ALICE Ch 256

The party’s over, and flights will be early in the morning. Val’s mind has already started thinking about that, and she’s all but forgotten Erica trailing along behind her. They shared a ride back to the hotel.

Erica clears her throat as Val pauses to get her card for the door.

“Oh. Sorry,” Val says, turning to her. “I was already in Hungary, I guess.”

Erica leans on the door. It’s the exact same lean she used at the party with that girl with the burns from FUTA. Val didn’t like seeing that; the burn girl seemed uncomfortable, but it had looked like Erica had just gone on hassling her.

“What’d you want from that FUTA girl?” Val asks.

“She works with Alice Wilde. Or she did. Alice Wilde’s mindset is very important to Formula One news right now.”

Val considers that. “Guess so,” she muses. “Did you get what you wanted?”

“No.”

Val looks sympathetic. “Sorry. Well, goodnight. I guess I’ll see you in… I can’t pronounce it. You know what I mean.”

“I do,” Erica says with a funny look on her face.

“What?”

“Do I at least get a kiss goodnight?”

“Do you want one?” Val replies, blinking up at her.

Erica looks thrown. She forces a smile.

“Yes,” she says.

“Well, OK.” Val rolls her eyes and hops up on her toes to brush her lips against Erica’s cheek. “Happy?”

Erica stares at her. “God. Are you doing this on purpose? Is this your kink?”

“I’m sorry?”

Erica searches her face. Hard. Then she laughs.

“OK, can I kiss you?”

Val deliberates.

“No,” she says finally.

Erica takes a deep breath.

Val folds her arms and taps her foot.

“Erica, you have slept with like half the people involved with Formula One,” she says dispassionately. “You really want me to think there’s no one waiting for you in your room right now?”

“Val, I haven’t been with anyone since I asked you out.”

“That was not very long ago.”

“I know.”

“Is this that difficult for you?”

“With you right in front of me looking this beautiful?” Erica matches Val’s gaze. “Yes. You’re killing me.”

Val takes that in.

“I’m just going to end up looking at your Diorgasm ads tonight,” Erica says frankly. “Sorry if that’s an overshare.”

It’s Val’s turn to be taken aback. “You like my body that much?” She’s not self-conscious about her figure. There’s nothing wrong with it; she’s just small and not especially voluptuous. Even when she was a kid, she’d hear people talking about Coach Riley’s butt. She just figured that one needed that sort of characteristic to be noticed in that way.

They look at each other in silence.

Erica spreads her hands. “Yes,” she says.