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She leaves the stage in a hurry, hoping the make-up on her face hides the blush that is surely creeping onto her face and colouring her cheeks. Or well– she tries to leave the stage, because apparently she’s walking in the wrong direction.
After awkwardly turning around and then, finally, following Karolina back to their table in quick strides, Rhea sits down next to Karolina and Samba and allows herself to breathe.
While the dress is tight, she’s glad she’s not wearing two bras today. It’s difficult enough to get enough air into her lungs as it is.
“This is not televised, right?” she hears herself ask. Her voice sounds more composed than she feels.
Samba laughs and shakes his head. She throws a shaky smile in his direction and tries to turn her head to the woman next to him, but she’s not able to meet Karolina’s eyes just yet.
“Unfortunately not,” Samba says. “But–,” he teases with a glint in his eyes, “I did you and the whole world a favour and recorded your amazing presentation.”
“No you didn’t,” Karolina gasps. Rhea doesn't need to look up to know there’s a big grin on her co-star’s face; she can hear it in her voice.
Samba is about to pull out his phone when Rhea clears her throat. “At least wait until after the ceremony is over,” she whispers, mindful of the people around her who are focused on the stage. She’s been to too many award shows by now, she’s well aware it’s not wise to piss off the people around them by pulling out their phones and laughing at a video.
While they luckily leave their phones inside their pockets, Karolina and Samba keep on joking around, whispering and giggling next to her while she tries her best to force her heartbeat back into a normal frequency.
The rest of the ceremony passes by in a blur. There is a kiss cam and for a second her heart nearly stops when a camera is vaguely angled in the direction of their table, but luckily she doesn't get another chance to publicly humiliate herself even further. It’s the first time she is relieved to lose an award too. God knows what she would have said up there if she had won.
A soft touch on her arms alerts her to the fact that the room is clearing out, people passing by their table and moving towards the exit.
“Do you wanna go to the after party?” Karolina asks, crouching down next to her chair to get her mouth closer to Rhea’s ear and combat the loud chatter coming from the many people around them.
“Do you?” Rhea throws the question back, turning her head so she finally meets Karolina’s eyes.
“I don’t know.” Karolina shrugs. “I’m kinda hungry,” she replies, her eyes locking onto Rhea’s.
Suddenly, her face feels hot again and her throat is dry. She licks her lips, trying to find the right words.
“I’m sure they have food at the after party,” Samba’s voice interrupts them.
Rhea rolls her eyes. “Don’t talk back to the birthday girl,” she counters with a grin.
Karolina also breaks into a smirk. “You heard her,” she says triumphantly. “Plus, nobody’s stopping you from going.”
“Oh so you wanna get rid of me?” Samba jokes and bumps Karolina’s shoulders.
Rhea finally gets up, smoothes over her dress and grabs her purse.
“Come on,” she says and guides both of her co-stars towards the exit. “You can fight about where to go next on the way out.”
“I don’t think I want to do another busy event with millions of people,” Karolina admits sheepishly.
It’s not typical for her to turn down a fun after party with the chance to meet people from the industry. Usually Karolina is more than happy to chat up fellow actors, directors and whoever else crosses her path – they all end up charmed out of their minds anyways.
“So what do you wanna do?” Rhea asks, eyeing Karolina. It is her birthday after all and she wants to ensure it’s a good one.
“A bar,” Karolina sighs wistfully. “And beer,” she adds. “And fries.”
“Your wish is our command,” Rhea grins and glances at Samba, making sure he’s on board as well.
“I wanted to meet Amber Glenn,” he grumbles. Rhea shoots him a pointed look. “But who needs to see one of the best American figure skaters when you can drink beer in a random bar?”
“Exactly,” Rhea points out and turns around just in time to see Karolina laugh at their antics.
“You can go,” she assures Samba. “I really don’t mind.”
He shakes his head. “It’s fine,” he replies with a grin. “I’d rather spend the day with the birthday girl.”
When they crawl into the uber, Karolina gives the driver an address before Rhea can even start thinking about possible places they could go to. The car ride to the bar is filled with music played from the speakers and easy chatter, mostly from Samba and Karolina. In the meantime, Rhea tries to avoid thinking about how Karolina’s leg keeps touching hers; a task she fails spectacularly.
“We should have changed,” she notes when she struggles to get out of the car in the tight dress she’s wearing. Then she thinks about Karolina’s dress, a beautiful silver garment with a cape draped across her shoulders – and an insane amount of cleavage on display.
They definitely should have changed, she thinks to herself.
She knows that all it will take is two drinks; then, she will not be able to stop herself from staring. Maybe even one. Or zero. It’s not like she needed a drink to make a fool of herself on stage earlier.
“Nope,” Karolina says, popping the p-sound. “This-” she gestures at Rhea’s dress, “is appropriate birthday party attire.”
“Three people is not a party,” Rhea shoots back, but extends her arm to gently guide Karolina onto the sidewalk.
Karolina raises an eyebrow. “I can invite more people.”
“Do you want to?” Rhea asks.
She should have guessed Karolina’s ideal birthday evening might not include hanging around at a bar with two people she works with.
Her co-star shakes her head. “I’m happy with it being just us,” she replies, eyes boring into hers again before she throws Rhea a quick wink and turns around.
Rhea stops for a second, trying to act normal and fight the blush creeping up her neck. She takes a deep breath, and another, before she trusts her legs to move again.
Samba is staring at her, still holding the door open where Karolina entered a good ten seconds ago.
“You coming?” he asks, a teasing look on his face.
Rhea doesn’t dignify him with a response as she struts past him and into the bar.
Karolina has already picked out a secluded corner booth and Rhea only spots her because of the silver flicker of her dress moving in the corner of the room.
“I’ll get us the beers,” Samba shouts against the noise; people are talking loudly and some kind of jazz music plays in the background.
Rhea turns around and shakes her head. “Old fashioned for me,” she corrects him.
She’s not sure whether it’s a great or horrible idea, but she hopes that a slight buzz will make her loosen up.
While Samba lines up at the counter to order their drinks, Rhea makes her way over to Karolina.
“Come on,” the brunette pats the spot next to her in the booth.
Rhea sits down and starts fidgeting with her dress, smoothing down the fabric. “Samba is getting us drinks,” she lamely explains.
“I figured.”
There’s a moment of silence; not awkward per se, but loaded.
“I–,”
“You–,”
They both start talking at the same time and then start laughing.
“You go first, birthday girl,” Rhea says, grinning at the woman next to her. From up close she can see the slight creases that have built up after wearing make-up for the whole day. She takes in the slight smudge of mascara before her eyes travel south, staring at plump dark lips.
When Karolina speaks up, she forces herself to look away.
“I wanted to say that you seemed lost up there,” Karolina teases, her lips morphing into a smirk. “Did my ad-lib throw you off?”
Rhea feels her cheeks burning and turns her gaze away from Karolina and to the table in front of her.
“No,” she replies, not very convincingly. “I’m not good at these kinds of things,” she adds.
“Liar,” Karolina sing-songs. “I saw your performance for the SAG awards. You’re good on stage. You only get nervous when you win something and need to give a speech.”
Rhea lets out an exasperated laugh. “Can you stop analysing me?”
“Oh,” Samba’s voice interrupts them before Karolina can reply. “We’re analysing Rhea? We will be here the whole night.
He pointedly ignores the eye roll thrown at him as he puts the tablet with their drinks on the table and slides into the booth opposite of them.
“First,” he says, “Cheers to our birthday girl.”
They clink their glasses and fall into easy conversation about the award ceremony and the other nominees. Soon enough they have another round of drinks and a big plate of fries in front of them.
“Obviously you would be in Silo,” Karolina says while gesturing passionately at Rhea.
Somehow they started discussing which shows they’d like to act in and it spiralled to them assigning each other roles to play.
“A brooding blonde with ripped arms, who is also trying to save the world?”
Karolina reaches out to grip Rhea’s upper arm as if to further prove her point. “It’s basically written for you.”
Rhea blushes and shrugs, trying not to think about the warmth of Karolina’s hand radiating onto her bare skin.
“You should totally get the tattoos she has,” Samba jokes.
At the same time, Karolina places the hand that she had wrapped around her biceps onto her thigh.
She forgets how to breathe and suddenly she’s coughing, whiskey stuck in her throat.
Karolina squeezed her thigh, which Rhea is sure is meant to be comforting but only leads to her getting even less air into her lungs.
“Fuck,” she croaks once she has gotten a hold of herself.
“I guess the tattoo is a bad idea then,” Samba says with a grin before he barely stifles a yawn.
“One last round before we call it a night?” he offers.
They both nod. When he leaves for the bar, Rhea slowly turns to Karolina.
“Are you trying to kill me?” she asks in a half whisper.
“Sitting next to you when you look like this,” Karolina pauses and drags her eyes over Rhea’s body, from her arms, to her cleavage and then to her lips, “– it’s torture.”
Rhea immediately feels the need to cross her legs when she hears how low Karolina’s voice drops at the last part. Only that she doesn't think about the consequences of her actions and now Karolina’s hand is squeezed in between her thighs.
She slowly moves to meet Karolina’s gaze and is met with dark pupils; a hungry look is painted across the younger woman’s face.
Karolina leans in, inching closer and closer until her lips are pressed against Rhea’s ear.
“Now who’s trying to kill whom?”
Karolina’s hand moves in between her thighs, finding space to move even though Rhea is clenching them together in a desperate attempt to stop any further actions that would make her moan out loud in a very crowded bar.
“You need to–,”
The sound of glasses hitting the table makes her whip her head around way too quickly.
“Here you go, ladies,” Samba says and slides into the booth across from them again.
Rhea unclenches her thighs and slowly settles her legs next to each other, but Karolina doesn’t remove her hand.
“One last time,” Samba announces from across the table. “To the birthday girl!”
Rhea lifts her glass with a shaky hand, the liquid spilling over the rim as she tries her best to keep a steady grip.
“It’s past midnight,” Karolina notes, a teasing tone to her voice. Yet she clinks her glass against theirs and they all take a big sip.
The liquid hits her throat. Something is off.
“You got me water?” Rhea sputters.
“The fact that you only noticed now proves why I was right not giving you another whiskey.”
Rhea sighs. “You’re so annoying.” She rolls her eyes. “And wrong,” she adds. “I’m perfectly sober.”
Suddenly, Karolina gives her thigh a squeeze.
“Are you sure?” she asks. “We wouldn’t want you to be too drunk.”
“Why not?” Samba chimes in. “Any big plans?”
The hand on her thigh feels hot and heavy. She squirms and tries to readjust her dress, but it ends up with Karolina sliding her hand even higher up her thigh.
Samba is looking at her, a mix of confusion and amusement on his face. He must think she’s absolutely shitfaced.
She’ll happily let him believe it.
She opens her mouth just as Karolina's hand slides up even higher.
“I wanted to go on a run tomorrow morning,” Rhea presses out, nearly choking on the words.
The dress is too tight for Karolina to truly touch her anywhere indecent, but her fingers are drawing circles over the fabric and Rhea cannot stop thinking about where else she could be doing these movements.
“Then you should definitely drink some water,” Samba says, oblivious to the five stages of gay panic Rhea is going through.
“Or sleep in and make it an evening run,” Karolina suggests with a glint in her eyes. “Nothing like ending the day with some good ol’ cardio, right?”
Rhea needs to kiss the smug smirk off her lips.
“Good luck with that,” Samba chuckles before he lets out a loud yawn and looks around the bar. “Do you wanna split an uber home?”
Rhea throws a glance at Karolina, who shrugs noncommittedly. “I might meet up with some old friends,” she hums. “Celebrate some more.”
They both turn to Rhea, looking at her expectantly.
“Graham is picking me up,” she quickly says. “I texted him when you got the last round.”
It’s a straight up lie. Graham is at home and doesn’t expect her to be back tonight.
“He can drive you if we’re going in the same direction,” she even offers to Karolina, who hopefully sees right through her lie.
“That would be amazing,” her co-star agrees easily, eyes boring into hers.
She removes the hand from her thigh and Rhea immediately feels the absence.
She gets the hint though, and quickly moves to get up so Karolina can climb out of the booth. Now that they are standing next to each other, Rhea once again realizes just how tall the other woman is.
Samba moves towards them and opens his arms for a hug.
“It was an honor to spend your birthday with you,” he says to Karolina as they part.
After another hug for Rhea and promises to see each other soon for the next awards ceremony, Samba leaves to find his uber.
For a second, they just stand next to the booth. Karolina is towering over her, looking radiant and way too stunning in the low light of the bar. With their height difference, Rhea gets a perfect look at Karolina’s cleavage.
“I got a hotel room,” Karolina cuts through the silence. It’s not a question.
“Let’s go then, birthday girl.”
Their uber arrives within minutes and luckily the hotel isn’t far. There’s loads of space between the two of them in the backseat and it takes everything in her power to keep it that way. But she knows she definitely needs to avoid any blind items about an actress starring in a recently critically acclaimed Apple TV show getting way too drunk (again) and being way too touchy with her co-star (again).
She tips the driver and stumbles out of the car. Karolina is already waiting on the sidewalk, ready to steady her.
“I can’t wait to take these fucking shoes off,” Rhea mutters.
Karolina leans over so she can bend down and whisper into Rhea’s ear. “Not just the shoes, I hope.”
She wills for her legs to keep moving as she sucks in a deep breath.
They hurry through the lobby in silence. Karolina seems to have picked a hotel that’s nice enough but not too fancy for paparazzi to linger around.
They enter the elevator in silence. Just as the door is about to close, an older lady hurries in.
The way up is filled with a tense anticipation lingering in the air. They don’t talk; there’s nothing to discuss that wouldn't absolutely traumatise the poor woman next to them.
The hallway feels endless. Rhea trails after Karolina, admiring her long legs and the flowy cape draped around her shoulders. When she stops, Rhea nearly crashes into her.
“In a hurry?” Karolina teases.
Just when Rhea wants to reply, the beep of the keycard signals that they can finally enter the hotel room.
Karolina barely takes time to put the card in the keycard switch. Rhea’s back is pressed against the door as Karolina reaches for the light switch, turning off the overhead light and painting the room in darkness. There’s enough light coming from the window to still make out Karolina’s features.
Rhea moves forward quickly, her chest pressed against Karolina’s. It’s silent aside from the slight hum of the AC and their quick breaths.
For a second, all she can do is look up at Karolina. Finally, she can take her in without worrying whether her feelings will be written all over her face for everyone to read.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” she says and it comes out a little bit angry.
Karolina laughs and Rhea wants to get lost in the twinkle of her eyes.
“Are you just gonna stare at me?”
“Maybe,” Rhea smirks.
She leans in closer, her nose nearly touching her neck as she breathes in Karolina’s scent – her usual perfume, hair spray and something that is uniquely Karolina; a familiar smell she would recognise anywhere.
“Take off your shoes,” Rhea says, voice surprisingly steady.
“Yes, boss,” Karolina jokes and Rhea tries to ignore the slight shiver the words send down her spine.
With Rhea still wearing her heels, they’re almost at eye level now. She slowly reaches out and touches Karolina’s cheek before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Happy birthday, beautiful,” she whispers.
And then she finally closes the gap between them.
Karolina’s response is immediate. Their lips have barely touched when she all but rips at the fabric of Rhea’s dress, pulling her as close as humanly possible.
Their mouths move against each other and it doesn’t take long until they both moan out loud; a moment Karolina immediately uses to slide her tongue into Rhea’s mouth.
Rhea’s next moan is louder, way too filthy for the short amount of time they have been kissing. With anyone else she’d be embarrassed, but Karolina is already grinding against nothing so she knows she’s not the only one who’s desperate.
She turns around, presses Karolina against the door and blindly tries to reach underneath her dress to pull up the fabric. She gets distracted by Karolina biting down on her lower lip, a pathetic whimper escaping her throat at the sensation.
Finally, she’s able to lift the fabric of Karolina’s dress and bunches it up around her waist.
Greedy hands make their way down Karolina’s thighs, before she grips her ass and lifts her up. The brunette’s back hits the door; an action that is accompanied by a low, needy moan.
“Bed,” Karolina pants.
And who is Rhea to say no to the birthday girl?
She kicks off her shoes and makes sure she has a secure grip on the back of Karolina’s thighs before she lifts her up in the air. She turns them both around, slowly walking towards the bed in the middle of the room.
She gently sits Karolina down at the edge, a tiny responsible voice in the back of her mind reminding her that they are both wearing expensive designer dresses they need to return at some point.
She pulls away to unzip her dress but a hand on her wrist stops her in her movements.
“You’re so–,” Karolina starts, but stops herself.
She leans forward and rakes her nails over Rhea’s upper arms. Rhea flexes her biceps just because she can.
“Fuck,” Karolina sighs, a dreamy look on her face.
Rhea cannot help but smirk. Having a woman who used to be a literal fucking model seated on a bed in front of her, wanting her so much she’s at loss for words? Yeah, that does wonders for her ego.
“Your dress,” Rhea says.
Karolina looks back at her in confusion until realization settles in.
She gets up slowly, ignoring the lack of space between them as she towers over Rhea again.
Her heartbeat quickens when Karolina slowly drags her eyes from Rhea’s lips to her neck.
“Turn around,” Karolina commands in a low voice and Rhea obliges before she has even processed the words.
A chuckle sounds from behind her.
“What?” she asks, moving from one leg to another. Just when she is about to turn her head, she feels a warm breath against her neck.
“I’ll get to unwrap another birthday present after all,” Karolina manages to say dryly.
A chuckle escapes Rhea’s lips. “That’s so corny,” she groans.
She finally turns her head around, instantly meeting dark brown eyes with blown pupils.
“So you don’t want me to unwrap you?” Karolina pouts.
“I never said that–,”
Rhea trails off when she feels a hand move to the zipper of her dress, slowly tugging it down.
The fabric hasn’t even reached the ground when she feels hungry hands on her skin, moving from her back to her ribcage and then closing in around her breasts.
She sucks in a breath, helplessly moving against Karolina.
She tries to turn around. “Let me–,”
Karolina’s grip is stronger than expected, stopping her in her tracks immediately.
“No.”
As if to emphasize her statement, Karolina moves one hand to her throat and one to her lower stomach.
Rhea involuntarily parts her legs, her body reacting to the familiar touch and acting on muscle memory.
Karolina chuckles.
She feels herself growing even more wet at the sound.
“No?” Rhea mocks, breathlessly and not convincing at all.
“It’s my birthday right?” Karolina asks and Rhea nods, further leaning into the hand placed loosely around her throat.
“So I get to do what I want,” Karolina continues, voice sweet and gentle. “And what I want is to fuck you against that window.”
The whimper that escapes Rhea’s throat surprises them both. It’s needy and pathetic and she would be embarrassed if she wasn’t so turned on by this. Most times whenever either of them display power over the other, it’s usually her being the one in control. This switch up is unexpected and way too fucking hot.
Karolina tugs at her underwear and Rhea quickly kicks it off, leaving it on the floor.
Once Rhea is standing upright again, Karolina gently pushes her in the direction of the window. When she takes the first step, Rhea realizes she’s way more turned on than she thought – which is a miracle because she has been horny the entire time at the bar as well.
Her legs are shaking and her thighs stick together when she takes a step forward, nearly tripping over herself in the process.
But Karolina has moved an arm around her wrist, holding her upright with a strong grip.
She pushes her against the window, which faces some unoccupied office buildings. With the lights in their room turned off, there’s no chance anybody could make out more than blurry silhouettes.
“Hands up, baby,” Karolina whispers in her ear.
She’s positioned directly behind her and Rhea can feel the fabric of Karolina’s dress stick to the skin of her bare back.
She slowly lifts her hands and Karolina takes her wrists, placing her hands against the glass.
“Good,” Karolina tells her, voice low and sultry.
Rhea whines, grinding against the woman behind her in desperate search of friction.
“Can you open your legs for me?”
Rhea complies immediately, hissing at the cold air hitting her wet folds.
Karolina finally moves, pressing open mouthed kisses to her neck. Her hand moves up to smooth some of Rhea’s tousled hair out of the way, before settling on her throat and slowly guiding Rhea’s head to look back at her.
When their eyes lock, she moves her other hand down Rhea’s body.
Karolina is gripping her shoulders, humming at the muscle she finds, before trailing lower and lower until she settles on her ass.
“You looked great in that dress,” she says. “Even better out of it.”
Before Rhea has a chance to reply, Karolina’s hand moves further down.
She needs to crouch down the tiniest bit and Rhea is about to make a joke about her being so goddamn tall when, without any warning, Karolina swipes through her folds.
They moan in unison, the sounds mixing and bouncing off the walls of the hotel room..
“You’re drenched,” Karolina realises, voice breathless.
“Since you touched me at the bar,” Rhea admits in a shaky voice. “Actually, probably since I saw you in that dress.”
Karolina hums in response.
The hand between Rhea’s legs is gone and suddenly Karolina is holding three fingers in front of her lips.
Rhea leans forward and takes them into her mouth without hesitation. She doesn’t break eye contact as her tongue swirls around the long digits, tasting herself on Karolina’s skin.
Karolina’s face is flushed; even in darkness Rhea can make out the blush coloring her cheeks. Her eyes flick from Rhea’s mouth to her eyes and back. She starts moving her fingers to a rhythm and Rhea adjusts seamlessly to the pace set by the other woman.
“Fuck,” Karolina says as she stares at Rhea.
“You’re doing so well,” she praises and pulls her glistening fingers from Rhea’s mouth,
Before Rhea can form any coherent reply, two fingers are pushing at her entrance. A guttural moan spills from her throat.
“Want me to fuck you?” Karolina asks, as if Rhea’s drenched folds and pathetic whimpering and grinding didn’t answer her question.
“Yeah,” Rhea replies, breathlessly.
She braces herself against the glass.
“Yeah?” Karolina teases.
She whines, ready to squirm and beg before suddenly, Karolina’s hand surges forward.
Rhea moans, barely adjusting to the sensation of Karolina’s long fingers inside of her when Karolina starts moving, setting a quick, punishing pace.
Rhea’s mouth falls open and her head rolls back against Karolina’s neck. Whimpers are spilling from her mouth and with every movement from Karolina she cuts herself off with another, even louder moan.
She wants, needs more friction, so she pushes back against Karolina, desperately trying to take more of her fingers.
Karolina moves down a bit again, angling her hand before pushing back into Rhea with three fingers.
“Fuck,” is all Rhea gets out. “I–”
Karolina moans. “You’re so wet,” she groans. She lets Rhea move back and forth, grinding to take her fingers until she reaches her knuckles.
“You’re dripping all over my hand.”
Rhea feels tears forming in her eyes. The stretch inside of her feels so fucking good. Karolina’s fingers are hitting just the right spot and the hand loosely wrapped around her throat radiates just the right amount of pressure to make her feel the tiniest bit light-headed.
“You’re taking me so well,” Karolina mumbles, voice lower than usual. “I want you to come on my fingers.”
Rhea whines, increasing her movements. The sounds coming from in between them are obscene, turning her on even more.
“Touch yourself,” Karolina commands. “I want to feel you come for me.”
Rhea lowers her arm in record time, placing a finger on her clit.
She barely makes contact and suddenly, she’s coming. The embarrassingly quick orgasm surprises her as she feels herself clenching around Karolina’s fingers. Karolina doesn't stop her movements, still pumping into her while Rhea is shaking against the glass.
It’s only when she comes down from her high that Karolina slows down, kissing and biting onto her neck before pulling out.
“Fuck,” Rhea says very eloquently.
Karolina is behind her, holding her waist and steadying her as she turns around.
She’s met with a hungry look, a mixture of satisfaction and adoration and a whole lot of desire.
“Bed?” she suggests breathlessly.
“Bed,” Karolina agrees.