Missed Connections (39 page)

On the other hand, she had just two more hours to go before she'd take what felt like the biggest chance in her life, more impactful than college or her career, or the day she had finally taken her brother's electric razor to her hair and let herself look the way she wanted.

She flushed and pushed her way out of the stall—and froze.

Cassidy was leaning against the line of sinks, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hiya, Hyacinth."

Vi's heart stuttered at the name. Despite the eyebrow Cassidy arched at her, she was still
teasing
. Like Vi stood a chance.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Vi offered her a tentative smile. "Seems like we can't help it. Shouldn't you be dancing?"

"I saw you get up and I followed you. I didn't want you running off on me again."

Vi's smile fell. "I'm sorry," she blurted. "Did you wait long?"

Cassidy's lips pursed. "Do you really want to know the answer to that?"

"No." If Cassidy said she waited forever, Vi would feel terrible. But if she said she didn't, Vi might feel even worse. "I really am sorry. I didn't mean to run out on you. It's just my friend. He was wasted and I had to get him home. I always get him home."

"Yeah, I saw him," Cassidy said, her tone unreadable. "He looked pretty drunk."

"He was! He was a mess and," Vi faltered. She had been prepared to throw Greg under the bus, but saying it made something unpleasant twist in her gut. Greg wasn't really to blame—and she didn't want to lie to Cassidy. "And he's been worse. A lot worse." She looked down at her hands, twisting them in front of her. "I freaked out. The idea of going out with you was terrifying and so I just went home alone, like I always do."

Cassidy stepped closer, her boots falling into Vi's line of vision. "Hey. You're not out at all, are you?"

"I—I'm not…" Vi muttered. How could she explain?

"Hey," Cassidy said again, placing light fingers under Vi's chin and tipping her gaze back up.  "It's okay. That's not a reason to be embarrassed. If you're not ready to date a girl—"

"No!" Vi said. The idea of Cassidy turning and walking away was suddenly far more terrifying than simply going out for coffee with a beautiful girl. "No, I am. I want to."

Cassidy gave her a small smile. "Okay. I understand, you know. I've been there. We don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I do want to," Vi insisted. Cassidy arched an eyebrow and Vi suddenly realized how close they were standing. Cassidy's hand was still on her face, her long fingers sliding from Vi's chin to her cheek, cupping gently. "I just don't know how."

"I can show you," Cassidy said. Her fingers stroked over Vi's skin, her thumb brushing against her lip, a touch that seemed to crackle over Vi's whole body. "You're beautiful." Vi barely had a moment to process how absurd that statement was before Cassidy's mouth was on hers, her lips warm and soft.

She pulled back before Vi could even begin to memorize the sensation. "Is this okay?"

Vi knew she was gaping, but seriously. "What kind of ridiculous question," she grumbled, leaning back in before Cassidy could do something horrible like pull away completely.

Cassidy laughed against her mouth and Vi could think of nothing but the sensation of her lips, the hint of berry lipgloss passing between them. Kissing another girl was something she had thought about for years, guiltily dreamed about, and it was both everything and nothing like what she expected.

She surged forward, opening her mouth awkwardly. For one horrible second she found herself licking sloppily at the corner of Cassidy's closed mouth and embarrassment swept over her. Before she could pull back and mutter an apology, Cassidy tilted her head and parted her lips, fitting their mouths together seamlessly.

A hint of tongue swept over Vi's bottom lip and she groaned, allowing Cassidy to delve her tongue inside. 

The sensation of it—hot and wet and so much sexier than when it had been boys doing it—had Vi's head spinning, and she latched desperately on to Cassidy's shoulders to steady herself. At the touch of her hands Cassidy shifted closer, pressing her lean body tantalizingly against Vi's, her hands sliding around Vi's waist. 

The soft swell of her breasts pressed against Vi's own, and she moaned quietly.

"Oh," Cassidy said against her mouth, pulling back just enough to shape the word.  "We should…" She pressed closer, crowding against Vi and driving her back, guiding her stumbling steps as their lips joined again and again. 

Vi was only vaguely aware of their movement, her brain unable to focus on anything but the places their bodies touched and the heat of Cassidy's skin through the layers of clothing that divided them. Finally her back hit a wall, and she blinked, pulling back enough to see that Cassidy had led them into a stall and was fumbling to lock the door behind them. Smart, Vi dimly thought, remembering that there was a whole world outside of Cassidy, an entire club full of patrons who might come into the restroom find them tangled together. Her face warmed even as her belly heated, the idea of someone seeing her with Cassidy filling her with both fear and pride. 

Cassidy shot her a mischievous grin as she succeeded in locking the stall door and then she pressed close again, her hands skimming down Vi's waist to toy at the hem of her T-shirt. 

"I don't normally do this," Cassidy said. "I want you to know that."

"I don't care," Vi said. If there had been a hundred girls and a hundred bathroom stalls before her, she was the one here
now
, and she planned on making the most of it.

Cassidy's hand darted under her shirt, stroking delicately over the flesh of Vi's lower stomach. The feel of Cassidy's long nails pressing into her skin had Vi gasping, surging forward to muffle the noise against Cassidy's lips. Vi was willing to swear that she had never been so aroused in her life.  

Taking Cassidy's touch as an invitation, Vi smoothed her hand down the length of Cassidy's arm, feeling the dips and ridges of her lean ballerina's muscles as their tongues brushed delicately together. Cassidy didn't protest, so Vi let her hand drop further, stroking reverent fingertips gently over the expanse of her bared midriff. Her skin was impossibly soft, and Vi couldn't help but press her palm flat against Cassidy's abdomen, stroking down to where she remembered the teasing hint of a tattoo, dark ink against pale skin.

Cassidy shivered and Vi felt brave. She let her hand trail upwards, feeling the ridges of Cassidy's ribs under the silken cover of her skin. Finally, her fingers hit the bottom of the dancer's cropped top and she paused, her hand shaking. The top ended just below Cassidy's small breasts, which Vi so desperately wanted to cup in her hands. But even as Cassidy's lips massaged her own, she worried that would be taking things too far. 

She had always looked, but not touched; she had never felt the weight of another girl's breast in her hand, and she didn't know how far she could go.

Cassidy pulled back slightly and Vi's stomach clenched; she wasn't ready for this to be over. She had only just begun memorizing the feel of Cassidy against her.

Instead of pulling away completely, Cassidy placed her hand over Vi's, lacing their fingers together as she dragged Vi's hand upward, over the soft material of her top, to cup the swell of her right breast. 

Vi gasped as Cassidy forced her fingers to curve around the soft flesh, pressing in slightly, testing its weight in her hand. Cassidy gave a murmured sound of encouragement, and Vi couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight of her hand on Cassidy's breast. Feeling as if her hand belonged to someone else—someone far braver—she watched as her thumb stroked inward, teasing Cassidy's nipple beneath the fabric of her top. 

"That's nice," Cassidy said, leaning close to whisper in her ear. So Vi did it again, and again, until Cassidy's nipple peaked beneath her touch. Her eyes were riveted to the sight, the hardness clearly visible beneath the thin material of Cassidy's top.

She curved her other hand over the sharp point of Cassidy's exposed hipbone, letting her thumb skim just along the waistband of her costume bottoms—black tonight, and no bigger than a pair of panties. Cassidy made a soft sound as Vi slid her thumb along that sensitive skin, threatening to dip beneath the elastic waistband. Her tongue ran a hot line up Vi's neck, sucking briefly at her pulse point before attaching to the place just beneath her ear. Vi shivered in her arms; she had never known how sensitive her neck could be, but Cassidy seemed intent on showing her every spot that could send heat shooting straight to her belly. 

Vi let herself be brave, rolling the peak of Cassidy's nipple between her fingers until she was panting, her breath hot and moist against Vi's neck.

"Oh," she breathed, arching her hips in Vi's grasp. Vi's thumb slipped, dipping beneath the waistband of Cassidy's tight panties, sliding over a smooth expanse of skin. 

Cassidy groaned, dropping her head to Vi's shoulder. "I don't want to get my costume wet."

For a dazed moment Vi wondered what she meant—the sink, the toilet, the floor—before her brain caught up with Cassidy's words, and then promptly shut down.

Cassidy was wet. Vi was
making Cassidy wet
.

Helplessly, she dipped her thumb lower, feeling the smooth, shaven skin that led to where she most wanted to touch.

"Maybe we should take them off?" Vi said timidly, wanting so badly to do just that, to peel the tiny scrap of fabric down Cassidy's ridiculously long legs and toss it aside, leaving her exposed and ready—for Vi to look, to touch.

"Yeah." Cassidy's hands dropped to help Vi pull the fabric away.

A moan came unbidden from Vi's lips as Cassidy slowly wriggled out of the panties, revealing the bottom of her tattoo, and then further, and further…

"Cass!" A voice rang through the bathroom, making both girls jump. "What the hell is taking you so long?"

Vi froze, her hands still caught up in the fabric of Cassidy's panties, rolled down around her thighs.

"I'll be right there!" Cassidy called shakily, tugging her panties back up, the motion forcing Vi's hands away. 

She stepped back, worry curling in her chest, chasing the lust away. She and Cassidy hadn't actually gotten to talk, she realized with a start. She still had no idea how things stood between them.

"Hurry the fuck up!" the voice chided. The clang of the closing door reverberated through the now-silent bathroom.

"Ugh," Cassidy groaned, pressing a hand to her eyes. "I should go."

Vi nodded, dropping her eyes. She wasn't sure what to say. Was there proper etiquette for interrupted bathroom hook ups? It seemed like the sort of situation college was supposed to teach her how to handle, but she had spent those four years in self-induced celibacy. She was great at completing video games, but had no idea how to deal with this sort of situation.

Should she tell Cassidy she had a nice time? It sounded dorky in her head, which normally meant she shouldn't even try it out loud, for all that it was true.

Cassidy moved towards the door, fiddling with the stall lock. "You'll stay, right?"  Her voice wavered, unsure. "I mean, maybe you have plans for the rest of the night. But if you wanted to stay until my shift is over, we could, you know, pick up where we left off? Back at my place?"

Vi couldn't stop the grin that tugged at her lips.  "I'm not going anywhere," she promised.

*~*~*

Upstairs, Cassidy mounted her platform again and, after throwing her one last longing look, Vi headed for the bar. She squeezed her way through the crowd of patrons, finding a spot where she could watch Cassidy dance uninterrupted. The music was an endless monotony of beats and bass, but the way Cassidy moved never ceased to be captivating.

Cassidy gyrated sensually, but it was the looks she shot Vi more than her dancing that made Vi's face heat. Every glance Cassidy threw her way held the promise of later—of the things they would do back at Cassidy's apartment—and Vi squirmed where she stood. Half the things she wanted to do to Cassidy, or to have Cassidy do to her, she only knew about in theory. She couldn't imagine wanting anyone but Cassidy in that moment, but she wished there had been others, who might have taught her how to excite a woman as much as Cassidy excited her.

As it was, Vi felt like she was about to go into an exam without having studied. Hell, without even knowing an exam was being given.

Cassidy was out—completely out. Vi couldn't imagine being brave enough to do so, but maybe for Cassidy it hadn't been that big of a deal. Maybe she had been confident enough to know her friends and family would love her no matter what.

Vi's parents weren't bible-thumpers who would tell her she was an abomination, but they also weren't friends with any gay people. No one in their family was gay—or, at least, not that Vi knew of. It was impossible to guess how her parents would react to her sexuality. Maybe they wouldn't hate her, but would they look at her differently?

That thought alone had been enough to keep Vi firmly in the closet for years. Now, though, Cassidy had cracked the door open and Vi could see a sliver of light shining through, a promise of what might lie on the outside. She just hoped she was ready to push the door the rest of the way open and step out.

For tonight, though, she would just worry about not disappointing a beautiful girl. The clanging of a bell jerked Vi out of her reverie; the music dimmed as the DJ announced last call. Vi glanced around, surprised. The crowd had thinned while she was lost in her thoughts. Those who were left, however, streamed towards her, vying for a last drink of the evening. Crushed against the bar, Vi lost sight of Cassidy as she tried to avoid elbows and over-sized purses. When the mob finally cleared the dancers were gone. Vi blinked at Cassidy's empty platform. A quick peek at her phone revealed that it was, indeed, 1:45 in the morning. Cassidy's shift was over, and now she was going to take Vi home.

Vi gulped. It was what she had been hoping for all week, but now that it was finally happening, she was more nervous than ever. She turned away from the empty dance floor, leaning heavily on the bar and meeting her reflection's eyes in the mirror that stretched against the back wall. She looked terrified.