Office Desires

31. This isn't a dream

Lou's expression froze, a complex array of emotions flickering across her face like shadows dancing in the dimly lit night. Shock held prominence, her eyes widening slightly as if caught off guard by the gravity of Debbie's admission. The cigarette in her hand seemed to hang suspended in mid-air, forgotten for a moment. Disbelief followed, etching lines on Lou's forehead as she processed the weight of the unexpected declaration. The creases on her face deepened, revealing the internal struggle between comprehension and astonishment.

As the seconds stretched into an eternity, a wariness appeared in Lou's eyes, a cautious recognition of the profound impact those three words would have avoided if said sooner.

The cigarette found its way back to Lou's lips, a slow drag taken, a physical act in sync with the emotional inhaling and exhaling transpiring within her. Debbie found herself trapped in a haunting silence, her worst nightmare unfolding before her. Lou, despite the weight of the moment, remained silent, the unspoken words hanging heavily in the air.

Lou took a final drag of her cigarette, the ember glowing in the darkness as she released a plume of smoke into the night. Her eyes, though guarded, held a glimmer of resolve. With a subtle nod, she extinguished the cigarette, dropping the remains to the ground.

"Let's go back inside,"

"Aren't you gonna say anything ?"

"Just follow me."

Lou led Debbie through the labyrinthine corridors of the hotel, their footsteps echoing in the hushed ambiance. The silence between them was thick with unspoken words, and Debbie felt an unsettling mix of anticipation and trepidation. She glanced at Lou, but Lou's expression remained inscrutable, offering no clues to what lay ahead.

As they arrived at Lou's hotel room, Lou unlocked the door without uttering a word. The room, bathed in the soft glow of muted lights, held an air of ambiguity. Debbie hesitated at the threshold, unsure of what awaited her inside.

Lou gestured for Debbie to enter, her gaze holding a complexity that mirrored the intricacies of their shared history. With a deep breath, Debbie crossed the threshold, the door closing behind her with a muffled click.

Inside the room, the atmosphere felt charged with unresolved tension. Lou remained enigmatic, her actions and intentions veiled in the mystery of the moment. Debbie stood in the center of the room, grappling with a flood of emotions and questions, uncertain about what might unfold in the quiet space between them.

Lou emerged from the bathroom, her hands freshly washed and a subtle fragrance lingering in the air. The mystery of the running water now replaced with the simple act of cleanliness. Her expression remained guarded, but there was a hint of something else, an underlying tension that Debbie couldn't quite decipher.

"What's all this ?" Debbie couldn't help but blurt out the question that had been gnawing at her since the moment they entered the hotel room. The charged atmosphere hung in the air, and Lou's guarded demeanor only added to the mystery.

Lou, with a nonchalant shrug, responded cryptically, "Just wanted a moment away from the chaos of the night. Needed some quiet."

"Did you here what I just said ?"

Lou nodded.

"...So ?"

"I'm in love with you too Debbie."

Debbie's eyes widened as Lou's unexpected reply hung in the air. "Oh my god, couldn't you just have said that sooner?" The brunette whispered before pulling Lou into an urgent kiss.