Chapter 15
Lisa was already at the bar, whiskey in hand. Even though this was her fantasy, she still very well knew she’d need some dutch courage to get her through this ball.
When she’d left Carla in the streets of Paris, after their beautiful morning they had spent together, it had taken Lisa no time at all to head to Suit Me Up which was a high end suit hire shop in central Paris. She wanted to go all out for Carla after all.
It had taken her about an hour to get sorted and head back to the hotel. Then another hour to get ready for the ball, before she text Carla and headed down to the hotel bar.
Hey beautiful,
Room is all yours.
I missed you this afternoon.
I can’t wait to see you later,
L ❤️ xxx
Carla had of course bought a dress to keep. She thought she’d use it again in the future, especially if she managed to take Lisa’s breath away as she’d hoped.
She smiled as she’d read Lisa’s text come through, just heading up to their room, leaving herself a little over an hour to get ready.
You sure you don’t have a cheeky 10 minutes for me? It’s very lonely in this hotel room without you…
C ❤️ xxx
Patience Carla…
It’ll be worth it, I promise. L ❤️ xxx
——
As Lisa waited at the bar, her eyes looked up the elegant wide staircase every time she heard the door open at the top.
Carla certainly knew how to keep her waiting.
Just as she’d ordered her second whisky from the barman, the next guest who walked in captured her eye immediately.
The brunette woman was tall, slim and she wore a full sleeved emerald green dress than hugged her figure in all the right places.
Her outfit was paired with a black laced mask with intricate silver patterns that complimented and mirrored the intricate silver patterns that ran through her dress.
As the barman served Lisa her second whisky, Lisa’s breath caught in her throat.
“Wow…” she breathed out loud.
“Quite something, isn’t she.” The barman offered as Lisa hadn’t meant to let that slip out loud.
She smiled agreeably at him as he shuffled off to serve the next customer.
As Carla headed down the staircase, she felt as though the whole room had eyes on her. But Carla only had eyes for one person in particular. One woman, to be precise.
There she was, leaning against the bar.
Carla caught her eye, her own breath catching in her throat.
Lisa watched Carla as she boldly walked down the staircase, a wave of jealously sweeping across her as she noticed how the crowds were looking at the mysterious woman heading down the staircase.
Lisa watched as Carla made her way across the dance floor to the bar, where she was standing.
They made eyes, but they didn’t speak.
Lisa just watched in awe.
Then, a tall man, maybe late 30’s, early 40’s approached Carla and Lisa felt another sudden pang of jealousy wash over her; much stronger than before.
He was good looking from what she could see. Not her type of course. Lisa only ever had eyes for women, and only eyes for Carla since the day they’d met. But she could still appreciate a well dressed, handsome man.
“Hi, I’m Mr. Right. Somebody said you were looking for me?” The tall man said to Carla.
Lisa tried to stifle a laugh, but couldn’t quite hold it in.
The tall man definitely heard.
Before Carla could reply, he’d shot over to Lisa who could see the rage bubbling inside of him.
“Did I ask for your opinion?” He bit back.
Lisa stood her ground as he eyed her up and down, fiercely.
“Nice legs blondie, what time do they open?” He remarked, as he smirked. Looking at Lisa as if she was a piece of meat.
Lisa laughed again, not trying at all to hide it this time but just as the man tried to grab her wrist, Carla stood between them.
“Back off, she’s not interested.” Carla warned, her voice firm and steady. The protective fire inside of her set alight and she refused to let the man intimidate her or Lisa.
“What are you going to do about it?” He remarked, standing tall. He tried to over power Carla, tried to assert his dominance but Carla stood her ground, learning more how fiercely protective she was of Lisa.
Lisa placed a hand on the small of Carla’s back, a little gesture of support, reassurance.
The barman by now however had seen enough and called security over to remove the man whose aggressive demeanour was not welcome in the hotel, never mind the ball.
As he was escorted out, Carla spun round to meet Lisa’s gaze.
Lisa swallowed hard.
The minute Carla had walked in and started heading down that staircase, Lisa had recognised instantly how beautiful she looked, but seeing Carla stood before her, with her own eyes, quite literally took her breath away.
Her hand was trembling but her gaze into Carla’s eyes didn’t waver.
Carla had noticed Lisa from the minute she’d entered the room. Standing there, propping herself up at the bar.
Wearing a navy blue tailored tuxedo. Slim fitted trousers hugged her hips and Carla had gasped as she’d walked down the staircase prior, noticing Lisa’s arse looking firmer than ever as she had chatted to the barman.
As she’d turned around, Carla had noticed the crisp white frilled tailored shirt Lisa had so eloquently opted to wear, adding a touch of femininity to her choice.
She liked the navy blue bow tie hanging loosely around her neck, playful Carla had thought to herself.
Up close, Carla noticed how Lisa’s shirt was unbuttoned just so far down, revealing just a hint of her décolletage and she understood now why the blonde had picked such a shirt - to draw attention - and she had Carla’s attention alright.
Carla cleared her throat, as if zoning back into character after their brief encounter with the rude man.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Carla asked Lisa, boldly.
“It should be me asking you, saving me from him.” Lisa remarked.
“You can buy the next one.”
“Oh, so there’s definitely two drinks on the table with you tonight, is there?” Lisa asked playfully.
“Mmm, if you play your cards right, blondie.” Carla teased.
Carla grabbed the attention of the barman, and remembering that she’d seen Lisa nursing a whiskey when she arrived, opted for the warm brown liquid.
“Two whiskeys please.”
“Coming right up.” The barman said, before shortly returning with what looked like two doubles.
“On the house.” He winked at Lisa. Some kind of unwritten code that he approved of Lisa attracting the attention of the hottest woman in the room.
“Got another admirer have you?” Carla remarked. “A bit of competition for me?”
Lisa blushed.
“It’s not like that.” She said, innocently.
“He’s more approving of umm…me, with you.” Lisa explained. “Like a wingman.”
“Oh.” Carla unsure of what else to say. She was used to men being men but she wasn’t used to it when someone was so pleasant. Friendly. Charming. Without wanting anything in return.
Wanting to continue their conversation, Carla guided Lisa over to one of the private booths so they could talk better.
“So what do you do for work?” Carla asked, clearly playing dumb and staying in character.
Lisa thought about telling the truth in her role play coming up with something different. Having a bit of fun, after all she was supposed to be letting her hair down.
“I’m a private investigator.” Lisa whispered, as if she needed to as so not to blow her cover.
“And you?”
“I’m a burlesque performer.” Carla replied in the most sultry, sexy voice she could muster up.
Lisa choked on her drink.
Carla smirked playfully.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, umm. Sorry. Drink went down the wrong way.” Lisa’s cheeks burning a hot red.
Carla raised her eyebrow before continuing.
“I work at this beautiful place. It’s called Luxe Lounge.”
“I’ll reserve a private lap dance for you, if you wish.”
Lisa swallowed hard.
Oh the things she wanted to do to Carla was all she could think about as the conversation was taking a turn.
“So what’s your name, blondie?” Carla asked, suddenly snapping Lisa out of her fantasies.
“You can call me Swain. All my friends call me Swain.” Lisa replied.
“Okay Swain well in that case, I’m Connor. Nice to meet you.”
Carla held out her hand and Lisa slid hers into Carla’s grasp, her whole body tingling as Carla’s long soft fingers wrapped around her own, giving her hand a firm but soft shake.
“So Swain, what’s it like being a private investigator? How did you get into that line of work?”
“Well, if I’m being honest with you-“
Lisa stopped talking as she looked around, playing along in her own play. Her voice dipped into a low, sultry whisper.
“I’m actually seeing someone and she’s supposed to be at this ball tonight, and I want to see who she’s meeting as I think she could be misbehaving behind my back.”
“You’re joking? Lisa I would never-“
Lisa placed a gentle finger to Carla’s lips, stopping her from finishing that sentence.
“It’s called role play Carla, all part of the fun.” Lisa remarked.
Carla blushed with embarrassment. She’d momentarily forgot how they were in character mode and felt a wave of emotion wash over her at the thought Lisa might actually believe she was with someone else.
Lisa, slipping back into character moved closer to Carla in the booth, so they were touching side by side, and she moved her hand to rest on Carla’s thigh.
Carla swallowed hard at the contact.
“Being a private investigator, it’s exciting, challenging. You have to be careful, really careful but it gives me such a feeling that I have a sense of purpose.”
”It’s dangerous and unpredictable but the people that come to see me, trust me. They trust me more than those closest to them.”
”I mean, I suppose they have to I guess. They have to trust me to share their suspicions with me, share their secrets. But it takes a lot of courage to let a stranger into your life, to trust them with their suspicions and mostly their fears.”
Carla felt like the last part of what was said hit close to home. It had resonated with her, even if it wasn’t Lisa’s intention.
Carla had let Lisa into her life, at first a stranger. She’d shared secrets with her, trusted her.
Lisa felt the same as her own words washed over her.
But before they could get too emotional, slip out of character again, Lisa asked Carla about her interesting line of work.
”So Miss Connor.”
Lisa’s voice was low again, sexy.
“What’s it like being a burlesque performer?”
Carla smiled at the pretend memories she’d formed in her head.
”It’s exciting and challenging, believe it or not. It gives me a sense of power, control. I like to feel powerful and I like to be in control.”
“It’s intoxicating. It’s not just about taking your clothes off. It’s captivating. There’s a story to tell to every performance.”
“It’s both magical and mysterious.”
Carla smiled.
“You should come sometime, I’d love to show you.”
Even though it was all part of the act, the role play. There was something in Carla’s words about showing Lisa that was laced with some truth.
Lisa held on to that one and it became fantasy number three.
She already knew what number two was, but was saving that for later tonight.
As the DJ played the next song, the mood shifted in the room, the atmosphere softened, the lights dimmed further.
The Night We Met by Lord Huron started playing through the speakers.
A few dispersed from the dance floor as the tone shifted to a slow dance.
Lisa stood, turning herself towards Carla and offering out a hand.
“Miss Connor, may I have this dance?” Lisa asked, her tone low and soft, her facade almost cracking.
Lisa wasn’t sure how much longer she could carry on pretending to be someone else tonight.
Carla looked up at her, stunningly beautiful as ever.
Carla had never been asked to dance before. Not like this.
Nervously, without a word, she took Lisa’s hand and as Lisa gently pulled her up, she slid her fingers into Carla’s and slowly led her to the dance floor.
Once there, Lisa spun round and pulled Carla in. She took both of Carla’s hands and placed them on her own hips, using them to encourage Carla to pull her in so their bodies were touching.
The feeling was intense. Electric.
Then with her own arms, she draped them round the back of Carla’s neck, brushing her thumbs up against Carla’s soft skin every so often.
Carla felt every nerve in her body igniting in a way she’d never felt before. Her heart quickened and a wave of anxiety rushed over her. She was both excited and overwhelmed all at the same time.
Yes she’d had Lisa this close before. Yes they’d been somewhat intimate, especially when they’d played Carla’s kissing game that had become, well, heated to say the least.
But there was something about this moment, something different.
A shared sense of longing perhaps, of something that had been missing in both their lives, for many years.
It was as if the world around them disappeared, that in this room, right now, was just them, this dance and this song.
Their cheeks brushed, their breath hot, their hands clammy.
It was a delicate balance of both excitement and fear.
As the song was coming to an end, Lisa leaned in closer to Carla.
Feeling the effects of the whiskey, she whispered into Carla’s ear; Lisa’s breath lingered, hot on her neck.
“I’ve got a room upstairs that has a full mini bar if you’d like to join me?” Lisa’s whisper was laced with want. It was sexy and seductive all at the same time.
The days and weeks they’d spent with each other flashing before both their eyes, the kissing; the teasing from the night before, the longing for each other, the waiting and wanting all finally pouring out.
As Carla led Lisa through the crowds and off the dance floor towards the staircase that led back to the hotel lobby, they both knew that tonight, there would be no going back.