37. Morning

                                    

                                          

♟️ 







"Good morning."
She sleeps longer than ever before. Or at least, that's how it feels. A sleep so deep it's hard to think, hard to see, hard to imagine anything. She floats from one cloud to the next, dreaming about something she can't remember. And when she finally wakes up it feels like it's been a million years since she fell asleep. The sun peeks through the large windows and lazily closed curtains, bright and warm in the heat of the summer.
"Vera?"
Hollie blinks her eyes open. She sees the outline of Vera, but she's pretty sure that she is still dreaming. A part of her mind is still stuck in who she was just half a year ago. Unable to even imagine lying next to Vera, unable to even imagine sleeping in the same bed as her, let alone talking to her in person.
But the more she blinks, the clearer the picture becomes. Vera above her, her beautiful dark brown hair framing her even more beautiful face in a way that makes Hollie wonder, time and time again, whether or not she really is an angel, or maybe a demon of seduction.
Vera only laughs at her confused face, and Hollie becomes more aware of the mattress pressing against her back, her lack of clothing that she must've taken off in her sleep (barely in her underwear), and how the tired feeling she's had for so many days now is almost completely gone. She feels alive again.
"Don't you remember last night?"
And yet she doesn't remember anything. Why Vera is here. Why she is asking such a question. Why Hollie fell asleep, or indeed, when she did. Vera looks down at her, hovering above her, her expression filled with something that is between disappointment and bright amusement. Once the question finally registers in Hollie's brain, she sits up a little and looks around, confused. She sees Elena standing by their bed, changing clothes. And Vera above her, eyes shining with seduction, implying that they...
"Last night?" She looks a bit panicked, once again trying to catch Elena's eyes but not managing to, as Elena is busy with the buttons of her shirt. She looks back up at Vera and swallows thickly, still feeling a bit dizzy from the heavy sleep she just had. "Did we-" She cuts herself off, not being able to bring herself to say it. It's embarrassing, yes, but most importantly, it doesn't feel realistic. Could they really have...? What happened last night?
Vera sighs with a fake pout on her face. There is disappointment in her voice, but she can't hide the playfulness that makes that disappointment look like nothing but an intro to her game. "Elena. She doesn't remember anything." Elena glances at them from the side, her voice as monotonous as always.
"How sad."
Vera looks back down at Hollie, dragging out each second that Hollie waits in painful confusion, trying to remember how far they went before she fell asleep. Vera smiles while looking at that confused expression, enjoying every moment. Then, suddenly, a fiery light erupts in her eyes. "Let me try to refresh your memory." She leans in closer, like a predator nearing prey, and Hollie can do nothing but press herself against the mattress and feel her heart skip a beat.
"I came through the door, right there." Vera gestures at the door, a teasing expression on her face. Her outreached hand travels back down to Hollie's body, dragging across her skin in a way that is so subtle it's almost ticklish. She reaches up to Hollie's lips, and presses down with her finger. "You were kissing Elena." She watches Hollie in a way that makes her wonder whether it's with jealousy, anger or lust, and then leans in closer.
"I got up real close." She stares right into Hollie's eyes, pressing their bodies a bit further against each other. "-Confessed how I truly feel about you." She leans in close, impossibly close, and yet slow enough to allow Hollie every single opportunity to back out. Every word that leaves her mouth refreshes a bit more of Hollie's memory. Vera stares into her eyes.