Chapter 6: Kirsten and Alice head in different directions
Alice checked her lipstick in the dim light of the taxi one more time. Carefully reapplying a layer of gloss over the pale pink colour, the young blonde woman excitedly blew a kiss into the compact mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the driver check her out and smirked to herself. She felt hot...
Snapping the compact shut, she dropped it back into her clutch purse, squeezed her thighs together, and looked out the window.
Are we almost there?
Her body was buzzing with nervous energy and she felt like an impatient child. Tonight was important and it was impossible to sit still for long. She was excited about seeing Marcia again, of course, but her conversation with her father kept coming back to her. She was their best hope. That meant a lot was depending on what she could uncover tonight.
The driver's voice interrupted her thoughts. "We're here, Miss."
Alice glanced up to see that the taxi had pulled up to the curb of one of the few non-descript buildings in Chelsea. The tiny sign reading, Aura seemed as proportionately small as the queue outside was long.
She paid him with a crisp twenty pound note and slid towards the door, the hem of her little white dress riding high across her thighs. That somehow added to her excitement, it wouldn't take much movement on the dance floor to her fellow revellers a view of her skimpy thong.
"Good luck," the driver chuckled, nodding at the mingling line of smartly dressed clubbers.
"Thanks," she softly replied, her eyes following the queue along the narrow road until it reached the corner and disappeared right. It looked like she was going to need it.
Her eyes raked along the revellers, hoping she'd find Marcia waiting somewhere close to the front. She didn't spot the curvy redhead, but based on the outfits she saw, she was thankful she'd gone with her short white dress rather than the skinny jeans she was considering.
This group could be queuing for an award show. Or a modelling review?
A voice from her left alerted her and she saw Marcia waiving at her from her position beside the club doors. Hurrying across the narrow road, she reminded herself that tonight the redhead was not just her new friend, but the person who was going to provide all the information she needed about the Appleby agency.
"Wow, girl. You clean up well!"
Alice blushed, standing pigeon-toed and demure as Marcia appraised her. Her white dress was the smallest she owned, high on the thighs and strapless across her perky bust. The approving gaze reminded her of how the redhead had looked at her when she was naked.
Memories of their steamy encounter immediately returned—of Marcia's fingers curling inside her, the curvy woman's lips suckling her nipple. Her excitement immediately jumped up another level. She had to be careful not to lose herself tonight.
"And I love your hair!"
"Thanks," Alice mumbled, finally finding a voice. She'd debated on what to do with it, hoping Marcia would like it as she curled it into lazy, golden ringlets that were draped about her bare shoulders. "You look great, too."
She wasn't lying. Marcia's agency outfits had always hovered at the borders of what was professional, but the red mini-dress she wore tonight blew all of it out of the water. Tight, ruched and certainly too short to be legal, she oozed sex.
"I wish I could wear red lipstick like that," she said, mostly for herself. She'd tried, but just didn't have the proper colour. But on Marcia, with that warm tan and her copper curls, the bright red looked perfect. Aware that she was staring for a few seconds too long, she started to turn towards the long line of waiting partygoers.
Marcia caught her arm. "Where are you going?"
"The queue."
The redhead tossed her a wide smile. "You wanted to learn what the life of an Appleby model was like, right? First lesson. Girls like us don't stand in queues..."
***
Kirsten Tobin glanced at the clock. Matt had said he'd be there around nine so he couldn't be far away from her flat. It was a conversation she wasn't looking forward to but it had to be done. She really had no choice.
It had been a strange day in the office. Everyone had seemed so subdued—or was that just her? There seemed to be a lot of tension around Sandra Wilson and Alex Goodwin, as if the two of them had had a mighty argument and were unsure how to patch it up. She'd never seen her boss so nervous and Goodwin had been hanging around her office as if he was desperate to get time alone with her.
Their morning team meeting had been extremely low key. Wilson had more or less intimated that her visit to the open night had been a waste of time and that there weren't any angles she could follow through. Goodwin, as usual, had nothing to report. Kirsten wondered what he was doing at all on the case. Alex was very solid, but his strengths were out in the field, not behind a desk.
Only Alice seemed to have any bounce in her, and that was probably because she was meeting Marcia tonight. Her blonde colleague was excited about her opportunity to shine and it had maybe been unfair of Sandra Wilson to heap some extra pressure on the young cop. But she had. If nothing came from Alice's meeting, she'd said, they'd be closing down the unofficial investigation. Their simply wasn't the time to pursue it unless they had something concrete.
Goodwin had pulled her to one side later and let it later that Colin Turner was on Wilson's back, although Kirsten had no idea what that was all about. But there was no doubt her boss seemed to be feeling the pressure. Kirsten wouldn't be in her Wilson's shoes for the world. Turner had her on a string, bouncing her up and down the stairs to his office every hour or so for one meeting after another.
Who wanted that kind of stress?
She'd asked Goodwin what was up between him and Wilson, but he'd had just given her one of his usual grunts. Something wasn't right between them, but Kirsten didn't have time to work it out. She had enough stress of her own.
The only good thing was that if the investigation was closed down then her fears about compromising herself would be resolved. She could back away from anything to do with the agency in the knowledge that her 'on the job' sex with Tony Daly would stay between her and the black stud.
She'd been due back to the studios today for another photo session, but she hadn't turned up and had told Wilson the agency had dispensed with her services for the time being. That they'd call her if they needed her. It was the perfect out. Her part of the case was closed and she could relax again.
The brunette had ignored all attempts by Daly to contact her during the day. He'd left messages, asking where she was and reminding her she had an appointment at the studio. But how could she face him again after yesterday's events? No, it was better to make herself scarce for the time being.
Maybe when she'd dealt with Matt, when the case was formally closed, she'd call him. Perhaps even suggest they meet up for a drink? She'd like to see him again. Who was she kidding? She'd like to fuck him again.
Sex with the black stud had been the most incredible of her life and once she'd got rid of the guilt and been able to safely separate her private life from her job, she wanted more. In the meantime, the long, thick black dildo she'd purchased today would have to suffice.
Damn, she suddenly realised her hands were wandering dangerously close to her thighs and she reached for her glass of wine. Even just thinking about Tony Daly had her drooling at the mouth.
The doorbell rang and she glanced at the clock again. Half nine. Alice would be on her way to meet Marcia for a fun night out and she was about to tell Matt it was over between them. She knew whose position she'd rather be in, especially as the fucking horniness she'd felt all day was still overpowering her.
Maybe before she had her conversation with Matt...
***
The bouncer hadn't even consulted a list. He gave each woman a quick once-over and waved them through. When Marcia linked arms with Alice, the blonde cop felt like royalty as they sashayed into the unassuming club.
They descended a narrow set of stairs to ticket counter, where a young woman also just waved them through without payment. Marcia shot a warm smile at the young blonde. "Fun, isn't it? Get used to it, girl."
Alice had to admit, the feeling of privilege was more than a little intoxicating. She'd felt the same way when stepping onto a crime scene with her badge slung around her neck—only this carried with it a different sort of adrenalin. She had no idea what to expect to find behind the silver privacy curtains that marked the entrance but everything felt so exciting.
The low throb of the house dub vibrated along the walls and floor but it felt unstated. Was this a dance club?
"This place is fantastic," Marcia whispered to her, just before she theatrically tugged the curtain aside. She was like a showman, unveiling what was in store.
The wall of bass and beat crashed over Alice like an ocean wave that snuck up on her. She hadn't expected those curtains to absorb so much, how was that possible? Like a switch, Aura spread out before her. Her eyes jumped from one sumptuous detail to the other. There were silk curtains; cool, uplit black lights against the white furniture; curvilinear lines. It was discreet luxury and clean decadence.
"You approve?" Marcia asked.
She was standing so close that Alice could drown in that sexy perfume she wore and when the redhead's hand slipped down into hers and weaved their fingers together, the young cop felt the exhilaration of the moment flow through her.
She glanced around the room, squeezing Marcia's fingers in her own as she soaked in the atmosphere. Even at this relatively early hour, the intimate dance floor was already full, packed with expensively dressed partygoers who writhed as one like some well orchestrated mass of flesh. It had been ages since she'd been dancing and her hips quickly found the beat as if they had a mind of their own.
"Feel the itch, don't ya?" the freckled redhead laughed. "Come on, let's get a drink first. Go grab that table over there." She patted Alice on the buttocks as the blonde turned, then giggled as she weaved her way over to the bar.
It wasn't difficult for Marcia to discreetly add a drop of Blush to Alice's Cosmo. The opportunity was there as soon as the bartender pushed the martini drinks across the black granite counter and moved on to the next order without a second glance. She carried the two drinks across to the table.
"Sex in the City, right?" she laughed, handing Alice the Blush-laced Cosmo.
