This Story is completely fiction and fantasy, and will hopefully stay that way. The actions and ideas in this story are fantasy and in no way encouraged or suggested by me, the author. Please enjoy with a suspension of disbelief, and be kind to each other in real life.
Summary: Kate makes some friends. She hosts her first "office hours" and the girls draw a rough sketch of a plan moving forward on how to deal with the Rose situation. Author's note at the bottom.
Stars and comments are always nice. Thank you.
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For the second time in one long, horrible day, I found myself slinking back up the stairs to my duplex, but this time it was Lara, a new found ally with me instead of Belle. Lara had considerably more clothes on than I did, namely my own sundress, while I didn't have a stitch on.
For once, I was grateful Belle had a horrible memory because she left my door unlocked when she left. Had she not, I would have been locked out of my own duplex because with all that happened, I left my purse (which included my wallet, keys, and phone) in the Bistro.
I threw myself down on my couch and sighed deeply, feeling a real dejavu, but with no bottoms this round. At least I couldn't lose more clothes than I had now. There was no further to fall.
"I'm going to make you some tea. Would that be nice?" Lara asked as she started rummaging around in my kitchen area as if we had always known each other.
"That would be great," I confirmed, but stayed where I was. I felt exhausted. "I don't know where my teas are anymore than you do," I told her. "The moving people the State got to put this place together just kind of... did things."
Two minutes or so passed in silence until I heard Lara make a kind of happy coo sound, I can't really explain it, but it was seriously cute. Another minute or two and I heard an electric whirring, like a Keurig or electric kettle heating up. That must also be a State feature, I figured.
As I looked at the clock and saw it was a half hour until office hours, I slumped my shoulders and drooped my head. Lara came in with two little saucers, each with a tea cup, spoon, and honey packets.
I looked up at her with a small smile as she situated the little plates, and she sat down next to me like I hadn't been branded a pariah today. "Thank you, Lara. I've never known you to be a bad person, but I didn't know how kind you are."
Lara took my hand in hers and squeezed it comfortingly. "I know I would want to be doted on a little after what happened to you," she said softly, her eyes a subtle hazel now that I looked at them closer. Her features were soft, almost heart shaped, and I thought that fitting. She wasn't walk-way sharp featured, but I found her disarmingly cute. She caught me looking at the clock again after having studied her, and she asked, "Do you need me to go?"
I squeezed her hand tighter. I let out a deep sigh, trying to think about what to even say. "I don't want you to go, Lara. At 8:00, though... there's an open invitation to anyone who sees the Rose placard on the front of the house to use my services until midnight. It's part of why I'm not even bothering to get dressed."
Lara's face fell, and then a look of determination set across her jaw as she stood up. Before I knew what was happening, her (my) sundress was on the floor and she was unclasping her bra in the back.
"Lara, what the fuck are you doing?" I asked as she confidently and quickly got rid of her panties before me, leaving her just as naked as I was.
"I'm staying with you, Kate," she stated as she sat back down and picked up her tea. "Whoever sees you naked will see me naked, too. We're a team."
We sat in silence, getting used to the two of us being casually naked together, when my door opened. It was still too early to be office hours, so I was shocked until I saw Belle. "Kate, I can't let you go through with this a....alone," whatever speech she had planned died as she took in the sight of two bare naked college basketball girls sitting on a couch having tea.
"Lara?" Belle asked, her blonde eyebrows creased together in confusion.
"Oh, hi Belle," she said pleasantly, like she wasn't bothered by her nakedness and being caught at all. She quickly stood up and asked, "Wanna join us for tea? You have to have it naked, though." Belle and I stared at her with shocked expressions. "It's naked solidarity tea," she said plainly as if that explained everything.
Belle stayed in the doorway for a second, blinking, before she shrugged and said, "Fuck it, whatever. There's been a lot of weird shit today already." Just like that, Belle started to strip down too as Lara clapped and then scampered off to the kitchen, her very well developed chest bouncing with her.
"How the fuck did this happen?" Belle asked as she kicked out of her shoes and peeled her pants off. She changed at some point during the day, and the 'I' on her cheek was almost gone.
"It's a long story," I said, and filled her back in on the bistro situation. I was just about done with the harrowing tale as Lara came back in with another tea cup, her tight athletic body with curves in all the right places went so well with her warm, genuine smile.
With only 10 minutes till office hours left, the three of us just chatted and tried to avoid bringing up what might happen this evening. Then Belle's phone started ringing from her discarded pants pocket.
Belle rose to answer it, and I couldn't help but to steal a healthy look at her cheerleader physique. I was a little more toned, but Belle's thighs were the kind you just wanted to rest your head on for hours.
"Uh... it's you, calling me?" she asked. I knew why, but then the look of realization hit Lara's face.
"I left it at the bistro during my nude flight," I explained and went to grab it. "Oh, Claire must have gotten it." I had the biggest fucking flip-flop feeling in my chest. I hated her for what she did to me today, but part of me wanted to answer her call, and more than to just get my phone back. I don't know what it was about her.
"Claire," I said with a flat tone as I answered Belle's phone.
"Hey Kate. I'm surprised you're a... willing to talk to me after the way I left things in the Bistro."
It was five minutes to 8:00. I needed to make this quick. "Listen, I need my phone back and I think there's a lot we still need to talk about. I have office hours until midnight if you can swing by." I rattled off my address and hung up before I could get any kind of yes or no."