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There had been no real way to determine how the night would go when she held the company of a relative stranger. A statement came off almost like a request, and Natalie kept her eye shut, forehead pressed against hers. It was far better than having to assume, and clever wording still put the decision in her hands. A heavy breath dusted her lips before she kissed them again.
"I'd like that," she replied finally, voice low to match the request. She let the words settle for a moment in the little space between them before she untangled her and from the mess of dark locks, traveling down to press her palm to the lawyer's shoulder, gentle pressure trying to ease her onto her back.
When Natalie did glance up, she caught sight of bright red hair, but the dancer was already on the move. Her silence was - frankly - a little surprising, but it was like she took the words Nat offered to heart. As she set her yoga mat down further away than she usually would otherwise, the trainer tucked a foot in, continuing with another stretch. But she watched, for a few moments.
"Hey," she greeted, finally. Her tone was light - friendly. Any strain that could have been influenced by the past couple of weeks was completely removed, replaced with a smile instead.
Pressed against an unfamiliar bed with an unfamiliar person, her heart raced with new intention. It wasn't a situation that the trainer would normally find herself in, but the confidence her counterpart carried gave a boost to her own. There was nothing to question or regret, each sound that passed her lips a reminder of that fact.
Hands kept a tight grip against the back she so desperately clung to, each breath burning her throat as she tried to ease the ache of her lungs. When she did finally find the means to let up her hold, fingertips traced up along her spine, eventually catching dark locks to draw them back and out from the sides of her face. Even if breathing was a struggle, it hadn't mattered. Natalie pressed her lips to her's again, having already missed the connection.
It'd been almost two weeks since she had made it to the yoga studio; it was almost a record for the woman that found meditation in the exercise. Yet with time came some sort of clarity - at least enough to return, knowing full well that the person she had avoided would more than likely be there as well. Her yoga mat was strapped and secured at her shoulder, a nalgene water bottle in her hand when she pushed open the door.
Empty. It wasn't a surprise, really. The trainer often showed up early to stretch before the session began - so she walked inside letting the door close behind her as she laid her mat down on the wooden floor and sat down. Legs were outstretched in front of her, and her back curved as she reached forward, fingers wrapping around the base of her feet. Already, it was a relief to be back in the place she had been frequenting. It brought a little bit of comfort.
And when the door opened, she didn't even spare the thought to look, instead focusing on the burning stretch behind her knees for another few moments before sitting up straight and glancing in the direction of the door.
From what she did gather from the space around her, was that it was minimalistic. Organized. Natalie doubted she would find an article on the floor, but it didn't prevent her from dropping the jacket as soon as she freed the lawyer from it. Hands returned to her form, making quick work of her blouse, failing to miss a beat as they made their way through another closed door. Every layer removed gave way to a form well appreciated beneath.
Despite the fast progression since meeting this woman, it felt absolutely right. Necessary, even. And when her own articles were reached for, Natalie made way to help draw them off, only to breach the distance again once she was free of them. Hands shifted down the length of her form slowly, and the trainer couldn't help but to look. She had to. Dark eyes took in details of the person in front of her, slowly traveling upward to catch her eyes.
All it took was the first unwavering breath and Natalie knew what was to come. In her line of work, it wasn't as uncommon as she'd like to see a student cry. A hand immediately put itself to back of Clarke's head, giving her the time to breathe and hopefully find some sort of comfort. The support she wished to help carry her friend through this was shared as Jodie moved closer, too.
When an apology came forth, Natalie immediately shook her head, squeezing Clarke's shoulders once she pulled away. She smiled warmly at her friend, her priorities turning to making sure she was okay over anything she could talk about. "It's okay, don't be sorry." Of course she wanted to talk about this big step her life had taken, but the distress her friend wore was hard to ignore.
She didn't bother with answering the questions asked of her, not when tears still flowed from her friend. "You just need to have a little faith in the people that care about you." Her tone didn't sound at all negative, instead trying to shine light on something that she could hopefully help with.
Though she hadn't known which way to turn, at the very least Natalie could offer the first step of some sort of movement, and it seemed to work. Momentum built up quickly, because suddenly she was being lead down the hallway, keys already out and ready to get them behind closed doors. She couldn't be more grateful for it. She followed willingly.
Inside, Nat felt the spark of curiosity to look around, but she couldn't manage much more of a glance before her attention became fully enveloped by the woman leading them into what she assumed was the bedroom. Only then did Natalie dare to let go of her hand, only in favor of curling her hands around the line of her jacket, slipping it off her shoulders.
There was a reaction from her friend and Natalie instantly caught sight of it. Clearly, she hit something when she implied she knew something was going on between Caleb and her. It forced the corner of her mouth to twitch upwards; they were both unique individuals. She wondered how a date between them would have gone.
Paintball forced another laugh out of the trainer, if only because she tried to imagine Caleb with any sort of gun in his hands, regardless of the type of ammunition. Though from her friend’s tone, it seemed to go over well. She wanted to ask more about it, but the subject started to shift, and she let Clarke continue without interruption.
It was a heavy confession, and any humor that could have been left in Natalie’s expression dissolved as Clarke dove into her childhood and the fears that came with unaffectionate parents. Immediately she pressed her hands to either side of the redhead’s face, leaning forward with her height giving an easy advantage to press a quick kiss to her hair. "You're my best friend," she pointed out. "You don't have to worry about that."
Slivers of contact burned across her skin with a sort of desperation, quick to escalate the heat searing in her lungs the moment she felt her tongue cross the path of her bottom lip. With the material of her shirt pulled out from its secure place, her hand tucked below the fabric, fingertips drawing out along the small of Teddy's back before her palm pressed against her skin completely just as she felt the slowing speed of the elevator as it reached the appropriate level.
Were that not enough of a reminder that she would need to find the strength to step away from this woman, a loud ping accompanied opening doors. Natalie's eyebrows lowered, nose crinkling as she kept her palm in place, just for a few moments longer. She offered another kiss, although this one not as drawn out as she wished before she stepped back towards the doors, hand secured like she could keep her close for the journey to her apartment.
As Clarke hugged her, Beau instantly jumped down off of the couch. Her hands wrapped around the DJ's waist, sitting up straight once she pulled away.
Natalie had to wonder why Clarke had become so affectionate over the past few minutes; it wasn't like the woman to be so physical, and as that was pointed out she couldn't help the light laugh that dropped from her lips. "I know." It was obvious, likely to anyone who ever met Clarke, let alone someone she'd known for years. But she wasn't going to let that stop her friend from whatever she had to say, now that they were branching out into new territory.
Her eyebrows quirked upwards, head tilting a little to the side. "Does this have anything to do with Caleb? You know I work with him." On her last conversation with her coworker, things were starting to develop, despite how she didn't offer the information to Natalie.
Space between them was short and brief, and when she felt the way the lawyer met her halfway for another kiss, it was another hit of assurance from the woman that instigated it - as if how they ended up there in the first place wasn't enough. Any thought to have to wait for the elevator to finish its climb to the eleventh floor was now a thought she didn't find concern in. The body pressed against her had her complete attention.
At the brush of fingertips against her skin shifted her pulse into a higher gear, a quick breath escaped her lips, forcing a break she didn't want but was quick to make up for the lost connection. Any sign to show that she didn't want her to stop.
It served as a sort of encouragement for her own, the hand at Teddy's back slipping beneath the hem of her jacket, fingers curling around the pressed fabric to untuck it.
A wide smile offered a bit of encouragement for Natalie to go on, and the subject of the lawyer had put a smile on her own lips. "She's so attentive," Nat explained, leaning back against the couch cushions. "And it's not like she's my girlfriend." That was still a new, fresh territory for someone that she was just getting to really know. "But I'm excited to see her again."
A cat jumped up onto the arm of the couch, purring loudly and Nat was quick to put a hand on his head, scratching his ears. "Can you believe that? I'm actually excited to see someone." Usually the idea was associated with anxiety for the trainer.
It shouldn't have been so painfully long of an elevator ride, but with every floor they climbed, her pulse was picking up in pace. It was only intensified when she finally caught sight of her eyes again, even if it were for a mere moment. Because a hand at the back of her neck did well to draw her in, and when she felt the pressure of lips against her own she underestimated how much she craved that contact between leaving the bar and getting to where they were now.
Her hand moved to the small of her back, gentle pressure easing the lawyer flush against her own form. It wasn't necessarily the privacy of a closed apartment, but there were four small walls to keep prying eyes away. And the moment she broke for air, she barely gave herself the time to catch the much needed oxygen before kissing her again.
As the car came to a halt, Natalie finally drew her hand away, only to allow for them to get out. As she shut the door, the lawyer was already making her way around to the meet her. A hand took her own, and she was let herself be lead into the the building, letting a comfortable silence fall between them again on the short walk to the elevator.
The press of a button indicated it was a higher floor, and it forced the trainer to suck in a slow breath. She never realized how slow a lift could be. Her hand twisted in the lawyer's, shifting only to interlace their fingers as her eyes settled on her. It was a mistake, because the weight of the situation was starting to fall more heavily on Natalie, and a lengthy ascent put a toll on her patience when she was looking at someone so captivating.
Interesting wasn't exactly the word to use to describe her situation, but Nat could only hope her friend meant that as positively as she'd like to think. She watched as Clarke's hands pressed to her face, her own settling into her lap, when the redhead opened up a little on her thoughts. It was a new turn to their friendship, to have a conversation like this, but it felt as if it were long overdue, given how close she considered herself to Clarke.
"Yes. I hope. We've been talking pretty much all week." Natalie continued.
