Aim to Please (wlw)

ch. 8 • jaloux

"What do you mean you overbooked?" Laurie raised her voice at the concierge.

I pulled her arm. "Laurie, it's fine."

Antoinette sighed dramatically. "Please, Laurie. Stop making a scene— it is just 2 nights."

'Overbooked' meant that the hotel did not have 3 single rooms. Instead, it had 2 deluxe rooms, which boasted king beds and no other sleeping accommodations. For 2 nights, 2 out of our trio would have to sleep in the same bed.

"Laurie, you and Antoinette will be just fine," I murmured softly. "Please."

"Ha!" LeBlanc snorted. "I refuse. It will be you."

I cut her a glare. She shrugged nonchalantly and turned to leave. Laurie sighed heavily and mumbled to herself, inaudibly, before grabbing my hand and following after Antoinette. I followed, heart palpitating.

It wasn't like sleeping in the same bed as Laurie would be a problem. Why were my hands becoming clammy? A thought threatened to breach past my mental wall, which I shoved away quickly.

"I can sleep on the couch," Laurie muttered as she tossed her suitcases into the closet.

The deluxe room was quite big: a king size 4-poster bed, a lounge area with a couch and 2 chairs. The bathroom was elegant and minimalistic, with a massive stand-alone tub. Awestruck as I was about the luxuriousness of it all, I calmed myself down and wandered back into the main room.

"Laurie, we can sleep in the same bed," I commented calmly, though my heart was racing. "It isn't that big of a deal. Unless you think I'll take too much of the bed?"

She grinned at my teasing. "I just do not want to make you uncomfortable."

"And I don't want to make you uncomfortable. So, that means neither of us will be, right?"

"Very well," she conceded. A yawn ripped through her as she stretched her arms up towards the ceiling. "Tired."

"When are we eating with Antoinette?"

"Later," the woman mumbled, collapsing into the bed.

A wave of exhaustion rode over me. I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my socks before climbing in beside Laurie. My head hit the pillow and my mind went to dream land in mere minutes.

It was one of those naps that straddled the boundary of awake and asleep. Part of me could feel what was going on in real time, could hear different noises— but the other part of me portrayed it as a dream. Warmth spread through me as I felt a weight over my stomach.

In this type of dream state, time passes by slowly and quickly all at once.

"Ungh," Laurie groaned. I felt her shift next to me. "Oh— Oh non, non, non..."

Her sudden reaction pulled me out of my dream state slightly. I became acutely aware of a tight feeling on my right breast, as well as the weight of a hand cupping it. Laurie was muttering to herself in French.

Suddenly, my body was met with the chill of loneliness.

I heard the opening and closing of the door out to the balcony. A few minutes of convincing my nipple to get the fuck back down also gave me the courage to head outside with Laurie. I craved being near her.

I rubbed my eye with one hand as I exited onto the balcony. It was twilight, definitely too late for any plans we may have had. Laurie was leaning against the railing, cigarette in one hand, her head in the other.

"I think we slept a little too long," I mumbled sleepily, yawning. "My head hurts."

Silence. No acknowledgement.