"Lucia," I called out.
She turned to face me, and the glow in her eyes told me that she had been expecting me. "Hi, Raven."
She smiled and I felt like I was melting under her gaze.
"Are you still busy?" I asked, feeling nervous about intruding if she was working.
"No, I'm not busy anymore," she said, still smiling and beaming. "In fact, I had just finished up what I was doing a few minutes ago."
"Good, good," I said, nervous. Distracted. "How did it go"
"Raven, you know it was fine. That's not really what either of us wants to talk about, is it?"
I bit my lip. She was right, of course, but something about the way she looked at me made me feel like putty in her skilled hands.
"No," I said, voice barely above a whisper.
"So, Raven, tell me then. Why are you here?" she asked sweetly, her innocent tone belied by her vibrant eyes and her taunting words. I shivered and she barely surpressed a giggle. "Don't tell me you're here just to see me?" she asked in a honeyed tone.
"I... I mean, would that really be so bad?" I asked. I could feel warmth blossoming in my cheeks and knew I was inevitably blushing a bright pink, which only served to make me feel even more embarrassed.
She threw her head back and laughed, her light hair flowing behind her back as she did. Then she looked back and me and sighed softly. "No, Raven, that wouldn't be bad at all. I'm sorry I tease you, I know I shouldn't. You're just so cute when you're flustered."
I fought the urge to throw my hands up over my face and hide. Instead I focused on maintaining her gaze, which never seemed too difficult. Every time I looked into her eyes I felt like I could see the whole world in them, reflecting back at me, inviting me in.
"I'm glad to see you, actually. You've got good timing," she continued, as if she hadn't just made me so nervous that I could barely move.
"Good... timing?" I mumbled, hoping she could even hear me clearly. I was still too flustered to speak properly, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah, like I said, I just wrapped up the story I was working on. I was thinking about what I was going to do next. I wasn't sure what you were up to, and I didn't want to intrude," she said, an indiscernible question in her eyes.
"You never bother me. Please, come by any time," I said, perhaps a bit too quickly. She didn't seem to notice that either, or maybe she was just pretending not to.
Her smile widened even more and she reached out for my hand, which I offered to her. "Thank you, Raven. I really enjoy spending time together. I only wish we could have more of it, but... well, you know." Her smile faltered slightly.
I nodded. I did know that she was busy most of the time, but it wasn't really her choice. She just had work to do.
"Do you want to go somewhere? Do something?" she asked, and I hesitated.
"Well, I don't really know. How long are you free?"
"Good question. It seems like I'm probably free for the rest of the night if you are."
I grinned. "Excellent. Then come to my place."
"Gladly. Let's get out of here," she added, seeming ready to move on from writing for the day.
She followed after me and we made our way to where I usually stayed. It was a relatively small place, just one bedroom for me, but a nice large bed (that Lucia had visited the night before, too).
Our relationship wasn't very far along, but so far we really enjoyed each others' company. She seemed to like spending her free time with me, and I wanted nothing more than to spend mine with her.
We left her writing room and she closed up before we left and walked hand-in-hand to my place. It wasn't far, and we both enjoyed the chanced to walk around and be social. Sometimes our other friends would be around and want to chat, but this time it was just us. Or maybe it wasn't, I don't know. I was only focused on Lucia's hand in mine and my pounding heartbeat as I was walking alongside her.
When we got to my place, Lucia shrugged off her work shirt, leaving her in her camisole. It didn't seem like she as a writer would really need a shirt specifically for work but she told me she liked to wear a certain outfit to help her focus when I had asked her about it the night before.
"Have any good stories to tell me?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. I don't really remember any dreams this time."
"Bummer. Ah well," she said, moving on quickly. "I feel kinda tense after work today..." she trailed off, looking at me with her enigmatic eyes.
"I imagine so, I know you work hard at it. Would you like a massage to help?" I asked, and she nodded.
"That sounds lovely, thank you, Raven. Please do."
I sat down on the bed and she followed suit, sitting a few feet in front of where I was seated. I reached my hands out and gently started massaging her shoulders. I rubbed small circles into her smooth, warm skin and was glad to feel her start to relax almost immediately under my touch. She slumped slightly and let out a soft moan.
"Is this helping?" I asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah. In fact, I could use a full-back massage. Do you mind if I lay out?"
