"She moved in for a week. It only took one night."
It started with a text message.
A flash on Talia's phone while she stirred the tomato soup in the quiet kitchen of the lake house.
Hey T, power's out all over the city. Any chance I could crash at your lake place tonight? My phone's on 3%.
Nina.
Her sister's college friend the one who always wore ripped jeans and eyeliner too heavy for daytime, the one with the wild eyes and laugh that made everything feel less boring.
Talia hadn't seen her in almost a year, but the memory of her never really left. Especially not the night she'd caught Nina changing in her room during a group beach weekend nothing on but a lace thong and a smirk when she caught Talia watching.
Talia texted back:
Door's open. There's soup. And wine.
By the time Nina arrived, thunder cracked like bone outside, and rain had soaked her through. She tossed her duffel by the door, hoodie stuck to her chest, cheeks flushed.
"You saved my life," she grinned, pulling her hair up into a bun. "Seriously."
Talia couldn't stop staring.
"Glad you made it." She handed her a towel, but her fingers brushed Nina's shoulder as she did, lingering just a second too long.
It felt like static electricity, delicate, dangerous.
Later, curled under a throw blanket with two glasses of cabernet and a candlelit fireplace flickering across the wooden walls, Nina stretched like a cat, her shirt riding up to show toned abs and the edge of a tattoo Talia had never seen before.
"That's new," Talia said, nodding to the ink.
"Got it after my breakup," Nina said with a shrug. "You ever do something reckless after heartbreak?"
Talia chuckled. "I usually just cry and eat bread."
Nina leaned in. "You ever think about doing something else?"
Her voice had changed. Lower. Intentional.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…" Nina trailed a finger up Talia's thigh, featherlight. "I've been thinking about you since sophomore year. I just didn't want to screw up your sister's friend group."
Talia's breath hitched. "Nina..."
"You don't want me to stop."
It wasn't a question.
The kiss was slow at first, but it burned fast. Nina's lips tasted like red wine and rain, her hands already under Talia's sweatshirt, nails grazing her lower back.
"Tell me to stop," Nina whispered as her fingers found bare skin. "Or I'm not going to."
Talia's answer was to pull her closer.
The couch creaked beneath them as they shifted, mouths crashing, thighs tangled. Nina straddled her, tugging off her hoodie and revealing a black lace bra that made Talia dizzy.
"You've thought about this too, haven't you?" Nina said, unclasping the bra and letting it fall between them.
Talia nodded, eyes wide, breath uneven. "More than I should."
"Good."
They didn't make it to the guest room.
Talia's sweater was on the floor. Her leggings next. Nina's hands knew where to go like she'd memorized her. The way her fingers curled inside her, the pressure of her mouth teasing her chest, her breath warm against trembling thighs.
Talia was unraveling moaning her name, gripping the cushion as Nina worked her like a melody she'd waited her whole life to hear.
Her climax hit in waves, full-body, legs shaking, a cry muffled by Nina's shoulder.
And when Nina kissed her again slow and sweet this time Talia melted into her, naked and undone, like the storm outside wasn't the most powerful thing in the house anymore.
They eventually made it to the guest room but only to sleep tangled in each other's arms, skin sticky, hearts thudding.
Talia woke up in the dark to Nina pressing kisses to her shoulder, whispering, "I never should've waited this long."
She turned to her, eyes still hazy with sleep. "Then don't leave."
Nina smiled. "Good. Because I brought my weekender."