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Fe and Cathy left a couple of hours later. Halle stubbornly refused to go, even though all Lydia wanted was to disappear. She was surrounded by a fog of embarrassment and shame. It was rare for her to let go like that. Clearly, Lydia had a good reason to limit alcohol intake.

“Will you please look at me?” Halle asked for the tenth time. Lydia decided hiding in her room under her duvet was the best way to deal with the aftermath of last night.

“No.”

“Lyds, come on,” Halle laughed.

“I can’t look at you, Halle.”

“That’s silly. Lydia, you were drunk. It’s no big deal.”

Throwing off the covers, Lydia sat bolt upright. “No big deal? Halle, I paraded around in lingerie and then attacked your face with my sucking clit vibrator. That is a big deal!”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Halle laughed.

“Halle!”

Pulling Lydia closer, Halle gently took her by the face. “It’s no big deal. We all get daft sometimes. Plus, you looked super sexy in your underwear.”

Looking away, Lydia shook her head slightly. “You don’t need to say that.”

“You think I say things I don’t mean?” Halle’s tone changed from jovial to serious in the blink of an eye. “Lydia, you are the sexiest woman I have ever met.”

Opening her mouth to form a protest, Lydia let out a surprised gasp when Halle kissed her forcefully. Wrapping her arms around Halle’s neck, Lydia leaned into the kiss that was picking up steam quickly.

It would have been better if Lydia was still clad in scanty underwear instead of baked bean-stained T-shirt and pyjama trousers, but this is what she was working with. Plus, Halle didn’t seem to mind.

The soft brush of Halle’s fingers over Lydia’s nipple drew out the first moan. The pinch that followed elicited the second. “Halle.” Lydia breathed.

“Mmmm?”

“Oh God, I want you to touch me.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Tearing her lips away, Halle sucked and nibbled her way down Lydia’s neck.

“Wait.”

Halle immediately pulled back, both hands dropping from Lydia’s body. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I want this, but I’m still bleeding.”

“Then we’ll wait until you’re comfortable.” Halle was breathing heavily, her expression almost pained that they’d stopped, but Lydia saw the resolve in her eyes. She wouldn’t push.

Tugging on the bottom of Halle’s sweater, Lydia collected all the confidence she had. “Can I touch you?”

Halle studied her for a second. “Do whatever you want, Lydia. I’m yours.”

Chapter 22

The tremble in Lydia’s hand could easily be ascribed to dehydration, but she knew better. It was the thought of touching Halle intimately that had Lydia’s hands shaking, not the aftermath of a boozy night.

The bravado she’d summoned moments ago was quickly ebbing away. Intrusive thoughts began circling like a shark in chummed waters. “Lydia, we can just relax in bed. Nothing has to happen.”

Fe was right. Halle knew Lydia well. Reading her emotions and moods seemed to be a gift Halle possessed, and one Lydia found entirely destabilising. Flashes from the girls’ naughty night in swarmed Lydia’s mind. A vague recollection of a conversation with Cathy circled the periphery of her memory.

Concentrating, Lydia willed herself to remember. They spoke about seduction. Yes, that was it. Cathy thought Lydia should try to seduce Halle. What was it she said?

“The moment you see what you do to Halle, and I mean really see the effect you have on her, you’ll find your power. And it’s not about needing someone else to validate you, it’s about you seeing yourself through their eyes, Lydia.”