THE DARE (G!P Freenbecky)

Chapter 35

The silence, so total, seemed to reverberate around them, the only sound was the bubbling of the water. Becky sank down lower in the steaming water.

"Are you cold?" Freen asked.

"A little."

"Do you want to go inside?"

Becky started to laugh. "I'm beginning to feel like a prune."

Freen smiled. "Are there any towels around here?"

"Next to the sauna."

Freen cocked an eyebrow as she looked down at her. "A sauna? Near here?"

"Right off the indoor pool."

"Lady, I like the way you think."
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So this is how the really rich and famous live, Freen thought.

They'd jumped out of the Jacuzzi, pulled on their clothes, carried their shoes, and raced toward the back of the mansion. Becky had silently let them in the back door to what seemed to be an area devoted to physical fitness, then led her to an enclosed room that proved to be an actual sauna.

Now they sat on the wooden benches, undressed once again, a towel wrapped around Freen, and another around Becky. And Freen felt wonderfully warm, while their clothing hung up to dry directly outside.

Freen liked the way she felt against her, leaning back against her chest, sitting between her legs. Freen had her arms around her, but lightly. Lightly. Freen had a feeling that she'd pushed Becky enough for one night.

A safer topic was in order.

"Were you lonely, living with your grandfather?" Freen asked.

"Sometimes. I used to really wish for a brother or a sister, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. Then I went away to boarding school and met Lookkaew."

Now Freen had an idea of how much that friendship meant to her.

"She's a terrific woman."

"Yeah, she is. She even shared her family with me. My grandfather let me spend a summer with them one year, and I couldn't believe how much fun it was to sit around the dinner table with all her brothers." She started to laugh.

"What?"

"The first time I ate dinner there, this big plate of fried chicken was being passed around the table, and Lookkaew whispered to me, "Better take what you want when it comes your way, or you won't get a second chance!"

Freen laughed, the laughter a quiet rumble as it made its way up her chest.

"Ah yes, I forgot men are beasts."

"Not all. You know, her father used to do a lot of the cooking, and when he made bacon and eggs for breakfast, the frying pen he used was enormous!"

"Speaking of bacon, I'm going to keep Baco."

"You are!"

Briefly, Freen told her the story of how the pig was found on the beach, cold and confused, and the various hardships and traumas the animal had been through.

"No one would want him now," Freen said. "When someone wants a potbellied pig, they're talking about a pig that tops out at about forty pounds. Not this guy."

"I'm glad he's staying with you." Becky sighed, and Freen felt her lean back against her chest. "Freen?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we just stay this way tonight? I mean, can we just talk?"

For some reason, her eyes stung. "Sure, honey."
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Freen slipped out the ornate iron gate a few hours later and took a cab right back to the hotel. Freen didn't want to go to Danielle's looking as if she'd spent the night with Becky, so she let herself into the suite and decided she'd take a long, hot shower and get a few hours of sleep before she went to pick up her skunk and her puppy.