The Next Step

"Lilly?" Alex said. "You're here? I tried to get through to you earlier, but..."

"Sorry, I didn't get any message." She admitted. "I've been working all day, in fact. Haven't even had a chance to get home. I'll check it out layer if you like."

Alex nodded tightly, how stomach churning.

"Well?" Clara asked. "What are you doing here then?"

"That' an obvious question, isn't it, Clara?" Lilly smirked. "I work out here. Practice for sports. Sometimes, I go swimming like today. I am here most days."

"I haven't seen you before." Alex said. "And I am here a lot too."

"What, really?" Lilly blinked. "Do you only do the swimming? 'cus I do a lot of things. I guess it's not too surprising then. I tend to be moving about the building. Working out, running, that sort of thing. Do you think you get a body this good by mistake?"

She stepped back, gesturing to herself dramatically and twirling on the spot as if the princess in some old play. It was cheesy as hell, but she grinned as she did it, embracing that aspect instead of fighting it. Lilly did a lot of that sort of thing. Her body was fine,Alex had to admit - definitely had to admit considering she was showing it off - but it was her mind and personality that gave her her staying power. When she acted, it was with full confidence, and she tended to leave everyone else trailing behind her trying to catch up. It was no wonder Clara had looked on her as a rolemodel back home. She was smart, but not arrogant, clever, but casual. She could match wits with you one moment, and then joke and laugh the next.

In short, she was everything that his brother was not. He shook his head, realising that his thoughts were turning inwards, towards morose subjects. Besides, it was probably better that he distract Lilly fast before she realised just what the two of them were doing here together...

Too late, he realised. She'd been regarding him with intelligent eyes for several seconds, and even as he opened his mouth, she beat him to it.

"Oh, I get it. The two of you are here together."

Alex cringed, flushing red even as he felt Clara doing the same at his side. How the hell could one woman put so much focus on a single word? Lilly had taken the word ''together'' and made it sound as dirty as it could. Then, as she saw the two of them flush, she crowed.

"You are!" She laughed.

"Lilly!" Clara protested. "You can't just go around...knowing things...like that... it's very rude you know!"

Lilly smirked, like a cat who'd caught a bird, and Alex almost took a step back as her eyes swept back on him.

"We're just here for a swim..." Alex protested. "That's all. Nothing else, I promise."

"Really?" She said "Really? So are you telling me that Clara has underwear on and that's not a collar around her neck?"

"Oh god." Clara blushed, and hide her face. "I can't believe this is happening..."

"How would you even know if she had underwear on or not?" Alex asked, trying to regain control of the conversation. Lilly easily trounced the effort.

"Because, duh. She is the sort of girl who would like to spend time without any, and you're the sort of guy she can totally talk into it, even if you don't know she did."

"That's not fair!" Alex protested. "I mean... it was my idea..."

"Really? Well, props to you then, if it really was. But I am pretty sure she just planted the idea." Lilly smirked again. Confidence radiating from her like a small sun.

Clara and Alex shared a look of mutual frustration and desperation. There was a moment of unspoken agreement, and then...

"Okay, okay..." Clara said. "We may be...uh, planning to do a little more than swimming?" She grew more and more embarrassed as she spoke, though managed to keep from stammering. "Alex thought that nobody would be here and we wanted to do something a bit relaxing...."

"I get you, I get you." Lilly nodded. "It's not a bad place for it, I guess. Seems kind of a waste for me to be here too, though, if you want that sort of thing." She paused for a moment, as if deep in thought. Then, that grin again. "I tell you what. What if I join you?"

For a long moment, there was absolute silence, as if neither Alex nor Clara could even imagine what they had just heard. Then, together, they started to splutter.

"What?"

"Lilly!"

"I mean, why would you...?"

"The hell!?"

Lilly laughed at their confusion.

"It's fine if the two of you want to go it alone." She said. "Honestly, I mostly just said it to get your reactions, and yes, it was totally worth it. However..." She grew a little bit more serious. "This is supposed to be a memorable week for the two of you, isn't it? I thought it may be more special if someone else joined in. And I know as a fact that the two of you aren't really the sort to actually go and ask. Plus, there's no one you know who would really be up for that sort of thing, except for me. So I got thinking about it a little bit, and, well, you know. The two of you getting into the kinky stuff for the first time is pretty interesting to me too. I wondered how you were doing it, and what you were doing."

"This time is supposed to be special." Alex said through a dry throat. "Between me and Clara. I am not sure if...well..."

"If you want me?" Lilly said. "Don't worry about it, I am not going to stay if you insist on it, and I am not going to hold it against you either. It's not like I have a right to be mad or anything if you don't want to do it, so don't be afraid of that. I am not trying to take Clara's place for you, or yours for her, for that matter. But I thought maybe the two of you could use some guidance, and quite frankly, I haven't done anything fun in a little while. Up to you."

"Mind if we talk it over for a moment?" Clara asked. Lilly nodded.

"Take all the time you want."

Alex and Clara moved off down the winding corridor, the cubicles on each side of them flashing passed until they were sue they were out of earshot.

"What do you think, Alex?" Clara asked.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. His heart was beating fast. "Lilly is not the sort of person who... who what the hell, she's exactly the sort of person who'd offer this kind of thing. But I didn't expect her to actually do it!"

"Yeah." Clara said. "She's pretty confident, right?"

"Right." Alex said. "But this is supposed to be between you and me. Even if a lot of guys would jump at the sort of thing she's offering right now, I am not sure that I am one of them."

He took a deep breath, trying to steel his mind.

"This time is for you and me, Clara, so I think I am going to turn her down."

"Do you...do you want to, though?" Clara asked, chewing her lip. She frowned for a moment, brushing a strand of hair away from her blue eyes. "A day or so ago, we traded fantasies, do you remember? I told you about how I wanted to be kidnapped, and how I'd imagined being sold to a strip show."

Alex nodded cautiously. "I remember that. And I told you my fantasy too. The one with us playing truth and dare."

"Right." Clara said. "That's the one I was thinking of. You told me you had a fantasy about being stuck in a sex game with me and Amy and Lilly."

"That was only a fantasy, though." Alex protested, seeing where she was going. "It's not really something I ever intended to happen or even to consider..."

"That's true." Clara agreed. "But this whole week so far has been really great for me, Alex. Really great. It's let me live my dreams in a way I never thought I could, and you've been so good, even with me teasing you. I sort of spring this whole thing on you, and even though I knew that you would enjoy it, I gotta admit, most of it is based on me and doing what I want to do. So if you want to do this with Lilly and me... well, I suppose I have no room for complaint."

Alex took a deep breath, looking her in the eyes. He was torn between a fierce desire, and a warmness that sprang from his chest. It was his first instinct to deny it, to just make it between the two of them, as they had done already. But two things stopped him. Firstly, because Clara was showing him a level of trust that truly made him humble. Secondly, though, it was because of something that he had said yesterday., About how other people might even get involved. Alex was starting to realise how hypocritical it would be to expect Clara to be able to do that when he himself didn't. And Lilly was someone they both knew, someone they both respected. It would be much easier to start with her than a stranger, for Clara, and for himself as well.

The two met eyes, sharing a long moment of silent communication.

"I suppose." Alex said slowly. "If we are going to go further... it's better to start with Lilly than someone else, right?"

Clara nodded tightly, clearly nervous even as she agreed. She held his hand, squeezing firmly.

"Let's do it before I chicken out."

"Not if I chicken out first." Alex said.

Together, the two made their way back to Lilly, who was still waiting for them. She greeted them with a grin and a wave.

"Well?" She said. "Did you talk it out? No pressure either way."

"We talked it out." Clara said. Her face was flushed, and she stuttered a little bit as she spoke. "M-me and Alex, we talked it over and...and we decided that if you really want to... you can spend the day with us too..."

Alex nodded as Lilly turned to regard him, confirming that he was willing to accept it as well.

Lilly smiled, the look almost sweet.

"Thank you guys, I know that must have been asking a lot from you. I'm really glad the two of you are comfortable enough to even consider it, much less actually allow me in. So, what now?"