Bella felt the key turn in the lock of her new apartment with a satisfying clunk. She took a deep breath and turned the handle, opening the door.
"Rachel?" Bella called, her voice echoing off the wooden floorboards of the entry way. Her only reply was the sound of the door bouncing off the wall. She lugged her bags inside and nudged the door closed with her well-toned butt.
The apartment was much like the pictures Rachel had sent - a long hallway leading to a combined kitchen/living room area. That opened up into a glass door and their small courtyard beyond. The living room showed signs of recent tidying - the blue patterned rug slightly askew, empty hooks on the wall.
In their messages, Rachel had told her in she'd been living here since her parents brought the place af few weeks ago, and it was "getting lonely at night". That had been the reply to Bella's first enquiry as to whether the apartment was available.
There were three doors off the living room - one was clearly the bathroom, the other was partially-open, revealing a taste of the scattered mess on the other side. Bella made her way to the third door, which led to a sunlit, sparse room. A bedside table, a wardrobe and a queen-size bed which gave a satisfying bounce as she tossed her suitcase on to it.
Bella massaged her forearms, mentally ticking off arms from tomorrow's gym session as she leaned back and stretched her arms overhead, her loose t tank top tickling her abs. She noticed a piece of paper taped to the door. She ripped it off and opened it.
"Bella! So excited to sleep with you. May have given you the squeaky bed - we'll have to test it later. Rach."
Bella grinned. The way Rachel wrote, the way she spoke - well, it took some getting used to. It didn't seem to be deliberate, but everything came out...interesting.
Just last week, she'd replied to their text chain with "Hey babe - can't wait to feel your magic fingers." Bella's fingers had sat hovered over her phone as she tried to frame a reply when the phone buzzed with a follow-up. "Sorry, that was meant for Alex. They take care of my needs every second Thursday." Another point immediately followed. "They're a masseuse. I'm sure they could squeeze you in if you'd like." Bella had let out the breath she'd been holding.
She tossed the note on the bed, kicked off her sneakers and padded barefoot back into the lounge. The apartment wasn't much - but it was close to campus and far from the small town with the small minds that had made things unbearable for the past few months.
She checked her phone and saw a message from Rachel: "Hope everything's looking good at our new apartment. I should be coming very soon." Shoving it back into her pocket, she couldn't help but let her gaze drift to the half-closed door of Rachel's room.
The temptation was too much. She'd stalked her socials of course, finding a woman with a gorgeous mop of curly hair, an infectious smile and a body that had almost sent Bella on a half-marathon. She wasn't a frequent poster, and most of it was casual - birthdays, weddings, the occasional beach day that Bella had almost accidentally hit like on.
She seemed fun, if a little disorganised, and as Bella gently pushed open the door, that impression seemed about right.
The room was a mess of clothes, books and junk, some of which had obviously been tossed from the living room out the other bedroom in a frenzy if cleaning to prepare for a new roommate. The bed was a shambles, sheets strewn about like she'd slept in a storm, a pile of clothes topped by a pair of flannel summer pajamas. A pair of jeans, the black underwear still inside them, lay at the foot of the bed, next to a pair of worn sneakers and some discarded neon coloured workout gear. That drew an approving nod for Bella.
A curling iron balanced precariously on a pile of marketing textbooks resting on the bedside table, its end perilously close to a tuft of purple peeking out from the to drawer. Bella quickly moved it away from becoming a potential fire hazard, her fingers brushing the silk. Before she knew it, it was in her hands - a purple open front camisole. Bella ran her fingers along the material, and she couldn't help but picture it clinging to the curves of the woman she'd seen online.
Her phone buzzed again, and Bella quickly shoved it back where it was. She moved to the door, her fingers tangling in something as she pulled the handle, her other hand thumbing open her phone to the newest message from Rachel: "Coming now. God, I'm so sweaty!"
Bella quickly pulled the door closed behind her, half-looking down at the white thing which had wrapped itself around her hand. She quickly shoved whatever it was into her pocket and headed to the hallway as she heard the keys in the lock.
Bella just had a second to appreciate the woman on the other side, before she threw herself in to a hug. "Bella!" Rachel squealed as she embraced her. Bella felt heat rise on the back of her neck as she became actually acutely aware of Rachel's breasts mashed against her own. "I've been looking forward to this all day."
She stepped back, and Bella got her first good look at her. The photos hadn't done her justice. A gorgeous mop of brown curly hair framed an oval shaped face with deep hazel eyes and sensuous lips. Her shoulders were almost bare, save the thin straps of her floral summer dress, which did its best to keep her mouth-watering cleavage in place. She smoothed the hem of the dress against her creamy thighs, which sat atop long legs and a pair of dainty feet clad in gladiator sandals. "Is it everything you expected?"
Bella managed to tear her gaze from her sun-kissed skin. "What?"
"The place," Rachel said as she squeezed past her in the hallway, her hand brushing against Bella's hip. "I'll admit it's probably yearning for another woman's touch."
She plonked a shopping bag on the counter and bent down to unstrap her sandals, giving Bella a perfect angle on her strapless bra. Rachel looked up at her and Bella quickly shifted to meet her gaze. "Honestly, I've been going a little all on my lonesome. Some days it's all I can do to put a bra on." She stood back up and slid off her sandals. "Right," she said. "Let me show you the goods."
She set off briskly in to the living room, Bella's gaze falling on the way her floral dress gently swished with the sway of her hips.
"First stop, the kitchen," Rachel said. "I should warn you it can get pretty hot in here." She unveiled that infectious grin again. "I like it spicy."
She spun on her heel, her skirt swirling to offer a tantalising glimpse of the back of her thighs. "Welcome to the living room. I've given the couch a good workout over the past few weeks." Rachel turned, walking backwards with an infectious smile. "Speaking of workouts, you're welcome to put whatever you want in here." She beamed. "I've been hoping we'd get to work up a sweat together."
