Page 9 of When I Picture You
When Renee stepped back, her eyes snagged on the quick, shallow rise and fall of Lola’s chest. Then Lola remembered herself, the cold bottle in her hand.
“Can I pour you a glass?”
“I thought I was sobering up,” Renee said. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
“You won’t. You can stay as long as you want,” Lola said.
“Okay.”
Lola went to the table and filled two flutes, her back to Renee. But when she was done, instead of handing one to Renee, Lola took a longlook at her from over her shoulder, her eyes dark and her lower lip held between her teeth.
“What is it?” Renee asked.
Lola grabbed something off the table and turned to face her. “It’s just—do you mind signing this?” She was holding out a form.
Non-Disclosure Agreement, the document read.
“An NDA?” Renee’s eyebrows jumped up. “Worried I’ll post an embarrassing picture on Instagram?”
“Sell it to a tabloid, actually, but same idea. Sorry, I know it’s awkward, but my team will kill me if I don’t … and it makes it a little easier for me to relax.” Her deep brown eyes flitted between Renee’s face and the paper in her hands.
“I don’t know, Lo. You’ve got me all alone in your hotel room, and now you’re telling me whatever happens here will be our secret,” Renee said slowly, allowing some of that simmering anticipation to enter her voice. “What are you planning to do to me?”
Lola was twisting a pen in her hands and watching Renee intensely. She opened her mouth, closed it again. Renee could tell Lola was fighting the urge to reassure her that there was nothing planned, that Renee had it all wrong.
But by now, Renee was certain she didn’t have it all wrong.
“I’ll just have to find out.” Renee took the pen and scribbled her signature.
As soon as she’d handed the document back to Lola, it was fluttering out of her fingers and to the floor. Lola surged forward. All at once, her lips were against Renee’s. Renee startled—she hadn’t expected Lola to jump her, nor had she expected the smoothness of Lola’s lips, or that she’d taste of spearmint, like she’d snuck a mint without Renee seeing. Renee opened her lips for Lola, leaning down into her eager mouth. There was nothing teasing or subtle about the way Lola kissed her. When she drew Renee’s lower lip between hersand sucked, with just a hint of pressure from her teeth, desire surged through Renee’s body. If Lola was that hungry for her, Renee was happy to submit.
Lola broke away, just barely, and breathed, “Sorry, is this okay?”
Renee didn’t want to think too hard about what this was or wasn’t.
“Don’t apologize. Don’t stop,” Renee sighed against her needfully, and Lola didn’t.
She notched her body to Renee’s like she didn’t want any air between them, and kissed her again, her tongue snaking into Renee’s mouth. In response, Renee’s hands tangled into Lola’s hair, pulling a few hairpins loose. Lola moaned against Renee’s lips.
Was this really happening? She was making out with Lola—Lola Gray—the little weirdo next door who was now adored by millions, who Renee hadn’t even suspected was queer. This was the hottest thing she’d experienced in months—no, inyears. This was better than any of her half-hearted hookups since returning to Fellows. Renee had worried she’d lost the ability to lose herself in lust like this. But now, her knee was bending invitingly between Lola’s thighs and her hands were grabbing Lola’s hips to tug her closer. A tremor shot through Lola the first time Renee pressed against her, and it set a fire coursing through her. Renee’s fingers dug into Lola’s ass. She was rewarded by Lola running her hands up the front of her jumpsuit and cupping her breasts through the fabric, her thumbs circling Renee’s nipples and sending a ripple of pleasure to her core.
Breathing heavy, Renee cast a glance at that enormous bed. Understanding, Lola pulled Renee over to it, then spun her around, so she faced Renee’s back. She fingered the zipper of Renee’s jumpsuit.
“Can I?”
“Fuck yes,” Renee groaned. As Lola drew the zipper down, Renee could feel Lola’s intent gaze on her skin and the clasp of her bra and, as the jumpsuit fell to the ground, the curve of her ass. Then Lolawas pushing her up onto the bed and peeling off the straps of her own dress to expose more of that gorgeous skin, almost radiant in its softness.
Renee took in Lola’s body: her breasts straining against the lace edge of her bra, the smudge of a birthmark on her ribs, the points of her hips, an ass that would fill Renee’s palms perfectly. She was wearing practical, seamless nude-colored underwear—not what you’d wear if you’d been planning to fuck at your sister’s wedding—but it clung to her, visibly damp.
As Lola climbed up her body, Renee marveled again that Lola felt totally unlike the squeaky-clean girl she’d known. And she was nothing like the polished entertainer that Kadijah obsessed over. This woman was hungry and messy with need. There was something almost ugly about how her face wore pleasure, like the muscles were unused to moving that way. That look made Renee want to watch Lola come undone completely.
She grabbed Lola’s hips and swung her leg over them, so that Lola was on her back, her beautiful dark hair over the white sheets. Renee kissed her jaw, her neck—Lola arched against the bed—then moved down her chest, kissing a trail to her breasts. She took the edge of the lace in her teeth, tugged gently, then cut her eyes up to Lola’s face. Her eyes were hazy.
“Can I take this off?” Renee asked.
Lola nodded, and Renee slid her hands beneath her to unclasp the bra. She savored a look at Lola’s dark pink areola, already pebbling, before capturing one nipple with her palm, the other with her mouth. Lola’s arms were around Renee’s head, pressing Renee against her, and she moaned in a way that Renee could feel through Lola’s chest. The vibration traveled straight through Renee and right to her clit. But Renee forced herself to ignore her arousal. She wanted to focus on Lola, to coax more of those moans from her.
Renee shifted her mouth to the other side and moved her hand down to Lola’s panties, eager to touch her.
