Fool for Love (High Rise) Read online

  “I’d be delighted.” Isabella nodded eagerly as Nat pushed herself out of her chair.

  “Excuse us, ladies.” Nat followed Isabella into the flat.

  Alex couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been. She’d walked straight into Nat’s trap. She’d made her dress up. She’d plied her with a few false promises of not trying to set her up. And they’d barely arrived and already Alex found herself alone with Maddie, framed by one of the most romantic vistas in the world.

  Alex gave Maddie an apologetic look.

  “Some friends—” she started, at the same time as Maddie said something.

  “Sorry, you first.” Maddie smiled warmly at her. Her smile was completely different from Rita’s. Much warmer, almost maternal. The smile of someone who’d take care of you forever.

  “I wouldn’t normally be so forward, but I think it’s time you opened that bottle,” Alex said. “If we have to wait for Nat to recover from admiring Isabella’s liquor cabinet, we’ll be here all night.” She needed a drink. It only took one sip to take the edge off, anyway. She was a lightweight like that.

  “My pleasure.” Maddie rose from her chair and Alex couldn’t help but notice how her jeans clung to her well-built hips.

  “I know you’re new to Shape, but you hardly look new to working out.”

  Maddie had just finished untangling the wire cage from the cork. She looked at Alex with a stunned but amused expression.

  “I’m sorry,” Alex rushed to say. “Noticing things like that comes with the job, I guess.”

  “Unlike what I’ve heard about you,” Maddie said, “I’m perfectly able to take a compliment.” There was that smile again.

  Alex shyly reciprocated. What was she doing? Was she flirting now? And how did that work again?

  MADDIE

  While pouring two generous glasses of champagne, Maddie cast a glance through the full-length windows. Isabella and Nat appeared to be in the middle of a debate on a bottle Isabella held in her hands. She still couldn’t believe Nathalie Orange was here, in Isabella’s flat, on a regular Friday night. She’d brought a treat as well. Maddie wasn’t stupid. Isabella and Nat seemed to have found a common goal all of a sudden. One Maddie could hardly disagree with. Alex was a real stunner and she could be just what Maddie needed to rebound from June.

  Maddie sat back down and held out her glass for a toast. “To the weekend.” She looked straight into Alex's dark eyes and a small tingle crept along her spine.

  “Yours, anyway,” Alex said before clinking the rim of her glass against Maddie’s. “Not that I mind. I’m only teaching body balance tomorrow. Which, after twenty-five hours of mostly combat and spin, is a nice end to the week.”

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” Maddie brought her hand to her mouth. “But, truth be told, you can usually find me at the office on a Saturday morning as well.”

  “What about tomorrow?”

  “Nope. I promised Isabella I’d be all hers this weekend.”

  “Oh.” Was that a glimmer of disappointment in those bedroom eyes?

  Maddie was quick to correct herself. “She’s a good friend. And neighbour.”

  “Maddie has more exotic tastes.” Isabella walked back onto the terrace, Nat hot on her heels. “She’d never go for the likes of me.” Maddie hadn’t seen them coming and was slightly disappointed her little tête-a-tête with Alex was ending already. She’d have to do something about getting Alex alone again soon.

  “If the topic of conversation is about to migrate to yellow fever, we have another expert in the house.” Alex pointed at Nat and dazzled Maddie with her quick wit. June would never say something like that.

  “You know I’m very much for equal opportunities.” Nat sank down in a chair opposite them, a tumbler of amber liquid in her hand. “But when in Rome…”

  “Our writer friend here is doing all she can to sample as much of the local population as possible.”

  Maddie witnessed how Alex and Nat exchanged glances, increasing her suspicion that, at least at some point, something must have happened between them.

  “Interesting.” Maddie knew Isabella could never switch the analytical part of her brain off. “Why do you—” Suppressing a smile, Maddie could see the wheels inside Isabella’s head turning.

  “I’m in favour of free flowing conversation and a wide range of topics,” Nat cut her off. “But, trust me, the state of my love life is not worth your time.” Maddie was convinced Isabella would not pass on the challenge Nathalie Orange represented.

  “My bad.” Isabella brought a hand to her chest. “Once a shrink, always a shrink.”

  “About that,” Nat focused her gaze on Isabella. “My new book has a character in it who’s a psychiatrist. You’d make excellent research material.”

  “I’m honoured.” Maddie could tell Isabella wasn’t joking—and she completely understood. “Stop by any time.”

  “Should I make an appointment?” Nat sipped from her glass, but kept her eyes on Isabella.

  “Depends.” Isabella uncrossed her legs and bent over so her elbows rested on her knees, her face inches away from Nat’s. “Does your soul need healing?”

  Maybe Maddie had been too paranoid. Perhaps tonight wasn’t about getting her and Alex better acquainted. Isabella seemed to have an agenda of her own.

  “There’s not enough money and time in the world to heal Orange’s dysfunctional psyche. Her debut was based on a true story, you know,” Alex said.

  Maddie’s awe spiked. Not just because of Alex's sharp tongue, but mostly because My Family, Nathalie’s first novel that had won a slew of prizes when it was published seven years ago, was one of her favourite books.

  “Alex is right.” Nat kept her eyes glued to Isabella. “I may have some mommy issues.” She slanted her upper body forward until her nose almost touched Isabella’s. “Can you fix me, Doc?”

  “I have time for an extra client tomorrow. Why don’t you stop by around noon and find out?”

  “I’m starting to feel like the third wheel.” Alex turned to Maddie. “I hadn’t seen this coming.” She looked into her almost empty glass. “That must be some Scotch.”

  Maddie took that as her cue to pour them a refill. “I don’t know about you, but this is the most fun I’ve had in ages.” She looked Alex in the eyes. “Then again, my life has been lacking some excitement lately.”

  “Being a banker is not all it’s cracked up to be?”

  Maddie chuckled. “It’s more my private life that’s been a real mess.”

  “Same here.” Before Alex looked away, Maddie could clearly spot the pain in her glance.

  When Alex lifted her head back up, the sparkle in her eyes had returned. “Is Isabella even gay?” She whispered.

  Maddie sighed. “It’s complicated.”

  “It always is.”

  Concurring with a swift nod, Maddie leaned back and took a healthy gulp of champagne. Isabella and Nat continued their flirting match, but Maddie soon found herself losing interest—in favour of the pretty half-Chinese girl sitting next to her.

  Alex and Maddie finished the bottle of Veuve Clicquot, while Nat opted for doubles every time Isabella topped up their glasses with more of her fine Scotch.

  When Alex and Nat said their goodbyes an hour later, Maddie hugged Alex tighter than social elegance dictated and breathed in deeply to commit the fresh scent of her skin to memory.

  “You may see me in one of your classes tomorrow,” she whispered in Alex's ear before releasing her from her arms.

  “If it keeps you out of the office.” Something simmered in Alex's eyes when she said it. “I look forward to it.”

  ALEX

  Alex woke up with a start and frantically searched for her alarm clock in the dark. Half a bottle of champagne and she wasn’t herself in the morning. The red digits told her it was only five a.m. Plenty of time before her nine o’clock session. She turned on her belly and closed her eyes again. Ten seconds later she knew she wouldn’
t be able to fall asleep again, and if, by chance she did, she’d be too groggy to get up in time for work. She settled on her back and that’s when she heard the noise.

  Soft moans mingled with high-pitched giggles penetrated through the thin wall between her and Nat’s room.

  “For heaven’s sake,” she whispered in the darkness. “So bloody predictable.”

  It was hard to determine Isabella’s exact age but Alex estimated it to be about twenty years above Nat’s limit of interest. Despite flirting readily with the psychiatrist last night—as she did with everyone—Alex was certain it wasn’t the regal penthouse inhabitant producing those yelps of pleasure in Nat’s bed.

  Spurred on by too much single malt, Nat had gone out after they arrived back at their flat, into the never-ending Hong Kong night. No doubt with the intention of bringing home one of many interchangeable Hello Kitty girls, and succeeding. The sounds on the other side of the wall were proof of that.

  Alex sighed and shook her head. She actually hoped Nat would take Isabella up on her offer and book an appointment to discuss the state of her soul—and the bitterness in her heart driving her into the arms of these young, practically mute, but always admiring girls.

  One day not long after she had moved in, Nat’s helper had gotten some of Alex's laundry mixed up and she’d gone to look for her favourite white tank top in Nat’s room. She hadn’t snooped but she’d had to have been blind to not have noticed the big purple strap-on casually residing on Nat’s pillow.

  She’d laughed hard, picturing Nat wielding the enormous dildo in front of one of her tiny girls. Which is probably what she was doing now.

  Alex shut her eyes and focused on the cries of ecstasy, more as an experiment, to see if they could excite her at all. She’d been starved of any kind of sexual affection long before her break-up with Rita, who’d obviously been getting it elsewhere.

  The closest she came these days was with her vibrator. Short, almost mechanical orgasms, just to relieve the tension. The thought of it sparked something in her gut, a small desire for the tiny treat it represented. She might as well. It wasn’t as if she’d still be able to sleep and moping around the flat while her roommate was getting off wasn’t exactly an appealing prospect.

  She reached for the bottom drawer of her night stand and dug the pastel pink toy out. It would only take a few minutes and the anticipation of the short but sweet relief made her a little giddy. While spreading her legs, she threw the sheets off, exposing her naked body to the conditioned air of her bedroom.

  The advantage of using this particular aid was that it vibrated so vigorously it didn’t require any mental stimulation. Otherwise, Alex's thoughts always, most inadvertently so, drifted to Rita. How Rita looked into her eyes as she parted her pussy lips with her fingers. Always, as if she owned her. That was Rita’s thing in the bedroom—and Alex loved it.

  Rita was the last person Alex wanted to think about. Rita and her power plays. Rita and her ability to always just hit the spot, whether spanking or fucking. When it came to Alex, Rita always knew what she was doing. Alex pushed any lingering thought of her ex as far back into her mind as possible. She’d shove her out if she could, but six years was a long time to forget about.

  Instead, she cleared her head and let the mixture of giggles and groans coming from the other room wash over her. She brought the toy between her legs and just the soft buzzing of it was enough to make her clit throb. The plastic was cold against her pussy lips, which added to the sensation. She shut her eyes and concentrated on the vibrations pulsing through her clit and body. She knew that if she allowed her thoughts to wander, if she allowed herself to think of someone taking her—claiming her like Rita did—she’d come much harder. But that wasn’t the point. This was her orgasm and Rita had nothing to do with it. If anything, this was the expulsion of Rita. The freeing of Alessandra Pozzato from her greedy shackles.

  She wasn’t far now. Alex felt some juice trickle out of her, down her buttocks. The vibrator was working its magic and her breathing intensified. Her pussy started clutching around nothing and, just before it happened, just before she came with a low whimper and a quick tremble, she imagined Maddie’s face hovering above hers.

  * * *

  Alex ignored the twinge of disappointment sneaking through the back of her brain when Maddie didn’t show up for her nine a.m. class. She wrestled her body through the different positions, making sure not to display any signs of fatigue to the group in front of her. One more session and she was done. She didn’t teach on Sunday and Monday, but sometimes came in anyway to catch a colleague’s class. A day without exercise was a day badly spent and it was important to experience a fitness class from the other side as well.

  In between her two Saturday morning sessions, she flicked through a copy of Vogue—only purchased because of a spectacular cover shot of Charlize Theron’s endless legs—at The Bean, keeping a watchful eye on the door. The way Maddie had hugged her goodbye last night didn’t leave much room for misinterpretation. It was a lingering embrace expressing that first inkling of interest. If Maddie didn’t show up for her next class, Alex would have to doubt her sincerity. After what Rita did to her, there weren’t many qualities Alex valued more than sincerity.

  While Alex stowed her belongings in her locker before her last session of the week, Maddie breezed into the dressing room—her presence sparking a prompt change in Alex, as if enough to squash her doubts. Without revealing she was there, Alex peeped at Maddie from around the corner as she changed into her workout clothes. She had good legs, long and toned, and—to Alex's experienced eye—revealing hours of personal training.

  “Hey.” Alex wasn’t really the peeping type. “You made it.”

  Maddie pinned her eyes on Alex. The same burning glance Alex had seen in her fantasy that morning. “Of course.”

  MADDIE

  After class, Maddie waited for Alex outside the studio. The mixture of yoga and tai chi had given her a peace of mind hard to come by of late. Alex stood surrounded by a group of enthusiastic local ladies ooh-ing and aah-ing at something she explained in Chinese. When Alex caught Maddie’s glance through the glass door, she nodded and excused herself to her posse of admirers.

  “That was truly wonderful.” Without thinking, Maddie patted Alex's shoulder. “I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time.”

  “I aim to please.” Alex shot her a wink. She really had to stop doing that. As innocent as the gesture was probably meant, it seemed to connect with some untouched spot in Maddie’s soul. Oh, who was she kidding? She didn’t use the word soul and the area she meant lay a tad further down south than where one would assume the soul to reside.

  “I was wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch.”

  Alex raised her eye-brows. “Sure. How does organic pizza sound?”

  “Cardboard-ish, but I’ll give it a try.”

  “I hope you didn’t just try to offend my taste in pizza. I am half-Italian, you know.”

  “I wouldn’t dare.” Maddie had guessed some Mediterranean blood flowed through Alex's veins.

  “Good.” They walked towards the changing room together. “Have you cleared this with your weekend boss?”

  “I believe Isabella is keeping her lunch time schedule wide open for a certain unexpected client.” Alex held the door for Maddie and shook her head.

  “She shouldn’t.” They stopped at Maddie’s locker. “When I left, Nat was still in bed with a massive hangover and a twenty-year-old girl.”

  “That must be quite the den of love on the forty-second floor.” Maddie narrowed her eyes, ready to scan Alex's face for a reaction.

  “Maybe on Nat’s side of the hallway. Sometimes I think I’m only there to give the place a touch of wholesomeness.” Alex sipped from her bottle of water and some drops ran down her chin. “What about the forty-third floor?”

  Maddie looked around her. “Let’s save that conversation for lunch.”

  “You’d better not leave m
e hanging.” The drops of water trickled down Alex's neck, tracing a slow path to her collar bone. “I’m going to hit the steam cabin for five minutes. Care to join?”

  Maddie had to swallow before she could answer. “Sure,” she tried to say with as much nonchalance as she could muster.

  They undressed and chastely wrapped towels around their bodies. Alex led the way to the steam cabin and Maddie simultaneously feared and hoped her new friend would keep the towel in its current position. Sitting down across from Maddie, Alex leaned her head against the wall and released the pressure of her hands from the towel. It split slightly, not wide enough to show anything, yet revealing enough to make Maddie gasp for air.

  Alex's breasts and pubic area were covered, but Maddie’s eyes had plenty to feast on. A hint of rock hard abdominal muscles for instance, and that strong shoulder line. Droplets of sweat streamed down Alex's pronounced biceps and, despite probably only sampling a fraction of what Nathalie Orange had, she had to agree with her. Alex must have the best body in Hong Kong.

  Maddie’s clit stood to attention and she had to close her eyes to calm her nerves. Not that it helped the tiniest bit. As soon as her eyelids fell shut, far more revealing images of Alex were projected on the back of them. Alex dropping the towel entirely. Alex beckoning her with just one glance. Maddie’s lips on her collar bone, her tongue catching the descending drops of sweat. Her finger…

  “Ready?” Alex towered over her. “I’m starving.” Her towel clung to her body again.

  Maddie quickly regained composure—or at least tried—and followed Alex to the shower area where she cooled herself off under cold water.

  * * *

  “How did you meet Nathalie?” All the way to the restaurant, squashed between the rush of tourists and shoppers crowding Central on a Saturday, Maddie had racked her brain for an innocent but interesting question to ask. This was the conversation starter she’d come up with.