ALICE Ch 194

It’s the night before the Canadian Grand Prix.

The night before a race is never easy. Maybe under different circumstances, Alice could have busied herself trying to make Faye happy, or somehow trying to feel good about having a day off or something. Now there’s a bitter taste in her mouth as she stands in the shower. It’s hard to pin down what’s so wrong. Emotional complexity has never been her thing. It would be one thing if she absolutely hated seeing Irina and Sasha, but she doesn’t. Maybe the problem is that she feels like she should. Or the feelings of guilt about it being wrong when she’s with Faye. Faye knows, and she’s cool about it, but Alice isn’t stupid. Faye doesn’t like it one bit. She only holds it together over this because it’s really more about Glynda than anything else.

It's like Alice can’t enjoy anything because there’s this loose thread at the back of her mind all the time. If it isn’t Faye, it’s the team. Or the car. Or the pressures of F1. Or Diorgasm.

She is pissed. Alice takes a breath, and twists the knob to turn off the water carefully so that she doesn’t break it off the wall.

FF1

Alice looks pretty mopey as she emerges from the bathroom.

Faye sits cross-legged on the bed in her nightshirt, unsure what to say as she watches Alice morosely get dressed. She smiles as Alice flashes her two thumbs up. Neither of them knows what to say. Faye wants to give her a kiss or something, but she doesn’t move. Alice hesitates by the door, then takes a deep breath and gives Faye an exasperated smile.

“I’m sorry. Get some rest, I guess,” Alice says with a little eye roll.

“I love you,” Faye says, a little pathetically.

Alice sucks her breath in through her teeth and ventures into the hall.

The door clicks shut and Faye sighs deeply. She’s sick to her stomach, and it’s hard to know if it’s because of Alice or because of the race tomorrow. She forces herself to crawl to the edge of the bed and reaches down to her bag, where she pulls out a thick magazine in a plastic wrapper. It’s her favorite, and she’s been saving it. Well, she’s never needed a distraction more than she does now. She crawls to the middle of the bed and settles in before tearing the cover off. It has to be frosty to hide the cover of the magazine; 2069 AD is not for children. This month’s cover is Anderson from Megacity 69. The gorgeous hand-painted artwork depicts the lovely blonde nude except for her green boots and gloves. Her back is turned and her pale back and bottom are covered in red welts as though she’s taken a whipping. Her hands and feet are tied with barbed wire and she’s looking angrily over her shoulder. Bold, colorful words on the cover promise new chapters of Rogue Futa, Diagra the Amazon, and more.

Faye shifts around a little and tugs down her shirt to keep her underwear covered. Her bare legs are cold, so she slips under the covers, then opens the magazine, doing her best not to think about what Alice is doing right now.