Aiden goes to his room, Lisa and Natalie go to hers

By the time the food had gone cold and the last sip of wine had disappeared, Lisa stretched and groaned, arms overhead. “Okay, I’m officially done. My back says it’s time to lie down.”

Natalie stood and began gathering the plates, stacking the empties without much finesse. “You can use the bathroom first to get ready for bed.”

Lisa waved her off with a lazy gesture, wine glass still in hand. “Door at the end of the hall. I remember where everything is.”

“Mm-hmm,” Natalie murmured, eyeing the wine stain on the edge of a napkin before tossing it into the trash. “Just don’t make yourself too comfortable. It’s still my bed and I need room to sleep in it too.”

Lisa grinned as she rose, wobbling only slightly as she stepped into her flats. “No promises.”

Aiden pushed himself up from the chair, still a little stiff but looser than earlier. “I’ll head to bed too. Thanks again for dinner. And, uh… well, all of it.”

“You’re welcome,” Natalie said, offering a tired smile. “Hall closet has extra towels if you need a second set.”

He nodded and lingered for half a second like he wasn’t sure what to say next. Then, with a quiet “Goodnight,” he disappeared down the hallway toward his room, the door closing gently behind him.

Lisa followed immediately after, heading towards the hall, then Natalie’s toward the bathroom. “Don’t take too long cleaning. I’m not above locking you out of your own bedroom.”

“Noted,” Natalie called after her.

Left alone in the quiet, Natalie turned back to the kitchen. She could’ve left the mess until morning, and no one would’ve judged her, but something about the clutter rubbed against her nerves. She loaded the dishwasher on autopilot, wiped down the counters, put away the takeout menus. It was about reclaiming a little order before everything started again tomorrow.

By the time she turned off the lights and padded softly down the hallway, the apartment had fallen into the familiar late-night hush. She passed the closed guest room door and paused briefly, hearing nothing from inside. It struck her again that he was really here. That tomorrow and the next day and who knows how many after, he’d be behind that door. Eating at her table. Using her space. Sharing her air.

She reached her own bedroom and opened the door noticing that the bathroom was already vacant.

Lisa was sitting on the edge of the bed, makeup wiped clean, her hair twisted up haphazardly. She looked up as Natalie entered with an expression that was far too casual for someone holding a bright pink silicone dildo in one hand.

“This was in your nightstand,” Lisa said, matter-of-factly. “You upgraded since I last visited.”

Natalie froze halfway through closing the door. “Lisa!”

“What?” Lisa laughed, giving it an exaggerated little waggle. “I was looking for chapstick. This isn’t it. But I mean... we could pretend,” slowly lifting it towards her lips and staring at Natalie, before stopping with a giggle.

Natalie sighed and let her head thump lightly against the door. “Why are you like this?”

“Curious. Slightly tipsy. And, to be fair, it’s not the worst thing I’ve found in someone’s drawer.”

“It’s still my drawer.”

Lisa grinned, completely unfazed. “You know, I always had you pegged for a traditional girl when I met you. This is a nice surprise. It’s bigger than I expected you to have too. But I still think you need to try some of my recommendations. There are toys that can do amazing things!”

Natalie walked over and snatched it from her hand, tossing it into the nightstand drawer it came from, without ceremony. “Remind me why I let you sleep in here?”

“Because you love me,” Lisa said, pulling back the blanket like nothing had happened. “And because, like I said, I’ve seen worse.”

Natalie groaned and turned toward her dresser, fluffing her hair with her hands. “I’m not taking that as a challenge.”

Behind her, Lisa was already under the covers, voice muffled by the pillow. “Maybe not. But it is nice to see you living a little.”

Natalie didn’t reply. She just stood there for a moment longer, then stepped toward the closet and slipped off her jeans, tossing them into the hamper inside. Her top followed, dropped in the same easy motion, leaving her in a simple black bra and matching panties. Normally, she would’ve stripped the rest of the way before pulling on the oversized T-shirt still hanging from the closet doorknob.

The shirt was the last thing left behind by a guy she’d briefly seen not long after moving here. The relationship hadn’t lasted. But for a little while, it had been exciting in a way she hadn’t felt in years. She’d been carving out her new life in this city, with a new body under hers, that had a different technique than the rushed, predictable routines that filled her marriage toward the end.

He was a touch younger, and more spontaneous. Eager in a way that made her want to rise to meet it, to prove something to herself. He was also the reason she’d bought the seven-and-a-half-inch dildo that Lisa had just unearthed and was now tucked back in the nightstand. She’d thought that maybe she could train her vagina and her throat to handle him on the nights he wasn’t around.

The toy had outlasted the fling, and so had the shirt. The goodbye hadn’t been dramatic. They just stopped calling each other. No real ending, just a fade-out. Still, on most nights, she slept in that shirt because it was comfortable and reminded her of a man that wasn’t Frank.

Tonight, with Lisa here, she left the bra and panties on. It was a courtesy, an acknowledgment that someone else was in her bed.

She turned off the bedside lamp, which seemed to emphasize the hush that enveloped the room. She slipped under the covers, feeling the sheets cool against her legs. Lisa was already curled on her side, facing her. For a while, neither of them said anything. Just the faint hum of the air conditioner and the occasional noise from a neighbor.

Then, Lisa's voice cut through, low and slurred at the edges. “You remember that night in Scottsdale?”

Natalie blinked into the dark. “We agreed never to speak of Scottsdale.”

Lisa laughed softly. “I’m not bringing up him. I’m bringing up us.” A pause. “You were the one who kissed me first, if I remember right.”

“That was a long time ago,” Natalie said, voice quieter now. “We were-”

“Drunk. Like tonight. And a year or whatever, isn’t that long.”

Natalie rolled to her side, facing away. “It’s different now.”

Lisa just shifted behind her closing the distance, the mattress giving under her weight, slightly rolling Natalie back into her. Then fingers brushed Natalie’s bare arm, slowly dragging the sheet slightly lower.

“It doesn’t have to be,” Lisa whispered. “Unless you’re not curious anymore.”

Natalie exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on the far wall in the dim lighting. Her body tensed in conflict. “Aiden’s down the hall.”

Lisa’s hand paused, letting her feel the warmth and softness rest just under her collarbone, playing with the collar of the shirt. “He’s asleep. I’ve done far worse with him two rooms away.”

Natalie let out a short, nervous laugh. “I’ve never been one for an audience.”

Lisa’s lips brushed her ear, “He’s not watching, Nat. He’s passed out cold. I know you better than that. You’re not nervous, just making excuses.”

Natalie didn’t answer. Her mind was racing; caught between the low burn Lisa always seemed to know how to stoke and the very real knowledge that this wasn’t just a drunken night. Lisa’s twenty-year-old son was sleeping across the hall, under her roof, and this, whatever this was, wouldn’t just disappear with the morning.

But Lisa’s hand had already slipped lower, as her fingertips dragged the edge of the sheet to Natalie’s waistline, testing the boundary.

“Tell me no,” Lisa whispered.

Natalie didn’t. She heard Lisa shift behind her, feeling the light pull of the covers as the other woman pushed against her more fully.

For a few moments, it was too quiet. Just the sound of their uneven breathing filling the space between them. Every inhale felt louder than it should’ve, every brush of skin magnified in the stillness of the apartment. Natalie’s pulse thudded in her ears, but her thoughts were elsewhere, as they half-focused down the hall where Aiden slept behind a closed door.

She didn’t voice the concern. There was no point since Lisa clearly didn’t share it, and she could be persistent when she was feeling like this. Then Lisa’s fingers trailed lightly over the fabric stretched across Natalie’s waist.

“You’re wound up,” she murmured.

Natalie just breathed for a moment. Her eyes stayed open, continuing to stare into the dim room. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not. You’re buzzing like you always do when your brain won’t let you rest.”

Natalie let out a small breath, part laugh, part exhale. “I’m now sharing a hallway with your son, remember?”

Lisa’s hand slipped a little higher, feeling the warmth of Natalie’s stomach. “I lived with him for years, Nat. You think I never had to be quiet?” She chuckled softly. “Trust me, he’s not listening for anything.”

“He’s twenty,” Natalie whispered. “He listens to everything.”

Still, she didn’t stop Lisa’s hand as it swept up beneath the edge of her bra. Her body betrayed her first, arching slightly into the touch. Lisa had become central part of her orbit in the last year and a half, a presence that blurred lines after too much wine or late-night honesty. It hadn’t been like this before the divorce, before the long stretch of cold nights and longer silences.

Lisa had been a friend then, and only a friend. But when the marriage ended and Natalie began to feel again, to want, and wonder what she had been missing, Lisa was the one who listened. The one who teased. The one who asked questions no one else dared to.

Lisa pressed in now, her lips brushing the back of Natalie’s neck. “You told me the other week how long it’s been since anyone touched you, right? Let me.”

Natalie bit her lip. “I didn’t mean you…” she sighed. “And truth be told, there was someone last week.”

“You didn’t not mean me, and you can tell me about him later.”

There was a pause filled with nerves of uncertainty. Lisa’s hand skimmed up Natalie’s side again, slipping her thumb fully beneath her bra with the confidence she always seemed to have. Her palm was hot against bare skin, cupping just the bottom her breast with a firm possessive touch, like she had every right to. Then her thumb found Natalie’s nipple, brushing over it once, twice, the pressure light as she felt it grow harder. Back and forth, a slow tease, coaxing a response she knew was inevitable.

Natalie’s breath caught, and her body leaned ever so slightly into the touch before she could think to stop it. She was yielding to Lisa’s ministrations.

“You don’t have to overthink it,” Lisa whispered, her breath warm against the curve of Natalie’s neck. “We’re already here and we don’t see each other often now.”

Natalie stayed still, she was caught between resistance and surrender. It wasn’t the first time this pull had happened between them, but it had never been quite like this. Not in her own bed, and certainly not with Aiden asleep just across the hall.

Lisa seemed to sense the hesitation and began sliding her knee between Natalie’s under the sheets, opening her up just a little, hips pressing against her butt just enough to stir a mixture of guilt and excitement low in Natalie’s stomach. The edges of a fear of him hearing that made it more stimulating.

“We’ll be quiet,” Lisa said, barely audible now. “It’s okay to want something, Nat. Just let yourself go.”

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