ALICE Ch 102

A part of Alice wished that Kylie’s return meant the perky Australian blonde flinging herself into Alice’s arms, a romantic kiss on a yacht in the Bay of Baku, and a wedding in Australia with Kangaroos or something.

What she gets is a pretty intense workout with plenty of the resistance band stuff that she hates. Kylie approaches the workout the way that she did when FUTA first hired her, before she got comfortable with Alice.

Alice knows better than to make an issue of it. Kylie calls it off before Alice can remind her that she has to race the next day; there’s no need to overdo it, and she hasn’t neglected fitness while Kylie’s been gone.

The night they spent together has never been far from Alice’s thoughts, although the memory is a complicated one. It’s fuzzy because of alcohol, but there’s also the self-doubt about whether she should’ve done something differently. On the other hand, there’s always a lot of anxiety and doubt before a race. In the past, she might have been able to count on Kylie’s skillful hand to help her with some of that tension, but it’s not that Kylie’s so good with her hand. What really drove Alice crazy was feeling Kylie’s breath on the back of her neck when she was doing it.

“Alice?”

“Huh?” Alice picks herself up from the mat to see Kylie with her towel and water bottle by the door. “Are you leaving?”

“Seems like the smart thing to do.”

“OK.”

“You aren’t upset?”

“I’m just glad that I tempt you.”

Kylie smiles.

“Do you want to talk?” Alice asks.

“Not here.”

That’s fair enough. And she won’t want to shower together either; thus, sweat and all, they go to one of the many sweeping balcony bars and sit with the view in the warm, dry air with cold water parfaits. Alice can almost convince herself that it’s a date.

There’s nothing that she can say that can make things better for Kylie. All she can do is be there, because it’s clear that Kylie doesn’t want to be alone. She has too much self-respect to rebound into something physical, which Alice isn’t sorry about. She’s honestly not sure what to make of the feelings that she has for Kylie, but she’s afraid that they might be pretty serious. If that’s the case, she wants to do things right.

“P4,” Kylie notes, gazing at the bay.

“Ahead of Val,” Alice notes, sucking her breath in through her teeth.

“Good onya.” Kylie sounds distant. A part of Alice is glad that she can’t read minds. A canceled engagement is such a complex and layered problem. So much to think about.

“Sure you don’t want a beer?” Alice asks, placing her hand on Kylie’s on the table.

“If I can’t deal with it sober, what good am I?” Kylie asks glumly.

Yikes.