Page 7 of Flogging Faith
Mandi and Faith giggled, and Tay flashed them a grin, to show that they were not quite as overcome as all that after all.
“Ahem.” The door to the kitchen was ajar, and a woman in a chef’s jacket stood there, arms folded. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and she looked far from impressed.
“Whoops!” said Tay, and picked themself up quickly. “Duty calls.” Bounding over to the chef, they shot the older woman an irrepressible grin. “Chef Guilia.”
“Tay.” Chef Guilia looked unimpressed. “Not during service.”
“Yes, chef,” they answered, shooting a mock-worried face over their shoulder and then hurrying back into the kitchen.
After that interlude, lunch came to an end. Bex said goodbye to Mandi and Faith, lifting Faith’s hand to kiss it in what must have been the cringiest move she’d ever made. It was worth it to see Faith dissolve into giggles.
She headed back upstairs to her suite, sat on the couch and decided to call Riley.
The call was answered rather quickly, and her best friend’s face filled the screen. “Well, hello there, Bexy. Found yourself a cowgirl yet?”
Bex pulled a face at her friend. “I’m sorry, who amongst us is dating a MILF?”
Wendy’s head popped into frame. “Hi, Bex.”
“Oh shit, sorry, Wendy. I was only teasing Riley.”
Wendy smiled. “She probably deserved it.” They kissed and she stood up. “I’ll see you a bit later, Mistress.”
“Absolutely,” said Riley, with the sappiest look on her face. It would have been sickening if it hadn’t been so sweet. “So. Back to cowgirls.”
“There aren’t any cowgirls as such…”
“There’s a but there,” said Riley, her voice colored with enthusiasm. “Please tell me you’ve found someone. We both know you don’t do well without a regular release.”
Bex rolled her eyes and leaned back against the arm of the couch. “That’s what vibrators are for, Riley. I’ve been getting myself off very satisfactorily every night.”
“For six months,” pointed out Riley. And it wasn’t like she was wrong. Vibrators took the edge off, but they never quite got Bex there the way a woman’s touch could. “Anyway, stop avoiding the question. Who is she?”
“Faith,” said Bex. “Her name is Faith and she’s sweet and kind of quiet, and we’re going to check out the Dungeon together tonight.”
“Sounds promising,” said Riley, waggling her eyebrows.
There was an uncomfortable feeling somewhere in Bex’s stomach, like she didn’t approve of Riley being suggestive about Faith—even though the fact that they were going to the Dungeon together later spoke volumes.
Riley read Bex’s change in body language—even over video—and her face went serious. “Shit, you actually like her. Like like her like her.”
Bex tried to protest, but Riley was having none of it.
“You can’t fall in love out there,” she said. “You’ll never come home!”
Sighing, Bex closed her eyes. “It’s not home for me Riley, not anymore.” It had been a long time since Bex had felt at home somewhere. She felt safe with Riley, had friends back in the UK, but nowhere had quite felt right. And after her dad had died, Bex had gotten a transfer out of the country sharpish. That way she didn’t have to deal with relatives who all of a sudden gave a shit about her dad.
She’d been the one to look after him through those last years, balancing a demanding career with his care, and once he’d died, she hadn’t wanted to be near anything or anyone that reminded her of him.
“I’m sorry, Bex,” said Riley. “I don’t know, I just thought one day you’d settle back down over here.”
“I’m not ruling anything out,” Bex said, “but I’m also not deciding on any of that right now. I have a good job, and damn it, Riley, I’m on holiday! I don’t want to have to talk about this shit.”
“No,” said Riley. “You want to talk about Faith.”
Bex pulled a face.
“Fine, fine, I’ll stop teasing. What’re you wearing to the Dungeon tonight then? If you like this girl that much, you’re going to want to make an impression. Come on, what did you pack?”