half hour later, Liz stood at the door to Sarah's small apartment building, trying to figure out how to push the call button on the speaker while balancing the cupcake container. Luck was with her, as an elderly woman with a tiny dog came through the door.
“Where you heading, honey?” the little woman's high voice warbled.
“I'm going to 4C.”
“Oh, to visit Sarah? She's my neighbor. Such a sweetheart, isn't she, Snookums?” The woman cooed into the furry little face of the white Maltese in her arms. “With as pretty as she is, you'd think she'd have a bunch of boyfriends, but I've never seen her bring a man up. Not that I'm a busybody, mind you. It's just so important to look out for our neighbors in this big city. It can be dangerous for a single girl living alone. Not that we're scared, are we Snookums?”
With that, she put the little dog down on the floor. Its tiny nails clicked on the floor as it walked out the door, presumably towards the park across the street.
Liz looked at the wrought iron banister on the stair case, debating whether to walk the four flights or take the ancient elevator.
Since she didn't trust her coordination walking up the stairs while carrying her cupcake carrier and her purse, she opted to ride in the elevator.
It was so small, she had to wonder if it had once been a dumbwaiter before pressed into service for carrying people.
Despite a few shimmies and a truly frightening screech, the elevator made it to the fourth floor. Not wanting to press her luck, Liz hurried off the elevator. She was pretty sure she'd walk down on the way out. She looked around to find the door labeled 4C. Considering there only appeared to be four apartments per floor, it wasn't overly difficult. Liz raised her hand to knock, but was interrupted when Sarah flung the door open.
"Hi there!" She smiled, opening the door wide. "I saw you walking up to the building. Then, Mrs. Hammond walked out with Snookums. I knew it would be a while before you got up here. Did she talk your ear off?"
"No, she actually just talked about what a nice girl you are."
"That's true. Or mostly, anyway." Sarah laughed. She reached for the cupcakes. "Let me take that from you. I'll put it with the rest of the snacks."
The small apartment was only an apartment in the academic sense. It was a studio apartment with a tiny kitchen area. A huge photograph of a ballet dancer dominated the one wall. Sarah's bed was tucked in the corner, neatly made with a gorgeous blue duvet.
A small futon served as the seating area with a low trunk in front of it, serving as both a table and storage. The top of the trunk was covered with a table cloth, on top of which sat a variety of snack foods.
"I figured we could get started with these and we'll order delivery later, "Sarah explained, as she placed the cupcakes on the trunk She sat on the futon, tucking her legs up underneath of her. She patted the futon next to her. "I'm pretty limited on space here, so we'll have to be cozy. Hope you don't mind."
Liz swallowed hard. Mind? It would have been more than she could have wished for, had Sarah been interested. That was a special kind of torture she would get in line for.
Three episodes and a cheese deep dish later, Sarah got out some brightly colored tubes of facial mask during a commercial break.
“As promised, here's the spa portion of our activities. I'm not sure which one you would want, but I wouldn't use the one for greasy skin with that gorgeous complexion.”
Liz felt a flush of pleasure at the compliment from such a beautiful woman. She wanted to return the compliment but she couldn't quite find the words. She murmured her thanks as she perused the tubes. Blindly, she picked up one, smelling it. The floral scent was delicate, very reminiscent of the intoxicating scent that Sarah left where ever she walked. Sarah had already selected and applied her mask before Liz had even looked at them all.
“That's a great one! I use a perfume and body wash with the same scent.”
At the phrase “body wash,” Liz's mind started to wander. The image of Sarah lathering her slender body, her hands skimming over soapy breasts, swam before Liz. Meanwhile, her hands kept applying the facial mask.
“Liz! You've gotten it in your hair,” Sarah giggled.
Sarah leaned over with a damp washcloth, dabbing the mask away from Liz's hair. Liz was so grateful for the layer of mask over her face. Otherwise, Sarah would be able to see the fiery blush that Liz knew had to be there.
“Where did you go, just then?” Sarah asked.
“I was thinking about whether the cupcakes will taste any good. I think I might have put in double the baking powder,” Liz quickly manufactured a silly excuse, which was better than the truth. That she was trying her best not to drool.
“Oh, I'm sure they're just terrific. In fact,” Sarah rose from the couch in one lithe movement, “let's go ahead and sample them. I'm just going to go to the bathroom before the show comes back on.”
