The Motivated Employee Pt. 15

Dani let the hot water roll down her back, rinsing away the previous night. An hour ago, Celina had walked her to the car parked on the street. It was early enough on the weekend to assume everyone on the street might be sleeping. So they spoke quietly.

"Are you sure you don't want to shower before you go?" Celina had asked.

Dani had declined, not wanting to wake Jo, though Celina had told her Jo had slept through an earthquake before, which Dani suspected she meant literally.

By the time Dani wandered into the townhouse kitchen with damp hair and loose clothes, Kayla was already halfway through a coffee, seated at the counter - dark blue jumper, jeans, legs pulled up. She had always been a morning person.

She looked up from her phone and smiled. "Hey, you."

For some reason, Dani felt compelled to avoid eye contact. "Hey," she replied, grabbing a mug. "Are you going to church this morning?"

Kayla paused, watching her. "Yeah... are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just tired."

"Mm." Kayla took another sip of her coffee, then added, a little too casually, "I ran into your family last night, by the way. At that Italian place on Corner Street."

Dani paused. She had told her family she was going out with Kayla. "You did?"

"Yeah. I stopped in with Ryan to grab icecream. Your sister seemed surprised." Kayla's voice stayed light, but her gaze lingered.

Dani stared down into her mug, unsure what to say.

Kayla gave a small shrug, like she was trying to brush it off. "Then you didn't text me back all night. I might've gotten a little... feisty in my texts. I'm not used to being ignored."

Dani winced. "Oh... shit. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Kayla softened. "Just let me know if you want me to be your alibi first."

Dani bit the inside of her cheek. Kayla looked calm--but Dani knew her well enough to recognize the quiet edge beneath it. She needed to explain.

Sliding onto the stool beside her, Dani winced slightly. She was still a little sore between her legs. She took a long sip of coffee, buying herself a moment. Then, finally:

"I had a threesome last night."

Kayla didn't say anything.

Her gaze stayed fixed on the inside of her mug.

"That's where I was," Dani said, more gently now. "I mean... among other things. I didn't answer because my phone was across the room. I think."

A silence stretched between them.

"Okay," Kayla said, blankly.

"I didn't mean to lie," Dani added, the words tumbling out now. "I just--I didn't want to tell my parents I was leaving my sister's birthday dinner to have sex... with more than one person."

Kayla blinked once, then set her mug down with a quiet clink.

"Yeah. Well. I don't think I'd want to tell my parents either."

Dani risked a glance at her. Kayla wasn't smirking. She wasn't looking away, either. Kayla was usually easy to read, an uncomplicated creature. But right now, Dani couldn't quite tell what was going on behind her eyes.

And for a split second, she wanted to say more. That she'd expected to feel jealous before the threesome, had braced for it. But the feeling never came. Not even once. Instead, it had been... surprisingly normal. Fun, even. Jo had been this wild mix of terrifying and magnetic, and somehow Dani had walked away wanting her to be her second-best friend - second to Kayla, of course.

But all she managed was: "I'm sorry I didn't answer."

"It's fine... really."

But it clearly wasn't fine.

"I'm not your mom."

No, you're not, Dani thought. You're my best friend. And I've dreamed about you going down on - She shoved the thought aside with a quiet sip of coffee, trying not to let it show on her face.

Dani cleared her throat, reaching for her coffee. "How was the ice cream?"

It came out a little too loud, too eager.

"Great," Kayla said, tone clipped now.

She got up and crossed to the sink, rinsing her mug with a little more force than necessary. Her back was to Dani, but her posture said enough.

Dani opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her tongue felt thick.

Kayla turned just enough to glance over her shoulder. "You don't have to tell me everything, Dani. But don't act like nothing's weird when you're clearly somewhere else."

Dani stared down at her coffee. Did she mean figuratively or literally? Either way, the shoe fit.

"I'm not trying to distance myself on purpose," she said finally, the words awkward in her mouth. "I just... I don't know how to talk about this yet."

But what exactly?

Being with Celina? Being queer?

Kayla leaving?

The weird vibe they had at the moment.

She vagued out for a second, the thoughts piling over each other too fast to untangle.

Her mouth stayed open, like she might try again, but nothing came out.

Kayla let out a quiet, exasperated breath and turned fully, leaning against the counter now, arms crossed. "See? This is what I mean. You're being weird. You never hesitate to tell me anything. Ever."

Dani considered that Kayla was right - there was no easy way to explain what she couldn't even sort out herself.

Without another word, Kayla walked past her, still looking annoyed. She left for church.

Dani sat at the kitchen table, absently picking at a piece of toast. She pulled out her phone and opened the message thread Kayla had mentioned. Six unread texts. After washing up, she crawled back into bed and let the morning fold around her. When she woke again, the sun had shifted, and guilt lingered like a hangover. She hated that she'd hurt Kayla. She decided to make herself useful, and got to work. By the time Kayla came home, Dani had vacuumed and mopped a few rooms.

The door clicked open, and Dani looked up just as Kayla stepped inside, her keys dropping onto the side table.

Kayla didn't say a word at first. She crossed the room and pulled Dani into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," she murmured softly against Dani's hair.

Dani dropped the mop, her arms wrapping around Kayla's waist, her head turning and neatling against Kayla's shoulder. "No, I'm sorry."

Kayla pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. "I was too hard on you this morning. You've been struggling, and I made it all about me. That wasn't fair."

Dani's stomach tightened. "You're frustrated coz I'm not telling you stuff... well, that's fair enough." She paused, swallowing. "It feels selfish even to say it... You're leaving in just over a month, and I'm dreading it."

Kayla paused, searching her face. "Is that what this is about?"

Dani swallowed, eyes glossing over. "I don't... I don't really know how to say it. All of it. Just... how proud I am of you. And how lucky they are to have you. I keep thinking--any day now--they'll offer you something permanent, because... that's just how life seems to go for you."

Kayla's expression softened. "You know, I'd understand all of that if you just told me. The only selfish thing was keeping it all inside. You left me hanging."

Dani let out a shaky breath. Her voice dropped, rough around the edges. "Yeah, but... it felt kinda pointless. I mean - what good does it do, right? No matter how much I'm gonna miss you, I can't - I can't ask you to stick around just to, like... hear about how my threesomes are going while you - while I barely even look at you when Celina's around."

Kayla reached up, brushing a stray hair from Dani's face. "Please - stop trying to say the right thing. Just say it. And if it's the wrong thing... we'll figure it out. Like we've done before."

Dani smirked, a flicker of a memory surfacing. Another time she'd tried to say the right thing and failed. "Remember when your mom said I was going to eat her out of house and home?" She chuckled softly. "Like, I was over all the time and the fridge was always empty."

Kayla groaned and laughed, suddenly remembering. "And you said back, 'But I love eating you out.' You didn't really know what that meant then."

Dani laughed. "Neither did your mom."

"But I knew. And my brothers knew," Kayla said, her grin widening.

"I wonder if Cindy knows now," Dani mused. Then, feeling their rhythm click back into place, she risked a grin. "Think a threesome with your mom's on the cards?"

Kayla fake-gagged. "Keep talking like that and I'll extend my trip indefinitely."

"So I can have more threesomes with your mom," Dani teased, leaning into it.

Kayla met her tit for tat. "Hey - whatever floats her boat. That woman deserves a little happiness."

They moved on without needing to say more, folding laundry side by side, sharing snacks, and planning the logistics of their upcoming camping trip with their old high school friends. It felt easy again. They'd resynced.

That evening, they curled up on the couch with a new documentary about a notorious sex cult.

"I chose this one because I thought you might relate to it." Kayla teased.

"Not quite. I haven't been branded yet."

Later as the credits rolled, Dani cleared her throat. "Hey - I was awarded top salesperson on my team for this month." Dani said quietly, her eyes still on the screen.

Kayla looked up. "Congrats." She set her phone aside and shifted closer. "This is the best news I've heard since you said you haven't been branded yet."

Dani's eyes widened as she laughed. She looked into her friend's earth brown eyes. It was hard not to feel loved around Kayla. She changed the show to Gilmore Girls, but before hitting play, Lay

Kayla spoke up.

"About Celina - before I forget." She glanced over. "She comes out into the kitchen, says hi, all polite, and then goes back to you and... turns the volume up. If you catch my drift."

Dani winced, remembering Celina dragging out one particular orgasm, louder and messier than the rest. "Sorry. I'll talk to her."

"Thanks." Kayla shifted, resting her head on the back of the couch. "It's almost like she does it on purpose. And I don't really know why. She's nice. I like her. It's just -" She exhaled. "It feels like she's trying to prove something."

Dani was quiet. Celina probably was, she thought. But had Kayla considered that interpretation?

"What do you think she's trying to prove?"

Kayla's jaw tightened. "I don't know. Nothing. Maybe I'm just imagining it."

She looked away then, too quickly, like that might end the conversation. Dani noticed.

"Maybe she thinks rock climbing is for dorks."

A pause. "What?"

"Maybe she's trying to say, "Get a better hobby, Kayla. Like me. Fucking.""

Kayla tried to hide a flicker of a smile.

"But seriously. I will talk to her."

---

The next morning, Dani, feeling particularly wound up, had been texting Celina flirty, filthy texts. Celina had replied that Jo was about to head to the gym, and told her to come over and make her dreams a reality. Before Dani left, she told Kayla exactly where she was going, to which she replied, "I'm just glad you're not going to see my mom."

Celina opened the door with a knowing smile, and the moment it shut behind them, Dani was pressed against it, mouths meeting in that familiar, breathless way. Celina hungrily kissed her neck, leaving a mark.

"I hope that doesn't leave a mark. What will my manager say?" Dani breathlessly teased.

Celina kissed the spot again, softer this time. "She might give you another one." Her warm hands slipped under Dani's shirt. "You came here wanting this, didn't you?"

Dani tugged Celina's shirt over her head in reply, their mouths finding each other again. They stumbled back, tangled in urgency, but when Celina's said, "Bedroom." Dani pulled back just enough to catch her breath.

"Relax, I meant the guest bedroom. Jo will appreciate the courtesy."

Once inside the guest room, they shut the door behind them and fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. Dani straddled her, pressing close, the kiss deepening still. Fingers worked at jeans and clasps, tugging clothes off with urgency. Soon, there was nothing but the sound of breath, skin, and the quiet creak of bedsprings in a room borrowed for escape.

"I missed your touch," Dani whispered against Celina's lips.

"Show me," Celina replied, voice low, finding Dani's breast, her back arching instinctively.

"Fuck," she whispered, threading her fingers into Celina's hair. "You always know."

"I listen," Celina murmured between kisses. "You speak with your whole body."

Dani moaned when Celina's hand slipped between them, cupping her firmly. Their foreheads pressed together as Dani rocked into her hand, soft whimpers slipping free.

Then Celina gently pushed her back, climbing on top without breaking the moment. She eased a finger inside her.

"Look at me," Celina said.

Dani met her gaze, eyes wide and dark. Celina's thumb began circling while her finger moved in steady, unhurried thrusts.

"You've been teasing me all morning," she murmured. "Those bratty little messages... talking about what you wanted me to do. Did you think I wouldn't follow through?"

Dani whimpered, hips pressing up against her hand.

"I read every word with my hand between my legs," Celina went on. "And now look at you. Squirming for me."

She thrust harder, watching Dani come undone.

"Next time you get mouthy, remember this. How easy it is to make you lose it."

Dani gasped. "Celina - fuck - "

"That's my girl," Celina whispered, holding her through it.

They lay beneath the sheets, skin damp and breath returning. Celina's fingers traced slow, absentminded patterns across Dani's stomach.

"Hey, um... Kayla said something kind of funny."

Celina stirred, fingers moving down Dani's arms now. "Yeah?"

"She said... every time you come out to say hi, and go back into the bedroom, things get... loud."

Celina laughed. Dani raised her head. "She thinks you do it on purpose."

Celina met her eyes. "Maybe I do."

"I knew it!"

They laughed together but there was something more determined on Celina's face.

"I've been trying to drag her out of the closet."

Dani's smile faded.

"Hey. Look. There's more than one reason. Another being, simply because it's hot. And the other... she loves you."

Dani propped herself up onto her elbow. "Celina..."

Celina reached up, brushing a thumb across Dani's cheek. "You don't see it, do you?"

Dani blinked. "See what?"

"That you're already halfway in love with her."

Dani gave a soft laugh, but it didn't quite land. "I mean, I care about her. Obviously. She's my best friend."

"And I'm not saying it's simple," Celina said gently. "But you two act like a couple. You live together. You go grocery shopping. Coffee together most Saturday mornings. You mentioned you cuddle in bed, right?"

"Yes. And we hold hands." Dani admitted. She pulled the blanket a little tighter around them. It wasn't that she was in love, it was just the history. They been best friends since high school.

"We had a fight last weekend. We made up but it felt awful. I hate making her upset. But also... she just knows how to cut through me. Like she sees things I'm not even ready to admit."

Celina smiled softly. "Exactly."

Dani's brow furrowed. "But that doesn't mean I'm in love with her."

"Maybe sit with it."

Dani sighed sadly. "I'll have 3 months to sit with it. At least."

"See? You're already grieving it."

Dani didn't respond right away. She was quiet, her mind turning that over, the shape of it too big to hold all at once. She just leaned in, kissing Celina slowly, deeply - something building again.

Celina gently paused the kiss. "That look in your eyes." she murmured. "That looks like heartbreak."

Dani tried to play it off with a teasing kiss, but Celina didn't let up.

"Remember that dream you had?" Celina whispered, her breath warm against Dani's jaw. "Kayla was in it, too."

Dani whimpered before she could stop herself. "God, I hate that this turns me on," she breathed, forehead pressing against Celina's. "Say more."

Celina smiled slow, co-conspiring. "In your dream," she murmured, voice barely audible, "did she use her mouth? Or her hands?"

Dani exhaled sharply, her pulse loud in her ears, remembering. "Both." she said, as she played with one nipple with her fingers, and suckled the other in her mouth.

Celina flinched. a soft gasp escaping her lips - half-pain, half-pleasure. "Did she make you feel like a princess?" she asked, soft now. "Or did she make you beg?"

Dani answered without words - she pressed her down, steady and sure, fingers dipping just enough to make Celina gasp.

Then - click. The front door opened and closed.

"She's home early." Celina said, a little apprehensively - that was new.

And something inside Dani sparked. She felt wicked, almost cruel, and slid her hand lower, feeling the damp, trimmed hair on Celina's outer folds.

Celina shivered beneath her, breath catching, but Dani didn't stop - she drew slow, deliberate circles, just enough pressure to make Celina's thighs twitch.

Then Dani leaned in closer, her voice a velvet blade. "She made me beg."

The words sliced through the heat like a spark to gasoline. Celina's eyes flew open, her breath turning ragged as her hips bucked into Dani's hand.

From down the hall, there was the faint sound of a closet door opening. A bag hitting the floor. Jo was moving around.

Celina bit her lip hard enough to leave a mark. Her hands clutched at Dani's back, like grounding herself was the only way not to cry out.

Dani kept her rhythm, cruelly steady.

"You wanted to know. Now you get to picture it."

This was insane. She was narrating her own dirty dream with Kayla while getting Celina off. And it turned her on immensely. Perhaps because it allowed her to say things out loud she couldn't admit to herself.

"She was above me," Dani murmured. "Making me wait to come. Just a little more. Just one more touch, she kept saying." Her fingers worked deeper, slower, drawing it out. "That what you wanted to hear?"

Celina's mouth fell open around a moan -sharp, involuntary, loud.

Then: the soft pad of footsteps outside their room. Dani froze. The rustle of a laundry basket. Jo was walking past the door.

Dani clamped a hand over Celina's mouth,

She leaned in close, lips brushing the shell of Celina's ear. "Let her walk by while I make you come." Dani whispered.

Celina reached down for Dani's wrist, silently begging her to stop. But she didn't. Instead, Dani curled her fingers just right and stayed quiet. A cabinet door opened. The dryer door creaked. Her fingers continued. "She'd hear everything if I let you go right now," she murmured. "Wouldn't even have to open the door."

Dani watched Celina's body seize under her touch - tense, trembling, trying so hard to stay quiet. The dryer rumbled to life in the background. Celina clung to Dani, breath hot and uneven against her collarbone, her hand still pressed tight over her mouth. Her eyes shimmered, frantic with release and restraint, the pleasure hitting harder under the weight of silence.

Dani didn't let up. Her fingers moved with purpose, confident and unrelenting, dragging it out just long enough to make Celina twitch with the effort not to scream.

Outside the room, Jo's footsteps padded away again--soft, ordinary. Dani slowed as they did, letting Celina hear it all.

"Where's my charger?" they heard Jo say to herself, presumably in the kitchen now.

Inside, Celina broke - shuddering hard around Dani's hand, her muffled cry barely contained, a whimper low in her throat as she clenched around the aftershocks.

Dani kissed the corner of her mouth, smug and slow, stilling her fingers only once Celina had gone soft against her.

"Good girl," she whispered, voice like velvet laced with heat.

They stayed tangled together, Celina's breath slowly evening out against Dani's skin. Dani gently withdrew her hand, brushing her fingers across Celina's thigh with a quiet kind of reverence, like she didn't want to break the spell just yet.

She kissed the hollow of Celina's throat, then her jaw, then finally her lips.

Celina exhaled a shaky laugh, and whispered, "The apprentice becomes the master."

"I learned from the best."

Celina grinned without opening her eyes. "Seriously, that was really fucking good."

They dressed slowly, still whispering, like speaking too loud might unravel the quiet comfort they'd built. Celina reached for her hoodie while Dani tugged her hair into a loose ponytail, watching her in the mirror.

"You should tell her," Celina said, gently but without hesitation.

Dani looked up.

"Kayla," Celina clarified. "Tell her before she leaves."

Dani hesitated, pulling her sleeves down over her hands. "I know. I will."

Celina turned to face her fully. "What you and I have - it's fun. Intense. Burns hot." She smiled. "But it's not everything. It's fire, Dani. You know that, right?"

Dani nodded slowly, her throat tight.

"With Kayla..." Celina tilted her head, studying her. "It's different. She grounds you. Like gravity. And that doesn't go away just because you ignore it."

"Yeah, I know." She breathed out quietly. "We could just say the loud moans were mine."

"What? Oh, you're talking about Jo. No. That's not what emotionally literate people do."

Dani beamed. "You're calling me emotionally literate?"

"You earned it today," Celina said, lips quirking. "You even get to gloat a little - quietly."

Dani chuckled. "I'll try to be gracious."

As they stepped into the hallway, Jo's voice drifted in from the living room, half-joking: "Time to face the music?"

Dani looked up and saw her - Jo, dressed in fitted activewear, skin pale despite living by the beach. Her hair was, pulled up in a bun, and she looked so effortlessly beautiful that Dani's breath caught for a second.

Jo grinned, stood up and opened her arms.

Dani didn't resist. The hug was warm. Like Jo was already an old friend. When they pulled apart, Jo gave her a lingering once-over.

"Damn, you're glowing," she said, not even bothering to hide the knowing in her tone. "Should I even ask?"

Celina asked, "Did you put my washing in the dryer?"

"There's nothing in the dryer." Jo replied.

Celina paused. "Then why was it on?"

Jo sipped her water, unfazed. "Thought the house needed a little white noise."

Dani beamed again.

Jo's eyes flicked between the two of them, amused. "Let's see... judging by your face," she said, gesturing toward Dani, "and the way you're not making eye contact," she nodded at Celina, "I'm going to guess Celina was on the bottom."

Celina just smirked without looking up. "Maybe."

"I hope she said gave you something in return." Jo said.

"She definitely gave as good as she got." Dani replied.

"Good. You know I'd hate to pick up her slack."

Dani kept smiling. Then she turned toward the hallway. "I'm gonna go before anything else is said. And have a cold shower."

"Make it icy!" Jo said.