The next evening, after work, Ellie stopped at home to shower and change before she went to Mia’s.
She decided to wear a dress again, because it had worked out well the day before. This time a shorter, sleeker, blacker dress that was much tricker to get out of, since she’d realized she didn’t actually need to take it off at all. She wore the dress, and strappy heels, and braided her hair and twisted it into a bun, because if she was going to Mia’s to carelessly fuck in a terribly wanton way, she was going to be glamorous and sophisticated about it too.
Mark was home by the time she was ready to leave. He was in the lounge, playing video games. Ellie stopped in the hall, and looked in at him, and was terribly tempted to go and sit down and ask him about Mia for hours on end, to try and find out every little detail about her. She didn’t, because doing that rather than going to have actual sex with an actual Mia would be a little odd, and also because, as a way to keep secrets, it was fairly silly. Instead she got her phone and texted Mia and said she was on the way.
“I’m off,” she said to Mark.
“Bye,” Mark said.
Ellie stood there for a moment, suddenly thinking about secrets and lying and making sure people knew what stories they ought to be believing.
“No Mia?” she said after a moment.
“She’s there,” Mark said, and pointed to the screen. “She’s at home.”
“Oh, right.”
Mark glanced around. “Going out?”
“Just a drink.”
He nodded, and didn’t ask, because he never did. Not even at times like this, when she was fairly obviously out to pull. That was his thing, Ellie thought, that he didn’t ask anyone about anything, and right now Ellie was very glad. Since she was trying to keep secrets.
“Well, bye,” Ellie said, and went outside.
She drove to Mia’s, and parked nearby, and walked to the building’s door. She texted again, and said she was there, and the door buzzed and unlocked itself. She went up in the lift, and walked down Mia’s hall, and then stopped, suddenly, and thought about Tasha.
She started to worry.
She felt silly, because of how she’d been the night before. She wasn’t feeling as confident as she had then. She didn’t want to walk past Tasha, to Mia’s room, a second night in a row. She didn’t want to see Tasha’s teasing grin, or have Tasha make jokes about the TV volume, or have any of the things happen that would probably happen, or that she was worried about happening, now she suspected Tasha shared Mia’s sense of humour.
Ellie hesitated, then went back down the hall to the lifts, so she was away from Mia’s front door, and out of earshot, and phoned Mia.
“Could you come out and get me?” she said when Mia answered.
“Yep,” Mia said, and didn’t even ask why, just, “Yep, I am.”
Only that. It meant a surprising amount to Ellie.
“I’m by the lift,” Ellie said.
“I’m coming now.”
Ellie heard a door open, and looked up as Mia came out of it. Mia looked at Ellie, and kind of waved, and then started walking towards her.
Ellie stood where she was and waited.
Mia seemed puzzled. She was smiling, and seemed glad to see Ellie, but she also seemed a little puzzled.
She walked towards Ellie, and Ellie watched her walk.
She looked at Mia. She looked at Mia’s legs.
Mia had bare feet, and a shortish skirt, and her legs looked long and fuckable.
Ellie noticed the skirt, and wondered for a moment, because as far as she’d noticed, Mia didn’t wear skirts outside of work. That Mia was might mean something, Ellie thought, like she was dressing up. Ellie liked that idea, and was pleased for a moment, but then she thought she might be wrong. Maybe Mia did wear skirts, and Ellie just hadn’t noticed. Maybe Mia just felt like a skirt tonight. Ellie didn’t know, and didn’t want to assume, and was distracted watching Mia walk anyway.
She watched, and thought about legs, and thought about Mia’s bare feet too. She liked that Mia had bare feet. It made Mia seem brave.
Mia was only out in her hall, Ellie supposed, and that would be why, but Ellie still envied Mia’s carelessness.
Mia stopped in front of Ellie, and looked at her for a moment, and seemed to be studying Ellie carefully. Wondering why they were out here, Ellie supposed, and she didn’t know what to say.
She still didn’t completely know why.
She was being nervous, and being silly, but she didn’t know how to explain.
After a moment, Mia leaned forward and kissed Ellie. Very carefully, touching only with her mouth, what seemed like a very quick kiss.
Mia kissed once, to say hello, and then leaned back, as if she was intending to stop.
Ellie didn’t want to stop. She didn’t want not to kiss.
She leaned forward as Mia went backwards, and kept their mouths together. She kissed Mia properly. Kissed, and put her hands on Mia’s hips, and held onto her. Mia seemed surprised for a moment, then put her arms around Ellie and kissed back.
They kissed. They kissed properly, with open mouths, sliding their hands over each other.
Ellie wanted this. She needed this. She kissed Mia as desperately as she could.
She kissed.
After a moment, though, she started to think about where they were. She wondered if this wasn’t a little public, and whether they ought to move.
She also wondered if she’d be able to stop at all, if she kissed much longer.
She might not. She might just put her hands inside Mia’s clothes and try and fuck her right here, and she didn’t think she should, not in Mia’s hallway.
She stepped back, and looked at Mia, and didn’t know what to say.
She suddenly felt terribly silly for making Mia come outside.