(Author's Note: Hi everyone, I hope you have enjoyed part 1 of this new series! I should warn that there is no actual sex in this chapter, although there is a lot of conversations about it! I promise, the next two chapters pick up the slack! As usual, please feel free to rate and leave comments! - Chloe)
DAY TWO
At 7am there was a knock on my door.
"Come in, Zoe," I called. Zoe came in, carrying two cups of coffee.
"Hi, how are you feeling?" she asked as she sat on the bed and handed me a cup. The fact that I was naked didn't seem to bother her.
"I'm good thanks. Sorry on bailing early last night, but it had been a tiring day."
"Oh yeah, airports can be real energy drainers! So, Chloe and I are going to the pool shortly to do some lengths; would you like to join us?"
I nodded. This was a part of my life in Prague I wanted to hang on to -- my fitness regime. I'd been privileged to have access to a private gym and pool over there and made good use of it on an almost daily basis, so the thought of stretching out my limbs with these two in a pool was very appealing indeed.
"I'll dig out my swimming costume; it's in the backpack."
We got changed in the suite and covered using the bathrobes. Chloe was already waiting for us in the lounge.
"Oh, lovely," she said, "I hope you're more of a challenge than Zoe."
"How many lengths do you do?" I asked, as we rode the elevator down to the basement of the hotel.
"At our regular pool, about 30. Three sets of ten. This pool is about two thirds the size, so I suggest four sets?"
"Wow, you're not just here to splash around, are you, Chloe?" I chuckled.
"I can see you're a serious swimmer yourself Rachael. Zoe does her best but by the time I've finished the first set, she still has a lap to go."
"Miss Chloe..." Zoe covered her eyes in embarrassment. I gave her a sisterly hug and said "If she's as good as I think she is, then you are doing really well."
In fact, I was proud of the way Zoe looked. She was eating healthily and exercising a lot, and it was having the right effect. She looked lean and lithe.
We used the first set as a warm-up, taking our time and making sure our bodies were up to the task. Even Zoe was able to keep up with us for that set. Then we upped the pace, and Zoe started to fall back a bit. Chloe and I kept neck and neck as we sliced through the water back and forth. We took a rest while waiting for Zoe to finish her set.
During the third set, I'd noticed something about Chloe's technique. While I was concentrating on my own stroke, I'd noticed that Chloe's left arm didn't stretch as far in the water as her right arm, forcing a quicker transition from left to right. It didn't seem to affect her speed though; I just thought it was odd.
Each lap had become quicker and quicker. Chloe was setting the pace; I was just letting her know I could keep up. When we got to the end of the set, Chloe said, "Fancy a race?"
We were both breathing hard from the exertion, our blood was fully oxygenated at this point.
I nodded, "Just a short one. To the end and back again. Zoe can drop the flag."
Chloe smiled, "Perfect!", which is what Zoe heard as she finished her final lap and came up for air.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"You're going to referee a short race between Rachael and me."
"Oh, yay!" she said, and pulled herself up to sit on the side of the pool. We got ready; one hand touching the wall, ready to push ourselves off.
"Ready! Set!" yelled Zoe, then, "GO!"
Everything else zoned out for me as I powered through the water. I put everything into it. I don't know if I'd managed to hold anything back before, and I realised Chloe had been coaxing it out of me to the point she thought she had a read of me and could make a challenge. On the return lap I was aware of her presence in the water, the female shark who was homing in on her target. My muscles were burning, and I was starting to lose a bit of momentum. I kicked harder, stretched further and could see Zoe leaning with her palms stretched out. I pushed, stretching to meet hers.
SSLLAAPP!!
Zoe said that's what it sounded, and felt like, when both Chloe and I slapped her hands at virtually the same time.
"I'm pretty sure I felt Miss Chloe's hand a microsecond before yours. But Oh My God, Rach that was so close!"
It had been a short, powerful sprint and we were both gasping hard from it. We could see it in each other's faces that neither needed nor wanted a rematch. We'd put our all into it and came out equals. It almost felt like a metaphor for something.
We shared a large changing room, which meant Chloe and I got to see each other naked for the first time. She took it in her stride, as I expected her to, although she did give my breasts an appraising look or two. When Chloe stood to towel her back, I noticed she had a long scar down the side of her ribs, on her left side. I wondered if that was the reason her left side stroke was shorter.
"Right, ladies. I must pop across to Mayfair for an interview, so I shall see you both for dinner?" said Chloe, as she finished getting dressed.
"Yes, Miss Chloe. I'm going to take Rachael across to Spitalfields this morning and we'll have lunch there."
Despite what the tube map will have you believe, a lot of the tourist areas and streets of central London are within walking distance of each other and once you get the hang of it, it's much easier to just walk from location to location. Spitalfields was a bit further out though, so we took the central line to Liverpool Street, then walked from there. We passed some interesting sculptures of a family of elephants on our way, surrounded by tourists taking pictures.
"It's just a bit further, on the left," said Zoe.
"Have you been here before?" I asked. She nodded.
"Yes, Kylie and I popped down for the day." She caught the look in my eye, continuing, "Kylie's my friend, she's an assistant at the salon."
"And is she... is she caught up in all of this too?" I didn't know how else to describe it.
"Some of it. She doesn't have any direct link to Lioness Pictures, she was hired by the salon."
We went through an archway and along an arcade of shops, and beyond that were two halls of market stalls. We spent the next couple of hours scrutinising each stall. There was an artisanal quality to them; you didn't get the impression of knock-offs or stuff which had fallen off the back of a lorry.
There was a restaurant on the far side of the market with outdoor seating -- perfect all year round as the market was indoors. We sat outside at a green picnic table and ordered gyros and a couple of pints of cider to go with it.
"So how are you finding things?" she asked me. Such a simple question but loaded with meaning.
"I'm finding things. It's interesting. Not scary. Yesterday morning, as I left Prague, I felt like I'd jumped out of a perfectly good aeroplane without a parachute. This morning, I felt like you'd jumped out with me and were handing me one."
Our drinks came; a blood orange cider which was apparently the drink of the summer. It was delicious and refreshing, and the gyros arrived shortly after and were great too. Right, I thought to myself, time to discuss one of the many elephants in the room.
"About...last night."
