Chapter Five: Hatred and Need

It was no secret that I enjoyed Aerie's skills in the bedroom. We fucked for hours. By the time we were done, we were hungry, tired and very much satisfied. My pussy felt electric with the aftershocks of satisfaction.

After a sexual encounter, I felt nothing but content. However, guilt was puddling in my stomach from the moment Aerie left. It's because Aerie is also Amara's friend and because for us to get along, we were making each other cum.

Absentmindedly I wipe my mouth, remembering how Aerie had cum and bucked her hips, her body shuddering. She was beautiful, with her black hair a mess. Her skin was flushed. The moans and pants that left her mouth flared heat under my skin.

I won't lie. Aerie is sexy and has the most delicious long legs. I could fully appreciate the beauty and sexual prowess, but her personality outside the bedroom is a cesspit. Shaking my head, I wander towards the bedroom window, my legs feeling like jelly. In the bedroom Aerie's smug attitude did something to me, like pouring fuel on the fire. Her eyes would only have to glimmer at me for my body to react.

Perhaps, I think sourly, I've fucked up.

Outside the sky is grey and horrendously British. I consider calling Amara to apologise but find myself unable to do it. I'm still resentful and embarrassed that she threw me out. Besides, I have a house to unpack.

"I'll start here," I mused to myself, ignoring the tightness in my body, "I'll have to make a start somewhere."

My bedroom is, for lack of a better word, quaint. The floorboards creaked something wicked, and the wallpaper was slowly peeling from the walls. The remaining wallpaper appeared in patches of colour, green, and the large bay window had a small wooden built-in bench, which I was excited to do up and make into a small reading nook. The air is lofty, smelling of old tales from a past long ago. Ideally, I should decorate before unpacking, but I lack the money and resources to do so right now. I can live by basic terms for now.

It's dark by the time I've unpacked the necessities. The maintenance men had gone long ago, and I was tired. Memories of earlier sped through my head, fast and dangerous. Aerie had disappeared like I had wanted her to, but my body longed for her touch as I lay on my bed. One glorious sex session and I'm hooked.

There's a banging, jarring me from my rest. It sounds like the front door, though I'm not expecting anyone tonight. I travel through the dark and empty house and pause at the door. I see a shape through the glass, and it looks like Amara. Opening the door slowly, I take in her grim expression.

"You didn't answer my calls," she says flatly, her brown eyes stern.

I shrug.

"You threw me out your house," I counter.

"You were rude and embarrassed me," Amara huffs, crossing her arms, "In my new home, uncalled for."

I feel my hackles rise.

"You chose her over me," I say simply, "For the hundredth time. I may have been absent a lot because I was working, but you wouldn't try to have fun or make time for me. You would just run off to Aerie with all the money, and I'm forgotten."

The anger in her eyes stilled and slowly died.

"I didn't realise you felt that way."

I shrugged.

"I know. It's hard to admit you're jealous that your friend is having fun with someone else."

We stand awkwardly, unsure how to proceed. I opt for humour.

"Doesn't help that Aerie has the personality of a dying squid."

She laughs, though it's a sad sound.

"She's not all bad. She can be hostile, sassy and rather bold, but she was looking forward to meeting you. She said it herself. Aerie was excited to see the person I kept telling her about. She went as far as to book a table at a nice restaurant for us all to celebrate when the shop opens next week."

I feel my nose wrinkle, a habit of mine when I'm hiding something. Amara notices.

"I can't afford a fancy restaurant meal," I say quickly, trying to move on, "I don't have the money to splash around. She really ought to have asked first. She's a little presumptuous."

Amara sighs.

"Aerie likes to treat her friends. She has her reasons," she told me, and then fixed me with a look, "And what are you hiding, Cora?"

My nose wrinkles again, and I swear. I can't exactly tell her that Aerie, the friend in question, had her head buried in my pussy earlier this very day and that her tongue did magical things that no one had ever done to me before. I can feel the heat in my face rise at the memory, and Amara studies me with scrutiny, her eyes blazing over my face.

"She came over didn't she?"

I reel at the question.

"I knew it. She said she would come over to make amends. I told her you loved vintage corset design and she said she was going to give you some patterns for them," Amara said, looking thoughtful, "Did she?"

My mind raced. I never saw any patterns. I never heard her mention anything like a gift. All I know is I wanted her out, I swatted a broom at her, and then I got horny and we fucked. I'm a simple creature.

"I...er..." my mind went blank, and upon hearing the front garden gate open, we both turned to see Aerie, "She...has them right now."

Aerie had the patterns in her hand in a clean large envelope with illustrative corset imagery on the front. She blinked at the two of us, and her eyes darkened as they fell on me. I felt naked as her eyes ate at me. It was almost as if she sent fire straight to my pussy. Swallowing, I force a smile.

"Aerie got worked up about apologising, so she forgot the patterns," I tell Amara, giving a small giggle, "Imagine trying to apologise and forgetting the bargaining tool."

Amara looked perplexed but didn't delve deeper, and Aerie fixed me with a heated look. I couldn't tell if it was anger or arousal. She had changed out of her attire from earlier into something suspiciously more revealing. Her black vest plunged to reveal cleavage, and she wore skintight jeans that her long legs strutted in. She glided towards us with militant brazenness, her lips curving into an enticing smile. Her smile alone made me hot and needy.

"She's right. I got flustered earlier. She chewed me out about it for a very, very long time. I was so tired by the end of it."

My eye twitched, and she laughed.

"I feel like something happened that I don't know about," Amara said warily, her eyes flickering between us, "Did something happen?"

Aerie laughed again when my face flamed at that question.

"No," she said joyfully, pushing the patterns into my hands, "It's just a private joke between Cora and me."

I stared at her, not having missed the way her hand had discreetly caressed mine under the envelope. It felt like a small message.

I want you.