Échappé - Branjie

Eight.

A/N: So this is gonna be sexy times, mixed with sad times, aka regular lesbian hours. Yep. Okay.

Chapter 8

Vanessa woke up in a bed that wasn't hers. The cool duvet felt nice around her naturally hot body. The pillow, filled with some exotic bird's feathers, was soft against her cheek. Her own bedding didn't feel as comfortable. Those were definitely not hers. She was going to freak out, check her surroundings, find a way home; but not just yet. Her first instinct was to sink deeper into the gazillion thread count and enjoy the luxuries of a blanket that hadn't become stiff with all the washing and drying, and a pillow that hadn't deflated after being used for years.

Her limbs stretched in every direction, her lips stretching into a content smile. The smell of coffee reached her nostrils and a sigh escaped her softly.

It had been a long time since she found herself in a situation like this. She was pretty wild when she was a teen, and had woken up in strangers' houses more often than she would like to admit. The mattresses had never felt that good, though.

Even if rusty, she still knew the procedure. First thing on the list was finding out where she was and who she had spent the night with, everything else would pan out after that.

She moved her eyes around the room. Everything looked clean and organized. There was nothing homey about it, no family pictures in frames or quirky decorations. It was most likely a hotel. That was when it hit her.

Brooke.

She had spent the night with Brooke, in the condo she had rented during her stay in Los Angeles. That was why the room looked so generic. Although, Vanessa had to wonder if that was how Brooke kept her own place.

Throwing the covers to the side, Vanessa allowed the slightly colder atmosphere, created by the air conditioner, to envelope her naked body. Small goosebumps appeared on her skin at the change of temperature. Her nipples reacted right away, growing hard immediately. She brought her own hands to rest on her breasts, trying to warm them up with her palms, unsuccessfully. They burned slightly, maybe from the cold, maybe from the harsh treatment they received the night before, or early morning, rather. Looking down, she noticed the red dots all across her chest, little love bites that marked her as Brooke's. Vanessa had never liked hickeys, they were tacky and degrading. The need to flag someone as taken showed nothing but jealousy, fueled by insecurities. This time, she found them... erotic.

The burst blood vessels were right below the cleavage line, invisible to the world. Surely, they would heal in the next couple of days, when she had to go back to work. For the time being, they were just hers.

Pieces of clothing were scattered around the room; she went around picking them up, but she soon remembered the other garments that had been discarded on their way to the bedroom. There was a red robe draped on the back of an individual sofa. Vanessa figured Brooke had left it there for her. She put it on, the delicate fabric hugging her with its softness. Then, she saw the towel. She could use a shower.

The bathroom was big, probably as big as her room. It was nice. Once again, she made the decision to enjoy the moment and took her sweet time under the water spray. She tried every floral shampoo bottle on the shelves, and clean her body with bars of exfoliating soaps that hurt more than sooth her skin. Even then, she had a smile on her face. It felt good to treat herself like that, to rid her skin of all dead cells, to lather her hair with scented conditioner. She deserved that. She was worthy of a shower head with just the right amount of pressure, with water that reached just the right temperature.

She was worthy of being treated the way Brooke had intended to right from the start. Vanessa didn't even know why she had rejected Brooke so much. Since the moment they met, Brooke offered to help her, to provide the financial aid she needed, and Vanessa had refused to even listen. She was too proud to accept the money, no matter how badly the center needed it.