“If you are going to look. You may as well join me,” she said, voice soft but clear. “You can wash my back.”
“You were such a dork,” Lexi said, grinning as she tossed her bag onto the hotel bed. “I thought you were going to pass out when she hugged you.”
Bill rolled his eyes and shut the door behind them, letting the soft click echo through the quiet room. “She’s the lead engineer on the Arkana Station. It’s not just a hug, it’s history.”
“Yeah, sure. History with a tight dress and a body built to violate space-time.” Lexi dropped onto the bed, kicked off her shoes, and tugged her black hair free from its clip, letting it tumble over her shoulders. She smirked. “You’d totally sleep with her.”
Bill laughed, heading toward the window and pulling the curtain aside to look at the view. Just another row of hotels and parking lots.
“Okay, fine,” he said. “If she begged, I might make time in my schedule.”
Lexi snorted. “So generous.”
“Says the woman who practically melted when that guy at the burger stand called her ‘gorgeous.’”
She sat up, mock offended, hand to her chest. “I did not melt.”
“Lex, you gave him your name.”
“He asked!”
“You flirted back.”
“I smiled!” She paused, then added smugly, “And we got our fries for free, didn’t we?”
Bill couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you’d have gotten them free even if I wasn’t there. You had him hypnotized.”
Lexi leaned back on her elbows, looking pleased. “That’s not my fault. I radiate main-character energy.”
Bill turned and looked at her, still wearing her con shirt, sleeves rolled up, legs curled under her. Her cheeks were flushed from the sun and the crowd, and her blue eyes sparkled with leftover adrenaline and joy.
“Yeah,” he said softly, almost to himself. “You kinda do. I can’t believe Dorian Chase is gonna be there tomorrow,” he said. “He’s even doing a Q&A. I’m bringing my replica blaster this time, might finally get it signed.”
Lexi leaned forward with a gleam in her eye. “Mmm. Dorian Chase. That man aged like whiskey.” She grinned wickedly. “I loved his nude scene in Void Colony: Redemption.”
Bill choked slightly on his soda. “Oh, come on. You only watch those movies for the shirtless, muscled space captains.”
She shrugged, unrepentant. “Not only,” she said, but her cheeks flushed just enough to make him smirk.
Then she stood and stretched with a groan, arms reaching high above her head, back arching slightly. Her t-shirt, already low-cut from a stylishly lazy con design, tugged up just enough to expose a hint of smooth stomach. Bill glanced over before he could stop himself. God, she looked good.
The way her breasts lifted under the thin fabric, the curve of her waist, how naturally sexy she was without trying. He tried to look away, but part of him wanted to freeze the image. Her body was a masterclass in soft temptation, and the fact that she was his best friend only made it more complicated.
Lexi dropped her arms and sighed contentedly. “Okay. I’m gross. I need a shower before I start sticking to the sheets.”
“Dibs after you,” Bill said, raising his soda in salute.
She smirked and turned toward the bathroom, tossing over her shoulder, “I’ll try not to use all the hot water… but no promises.”
As she disappeared behind the door, she mumbled something under her breath, too quiet for him to catch.
He blinked. “What?”
“Nothing!” she called back brightly, and the sound of the shower starting up followed a moment later.
Bill shook his head and smiled, sipping his drink again. He was trying not to think too hard about how good she’d looked stretching in front of him… or how much of her silhouette that thin t-shirt had given away.
Bill flicked through the channels until he found some late-night sci-fi rerun, Galaxy Patrol, maybe. The kind of show they used to binge during high school sleepovers. He watched for a while, but the characters began to blur together. His mind wasn’t on the screen. He kept glancing at the closed bathroom door.
You can fly across the country with her, stay in the same hotel room, joke about who’s hot and who’s not, but you can’t even ask her on a date.
His stomach turned, soda fizzing in his chest. Lexi had always been easy to talk to, easy to laugh with. She was his safe place, his best friend. The idea of telling her how he really felt, that he’d been in love with her for years. It felt impossible, like stepping out of an airlock without a tether.
You’re such a coward.
He finished the soda, the can now lukewarm and clutched too tightly in his hand. As he tossed it in the trash, he felt a sudden pressure in his bladder. Damn. He hesitated, then walked up to the bathroom door and knocked lightly.
“Lexi?”
The water kept running. Steam curled from under the door.
“Yeah?” she called, voice faint through the hiss of the shower.
“I, uh… kinda really need to pee.”
A pause. Then, casually, “Just come in. I don’t care.”
His heart skipped, then pounded hard in his chest. He hesitated, hand on the doorknob. Part of him thought about pretending he could hold it. But his bladder disagreed. With a breath, he opened the door.
The heat hit him first, thick and wet, curling against his skin and fogging his glasses. The bathroom was full of steam, every surface glistening. The mirror was completely fogged over. Her clothes were in a loose pile on the counter. He did his best to ignore her red bra and thong on the top of the pile. Her towel was still folded.
Bill forced himself to keep his eyes down as he stepped inside, heading for the toilet. The sound of the shower filled the room, somehow louder in person, intimate. He could see the vague outline of her body through the frosted glass door. Just a silhouette. But it was her. Naked. Wet. Inches away.
He stared hard at the tile in front of him, jaw clenched, trying to will himself not to look. Not to even imagine. But it was impossible not to feel her presence. The thought of Lexi’s bare skin slick with water, hair plastered down her back. Her arms gliding over her curves as she washed, it flooded his brain like a power surge.
His hands trembled slightly as he unzipped. His chest was tight.
You’re peeing. That’s all you’re doing. She’s your best friend. Naked. In the same room. Right behind you. Jesus. He swallowed hard, the sound of the shower masking everything but the loud thump of his own heartbeat. Bill zipped up slowly, pulse still hammering in his throat. He exhaled a shaky breath, trying to regain some composure. He heard the soft creak of glass sliding open.
He turned instinctively. Lexi’s top half leaned out of the shower, her arm stretching toward the folded washcloth on the counter. Steam clung to her skin, curling around her like a veil. Wet. Bare. Beautiful. His breath caught in his throat.
Beads of water trailed from her throat, gliding over the soft slope of her chest. Her breasts were perfect, not large, but perfectly shaped, high and perky, tipped with small pink nipples that hardened slightly in the cooler air beyond the steam. Water dripped from them as she moved, catching the light like tiny stars sliding down her skin.
Her arm lowered slowly, washcloth in hand, and then she looked up. She caught him staring. Her cheeks flushed instantly, deep and crimson, but she didn’t flinch or hide. Instead, she gave him a shy, nervous smile that nearly unraveled him.
“If you are going to look. You may as well join me,” she said, voice soft but clear. “You can wash my back.”
Then she slid the door open all the way. Bill forgot how to think. Her entire body stood before him, glistening, naked. Steam curled around her like a halo. His eyes dipped against his will, taking in the graceful line of her waist, the smooth curve of her hips. The delicate mound between her legs, clean-shaven, soft, utterly exposed.
He tried not to stare. God, he tried. But his chest ached with everything he was feeling. The years of wanting her, loving her, dreaming of her. And now she was inviting him in. Letting him see her. Trusting him with this. His throat was dry.
“Y-yeah,” he managed. “Sure.”
He stepped forward automatically, heart about to beat out of his chest. But then Lexi raised a wet hand and gently placed it on his chest, stopping him. Her touch was warm and slick, and he froze under it. She tilted her head and smiled. She was amused, impossibly gorgeous.
“You forget something?”
Bill blinked at her, genuinely confused. “What?”
She giggled. That sound melted his heart and hardened his cock. She flicked her eyes down at him.
“You’re still dressed, genius.”
Oh. Right.
He looked down and flushed, clumsy fingers suddenly all thumbs as he reached for the hem of his shirt. She didn’t look away. Her gaze followed his movements with clear appreciation.
Bill stripped awkwardly, nervous under her eyes, but the admiration in her face steadied him. When he finally stepped out of his boxers and stood bare before her, her smile softened into something quieter… something deeper. No teasing. No sarcasm. Just Lexi… looking at him like she saw everything.
And wanted it.
He stepped forward, into the shower, into the heat of her body and the steam around them. Lexi handed him the bottle of body wash and the folded washcloth with a teasing lift of her brow.
“Wash my back?” she said softly, then turned away and pulled her hair over one shoulder to give him full access. Bill squeezed the soap onto the cloth, trying not to look too eager. His hands were trembling slightly as he stepped closer. He started at her shoulders. The cloth glides in slow, gentle circles. Her skin was hot and slick, impossibly smooth beneath his touch. The water coursing down from the showerhead above streamed over her collarbone. It cascaded down the elegant slope of her back, carving soft rivers over her curves.
He tried to focus, to keep his eyes on what he was doing. However, the way she kept glancing at him over her shoulder, with that unreadable, soft little smile, kept catching him off guard. It wasn’t teasing exactly… more like she was trying to say something without speaking. His hands drifted lower, cloth sliding down her spine toward her lower back. He hesitated when he reached the gentle flare of her hips. The curve of her ass was so close now. God, he wanted to touch her with his bare hands. Not just to grope her, but to feel her, to memorize every inch of her body like a sacred secret he’d waited years to learn.
“I, uh… I think I’m done,” he mumbled, clearing his throat.
Lexi looked over her shoulder again, this time raising a brow.
“You skipped my butt. And my legs.”
His heart gave a guilty thump. “Right. Yeah. Sorry.”
He started with her butt, moving the washcloth in slow, respectful circles over each cheek. The sensation was almost unbearable. Every inch of contact sent a pulse straight through his body, and he had to keep adjusting his stance to avoid poking her with how hard he was. But she didn’t laugh or make a joke. She just let him do it, standing still, breathing softly beneath the sound of the shower.
Then he crouched, moving down to her thighs and calves. As he reached around the back of her legs, the angle shifted. He caught a glimpse through the space between her thighs. Her slit. Water beading up then falling from it. Soft, glistening, perfect.
He froze for half a second, breath caught in his throat, before quickly turning his attention to her ankle, forcing his hands to move with steady intent. She turned just before he stood up, stepping carefully so the water ran down her front in graceful arcs. It sheeted over her breasts, down her belly, between her thighs. Watching the water slide over her body was like watching a painting come to life. Fluid and sensual and heartbreakingly beautiful.
“My front, too,” she said, voice light but quiet.
He nodded, unable to speak, and crouched again. Starting from the bottom this time. Her vagina was eye-level. He kept his touch soft, respectful, gliding the soapy cloth along her inner thighs and across her pelvis without lingering. But the intimacy of it flooded his chest with warmth and need. He rose slowly, washing her belly, her sides… then finally, his hand paused just beneath the swell of her breasts.
He looked up. Lexi’s eyes met his, wide, steady, trusting.
He slid the cloth up and over her breasts. They were small and firm, perfect in his hands. Her nipples tightened beneath the water and soap as he worked in gentle, reverent motions. His heart felt too big for his chest.
She was letting him touch her like this. Not because she was teasing or drunk or being playful, but because she wanted him to. He didn’t know how much longer he could go without kissing her. Lexi reached out and gently took the washcloth from his hand.
“Your turn,” she said, her voice soft but certain. “Step under.”
Bill nodded mutely and shifted under the stream, facing away from her. The warm water flowed over him in thick sheets, washing away the leftover suds from his hands and chest. He stood with his eyes closed, trying to catch his breath, heart still pounding from having just touched her. Then he felt her behind him.
Lexi’s hands moved with patient ease, rubbing gentle circles across his back. She started at his shoulders, pressing firmly, the cloth slipping in smooth lines along his skin. When she reached his lower back, she didn’t pause like he had. She glided the washcloth over his butt, slow and deliberate. Her hands were smaller than his, soft and slick with soap and steam. He tried not to shudder under her touch. She gave his right cheek a sudden, playful squeeze. He let out a startled laugh.
“You’ve been staring at mine all night,” she murmured behind him, teasing but kind.
"What?" He asked thickly.
"My butt. I know you were looking." She washed his thighs and calves, her touch never hurried. When she finally said, “Turn around,” he hesitated, just for a second, then obeyed. His cock was standing hard and heavy between them, a clear display of just how much he wanted her. And he nearly hit her in the face with it. Lexi blinked in surprise, then let out a giggle that was pure musical delight.
“Well, this might be a problem,” she said, biting her lip.
He flushed deep red. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
Before he could finish, her hand curled gently around his shaft, the other braced on his hip for balance. Then, with a single, fluid motion, she took him into her mouth. Bill froze, breath gone, mind blank.
Her lips were warm and wet, her tongue gliding smoothly along the underside of his cock as she moved. He gripped the wall for support, knees weak under the flood of sensation. He was overwhelmed. Every stroke of her tongue sent sparks up his spine, pleasure so intense it bordered on unreal. Lexi. His best friend. The girl he’d quietly loved for years. Sucking him off.
He looked down and saw her eyes lifted toward him. Soft, steady, reassuring. She wasn’t rushing. She was there, fully present, giving him this not as a joke, not as some heat-of-the-moment fling. She was showing affection for him that he didn't know existed. He moaned softly, a helpless sound. His hands trembled. Her lips tightened around him, and she sucked deeper, swirling her tongue, never breaking eye contact. He couldn’t last.
“Lexi, I—I’m gonna—”
She didn’t pull away. His climax hit like lightning. He gasped, hips twitching forward as she held him steady, swallowing him in long, slow pulses. Her throat moved gently around him, her hands caressing his sides as he came undone in her mouth. When it was over, she sat back on her heels. Lips wet and eyes glowing with warmth. A tiny smile curved her mouth as she wiped cum from the corner with her thumb.
“You’ve done that before,” he said breathlessly, still trying to believe it had happened.
She gave a soft shrug. “I’m not a virgin.”
He nodded slowly, chest still rising and falling.
“I am,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.
Lexi blinked, not in shock or judgment, but with something close to wonder. Then she smiled again. And it made his heart feel like it might burst. She stood and leaned in close, brushing her fingers along his cheek, then down his chest.
“Then let me change that,” she whispered.
His heart soared. Joy, disbelief, and aching need all tangled in his chest. Until the thought struck him like a slap. His face fell.
“I... I can’t,” he said, voice trembling. Lexi froze. The happiness in her eyes drained as quickly as the blood from her face.
“Oh,” she said quietly, stepping back a little, arms folding around herself. “Why not?” Her voice cracked at the edges, the beginnings of tears rising behind it.
Bill took a breath, chest tight, heart pounding. “Because... I can’t do it until you know how I feel.” Her eyes met his, wide and uncertain. “I’ve been in love with you since we were kids, Lex,” he said. “Before I even knew what love was. I didn’t say anything because I was scared. Scared you’d laugh, or not feel the same, or that I’d lose you.” Lexi looked down, then slowly away, and for a moment, he thought she was going to cry.
“I knew,” she said softly.
Bill blinked. “You... did?”
She nodded. “I waited. I waited so long for you to say something. But you never did. And after a while, I thought maybe you didn’t feel that way after all.” She sighed, water dripping from her hair, running in rivulets over her bare skin. “I tried dating other guys. But they could tell. They all knew my heart wasn’t really with them.”
She looked small and fragile. He hated himself for making her feel that way. Then she looked at him, really looked, and the years of tension, friendship, unspoken desire all folded into that single, electric moment.
“I’m in love with you, too,” she said.
He didn’t even feel himself lean in. It just happened that their lips met in a kiss that was years overdue. It was warm and wet and needy, an open-mouthed collision of want and emotion. He tasted the faint salty trace of cum on her lips and felt his cock twitch, hard again, aching for her.
Lexi lifted one leg and hooked it around his hip. The movement sent water cascading down her thigh and across his stomach. He wrapped his arm under it, hand gripping her firm, slick ass as she raised her other leg, wrapping herself around him completely.
Their eyes stayed locked. She reached between them and gently guided his cock to her entrance. Her fingers felt almost reverent as she aligned him. He could feel her heat even through the rush of water between their bodies, and when she pressed the head of his cock inside her, he almost came from that alone.
Lexi moaned as he pushed into her, slow and careful. Her body was so hot, so tight around him. The water added a slippery rhythm as he began to move. The sensation overwhelmed him.
The soft slide of her skin against his, the pounding of the water against his back, her fingernails digging into his shoulders, and most of all, the look in her eyes.
She kissed him again, messier this time. Open-mouthed, tongues brushing, their moans shared and swallowed. Her hips rolled in time with his thrusts, grinding against him, coaxing him deeper. He could feel the way her inner muscles fluttered around him as she got close, the slick pressure and rhythmic tension pulling him further and further toward the edge.
And then it happened. Her body tensed around him, her eyes going wide, a shudder tearing through her as she cried out against his lips. Her orgasm washed over him like the water pouring around their joined bodies. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He kept moving, making love to the woman he had adored for half his life. Pouring every unspoken word and every long-held feeling into each thrust, each kiss. They continued as the water began to cool.
Her second orgasm came suddenly, gripping him in waves, and that was too much. He groaned into her mouth, his whole body tightening as he came with her, thrusting deep and holding himself inside. The sensation of filling her made his heart swell and his vision blur.
Water beat around them, but in that moment, all he could feel was her. All he could hear was the sound of her breath, the beat of her heart against his chest, and the knowledge that finally, they were together.
Bill lowered Lexi slowly to her feet, the water cascading between their bodies. He felt the ache of leaving her warmth, already missing the perfect way they fit together. She curled into his chest, her cheek against his skin, lips brushing over his heart as she caught her breath.
“You were worth the wait,” she murmured, then added with a tired, teasing edge, “but I’m still mad at you for making me wait so long.”
He laughed, the sound quiet and full of wonder. “I haven’t even asked you out yet.”
Lexi tilted her head back, eyes gleaming with affection and mischief. She gave his chest a playful bite near his nipple, just enough to make him twitch in surprise, a jolt of heat darting through him.
“You don’t get to be the first to have me without a condom and not be my boyfriend,” she said, eyebrows raised.
His arms wrapped tighter around her as he leaned in, resting his forehead on the top of her wet hair, breathing in her scent. Loving the feel of her body against his.
“Then I’m your boyfriend,” he said. “Happily.”
She grinned, reached behind him, and turned off the water. “Good,” she said, stepping out of the shower and taking his cock in her hand with a cheeky smirk, her fingers curled gently around his softening length, guiding him after her. They dried each other with slow, reverent motions, every touch more tender than the last. When they left the bathroom, steam still curling behind them, Lexi led him toward the bed. She still held his cock as they moved near the bed. Once there, she turned to him, eyes warm and wicked all at once.
“There’s something I want to teach you,” she said softly.
Bill raised an eyebrow, enchanted. “What is it?”
She leaned in and whispered against his ear with a sultry grin, “Doggy style.”
His breath caught, and he burst out laughing. His body was already responding again. He nodded, his voice thick with affection and excitement.