What a Difference a Day Makes...

London

Friday 10:12pm Luna

The distant sounds and music of the party echo in my ears. Fire extinguisher. This corridor reminds me of the science labs in school. Which box has my gi in it? I'll need to find that tomorrow. This definitely isn't the way to the kitchen. I check my phone. A little after 10pm. Funny to think what I'd normally be doing now. Did this bra shrink or did my boobs get bigger? What was that song earlier? Should have Shazamed it. I wonder what Sean's doing now? No, don't think about that. Think about something else. Kiwi fruit, do I like kiwi fruit? I can never decide. Photocopier room. That looks like an office. Definitely not the way to the kitchen. Oh, wait, here's a door labelled "kitchen". I push it open. It's a small room, barely more than a cupboard really. Sink, small fridge, cupboards, counter, kettle, a woman.

A pretty face looks up at me from her phone screen, deep brown eyes locked on mine from behind black curtains and a heavy fringe.

My mind slams into focus, like before a bout. The white mist evaporates.

"Sorry," I say, "didn't mean to startle you." Her look is wary, guarded. "I was just looking for somewhere with a kettle."

"Oh, right," she looks behind her, "yeah nah, there's a jug here."

"Cool." My eyes take in her black mini-skirt and tight white shirt and I take a guess that she's part of the catering crew. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your break," I say.

"No worries."

"Do you want one?" I ask as I tear my attention away from her long enough to fill the kettle.

"What's that?"

"I asked if you wanted a cuppa? A brew? Or," I say, clicking the kettle on then opening cupboards and rooting around, though I have to read all the boxes twice, "there's coffee here if you prefer? Hot chocolate?"

There's a tin that says "staff tea fund", so I dig in my back pocket for some coins and drop fifty pence in.

"You didn't want any of the stuff they are serving out front, eh?" she asks.

"The food was nice," I say, "but I don't drink and I really felt like something hot and, if I'm honest, a chance to escape."

"Yeah nah, I can relate," she says.

Her hand goes to her forehead. "Actually," she says, "can I have a cuppa as well? Might help the headache."

"Sure," I say, grabbing another mug and dropping a tea bag in. "Milk? Sugar?"

"Just milk, ta."

"Coming right up," I say, as the kettle bubbles to a boil and shuts off. I pour, add dashes of milk, then squeeze out the tea bags, bin them and rinse the tea spoon.

"There you go." I slide a mug gently over to her.

"Choice, ta."

She's got an accent. I want to say New Zealand, but I also don't want to embarrass myself or insult her.

"You're welcome. Look," I say, "if you've got a headache, I think I can go one better." I pull the strap of my small hand bag over my head and stick it on the counter. "I've got some ibuprofen here if you'd like?"

Behind her thick fringe, I think I see an eyebrow rise. "You just happen to carry pain meds around with you, eh?"

"It's just over the counter stuff, nothing serious," I say.

She seems suspicious. I suppose it's probably a good idea to be cautious about what people offer you at parties.

"I do a lot of martial arts," I say, "Jujitsu, Karate, Krav Maga, so I'm forever picking up bruises and strains. Well, not all the time, but, you know, sometimes. So it pays to have some with me." I hand her the packet.

She looks at it carefully, clearly checking that it is actually ibuprofen, before popping out a pill. I grab a glass from the draining board, fill it from the tap and pass it to her.

"Here, the tea will be too hot still."

"Thanks." Our fingers brush as she takes the glass from me. An involuntary shiver runs through me.

She swallows the pill and drains the glass.

I take it from her, her fingers brushing mine again, rinse it and stand it on the draining board.

"I'm Luna, by the way," I say, holding out a hand.

She giggles. "Really?"

"Yeah." The softness and warmth of her palm on mine is.... something else. I'm momentarily thrown, but I've no time for introspection as I realise I've been rude and missed hers.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I say, leaning forward.

"I said you can call me Marama, eh?"

"Gosh, that's beautiful. I've not heard it before," I release her hand, noticing as I do how similar our colouring is.

"It means 'moon'," she says, "that's why I giggled."

"Right, of course! Funny coincidence," I pick my tea up and blow over the surface. I don't like much milk in mine so the colour is almost at one with our complexion. I decide to take a guess. "Is that Polynesian?"

She nods at me and smiles as she blows on her own tea. "Yep, spot on. Maori aye."

"Wow, so you're a long way from home then here in London?"

"Yeah," she sighs, "tell me about it."

"What do you miss the most?" I ask. Then I immediately regret it as I see the sparkle of tears at the edge of her eyes. "Hey, hey," I say, putting down my mug, "sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, you don't need to answer... would you like a hug?"

She nods and gulps and puts down her own mug and I wrap my arms around her back as hers go around my waist.

We fit together so perfectly, I almost gasp. Our breasts practically slot together like matching pieces of a puzzle.

She clings to me, her scented hair in my face, her wet cheek next to mine.

I can feel her heartbeat.

"I won't tell you it'll be okay, because it might not be, but if you want to talk..." I start.

"Thanks," she sniffs, as she pulls back. She keeps one arm on my waist as she wipes her face. She doesn't step back, and our legs are still touching. I lower my arms, but keep one on her hip.

I realise I don't want to let go.

My heart rate is elevated, I can tell. I don't know why. I'm not into women. I never... well, I've never felt like this though, just from proximity to a person. Not with Sean, not in fights.

What is going on with me?

"You smell nice," she says.

"Thanks!" I laugh. "You too."

"No, seriously," Marama says, leaning in again, our breasts brushing, and sniffing me, "you really do. I love it. What is it? Chanel? Dior?"

I laugh. "It was a 7 euro bottle of cheap perfume I picked up in a supermarket in Spain. Victorio & Lucchino. Magnolia."

"Magnolia," she leans in and sniffs again, making my heart race, "yeah nah, that's what it is. Reminds me of Cornwall Park back home."

"Well, I'm very glad I wore it then," I say, "but you smell lovely too. What are you wearing?"

"Oh, Chloe. I have to. Nothing special, eh?"

"I don't know," I say, "makes you smell pretty fabulous."

Her eyes find mine, inches away and my breath stills. Tearing my gaze away, I step back and pick up my tea. Her hand falls from my hip and I feel a sudden inexplicable emptiness.

"Hard work tonight?" I ask carefully, sipping my tea.

Her eyes are still locked on my face but I sense the shudder that runs through her. "God, don't remind me. I've barely begun. Not even."

"Well, hide out here with me," I say, "I won't tell."

"I don't want to keep you," she says, sounding deeply insincere.

"You aren't," I reply, my hand going to her arm. Immediately, the feel of her skin lights me up. What the fuck is happening? "I just..." I clear my throat, "I'm here with my cousin, just tagging along. She's here with some model friends; they had the invite via their agency."

"Are you a model then?" she asks.

I blush and shake my head, "no way, I'm not pretty enough."

"Piss off, you're gorgeous as, aye" she says, shaking her head.

"Well, so are you, you're knock out." It suddenly hits me that I mean it, mean it more than just a compliment to a female friend. She's more than pretty I realise, her flawless skin glowing, her features perfectly proportioned. Her shirt is tight, not revealing anything, but accentuating her flat stomach, her generous, high breasts. "If I could be a model, so could you."

"Yeah, well, I've done some shoots but I hated them," she grimaces, then rubs at her temples.

"Your headache still bothering you?" I ask.

"Yeah," she says.

"Here, turn around," I gently guide her with hands on her hips, so she's facing away from me, "I give a great head massage."

Trailing my fingers up her sides and shoulders, I run my hands up to her head, and start to pulse my fingers across her scalp.

She seems to sag, and leans back into me.

"Oh God," she sighs after a while, "that's sweet as. Thanks heaps."

"My pleasure, moon sister," I whisper.

We stay like that for a while, her leaning back into me, pressing this delicious warmth into my front. My arms are up and around her, my fingers buried in her hair, though it feels odd, off somehow. Ignoring that, I massage her temples with firm but gentle pressure, spidering my way back along her scalp, then running the back of my nails forward to begin again, pulling purrs from her.

Her head is on my shoulder and I can see more of her face as my hands pull the hair away from it with their motion. Her eyes are closed and her lips, her plump, full lips, are parted and she looks oh so kissable... where the fuck are these thoughts coming from? I've never been attracted to a woman before! Enjoyed their company, thought they were beautiful, sure, but this... this.... this desire!

Never.

She straightens a little, and turns sideways to me, her thigh pressing right into the space between my legs. I'm hot all over, but especially there. Her arms go around me.

I gulp. My nose is practically brushing her ear.

"If this is your way of hitting on me," she whispers, making my breathing and hands stop, "it's kind of working."

She turns to face me. "Are you?"

I swallow and try to get my tongue to work. "I don't think so?"

"You don't think so?"

"I've never... I've never been attracted to a woman before..."

"Before, eh?" She turns completely now to face me.

I close my eyes. I can feel her breath on my face, light, warm. Her scent is all around me, floral, sweet, intoxicating. I'd love for my brain to distract me, but for once I can't foil its focus. I shake my head.

"Would you believe I've only had one partner my whole life?" I say, keeping my eyes closed. "Nine years we were together, me and Sean, from when we were fifteen. He was my first and only." I'm proud of myself that there's no catch in my breath.

"Shit, nine years?" I feel her pulling back from me, but her hands still rest on my hips. "Wow! What happened?"

"Nothing. That's it, nothing happened. Just one day he told me he'd been thinking about how to ask me to marry him and he realised he didn't want to marry me."

"Fucking idiot."

I half laugh, half sob. It's still raw.

"Yeah, so I moved out. Moved into my aunt and uncle's place, then a flatshare, threw myself into training and competitions and work and just... yeah... I haven't and... and..."

I feel her pulling me closer and I tense, thinking, is this it? Is she going to kiss me?

But then she's tucking my head into the side of her neck and her posture straightens and now she's the one holding me as hot tears course down my cheeks.

I don't know whether to be disappointed or relieved.

"The stupid thing is.... He was right...." I sob, "I mean, I hated it, and I miss him, but it was just a habit. I didn't even especially like him at first, he just... grew on me. In the end we were just together to not be alone."

"There are worse reasons," she says.

"True," I sob. I clutch her tighter, shaking in her arms. She squeezes me back, pressing me into her so our smells and hair mingle.

"But it was such a waste of my time."

"Did you love him?"

"Well.... Yeah."

"Then it wasn't a waste of time. Love never is."

But as I stand here in her arms, I feel so much more than I ever did with Sean and I feel that waste more now than ever.

"What about you?" I ask, my voice laced with a hope I can't believe has been kindled so quickly, "have you ever been attracted to a woman?"

"Before?" she asks.

The word sparks hope and heat in me, such as I've never known.

I nod into her neck, not daring to look at her.

"No. Nothing real. Only faked. I've had to do a few scenes, but it was only for the camera."

I stiffen in her arms then immediately regret it. So she's done porn? So what?

"Where are you, you little tart?!" a man's voice, loud and angry, comes from the corridor.

"Shit!" she mutters into my hair, then pulls back from me to look at the door. The pressure easing on my chest as she releases me feels like grief.

"Problem?" I whisper back.

"Reality intruding," she sighs, "my life isn't my own."

The door is shoved open, and I spin her away to stop her being smacked by it. The emptiness of my arms hits my heart.

"There you are, you stupid bitch!"

A man in his forties, flushed, red-nosed, is staring at me. "Harvey was expecting you upstairs half an hour ago you silly bint. Now get up there or you're dead," he growls and grabs for me.

His hand never lands on me. I grab his wrist, pull him forward off balance and kick him, lightly, just inside the knee, as I simultaneously twist my hand to cover his and push his wrist back towards his biceps. As her pimp drops to his knees with a yell, I place my other hand under his chin and flick up, hard and sudden.

His yell is cut off as he slumps forward and drops the phone he was holding in his other hand. I grab his head and gently lower him to the floor, placing him in the recovery position. He may be a cunt, but I don't want him to die.

I look up at Marama, who is pressed up against the wall opposite, open mouthed.

"Sorry," I say, "I hope that didn't scare you. But I don't care who he is or who you are, nobody is going to speak to you like that when I'm around." I'm shocked at how much I mean it.

"Fuck, that was hard out..." she gasps. "He's my..." her pretty face twists into a sneer and she almost spits out the word, "agent."

"You don't need to use euphemisms with me," I say, standing up and taking her hand, warmth flooding me at her touch, "call a pimp a pimp."

She gasps, shocked, her eyes widening.

"I guess Harvey, whoever he is, is going to have to go without," I say.

She looks down at the man slumped on the floor, then back at me, horror written over her face.

"Listen, Marama, I'm not judging at all. I really don't care. But I think we should get you out of here."

"But you don't know who I am?"

"Who you are is wonderful and kind and caring, I know that much," I say, taking her other hand, "and you deserve better than whatever shit he's made you do. Come on." I tip away our teas and rinse the mugs quickly.

Then I lead her out of the kitchen, into the corridor, using my free hand to message Helen, my cousin, to say I'm leaving.

"Does your... what was his name?"

"Um... Matt."

"Right, would Matt have muscle about? Would this Harvey?"

"It's Harvey's party: security will answer to him."

"Alright. Can they track your phone?"

"Shit, bugger, yeah."

"Right, best turn it off for now then, yeah?"

We've reached the end of the corridor, a T junction, and the thump of the bass is heavier here. I'd really like a fire exit, to be honest. I turn us away from the music and pull her after me as she tucks her phone into her pocket.

"Look, I'd say you could crash at mine, but, well, I'm sleeping on my cousin's sofa at the minute until I start a new job on Monday, so I can't really offer that," I say.

"It's okay, you don't have to..." she begins.

"No," I stop and turn and look her in the eye, "no, I'm not having that. I'm not walking away from you and letting Matt take control of you again."

She gasps and I step closer.

"So, I'm thinking we'll find a hotel and I'll pay for a room for you for a couple of nights, okay?"

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. That and more." I realise that I mean it. I met her like twenty minutes ago, and I already think I'd take a bullet for her. "My aunt and uncle are coming up on Sunday for lunch. They live out in Slough. They're good people. If you want, I can ask them to take you in. I know they'll say yes."

She laughs, with relief I think.

"Okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, hard out." She smiles at me.

"Right. Right," I say again, "okay. So let's get out of here, grab a taxi, find a hotel, get you safe, okay?"

She nods and, her hand held in mine like a promise I'd walk through fire to keep, I lead us down the corridor again. Another turn, down some stairs, and I find what I'm looking for: a fire exit.

"Here. Shit it's alarmed."

Voices behind us in the corridor.

"Fuck it. Get ready to run," I say.

I shove the door open with my shoulder and we take off, hand in hand, as the alarm blares.

We sprint a few paces, when I hear a voice to our right yell, "Oi! Stop there!"

Two black clad security guards in high vis jackets are sprinting towards us.

"Keep going," I yell as we run down the street away from the venue.

"Stop there!"

Marama's keeping up with me, just about, though I'm not at full sprint. Meanwhile, the lead security guy has opened up a gap between him and his mate. Perfect.

"Try to flag down a taxi," I yell to her, then push her past me, "I'll be right behind."

I slow up, just in front of an open dumpster behind a restaurant back door as the sound of pounding feet nears.

"Right you..."

As his hands reach for me, I grab his wrists on top and jump backwards, placing my feet on his hips and bending my knees. As my weight and his momentum take us over, I straighten my legs in a hard, fluid, upwards movement and shove him up with my arms for added measure.

With a yell and flurry of flailing arms, he flips into the open bin, landing with a woof of air on his back. Sounds like he got a soft, if smelly, landing.

My momentum rolls me back to my feet, in time to grab the other security guard's wild swing at me, pull him off balance, pivot him on my hip and bounce him off the edge into the same open wheelie bin as his mate. That'll have hurt a bit, but can't be helped.

As they curse and groan, I sprint forward again and catch up with Marama. The street at the end is dead, no taxis in sight, but there's the sound of crowds coming from the junction to the right.

Grabbing her hand, feeling an alien completeness as I do, I jog us towards the crowds. I can't hear running feet.

We turn the corner and I see crowds of smokers on the pavement, queues outside a club and... Teddy!

He's at the head of a short queue for a club, all women, by the velvet rope. Pulling Marama with me, I march up to him.

"Hey Teddy, no time to chat, we've got people chasing us, so let us in yeah?"

He looks at me and smiles, then at who is holding my hand and his eyes go wide. Yeah, well I guess this is going to be the reaction I get from lots of people now.

"Not a word, yeah?" I say as he unclips the rope and stands aside and girls in the queue protest.

"Of course, Luna! Welcome to-"

Marama holds her finger to her lips. "Thanks heaps. Don't tell anyone, please?"

"You got it," he says.

We push through the door.

Normally this place would be a nightmare for me. Flashing lights, moving bodies, pounding music. So much to distract.

But my entire focus is on the girl holding my hand and now stepping up close behind me to pass her arms around.

"Are you okay?" Marama gasps in my ear.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, as I turn in her arms, "how about you?"

She nods, but I can feel her shaking. I can hear her panting.

Pulling her to a corner just by the entrance, I place my left hand on her upper chest, which is heaving. "Here," I say, "breathe with me. It's okay."

I follow her breaths with my hand, but slowly, gently push back, making her hold each breath a little longer. Her eyes are locked on mine. "Shhhh. It's okay. It's okay. In, out, breathe, easy," I murmur to her.

Eventually, she calms and her breathing returns to normal..

I move to ease the pressure on her chest and she grabs my hand, holding it there.

"No," she says, "don't let go of me."

"Never," I say.

We stay and sway like that, one of our hands on the other's back, the other pressed to her chest, our foreheads touching. We are ignoring the music and finding our own rhythm.

It's dark in this corner.

I sway us sideways, so I can see the door.

Nobody is looking at us.

The club is full of women, dancing together.

Oh.

I feel Marama shaking in my arms and I look at her with concern, before I realise she is laughing.

"What?" I ask.

She leans forward, her mouth level with my ear. "You said you weren't into women, yet you bring me straight to a gay bar. That's pretty sus, cuz."

"It's just because I saw Teddy and knew he'd let us queue jump! I worked security with him!" I say into hers, "besides..." but then I stop, unsure what exactly I was going to say and whether I should. I said I wasn't into women.

"I'm teasing," she says.

"Listen, we'll go, just let me book an Uber to pick us up and we'll dive out the door into it, okay?"

"Yeah, okay but..." she hesitates.

"But?"

"Can you book it for 30 minutes or so? Can we just stay like this a bit longer?"

I feel her start to sway gently against me. I swallow. "Sure," I say.

Friday 11:34pm Luna

"So, my cousin Helen lives right here. I was thinking we could just nip in and I'll grab you some of my clothes - we're the same size and you haven't got anything."

"Okay," Marama says.

Dropping her hand to open the door, I feel the loss of her touch so hard I go dizzy for a second.

Her hands land on my hips.

I smile back at her over my shoulder. "You felt it too?" I say.

"Yeah." Her voice is like a breath.

"Come on. Third floor."

Hand in hand, I lead her up the stairs.

"I'm getting my cardio in today!" she jokes.

At the top, I tuck her hand into my elbow as I open the door.

"Hels? Sasha? Gemma? It's Luna - anyone in?" I call into the darkness.

No answer, but I wasn't expecting them back.

I flick on the lights and guide Marama to the sofa. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Water? Any food?"

"I'm fine... actually some water?"

"I'll be right back."

The mist descends as I head down the hallway to the kitchen. Oh, that plant needs some water too. Must find my gi for tomorrow. Should I unstack the dishwasher? When should I tell her? My brain fires off in its usual pick-up sticks pile of tangents and angles. What am I after? Water, that's it. I fill two glasses, and head back, splashing some into the spider plant on my way.

"Here you are." Wham! My focus floods back, zoned in on Marama. It's so fierce it's almost physical. I'm never this present normally, not even with meds, not even in a fight.

"Ta." This isn't like earlier, in the kitchen, when our fingers brushed by accident. Her hand goes to my arm, even as her other hand takes the glass. The touch is so deliberate, so desired.

As she sips, my eyes are stuck on her lips.

"Right," I say, "let's find you some things to wear for the next couple of days."

"This all your stuff?" she asks as I unpack a bag, searching for clothes.

"Nah," I say, grabbing out three pairs of underwear, "my lease finished on Tuesday, so my aunt and uncle picked up most of my stuff last weekend and took it back to theirs. But I still had shifts and classes this week, so Hels said for me to crash on the sofa. Her flatmates are cool. Here, do you reckon these will fit?" I pass her a set of pyjamas, some leggings, a long, loose skirt, a hoody, a pair of shorts and two shirts.

She stands up and takes them from me, her hands lingering on mine as she does. It's like plugging my phone into a charger.

"Yeah I reckon, ta," she says, holding up the skirt against her. "I like it, you've got good taste."

"Ah, well, thank Hels for that, it was a present from her. Right, I'll just pack these in here, plus toiletries and you're good to go," I say, placing the clothes carefully in the saddle bag for my motorbike.

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, won't you need clothes for tomorrow too?"

I freeze. Literally and figuratively, chills burning down my skin. "Um," I manage, my mouth dry as she takes my cold hands in her heavenly hot ones, "I didn't want to presume I'd be staying with you. I mean, there's no obligation," I blush at that, at what I'm implying, what it means I'm thinking of, and what it means I want, "I mean, I don't know what I mean," I gabble on, "we haven't even kissed."

And the words floor me. These words coming from my mouth, that I never thought I would say to a woman. A beautiful, gorgeous, kind woman, who holds my attention and my focus like nobody else ever has.

"Yet," she says.

My pulse spikes.

Our fingers are laced together. I can't speak. I want her so much, but I'm reeling. Is this real? Is it the adrenaline? Is this some kind of saviour complex that, having rescued her, means I feel compelled to want her?

"Huh?" I squeak.

"Yeah nah, you've basically asked me to move in with you, right? You're moving back to your aunty's and that's where you plan to stash me too, right? So, unless I'm missing something here, it sounds like you'd already invited me to bunk in with you. When, as you say," she says, moving closer, slipping her arms around me, "we haven't even kissed. Yet."

"Yet?" I parrot.

"It kind of feels inevitable now, eh?"

Her lips are centimetres from mine, her eyes locked on me.

"But you don't even know me," I whisper.

Pressing herself to me, she reaches up with her hand and strokes away a strand of hair that's fallen down from my cowlick. "I know," she says, her voice breathy and light, "that you're kind and caring, observant and brave, that you're tight with your family, you're a martial arts expert. And I know that when I'm in your arms, I feel safer and more seen and needed and cared for than I've ever felt in my life."

And then she leans in, and I have my first kiss.

I thought I'd had kisses before. Nah. They weren't kisses. They weren't kisses the way SunnyD isn't orange juice. They weren't kisses the way drizzle isn't a downpour, the way a doorbell isn't music, the way a tanning salon isn't the sunrise, the way a seed isn't a tree, the way a match isn't a fire. They weren't kisses because I never really realised what I wanted.

Marama's kiss is like being lit from within. From her lips passes bliss that gushes and glows through me.

Of course I kiss her back. Our heights are identical, so there's no strain, just pleasure, heads tilted to the right, mouths in motion, tongues teasing, her hand cupping my cheek and mine encircling her waist.

We groan and gasp for air and we hold on like we never want to let go.

Saturday: 00:47 Luna

She holds my arm all the way up to the hotel room. All through check-in, my back still buzzed from where she pressed against me on the short motorbike ride here, my stomach is still in knots from the sensation of her arms around me. We've bags slung over shoulders, and helmets to carry too, but it seems that, like me, she doesn't want to let go for a moment more than is necessary.

I trap one of the helmets against the wall with my knee to allow me to have a hand free to work the key card into the slot, and she pushes the door open for me. Then, sideways, like some conjoined crab, still linked, we edge our way into the room.

A double bed.

It's what we'd asked for, blushing, barely believing it was allowed, the receptionist retaining an entirely professional disinterest throughout.

But until I saw it, I hadn't really thought it was real.

I'm going to sleep with a woman.

I'm going to sleep with this woman.

This amazing, intoxicating, utterly bewitching woman.

With my moon sister, Marama.

She places her helmet carefully on a side table, but lets the bags slide from her shoulder to the floor with a thump.

Then she wraps her arms around me and slips her lips onto mine in another delicious kiss. I let my own bags drop too, then manage to put my helmet on the bed, so I can join in and hug her back as our tongues tangle.

Eventually, we pull away to suck in a ragged breath, my tiredness not the only thing making me dizzy.

"God, I love how your kisses make me feel," I gasp, my voice on the edge of breaking, "I love kissing you." And I plunge back to grip her lips with mine again.

For all the bliss I feel, that word I just said twice echoes in my head, even as the pressure of her incites pure pleasure. Love.

Surely it's too soon? I met her three hours ago. It's too soon.

And even if it wasn't, I definitely shouldn't be saying it. Way to scare her off.

We break apart again, faces only inches apart, arms and legs entwined.

"I know," she says, "even so quickly may one catch the plague, eh?"

"What?"

"Shakespeare, Twelfth Night: it's what Olivia says after her first meeting with Viola. I know. I feel it too."

I'm grateful for the change of topic, even though it's a potentially embarrassing one for me. "Yeah, well, I didn't do so good in English. I flunked out. Had to go back to college to retake my GCSEs."

She looks at me quizzically. "GCSEs?"

"Oh, yeah, you wouldn't know I guess. They are exams all 16 year olds have to do in England. You've got to pass English and Maths. I managed Maths fine, and some other subjects, like Dance and PE, but I flunked the rest. I've got ADHD, really badly, and even with the meds, I can't concentrate."

I rest my forehead gently against hers. "That's why you're so special, you know?" I whisper to her, "because when you're in the room, everything else disappears. There's no distractions. Just you. I've never felt so focused, so calm, so together, so me as when I'm with you."

"I like that. I love that I make you feel that way," she says, kissing me again.

I sink into her. If I could, I'd meld us, make us one, bond, unite.

And it dawns on me, here in the early hours, that I really want this, I really want this to work, I want her in my life. And I am woefully inexperienced. Having one relationship that started at school with a classmate I saw everyday is not proper preparation for an adult romance.

I don't want to fuck this up.

"Wait, Marama, wait," I gasp into her lips as I gently detach myself from her mouth, but keeping her in my arms, "hang on, please, just... I so don't want to screw this up."

"Me neither," she says.

"Good! But we've never... you've never been with a woman, right?"

"No, not for real."

"Right, me neither... and... and..." I try to line the words up in my head, but her eyes and her mouth are so distracting, "you've done nothing to make me think that this would be a one night thing for you, honestly you haven't, but I couldn't bear it if it was. So, can we just... can we just hold each other tonight?"

She makes the sweetest noise, somewhere between a gasp, a sigh and a laugh. A close noise, like an invitation, and I realise it's a noise I want to keep hearing forever.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"It was, aye."

"I want... I want more, like, oh my God do I want more, but can we just get to know each other a bit first?"

"Yes." That noise again, there, behind the word.

"Okay?" I lean forward and kiss her again.

"Okay," she mutters against my lips.

It's so different kissing her. It's not just the passion and the desire, but the physical sensations too. I'm not used to kissing somebody my height; my neck doesn't need to bend. I get no sense of being dominated, which I've never taken to well. Then there's the softness of her lips, her cheeks, and most obviously, her breasts, which seem to fit between mine so well they might have been designed to. And her smell. Not the perfume - floral, woodsy - which is pleasant, but the smell under that, the tangy sweetness, the earthiness of her skin, like a struck match.

It's all so new. It's all so wonderful.

When we next break apart, we pause, arms around each other, swaying slightly, eyes locked.

"I guess we should get ready for bed, eh?"

"Yeah, good shout. Do you want to go in first?" I ask.

She nods. "Sure. But I'll just have a pee and change; we can do teeth and stuff together."

"Okay."

"Okay." She nods back at me.

I grin.

Neither of us moves. We're still wrapped up in each other.

With a sigh, I detach myself from her, but her hand lingers on my back as I locate our pyjamas in one of the saddle bags. "Here you go."

"I'll be right back." She pecks me on the lips and goes into the bathroom.

And my brain goes nuts, the fog flooding in.

The curtains are open. Boring prints on the wall. What will Hels think? What will Aunty Sue and Uncle Phil think?

I pull off my boots and socks.

Better close those curtains. Oh, nice view of the river from here. A jogger, this time of night? She's so gorgeous. What am I going to do about training tomorrow? What will sex with a woman be like? I hope my bike will be okay out there.

I undo my belt and pull off my jeans and underwear.

Why have I never been interested in women before? Cool, there's a kettle, that'll be good for the morning. Shit, will I be good enough in bed for her? I love her accent.

I pull up my pyjama shorts, then strip off my t-shirt. Sniff. Smells okay.

I need to download some new podcasts. Maybe I should give her that perfume? I wonder if you can buy it here? Bed looks comfy. Oh God, sex! What will we do tomorrow? God, I hope she doesn't feel obliged. Should I shower? My hair will dry quickly. Nah, I showered before we went out. Yeah, but I've been running.

A whistle snaps me back to focus.

"Chur, babe, you look gorgeous."

Backlit by the bright bathroom light, her lithe legs and perfect curves are visible through the thin cotton of the white pyjamas I lent her.

"And you're just wow, Marama."

"Mmmmm, I love how you say my name."

Without conscious thought, I'm in front of her, holding her, kissing her, and I just realised I never put my pyjama top on! My bare breasts are pushing into her!

"Mphfff!" I squeak into her mouth, "gotta go babe!"

I dash into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. "Cold shower, cold shower," I mutter to myself as I strip off my shorts and jump in.

The water is a shock, but I lather up and shampoo, peeing while I'm in there, to save time and water, then rinse and out, all in under three minutes, wrapping myself in fluffy white towels.

I'm furiously toweling dry my short hair, when she knocks. "Can I come in?" Her voice is all hesitant, insecure.

"Um, okay?"

She pops her in. She looks worried. "Are you sure? I didn't cross a line did I?"

"No, no, no," I say, "get in here." I open the door wider and pull her in.

"I didn't mean to catch you half dressed," she begins, but I interrupt.

"It's fine, I was daydreaming, distracted. No biggie. Here, do your teeth." I pass her the hotel supplied tooth brushing kit.

She stands so close to me we're touching, her eyes on me in the mirror. My hand goes to her waist as the other continues to rub my hair.

"So.... did you like what you saw?" I ask. I want it to sound confident, but it comes across as nervous.

"Yeah, Luna, of course. I mean, it's far out, because I never thought I would. I've been around heaps of naked chicks before, but none of them have ever done anything for me, but you... sweet as."

She brushes her teeth, while I muse on this, our sides touching. I don't like the idea of her seeing other girls naked and I shudder to think about what she's had to do to get by in the past. But... she liked what she saw. The sight of me made her feel good.

That's amazing.

Right, let's make her forget those other chicks.

As she bends to spit, I let the towel wrapping my body drop. She takes a sip of water and straightens as she swishes the water around her mouth. Her eyes catch sight of me in the mirror and she sprays the mint foam out in a geyser of shock.

"Jesus! Tu meke babe, you gotta warn me!"

Her face is beet red, but I can't help but notice the way her dark nipples are pointing almost straight through the cotton pyjamas.

"What?" I say, as innocently as I can, as she tries to clean the mirror with a flannel.

"Please put some clothes on before I jump your bones!" she growls.

"Oh, okay," I giggle. Yeah, well it was me that wanted to take it slow.

Quickly putting on my pyjamas, I'm rewarded by her arm sliding around my waist like it belongs. Such a simple gesture, one that friends and family have been doing for years. Yet, with her, it makes me buzz with happiness.

She watches me as I do my teeth, making me feel slightly self-conscious, far more than my earlier nudity, as she removes what little make up she was wearing.

Then she sighs. "Okay, brace yourself."

"What?!" I reply, deeply nervous. I don't know how to behave. I'm so worried about my reactions.

"Well," she says, "I've been enjoying this, but I can't keep up the pretence."

"What do you mean?" There's a cold hand gripping my gut. I think I might be sick. It's all been a game to her.

"No, no, no, babe, relax," she says, squeezing my arm gently, "I meant this." She reaches up under her hair on either side of her ear. I hear a slight click, and then her black curtains are coming off and she lifts away a wig.

"Wow!" I gasp, "I did not expect that!"

Underneath, she has short hair, almost exactly like mine, with a little length at the front.

"Yeah, I know," she sighs, "shame, as it was fun hiding the real me."

"No, Marama, the real you is awesome," I say, turning to face her and gently running my fingers into her hair. It's soft and slightly sweaty. "I love it. It suits you. Though people might think we're twins now!"

I look down at the wig she's holding. "That is a seriously quality piece. Like, I was giving you a head massage and I didn't spot it. Why'd you wear it though?"

"Matt told me too." Her voice sounds confused, as if I've given her a puzzle she can't solve. "He said Harvey would like it."

I shudder at that and stand on tiptoes to kiss her on the forehead. "Well, babe, I'm not judging you, okay? But you never have to do that again if you don't want to."

"No, it wasn't... so you really don't know...?" she pauses, cocks her head, "no, you're right, I guess it was like that. And yeah, I don't have to do that again."

"Listen, your phone is still off, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is there anyone you need to message? Let them know you're safe? You can use mine. Maybe send an email if you don't know the number?"

"Yeah, actually, yeah that would be choice. If I can message my parents back home. Matt might call them."

"What a dick!" I say, as I move into the bedroom to grab my phone for her. "Here, 9605's the passcode, alright?"

"You trust me?!"

"Yeah," I say. I take her hand, "yeah, I do."

She bites her lip. "You shouldn't. I'm not being truthful with you. I mean, I'm not lying about how I feel about you, but I'm not being honest about who I am, what I've done."

"Marama, babe, don't stress it. Tell me, don't tell me, it's up to you."

"I want to, I really do. I'm just so enjoying the fact that you're not judging me on my career. It's so refreshing. I just want to bask in that."

"Babe, honestly, you don't ever need to tell me, really."

"Yeah, well, eventually it's going to come out, it's unavoidable, and I'd rather you heard it from me than anyone else, eh?"

"Well, not tonight at least. Text your folks, or call them if you prefer, I'll get us some water."

I leave her tapping on my phone and fill two glasses of water to put by the bed. Then I get out my charger and plug it in, turn off the lights and think about climbing under the sheets. That feels like such a step though. So presumptuous, so soon.

"There, thanks, I sent a message." She hands the phone back and I plug it in. "Umm... I had to add them to your contacts."

"Yeah that's fine," I say.

"Might not be when you see what I put them under," she says, coming round to me and sliding her arms around me.

I turn in the circle of her embrace, catching her face in my hands.

"What did you put them in as?"

"Okay, don't freak out, it felt funny at the time, but I'm now already thinking I went too far..." Bless her, she actually looks embarrassed.

"Marama? What did you call them?"

She bites her lip and tries to look away from me, ducking her head. It's so endearing.

"Um... potential in-laws?"

It's crazy. It's mad. It's fucking mental, is what it is, but the thought of that, not yet three hours after meeting her, sends me soaring.

Before I realise what I've done, I've pushed her down onto the bed, my body between her legs, my mouth on hers, my fists gripping her top to stop me from sliding my hands underneath.

It hasn't stopped her though. Her ankles are hooked over my legs and her hands, oh shit her hands, are on my bare back, under my top.

Her touch is setting my skin on fire. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever felt.

Her smell fills my head.

Then, just as I feel like this can't get any sexier, her hands slip under my waistband and grab my glutes and press down. And she is moaning and shuddering and shaking under me, heat blossoming through me as she grinds herself into me.

"Aw fuck Luna!" she coos into my mouth.

I feel the tremor in her, as she spasms and clenches and then subsides.

I prop myself up on an elbow as she gasps, her eyes closed.

"Did you just cum?" I ask, joy and awe in my voice.

She gulps and nods, and I see the tremble in her lips and tears leak out the sides of her eyes.

"Oh God, Marama, are you okay?" I quickly clamber off her, but then lie down next to her and pull her to me, kissing away the tears, "did I hurt you?"

"No, no," she sobs, "It's just.... That was wonderful and unexpected.... But, I just feel like I'm buggering this up by rushing things ´cause you wanted to go slow-"

"- No, no, stop, don't worry, that was.... I'd been worried I wouldn't be able to make you feel good, you know? And we just did, without even really trying. So, it's all good, yeah? I'm not mad. I'm thrilled. Made up."

"Really?"

"Really. Solid truth," I contort myself and kiss her, then pull her head to my chest.

A yawn escapes me.

"Shall we get under the covers?"

"Yeah nah, good shout."

We briefly rearrange ourselves, before cuddling up.

"What about you?" she asks.

"Nah, I'd rather... I'd rather just talk, if you don't mind?"

"Well... okay... it's just, I was kind of looking forward to exploring what you showed me in the bathroom, eh?"

I chuckle and stifle another yawn. "Tomorrow, I promise." I kiss her forehead.

"Okay."

There's a pause as we cuddle and I idly stroke her side. Her hand is exploring my stomach.

"So, you work out a lot then?" she asks.

"Yeah, not the gym so much, more the dojo. In fact, um, I'm meant to be giving my final farewell class tomorrow morning at 11. You can stay here, sleep in.... Or you could come with and I'll take you to lunch after?"

"I'd like that," she says, "I think I'd like to learn about you."

That thought, of her wanting to know about me, well, that's one hell of a turn on. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, one thing, and sorry to get serious but.... You've mentioned your cousin, and your aunt and uncle, and I was kind of wondering why you've not mentioned your parents?"

"Yeah, that's fair," I say, sighing somewhat. I mean, I was going to have to tell her this anyway, why not now. At the very least, it's going to kill any sexual excitement I'm feeling and might help me resist her. At least for tonight.

"So, basically, I grew up with Aunty Sue and Uncle Phil, so they are more like parents, to be honest. Helen, their daughter, my cousin, is just a year younger than me, so she's basically my little sister, and my bestie really. You'll love her, she's great. So are they too. I mean, this'll come as a shock, a surprise, but they'll come round quickly. They've also got a son, James, but he's a bit older. I mean, we get on fine, but he'd left secondary school by the time I started there, so, like, I didn't spend as much time with him. But, anyway, he's gay, so they won't have any trouble with us."

I blow out my cheeks. I'm stalling. I don't really want to talk about it. Let's deal with the easier stuff.

"I never knew my dad. My mum was a real party girl. Actually, she was an alcoholic and pothead. I never knew that until later, because she cleaned up her act once she got pregnant with me, though I wonder how quickly she did that and whether my ADHD had anything to do with it.

"It was just us. Mum and me. I mean, we saw family - weekends at my grandparents, or Sue and Phil's. But it was just us at home. We had a little flat above a shop. I went to school. Mum worked behind the check out. It was pretty good. We loved each other." I feel the lump start to build in my throat. I've had to tell this story many times in many ways over the years. To Sean. To friends. To colleagues and training partners. It never gets easier.

"Then... then one day..." my voice breaks and my face crumples and Marama's pulling me to her, wrapping me up in her arms, soothing me as I sob into her chest, my tears soaking the thin cotton.

I swallow and find my voice again. "She just didn't wake up. She was cold when I... when I found her." I sniff, wipe my eyes with the edge of the duvet. I feel Marama's lips press into my forehead, hear her sob a little in sympathy and I take strength from her compassion. "The coroner said it was organ failure. All the boozing had aged her internally. She was only 32."

I sniff again, as she strokes my face. I smile sadly at her. Her eyes are so kind, so full of feeling, a sheen of sympathetic tears over them.

"So, that's why I don't drink. And it's also why my aunt and uncle are basically my mum and dad. They took me in, they raised me, they're my family."

"I can't wait to meet them," she says, kissing me on my temple, "they sound wonderful."

I nod, not trusting myself to speak now.

She kisses me then leans over, flicks off the light, then pulls me close, tucking my head under her chin, resting on her breasts.

"Thank you for sharing that with me, Luna," she whispers.

"Thank you for listening."

"Any time. I've got you."

I snuggle into her, feeling more at peace, more relaxed, more comfortable, more right in myself than I can ever remember.

Saturday: 9:02am Marama

I check myself in the bathroom mirror, wet from the shower, and wonder what the hell I'm doing.

Waking up with Luna's arms around me felt so fucking choice. Her weight on me was sweet as, the absolute balance of giving and taking. And, oh her smell, it was heaven.

I've woken up with plenty of guys before. Their hands pawing at me, their morning wood stabbing me in the back. Their stubble rasping at me. I tolerated it, sometimes acted like I appreciated it because I admired the person inside the body.

But this, waking up with Luna, that was chur. It was something else. It was safe, it was sensual, it was sexy. It was everything I could ever want.

I could have laid there all day in her arms.

And that was surprising as.

I've kissed women before, been naked with them before, always in a professional context, true, but I'd never felt any stirrings of desire. Yet last night, when she came into that kitchen and fixed me with her focus I felt a tug on my insides like nothing I've ever experienced. It was far out.

But soon, I'm going to have to tell her the truth about me, and it's going to ruin everything. She's going to feel so stupid.

She's shown me her strength and her vulnerability. She's put her body and her money and her time on the line for me, twisted her life out of shape to help. Made me feel safe and cared for and seen and happy as.

And all I've done is hide the truth from her.

I start trimming my nails. Something tells me I'll need them short soon alright.

What the hell was I thinking? Only my dad calls me Marama, and then only when I've done something very bad or very good.

And which is this? This thing, this connection, this tie with Luna: is it possible for something to be very, very good and very, very bad at the same time?

"Hey! I'm back," I hear Luna call as the door to the room clicks open, "I'm sorry I took so long, I got all turned around and went down the wrong corridor." I discard my towel and move towards the door, "I got you a coffee and some fruit and a couple of croissants and eeep!" Her eyes go wide and she freezes in place when she sees me. Chur!

"Hi Luna," I say, trying to make my voice as sexy as possible, "thanks for getting breakfast."

I advance on her, plucking the take-away tray from her shaking hand and placing it carefully on top of the dresser, then doing the same with the bag of food. The room is cooler than the steam filled bathroom, and my bare nipples are puckering up.

"Errrrr...." she stammers.

I stop her lips with a kiss. I want to give something back. More than that, I think, as my tongue explores her opened mouth, tickling her teeth, tasting the tea on her breath: I want to make her mine. I want to ruin her for anyone else. I want her to only want me for the rest of time.

But I don't know how. Not even.

I've never made love to a woman.

But I'm sure gonna learn. Fast.

After slipping her jacket from her shoulders, I tug her t-shirt out of her jeans and break our kiss, briefly, to pull it over her head.

She's braless and the sight of her hits my heart like a hug. I can't help but bend and take a nipple in my mouth, sucking gently as I run my tongue over its stiffness. The gasp it pulls from her is far out, nearly making my hair stand on end. My hands fumble with the button of her jeans, but then hers are there, helping.

Thank God: she wants this too! I nearly cried last night when she turned me down.

I crush my lips to hers. The feel of bare skin on bare skin nearly has me swooning, her right breast slipping between my like it was designed to do that. Fuck, this feels sweet as.

"Tell me what you like," I say, trying to push her jeans down.

"I.... I.... I don't know..." she moans.

"Okay, let's find out."

I pull her to the edge of the bed and push her back.

"Wait, my boots!"

I don't know why, but this makes me snort with laughter, which gets her going too. The sexiness of the moment is suddenly suspended, as we wrestle with her uncooperative slacks. Big belly laughs make my sides shake, as she blushes and swears.

Then we're falling back together, naked, entwined.

"You," she says, smiling, "that's what I like. You."

She's looking at me like she's chocka with emotion, like I'm the moon.

I kiss her hard, lips wet and open, then pull back. "Anywhere in particular you'd like me?"

Her eyes are wide, with both fear and desire I think. She swallows. "I... I don't know... everywhere?"

"Let's find out, eh?"

My mouth goes to her neck as her hands stroke my back. Her touch is feather light, pulling shivers from me. Shit, this is meant to be about her! Her skin smells divine and tastes sweet as, so I slide down, my stomach between her legs.

I push into her, tensing my stomach, grinding into her pussy as she moans and clutches at me. My lips close over her nipple, as wide as I can make them, and I suck her breast into my mouth, my tongue licking and flicking furiously. She hisses my name in pleasure.

Fuck, I love this! This is so.... Shit, no wonder men lose their minds over boobs. I'm seriously starting to relate. I press my tongue in harder, delighting in the feel and taste of her skin.

She's curling her hips up to meet me, and I can feel her wetness, her openness on my stomach. Her hands are in my hair and I can tell she wants to push me down, but doesn't dare. She's showing her care. But there's nowhere I wasn't going to kiss anyway.

Gulp! Here goes! Fuck, what if it's gross? Well, I've done grosser things, and sometimes for guys I didn't even like so...

I slip down her front, replacing my mouth with fingers, stroking her slippery nipple with my thumb, the way I love.

Shit, yeah, of course - just do what I like.

"Marama, that's so... Oh my God, Marama!"

From the manic moans coming from her, I know I'm doing something right! Choice.

Leaving a trail of teasing kisses down her stomach and make her think I'm going straight for her box, but then I swerve to the side, kissing and sucking at the tops of her thighs.

She smells heavenly as and she's writhing like she's in pain.

"Please, Marama, please..."

Her hair is short and sparse, in tight curls, though that seems natural rather than by design. I've never really seen a vagina up this close before. Her skin is darker here as I peel her open carefully, revealing her glistening pinkness and I almost start drooling. This is far out.

I always hate it when guys just plunge in, but I genuinely have to restrain myself from doing the same.

Luna's propped herself up on her elbows, so when I look up I catch her eye. Her pupils are wide and she's biting her lip, looking flushed, gorgeous, worried and turned on, all at the same time.

"Marama, you... you don't have to."

"Yeah nah, it's all good babe. I know okay," I say, my lips inches from her clit, my breath over it making her quiver, "but I really, really want to. You smell sweet as."

She lets out this little whimper that's cute as, and I extend my tongue and trace the tip down her vulva, just swirling around the edge of her box. I swear she goes cross-eyed for a moment.

The taste is... okay, not gonna lie, it's not the most pleasant thing in the world: sour, tangy, slightly astringent. No biggie: I've had far worse things in my mouth. Anyway, the way her stomach is trembling, the way she's hissing with pleasure, the way her skin pulses hot under my hands, is more than sufficient reason to put up with my own discomfort. My neck isn't used to this.

I dip my tongue into her hole, pulling a gasp from her. The taste changes: it's cleaner here, slightly nutty. Mmmmm. Actually, quite pleasant now. I thrust my tongue in and out, trying to keep it as stiff as possible.

Luna's panting and her thighs are shaking. Given how fit she is, I'm kind of nervous about her legs closing around my neck if she comes. Had a guy do that... no, don't think about that now. Focus.

Holding one leg down with my left hand, I move my mouth up her slit to her clit even as I slip two fingers inside her.

She's coming in seconds, spasming under me, hissing in pleasure, and fresh fluids slip down into my palm.

I'm slightly disappointed. It was so quick, I barely got a chance to explore her insides, my first time even fingering a woman. Her inner walls are so soft and smooth, warm and wet as they twitch around me while I kiss her clit. Apart from that spot there, which feels slightly rougher. I stroke it gently.

"Oh my God, Marama," Luna exclaims, flinching violently under me.

So, of course, I do it again. I'll stop if she tells me, but...

"Oh fuck, don't stop!" she practically screams.

I laugh into her crotch. This is far out. My lips clamped over her clit, which I'm flicking with my tongue, even as my fingers flex and stretch inside her.

She's gasping out my name now like a mantra, her notes going higher - "Marama, Marama, Ma-ra-ma, Maah-rah-maeee!" - and I hope the neighbours in the next room didn't want a lie-in. I can't see her face from here, which is a real shame, with my nose buried in her fragrant fur. Yet, I'm thrilled as that I'm proving to be good at this. The way she's reacting is just choice.

It's also got me really looking forward to my turn.

And then doing it all over again.

Mmmmm, maybe a 69?

Just as I hum into her at the thought, she crashes over the edge, her head thumping down on the pillow, her back arching, her hips bucking and it feels like my fingers are being crushed. I'm thrown off her clit, but keep my fingers inside, pushing them into and out gently, as I feel the flutters of her orgasm flex through her stomach, where my head is now resting.

"Come here, come here," she gasps, trying to pull me up her body, "I need to kiss you."

Pulling my fingers free, I slink up her body, kissing on the way, noticing how her chest is heaving, her nipples still hard, then she crushes me into a kiss.

"Mmmmm, is that what I taste like?"

"Yeah, I didn't get a chance to clean my face, somebody was impatient as!"

"I wasn't complaining babe," Luna says. She sounds so blissed out, so loved up. "Let's find out what you taste like."

She rolls me onto my back.

"Hey, you don't have to-" I begin, but she stops me with a kiss. The way her lips and tongue move, I realise I'm desperate as to feel that somewhere else.

"I know, but I really want to."

"Well, there's no rush at least," I say.

"Are you kidding?" Her voice is so full of enthusiasm. Clearly, she's not having second thoughts here. "I've got a class at 11am and we still haven't had breakfast! Open up!"

My giggles turn to gasps as the heat of her mouth settles over my box.

Soon, she has me screaming her name.

I could get so used to this.

Saturday 10:37am Marama

My body buzzes with the thrum and thrill of riding pillion behind Luna. She's no lunatic on the road, not even, driving carefully, deliberately, indicating far in advance, never trying to squeeze through dangerously small gaps.

And yet.

The closeness of her body coupled with the purr of the engine between my legs is arousing as. Far from sating me, those earlier orgasms seem to have just got me going. I'm not going to last until lunch.

I've no idea where we are. I barely know her. Yet I trust her implicitly. I feel so safe, even though the area of London we're in looks scuzzy as and real daggy. As I lean my head on her back, I take in bookies, charity shops, kebab joints, supermarkets with writing in languages I don't recognise, and many storefronts that have been boarded up. This is a far cry from the glamorous side of the city I normally see.

She indicates, slows and carefully weaves her way up on the pavement outside a gym called Dom's Dojo. A bunch of girls in tracksuits lurking outside look up and nod to her, then start to file into the gym. Two make their way over as she parks the bike and pops off her helmet.

"You offerin' rides to class now, Luna? Wish I'd known, I'd 'ave asked for a ride years ago." There's laughter in her voice.

I turn away to take my helmet off, and quickly tug up my hood over the black wig.

"No, no rides for you Tracy. Only Marama here."

I turn back to see Luna looking at me, her hand held out. I feel a glow of pride at the gesture - she's not embarrassed of me, of us! She's happy to show me off! I take it eagerly, and watch the two women step back in surprise.

"Woah! What the fuck, Luna?"

"Tell me about it! Tracy, Sharon, meet Marama, my... well," she looks at me, unsure, so I jump in.

"Her girlfriend." I literally feel Luna's happiness pulse through our joined hands. "Nice to meet you both." I offer my free hand to the girls, and Tracy takes it limply.

"Shit," she curses, sounding genuinely annoyed, "I'd 'ave asked you out when you broke up with Sean if I'd knew you swung that way."

"Well, I didn't. Not until I met Marama here. Marama, Tracy's going to take over running the classes while I'm gone and Sharon does the recruitment."

"So, yous the reason Luna's gowna leave us then?" the other girl asks. Her face is covered in acne scars. Her eyes are narrowed. There's a glint of recognition in the way she stares at me.

"No Sharon," Luna interrupts, "you know I've been planning this for months now. It's nothing to do with Marama."

"Mmm-hmmmm? You think we gonna believe that honey?" Tracy says, waggling her finger back and forth. "You all secretive, not telling us why you leaving, then you turn up with a girlfriend looking all fine like that, and we supposed to not join the dots? You take us for fools?"

"I swear," I say, "I've got nothing to do with this. I don't even know what job she's starting on Monday." I look at Luna meaningfully and immediately feel bad. It's not like I'm not also keeping secrets.

"I'm sorry." I can hear the regret in Luna's voice as she pulls out the vowel and seems to shrink in shame. "I really wanna tell you all, but they made me sign one of those contracts, a NPA thingy?"

"NDA?" I ask.

"Yeah, that's it."

My heart sinks. I've signed enough of those in my time. If she's doing something that requires a non-disclosure agreement, it's going to be very hard to see her. She's probably going to be a bodyguard for some popstar or something, which makes sense given her skillset. Off on tour, away for weeks on end.

And where will that leave us?

"Don't worry. I'll be back as many weekends as I can. I just won't be able to do the Tuesday classes any more. I'll be living in Slough during the week too," she looks at me meaningfully. That makes me feel a bit better. Though not a lot.

But I'm the problem here, not her.

"Right, come on peeps, let's start the class." She turns to me as we walk in. "You going to watch or join in?"

"Can I? Join I mean? Is that okay?" I'd put on leggings and a hoodie.

"Yeah. You can partner me when we get to the sparring."

"Choice!"

"Stop flirtin' you two," calls Tracy.

"Right, I got to go lead babe." She kisses me briefly, which brings some whistles and claps from the crowd.

"Alright, you lot, settle down," she yells, then jogs to the front, but her face is all smiles.

My fingers go to my lips as if trying to preserve the thrill of that light, possessive touch as I move to the back of the group, finding some space in a corner.

Sharon catches my eye and siddles up to me. "Marama huh?"

"Yeah cuz, that's right."

She snorts. "Pull the other one, yous-"

"Marama. It's my middle name." I quickly interrupt, as Luna calls out the stretches and I follow.

"Really?" Sharon asks.

"Yeah," I say, copying the lunges the class are doing. "I'm going to tell her. I promise. But just.... Just let her get to know me, please? You know she'll look at me differently as soon as she finds out what I do. And... well, I don't want to lose that, eh?"

She looks at me and nods. "Yeah. Fair 'nuff. I knows wha' ya mean. Whenerra I meets somebody nice I never wants them to know wha' I does. None of us do."

She gestures then at the class and I take them in. No gym bunnies or yummy mummies here. There's two dozen people, mostly women of different shapes and ethnicities but all looking like they've had hard lives. There's two guys, young, skinny and effeminate. Several sport bruises on arms, like they've been grabbed hard.

"Ta. I appreciate it."

An idea of who these people are starts to form in my head.

"Min' yous, you 'urt 'er, you go plazzy, yous better swerve us, or else."

I think that was a threat, but a well meant one, if such a thing exists. "Not even."

"Okay, peeps," Luna calls, "we're going to go through the Seisan kata, alright? We'll break it down first, then try to put it all together. This is good for close range stuff, if clients get all up in your face. Tracy will lead us, okay?"

The class is an intense workout. Luna is demanding, making micro-adjustments to students' stances, but not stern - she gives compliments when they are earned and leaves people standing that little taller afterwards.

At the end she has us pair up to spar. She has me attack her in front of the class to demonstrate how the kata she's been teaching them can work in self-defense. I lunge at her wildly, trying to grab her and she deftly deflects me, then gently puts me down with light taps and pulls to send me to the floor. I'm very glad the mats are padded.

"Are you okay?" she asks, yet again, as she helps me up. I really don't need her too, but I find myself just craving the feel of her palm in mine.

"I'm fine. You're only bruising my ego."

She laughs and it's so real, so genuine - no performance meant to posture or belittle or ingratiate. This. This is what I want. It's why I'm so reluctant to tell her the truth. I don't want to lose this.

Eventually, the class finishes. As much as I want to rush to Luna and hang onto her, I force myself to hang back and let her say goodbye to her students. There are lots of hugs and fist bumps and a few tears. Sharon and Tracy in particular seem very emotional.

"We got something for yous," says Sharon, as Tracy presents Luna with a gift bag.

"Oh my God girls," Luna says, fanning her face, to try to keep tears at bay.

"Well go on, open it," one of the other girls says, to which many add their agreement.

"Alright, alright... oh wow, you lot, that's lovely!" Luna holds up a gi with her name embroidered on the back above a silhouette of a woman kicking, while backlit by a full moon. "Girls, guys, that's so.... Thank you!"

Another round of hugs follows and the tears flow and this time I can't help but step up to her and take her hand. She squeezes it like her life depends on it.

"Yous knows 'ow much you means to us all Luna."

"Yeah, yeah." There's a chorus of agreement.

"No joke, I'd be dead by now if it weren't for these classes," says one of the guys.

There's a murmur of agreement all round.

"Well, I'll miss you all. But I promise I'll be back as often as I can. And it's only for 5 months anyway."

5 months? That's... interesting. I look again at my.... shit, I called her my girlfriend! My girlfriend!! Well, she didn't run screaming. And neither did I!

Wow, that's...

Well, that's amazing, is what it is.

I'm finally brought back to the present, by the last of the class - Tracy - waving goodbye and Luna slipping her arms around me and kissing my nose.

I beam at her. "You were hard out!"

She ducks her head, adorably. "Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it." Then she looks me in the eye. "Thanks for coming, Marama. It... it means a lot. Sean never got this."

I kiss her, gently. I mean, there's still people around in other parts of the gym. Guys working punchbags. "It clearly means a lot to them too. I'm very proud of you."

She smiles shyly at that. "So... girlfriend?"

My turn to look down in embarrassment. "Um... yeah? Was that okay?"

"Okay?! Yeah! I mean, I'd wanted to say it but had felt like it was too soon, but then when you said it... I was made up."

"Skux babe, I mean choice! Yeah, it feels... so special to call you that. Which is crazy!"

"Yep. But crazy can be good sometimes, right?"

"Defo." I look around. It's all men in here now, but luckily they are ignoring us. "So," I ask, "are we going to lunch in these or is there somewhere we can change into those clothes we brought?"

3 minutes later and we're fingering each other furiously in the tiny shower in what passes for the girls' changing room. A horniness I can never remember having before leads me to scream Luna's name into her shoulder as she fucks me until my knees go weak. As the spasms take me, I pull her hand from me, slip down her body and suck the slickness from them, before applying my mouth to her clit. Luna shuts the water off so I don't drown, which means I get to hear the echoes of the throes of her orgasm as she drips from my chin onto my breasts.

It's so fucking sexy.

Saturday 12:37pm Marama

"So how hungry are you?" Luna asks, as we climb off the bike.

It was only a short ride, maybe 6 minutes, but my libido has shot back up despite our sexy shower of 20 minutes ago. Right now, I don't know which of my appetites is more pressing.

"I could go for a feed, yeah, that'd be choice." I lick my lips at her, which brings a delightful shiver from her.

"Fuck," she says, more to herself than me. She shakes her head, then bends to put the locks around the front wheel. "What you do to me Marama! It's crazy."

"Come on, take me to a table so I can torture you some more!"

She laughs at this. "Sounds like fun. Come on," she takes my hand like she's been doing it for a decade and leads me down to a Spanish restaurant a few doors down the street.

"This is a good one," she says, "I used to live round here with Sean and we ate there quite a few times. I don't know what you like, but they've got a very wide range so..."

"Yeah nah don't worry; I'm an omnivore, I'll eat anything when I'm allowed."

That gets a strange look. "Yeah, I've been on diets: that's one of the sucky things about modelling. You're constantly hungry."

Luna holds the door for me and we enter, where she's immediately greeted.

"¡Luna! ¡Cuánto tiempo!" says the waiter.

"¡Hola Nacho! ¿Qué tal?"

"Bien, ¿y tú?"

"Very good thanks. This is my girlfriend, Marama. Marama, this is Nacho, best waiter in East London."

"No, no, no, the whole of London, gracias."

If this guy is surprised by Luna having a girlfriend, he doesn't show it at all.

"Sorry, sorry!"

"¿Para dos entonces?"

"Por favor."

The menu is thankfully in English and Spanish, so I know what I'm ordering, but in the end I leave it to Luna to make the choices. She knows the place, after all. She goes for patatas bravas, albóndigas, verduras a la plancha and gazpacho. "We can always order more afterwards if that's not enough, but their portions are quite generous. Do you want a beer?"

"Do you mind?"

"No. It's my choice not to drink, not anyone else's."

"Okay. But... yeah nah, I won't. What are you going to drink?"

"Just water."

"Me too then."

We order, then lace hands across the table. She smiles, as if I've just made her day with that little gesture. I reckon I know the feeling.

"So how good are you?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" Her brow furrows a little - it's so cute!

"At the martial arts stuff, eh?"

"Oh right... well, I've won a couple of tournaments locally, but I'm never going to make the Olympics or anything. And I'm not looking to go pro."

A weight I didn't know was on me lifts; a vision of her battered, bruised and bleeding in the octagon fades away, like a polaroid in reverse.

"Not interested? Or can't afford it?" I ask.

"Both. But also.... That's not why I got into it in the first place."

"No?"

"It was my Science teacher at school. She spotted my issues with concentration and asked if I'd ever tried martial arts. She thought it might help me learn to focus. So she phoned up Uncle Phil, talked him into taking me to the dojo she trained at, explaining how it had helped her get over her own trauma. And yeah, that was it."

"And was she right? Did it help?"

"Well... to an extent. I still can't focus on visual things. So reading and watching stuff... yeah, I can't do more than a short burst, you know? But anything physical, anything involving movement - well, it's taught me how to immerse myself in the moment, shut other things out."

"Yeah I noticed! You were pretty bloody good at that this morning."

She smiles bashfully at me. There's a response between my legs that has nothing to do with my conscious mind at all.

Trying to shove that twinge aside, I decide to find out if my earlier suspicions were correct. "Look, don't tell me if you can't, eh? But that class... are they all... um... working girls?"

She nods and gives my hand a squeeze.. "Recognised some, did you?"

I don't correct her assumption. To do so would mean telling her the truth, and I'm not ready to do that yet. It'll have to be soon though, otherwise she's going to feel so embarrassed.

"That's far out, Luna. How did you end up teaching it?"

"Well, I started it. Me and Sharon, anyway. I was working the door at this dodgy club and saw her getting slapped around by a customer; I went and knocked the guy around a bit.. Afterwards, she asked me to teach her and we came up with the idea of the class. She spread word around. It doesn't make any money, enough to rent the space, but that's not the point. They pay what they can. Some of them now work together so they don't need a pimp. Tracy's got so good, she's come off the game completely and works security too."

"That's hard out!"

"I know, right?" She gives me a big grin. "I'm going to miss them."

"So, were you just saying it when you said you'd come back?"

"No, no, I meant it. I mean, I won't be able to make the Tuesday class - that's at 11 too - but I should have most weekends free. And it should be only for 5 months too... but it's what I'd earn in two years, so I couldn't say no. It's pretty exciting too." She glances around. We're in a corner, but there are a few customers nearby. She leans in, an action I mirror. "I promise I'll tell you back at the hotel, okay?"

"Okay."

"So tell me something about you, Marama. Not.... whatever it is you don't want me to know yet. Tell me... about your family."

"Well, I'm from Auckland, in the North - you ever been to Aotearoa?" She shakes her head. "It's beautiful. I miss it. My dad's Maori, and he's really instilled a sense of whenau in me, this connection to our land, to our iwi. It's like it's part of me, you know? I reckon I'll be back for Christmas, aye - maybe you can join me?"

I see her doing the mental Maths and watch the smile grow. "Yeah, yeah, that would work. I'd love that."

"Choice." Shit! I just invited her to my parents for Christmas! We've known each other for less than 24 hours.

"Speaking which, sorry, I didn't say earlier, but there's a message from 'potential mother-in-law': I haven't read it. I just saw it when I was replying to Hels." She unlocks and passes me her phone.

Hi sweetie

Thanks for messaging. Yes, Matt has been in touch, rather rudely too. I do hope this means you are finally getting rid of him?

Will you call us tomorrow morning? We're a bit worried that this wasn't your normal number, even though the code checks out.

Dad sends his love

Aroha

Mum x

Looking at the time, I realise they will be fast asleep on the other side of the world. I tap out a quick reply one-handed, promising to call Sunday morning, their time.

Nacho arrives with the first food plates and we, reluctantly, let go of our hands. I immediately, wrap both my calves around one of hers. She grins at me and blows me a kiss.

Touching her is just so grounding. It's almost like being home. Maybe more.

"What's his name? What does he do, your dad?"

A hold up a finger while I swallow a mouthful. "Dad's a gardener for the council but he also works for our Iwi - that's like our tribe - running classes. He's called Mikaere - kind of like Michael. My mum's Lisa - she's pakeha: Scottish heritage, like half the island really. She teaches English at High school and that's how they met, because he was doing classes in the school and they caught each other's eye."

"Aw!"

"I know, cute right?" I take another bite of food. It's choice. As mean as anything I had on the peninsula.

"So, is it just you?"

I shake my head as I chew. "Yeah nah, there's my little brothers too, Cristian and Tane, named after Dad's favourite rugby players."

She snorts a little. "So it's true then? Rugby's like the most important thing there then?"

"Are you kidding? It's like a religion. Yeah, they're rugby mad those two. They're not gonna play for the national squad or anything, but they're good as. They are in the high school team and play for a local club."

"School? How old are they?"

"Cristian's seventeen, Tane fifteen. There's a bit of a gap between us 'cos mum miscarried twice."

"Aw shit, that's sad."

"Yeah." There's a pause, and she reaches for my hand again and squeezes. I smile at her. "I'm twenty six by the way, in case you were wondering."

"Really? Snap!"

I give her a dopey grin as she pops a potato in her mouth. She's just perfect as.

We smile at each other as we tuck in. It's a good feed.

"So were you into rugby too, growing up?" she asks, sipping the gazpacho. They've served it ice-cold in tall glasses.

"Nah, I was all about the stage - singing, dancing, acting. I loved it, slipping on a role, being another person; those are the kind of songs I like too. Ones from musicals, or one's with a real character voice. Love it."

"So, that's why your balance was so good this morning. All that dancing." She wags a finger at me, and I fake an attempt to bite it, which causes her eyes to go wide then start laughing. "Easy tiger!"

I giggle back. She's fun as to be around!

"You're so much fun, Marama."

"Aw snap! That's exactly what I was thinking."

"Did you ever do much performing?"

"Well, yeah, dance. That helped with the focus too. I did some gymnastics when I was younger. I can still do a backflip. Basically, anything physical I can do."

"Oh, don't worry, I know!"

"You made that joke already, babe." She grins at me and her hand finds mine again, like it belongs. Which I really want it to.

"I wasn't joking," I say, which makes us both laugh.

Eventually, Nacho comes to clear our plates. "¿Algo más chicas?"

"Do you want anything else to eat?"

"I've got something in mind," I say and laugh as Nacho giggles and Luna squirms.

"Ma-RA-ma!" she squeaks, elongating my name, "I meant pudding!"

"I know babe! What's good, Nacho?"

"Well, for you ladies, probably the crema catalana," he replies, deadpan.

That gets us in fits of giggles, which lasts almost until he returns with a portion and two spoons.

"Que aproveche."

"Thanks Nacho." I wink at him.

Our fingers entwine as we feed one another, our heads inches apart. The pudding is rich, sweet and creamy, but her smile is even more delicious.

I cannot believe what I'm feeling. Not even. I have literally never been this into somebody before.

"We're like the opposite of the friends-to-lovers trope," I say, as I feed her the last spoonful.

She raises her eyebrows at me quizzically. "What's that?"

"You know, one of those classic story arcs in novels and films and stuff? The friends get closer and closer, hiding their romantic feelings from each other, then finally get together? But we're the lovers becoming friends."

"Oh right, yeah. Sorry, not a big fan of fiction."

"No?" I ask.

She seems to withdraw a touch, slouching back in her chair, her hand nearly pulling from mine.

"No... I can't focus on books and even films, I... I just get lost... Sorry, I'm not very cultured that way." The self-judgement drips from her voice.

"Who's in your head, Luna?" I ask. "Whose opinion are you echoing, eh?"

"What? Oh, I don't know... society's?"

"Yeah, well, not mine okay? It's all good. I'm not judging you. I've met plenty of pompous pricks who were supposedly well-read as, but it didn't make them good human-beings. And don't even get me started on film buffs going on and on about some arthouse director nobody cares about." I lean right forward and grab both her hands and pull her towards me.

"Come here," I say.

She reluctantly sits upright.

"Closer," I whisper.

"Why?"

"Because I wanna kiss my gorgeous as girlfriend who I love," I see her eyes go wide - too soon! - and mouth drop open,"spending time with." Phew, think I saved that!

"Here?" She's all shy, it's just adorable. I've seen her put down three men in a matter of moments, and the thought of kissing me has her all bashful!

"Straight up, I want to kiss you here, now, in this restaurant, and if anyone sees, so what? It's all good. I am not and never will be embarrassed of you. Not even."

Yet inwardly, I'm cringing at myself - is this too much? Am I coming on too strong? Will I scare her off?

But her eyes are shining as she leans in, her lips parted in anticipation.

The food here has been fantastic as, but nothing like as delicious as her mouth.

"Sweet as," I whisper reverently as she slowly pulls back.

"Thank you," she says, her elbows on the table, our hands held between us. She looks right into my eyes and it feels like she's seeing me even though she knows almost nothing about me.

"What for? You're the one giving me everything I want," I reply.

She smiles at me, again with that hint of shyness. "I think that goes both ways. Though... I think you're giving me everything I never knew I wanted."

I nod. "Snap."

She pulls my hand to her mouth and kisses my fingers. There's a desperation there, and it dawns on me that Luna also shares the same fears as I do.

She clears her throat. "So what would you like to do this afternoon?" Luna asks.

"Mmmmmm," I lean in further and lower my voice, stroking my thumb over the back of her hand, "does it make me sound really daggy if I say I just want to get you back to the hotel and out of those clothes?"

I love how her eyes light up at the suggestion. I know what her answer is going to be even before she speaks.

"Does it make me sound shallow if I say yes?" she husks back. A little shiver runs through me.

"Mint!"

"You sure?" she asks, insecurity creeping into her voice, "you don't want to, I don't know, take in the sights?"

"Not even. I'm not a tourist babe. I've been here before. Besides, the only sights I want to see right now are under those clothes."

She chuckles at this.

"Too cheesy?" I ask.

"No, just... just perfect." She squeezes my hand and rubs her leg against mine. "It's like... you know what I'm worrying about, and then you say something that dismisses that concern even before I've said anything."

"I hope it's always like that for us Luna, eh?"

"Me too."

"So... how do you ask for the bill in Spanish?"

"La cuenta, por favor."

"La kwenta?"

"More or less. La cuenta."

"Okay." I raise my hand and signal to Nacho. "Nacho? La cuenta, por favor?"

He nods.

"Let me get this."

"Luna, no! You paid for the hotel, you even shouted for breakfast. Come on, it's my turn."

"Uh-uh. I invited you, so Spanish rules say I have to pay. Ask Nacho if you don't believe me."

"Sweetie, you don't need to pay for everything. I mean, you were sleeping on a sofa, so I'm guessing you aren't rolling in it so-"

She cuts me off with a wave. "Stop worrying. Yeah, I'm not rich, probably never will be, but this job I'm starting is going to pay me a lot, so it's all good. Plus, I won't be paying rent for a while."

"Okay," I say, mildly mollified, "but I'll shout you dinner and breakfast tomorrow. Deal?"

"Alright. Gracias, Nacho."

"Yeah, ta Nacho," I say, as Luna taps her card on the machine.

"De nada. I hope you both come again soon."

"I'm sure we will," I purr, as I stroke my leg up Luna's and she struggles to keep a straight face.

"So, you speak Spanish do you?" I ask as she holds the door for me on the way out.

"What? No. Not really. I scraped a pass at GCSE. But I've been quite a few times."

Her hand slips into mine like a magnet. It feels like home.

"Oh yeah? Which bit?"

"Benidorm, mostly. Not terribly classy, but fun. Have you been?"

"Yeah. Barcelona. Madrid. San Sebastian. Ibiza"

She whistles. "Wow, you've traveled."

"Ah, it was mostly for work. I didn't get to see much."

"Oh."

Shit, I really can't let her go on thinking I'm some high class escort - which is what I assume she reckons at this point.

"You ready to go, Marama?"

I'm about to reply when I spot a shop across the street. "Actually, could we stop in there?" I say.

She turns to look where I'm pointing and I step up close behind her, slipping my free hand around her waist even as the other still holds hers.

"This time," I whisper, "I'm paying. I want to buy something to fuck you with."

The moan she makes hits me in my bones.

Saturday 2:32pm Marama

Luna's just pulling up to the hotel, when I spot him. I don't recognise him, but the way he looks at us makes me reckon that he's waiting for us.

Shit.

How did they find me? Was it the receptionist? Were we spotted this morning? I've left my phone powered off since yesterday, so I know it's not that.

As Luna pulls into the motorbike parking area, I try not to watch the man too obviously.

He's not very discrete. Who hangs around a Travelodge? I suppose he could be conceivably waiting for another guest, but then why not wait in reception?

No, he's here for me.

I dismount first, my legs feeling the ache of this morning's work out a little, and immediately grab her hand before she unsnaps the clip on her helmet. I touch mine to hers.

"Don't take off your helmet," I say, loudly, but not yelling.

"Why not?"

"There's a guy over there. He might be waiting for me. No, not even-" I feel her muscles bunch as if for action, and I lean into her, "- just keep your helmet on until we're inside, okay?"

She nods and, hand in hand, we walk in.

Out of the corner of my eye I see him watching us, but he doesn't do anything.

Thank God.

That means I'll have a bit more time alone with my beloved Luna before the chaos descends.

We make it into the lift, then I'm tugging at her helmet, and mine, but I barely get to push her up against the wall for a kiss, when it pings and we're on our floor.

Laughing, we run, hand in hand, down to our room.

Within minutes, we're naked, rolling and kissing and touching on the bed.

"Wait, wait," I pant breathlessly, "I wanna get the thing."

"What thing?" Luna asks.

"The strap on! I wanna fuck you!"

I rummage in the bags, then find the item still in its box. Hur-hur, soon it'll be in another box.

My short nails, can't get a purchase on the seal.

"Are you just gonna lie there watching me," I say to Luna, "or are you gonna help, eh?"

"I'm just enjoying the view, babe," Luna purrs back, and for some reason that thrills me. Being looked at like that by her. I've had heaps of guys leer at me, and the things Matt had me do to land parts made me feel filthy as, and not in a good way. But there's nothing creepy about the way she's staring at me now.

I dash into the bathroom, and grab a pair of scissors, then get the box open.

Luna moves up behind me as I unpack the double ended strap-on we chose, her hands slipping around my waist, her bare breasts pressing into my back like warm stones.

"You know," she says, "what you did this morning, and in the shower, was amazing. I'd be happy with that for the rest of my life. I don't need a penis substitute."

My turns to purr as she starts kissing my neck.

"Mmmmmm, oh, I know." She'd told me as much in the sex shop. "But this is for me babe - I want to fuck you. I need to fuck you. I want to see you writhing under me." What I don't tell her is that I want to show her that anything a man can do to her, I can do better. Unless she has a cum fetish, I suppose. I want to ruin her for men.

"You did fuck me."

"Shit!" I say, as I see the instruction to clean before use, "we're meant to clean it first... wait, hang on, better idea. Hold this." I gently disengage myself from her arms, and race to my handbag. Matt made sure I had some before my appointment with Harvey... yes, four of them! Sweet as!

"Condoms!" I say, holding them up.

Fitting the dildo into the harness is straightforward, then I roll a condom onto the shorter yet fatter bit that goes in me.

"Here, the guy said we'd want lube," Luna says. She kneels down naked in front of me and slathers lube over the condom, then slips her fingers up inside me.

My breath catches.

Her fingers withdraw, and I feel an emptiness, but not for long at all as a fullness fills me. There's a small bump, pushing against my clit and that, plus the sensations inside and the anticipation, nearly cause my eyes to roll back in my head.

I feel Luna's arms around me, clipping the harness in place and adjusting it.

"Careful with that thing," she says, "you could put my eye out."

I look down to see her grinning up at me, the 8 inch long dong poking her in the boobs.

"Yeah nah, not gonna lie, that looks hot as. Never understood why guys went wild for tit wanks, but seeing you down there..."

"You want to fuck my boobs?" she says sweetly, rubbing the tip of the cock around her nipple, the movements plus visuals playing havoc with me.

"No, I want to fuck you!"

"Oh, okay, just let me..." She 'wanks' off the dildo with one hand, the back and forth motion making me groan with pleasure as it drives the other end into me and rubs against my clit. She tears open another condom packet with her teeth, then rolls it down the dong, before smearing it with lube.

"Okay, big girl, show me what you got." Her smile is wicked and beautiful.

I kiss her as I push her back on the bed, her legs near the corner, then I lean back and straddle and guide the tip inside her.

"I'll go slow, eh?" I say.

"Please," she gasps.

The sight of 'my' cock entering her, spreading her lips apart, is just sexy as. I feel an incredible sense of power and privilege.

I look up at her face, her gorgeous face, her eyes half-closed but full of love and lust, her lips parted in pleasure. Slowly, I slip the whole length inside. If it feels half as good for her as it does for me, this is going to be hard out.

"Is that okay?" I ask.

"Oh God yeah Marama!"

Gently, I start to fuck her. It's hard to get the motion right, especially distracted as I am by the sensations and by how her breasts move as I do. Okay, yeah, I totally get men's obsession with boobs now. Her smile is something else too, just making me long for a kiss, so I bend over as I thrust in once more, but the switch in angle presses the bump against my clit so intensely that it shoves me over into a climax.

"Oh fuck, Luna."

I shudder and shake on top of her, encased in a warm wave of orgasm, as she wraps her arms and legs around me, humping me from underneath as I gasp into her breasts. A warm trickle burst from me, splattering us.

Eventually, the ripples subside. Still inside her, I prop myself up on my elbows to look into her smiling face.

"Marama, babe, did you just prematurely ejaculate?" she giggles.

"I swear, it's never happened to me before," I say.

And then we're both laughing and kissing.

"I thought being with a woman would mean I wouldn't have to put up with this sort of thing," Luna teases.

In answer, I thrust back inside her, bringing a gasp from her.

"Yeah nah, I'm not done. Not even, ow."

And after a few more minutes of glorious fucking, it's Luna who is gasping into my breasts as she cums.

"Right, get that off," she says, after she's caught her breath, "I wanna fuck you too!"

Saturday: 5:46pm Luna

"So," I say, pulling back from where my head has been comfortably resting on its favourite pillow, Marama's bare breast, "I want to tell you something." I settle next to her, sideways on the pillow so I can look into her eyes.

We're lying naked in bed, limbs entwined, fingers idly stroking each other. I think I love this as much as the incredible orgasms she gave me this morning. And this afternoon. And twenty minutes ago, post nap. We used the vibe, squishing it between us as we screamed into each other's mouths. It was awesome.

"Okay," Marama says, smiling at me. I love her eyes.

"First of all, I wanna say I really appreciate that you didn't push me about this earlier, didn't make a big deal about it."

She looks puzzled.

"I mean about the job I'm starting." I stroke her cheek with the back of my finger. I swear she purrs a little.

"Oh, right. Well, I figured you'll tell me when you're ready, eh?" she says.

I'm temporarily distracted by the beautiful contrast of her skin against the plain white pillow, but then I get it together.

"Well, I'm ready now. So, I'm going to be a stuntwoman on a film."

"Really? Far out! You're not joking right?" Her eyes go wide and her smile is even brighter.

"No, I swear. I can't tell you which film, because I don't even know. All I know is that we're filming at Pinewood studios starting Monday and it's scheduled to last 5 months."

"Choice. Yeah nah, Luna that's amazing. You excited?"

"Yeah? Pretty nervous though. Never done this before. I got sent on a course at BLAST a few weeks back, which was so much fun, so I'm hoping the filming will be pretty epic too." She's smiling at me like the Chesire cat and it's lifting my heart. I'd been nervous about this, I realise. "But the best thing is that I should be able to see you most days, if you're happy staying at my aunty's. There will be some shoots that run on I'm sure, but also days when I'm not needed, so..."

"That would be choice, yeah, if we can keep seeing each other. I mean, I was going to find a way to make it happen anyway, but now I know she'll be right."

She strokes my face and kisses me.

"So come on, Luna, how'd that happen? I mean, stunts, it isn't easy to get into that."

"Yeah, so I heard at BLAST. I don't know what to say, I just got lucky. I was working at the door of this posh club and this guy coming out did a double take when he saw me, and then came over to chat. He asked me if I'd ever done any stunts, I said no. Then he asked about my training, so I told him about all the martial arts I do, and he was nodding and laughing as if it was the funniest thing ever. I thought he was high. But then he gave me his card and insisted I give him my number. I thought it was a pick up line, and figured, well, why not, but it turned out he was for real. Apparently, I look a bit like the lead actress - though they haven't told me who that is - so I'll be her body double for all the stunts and fight scenes."

"Oh wow, this is far out babe, far out. I'm stoked." She kisses me hard. Her hot, bare body is pressed against mine. and it's so exciting.

"So... you'd be happy with that, Marama?" I ask, when I get my mouth back.

She's cupping my cheek, and our faces are centimetres apart and I've never felt happier.

"Sure! It'll be choice. Well, assuming your aunty and uncle are happy to have me live with them. Might be a tall ask, eh?"

Her leg is sliding between mine, her thigh pressing up, and my nipples are stiffening again. I'd love to let this lead naturally into another glorious round of lovemaking.

And yet, I still get the nagging sense she's unsure and insecure. And why shouldn't she be - we met less than 24 hours ago.

Humming with pleasure at what her hands are doing, I roll onto my back and stretch out my arm for my phone. The little minx decides to lock her lips over my boob. My humming deepens.

"Well, Marama," I say, "there's a way to find that out." I press dial on Sue's number, then switch it to speaker.

Her mouth comes away with a light pop. "Luna? What are you doing?"

Before I can say anything, my aunt answers. "Hey Luna, how are you, love?"

"I'm great, thanks Sue! How are you? Is Phil there?"

"Yeah. We're good. Just about to watch Doctor Who on catch up. There's a new Doctor apparently, gonna be a woman again?"

Marama starts sniggering on my chest and I roll slightly to whack her in the face with my boob. She retaliates by sucking on it, making me hiss.

"You okay, love?" Sue says. So glad I didn't do a video call.

"Yeah, great, can you stick me on speaker?"

"Yep, hold on." Her voice goes echoey. "Yep, on speaker."

"Hey there Luna," I hear Phil's voice, an edge of concern in it, "everything okay with you?"

To be fair, I think the last time I called when I was due to see them soon I was in the hospital after a drunk customer tried to bottle me.

"Yeah," I glance down at Marama, "sweet as!" I say, which makes her smile. "Just calling about tomorrow."

"Oh yeah?" Sue says.

"Is it okay if I bring somebody with me?"

"Of course! To lunch or to the house?" Sue asks.

"Ummmm... well, both actually. But you can meet her first before you say anything."

"Her? Oh right, so just a friend then. Thought you meant like a boyfriend," Phil says.

"Well, no, she's my girlfriend. Like girlfriend girlfriend. Her name's Marama, and she's pretty special."

There's a pause.

"That's... new," Sue says carefully, "I didn't know you were bisexual."

"Neither did I, until I met her. It's very new for both of us. We're in a hotel at the minute, but she was in a situation she needed to get out of and so I was hoping she could join me at yours?"

"Hmmmm," Phil says, "how well do you know her, Luna? I'm not saying you don't feel what you feel, but you don't think she might be taking advantage of you, do you? I mean, this seems pretty fast."

"True, true," echoes Sue.

"Hang on," I say and look down, "Marama, are you taking advantage of me?"

She laughs. "Well, not right now."

"Oh my God, is she there with you?" Sue squeals. I hear Phil groaning.

"Luna, you could have warned me!" he yells. "Sorry, I didn't-"

"-No, no, it's fine," Marama interrupts, "Hi, I'm Marama, nice to speak to you."

"You too dear, you understand that this is all rather sudden, and it's not personal," Sue replies.

"Completely," Phil jumps in, "and it's nothing to do with you being a woman, we're not like that at all. I'd be saying the same thing if you were a man."

"No, you'd be much worse," Sue chips in.

"Of course, no worries," Marama says as I giggle, "don't worry, my parents are going to have exactly the same reaction, especially the whole 'are you sure she's not taking advantage of you?' bit when we speak to them later."

"Well, I hope that goes better than this," says Sue.

"Oh I don't know," I laugh, "I think it's going fine."

"Why on earth didn't you say something last weekend though Luna, when we picked you boxes up?" Phil asks.

"Errmmmm," Marama and I say together.

"Yes, exactly!" Sue says, "how long have you two been together?"

"Well," I say, "you know those jokes about lesbians moving in together on their second date? Turns out they are kind of true..."

"Oh my gosh, you're kidding? This is only your second date?" Sue sounds more amused than shocked, which is a good thing.

"Yeah nah," Marama says, "listen, sorry for jumping in. But I want to make a suggestion, eh? I'm not as hard up as Luna thinks I am. I can organise accommodation for both of us, near to you and where Luna is going to be working. Yes, if we could stay with you tomorrow night, that would be great, but I guarantee that by the end of Monday I'll have somewhere for us both."

Sue, Phil and I all start to protest, but Marama effectively shuts me up by shoving her tits in my face, muffling me.

"That's very sweet of you all, but honestly I'm solvent, I promise! Plus, I really want things to work between Luna and me, so this way we've got our own space to work things out, but she's got somewhere else to go if it doesn't."

The thought of that depresses me. But I guess she's right. Plus, if we've our own place we won't need to worry about staying quiet.

"Well, let's talk about it tomorrow at lunch then," Sue says. "Has Luna told you we're taking her and Helen out for lunch when we collect the rest of her stuff?"

"Yeah, that'll be choice. Looking forward to it."

"Where are you from, Marama?" Phil asks, "is that an accent I detect?"

"Sure is. I'm from Auckland, in Aotearoa, or New Zealand as you Brits insist on calling it. Listen, enjoy Doctor Who. I know you will. I'm really looking forward to meeting you and Helen tomorrow."

"You too dear," says Sue, "thanks for calling and warning us Luna. Yes, it's a bit of surprise-"

"-would've been an even bigger one if she's just turned up with her-"

"-true. Still, it'll be great to meet you properly tomorrow Marama."

"Yes, it will," adds Phil, "see you tomorrow then."

"See you tomorrow," Marama and I both say, before I end the call.

Then we're rolling and kissing and giggling. God, I love this woman. How long until I can tell her? I mean, I don't think it would scare her off at this point, but I also worry about how real this all is, or is it just some fever dream? Some spell, some intoxication, that will wear off? But as her lips caress mine, as my hands stroke her body, as our breath mingles, I can't imagine that ever happening.

"Do you want the vibe?" she gasps.

"Do you?" I reply, "'cos you're more than enough for me."

"Ditto," she says, then starts to slide down on me.

"Hey, where are you going?" I try to pull her back.

She pouts at me. "But I want to!"

"So do I. Wanna try 69?"

She pauses her kissing of my breasts and raises her eyebrows at me. "Sounds a bit advanced. Are we ready for that? Aren't we still on Lesbians for dummies?"

"Well, we could give it a go?"

With both of us wanting to be underneath, we compromise and end up side by side, heads resting on thighs. I miss being able to see her eyes, but I can't deny that her lips and tongue and - oh - nose! - unexpected! - are doing amazing things to me.

I manage to get my arm around and use my thumb to fuck her, just stroking her rosebud lightly with my forefinger.

"That's... cheating..." I hear Marama gasp, though the sound is somewhat muffled. Naturally, she retaliates.

Soon, we're both groaning, the moans into our mounds amplifying the pleasure.

Yep, this works!

Saturday 9:42pm Luna

I take a deep breath and try to clear the mental fog. I need to listen for Marama's call, my cue.

Breathe in. I look in the mirror, again, check my teeth, again, for any bits of food stuck in them, for any smudges on my face. No, I look okay. Breathe out. I'm blessed with good skin, but I put on some lipstick and mascara. Breathe in.

Shaking out my hands, I move to the door. Breathe out.

Shit, being apart from her, just a moment, hurts. She's only in the bedroom, while I wait in the bathroom. Breathe in. But... I miss her presence, like a phantom limb.

Breathe out. We've spent all day today together and not once have I missed my own space, not once have I felt crowded out or confined. Breathe in. That's so rare.

I pace back and forth a little. Breathe out.

The soft murmur of her voice comes through the door. Breathe in.

She's speaking to her parents. Breathe out.

In a moment, she's going to call me out to introduce me to them. Breathe in.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Oh my God! Meeting the parents! Breathe out.

Calm down Luna, chill, chill, chill, think back, think back to the afternoon. Breathe in.

Fuck it was so good. Taking it in turns, pleasuring each other. Breathe out.

It has never been like that. Shit, I'd meet a thousand parents for another day, another afternoon like that. Breathe in.

God, I want her in my arms again. Breathe out.

We ate dinner in the room, Marama ordering in for us, delicious Levantine food, cous cous and tagine and falafels and salads, and we sat entwined, feeding one another, not wanting to stop touching each other. Breathe in.

We've napped and showered and cuddled and talked and made love again and again and again. Breathe out.

I catch sight of myself, and my smile nearly splits my face. I've been grinning so much today, my cheeks ache. Not to mention other parts! Breathe in.

Yeah, yeah, I can do this. I can do this for us. Breathe out.

Knock, knock. The door cracks open.

"You okay, Luna?" Marama leans in, reaching for me.

"Yeah, yeah," immediately I'm concerned for her, my arms going around her, "you?"

She smiles. "Sweet as."

"How did they-"

"-Come and meet my folks," she says.

"Sure," I reply, not really feeling ready at all, but feeling so happy to be touching her again.

She leads me out into the bedroom, where my laptop is open on the bed.

"Mum, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Luna," she says.

"Hi, nice to meet you," her mum and I say simultaneously, both of us waving. Her dad is smiling, and I can see that's where Marama gets her colouring and smile from, though the rest of her face is all her mother's. Instantly, I feel a bit more relaxed.

We move onto the bed, adjusting the laptop so that they can see us better, and we them.

I moisten my mouth, "Kia ora, Mr and Mrs Ngata."

Her dad chuckles, and I relax even further, his laugh is so like Marama's. "Kia ora katoa, Luna, but, please, call us Mike and Lisa."

Her mum nods along. "You're so pretty, Luna."

I blush, and smile. "Thank you. I can see where Marama gets her looks from!"

Her dad, Mike, laughs again. "Tu meke! Aw, you're good, Luna, you're good."

"Ohh K... Marama, I want to meet her!" her mum says, "seriously, you look lovely, Luna. When Kl..." she pauses, stops herself, "sorry, Marama, said you worked in security, I figured you'd be huge, which would have been fine, of course," she's quick to add, "but you're just gorgeous."

"You're too kind. It's all because of Marama; she makes me feel beautiful," I smile up at Marama, who lifts my hand to her mouth and kisses it, making her mum go "aw".

"So, do I get to meet the boys too?"

"No," Marama shouts, and Lisa says simultaneously.

"Yeah nah, they're still fast asleep," Mike says, jerking his head backwards, "you won't catch the boys up this time on a Sunday morning."

"You'll have to meet them another time, I'm afraid," says Lisa.

"Much, much later," adds Marama.

"Well, Marama's kind of already invited me to yours for Christmas, so I guess I'll meet them then." I suddenly realise that maybe I shouldn't have said that. "I hope that's okay?"

Marama's mouth falls open as her father's laughter releases again.

"Got your passport ready?" Lisa asks.

"Yep! Oh, actually, I'd better check it's still in date."

"Well, we'd be delighted to have you. Though we were thinking of coming over your way in early September, though it depends on the boys' rugby schedule, so we may meet you in person before then," Lisa says.

"So how long have you two known each other," Mike asks, "Marama wouldn't say."

Marama and I look at each other, wide-eyed, our smiles slightly manic.

"Er..." I manage.

"Not long, Mum, but we're serious. I'm meeting her folks tomorrow. I've already spoken to them on the phone."

"Oh wow," Lisa says, "so this is your meet-the-family weekend then?"

"Yep," I say, "don't worry, they are going to love her. My older cousin is gay, so my family aren't going to have any issue with us."

"So, have you not been in a relationship with another woman before?" Mike asks, sounding surprised.

"No! Never! I'd never even thought about it, but then I met your daughter and 'pow', 'bam', right in the heart. It... she's... oh God, sorry, I'm... I don't know how to say how I feel. I've never felt this way before," I realise I'm crying when Marama reaches to brush the tear from my cheek, then leans in to kiss me there.

"Awww." Both her parents sigh together.

"But... um," I say, "you have to know, I'm completely serious about her." I'm aware of how crazy this must sound to Marama, but it seems like she hasn't told them how recently we met, so her parents won't know. "In fact, I'm kind of scared to tell her how serious my feelings are," looking her dead in the eye, "in case I frighten her off."

"You couldn't Luna. I've been biting my tongue too. Say it. Don't be scared."

"Really? Now?" I nod towards the laptop.

"It would mean a lot. Together?"

"Okay. Three, two..." she joins me, "one."

"I love you," we say together.

We met less than 24 hours ago, but rather than crazy, I feel like I'm glowing within.

"Oh girls, that's beautiful," Lisa says from the screen.

"Was that the first time you've said that to each other?" Mike asks.

"Yes," says Marama, turning to them, "like Luna said, we've... this is new for us both, so we've been coming to grips with our feelings." She looks back at me. "I've nearly told you so many times, but I was just worried I'd send you running."

"Me too, Marama," I say, wiping my eyes, "me too."

"Luna... that means moon too, doesn't it?" Lisa asks.

"Yeah it does."

"Marama was born on a full moon," her dad says, and Marama lets out a sigh like she's heard this story so many times before, "she'd just been given to me to hold and as I looked at her I caught sight of the moon rising behind the house opposite, sweet as. So I knew we had to call her Marama."

"Yes, it suits you, love," says Lisa, "maybe I'll start calling you Marama too."

"Mum!" I can hear the eye-roll in her voice.

"Hang on, wait, do you not call her Marama normally?" I ask.

There's a pause.

Eventually, Marama breaks it. "Marama's my middle name, Luna."

"Oh. But... I don't... what?" I look at her puzzled, but she just grips my hands tighter.

"Do you remember when we met and I was surprised that you didn't know who I was?"

"What? No? Were you? Why? Had we met before?" I turn to the screen. "I've got a terrible memory for faces. I'm much better with voices."

Lisa has her hand over her mouth.

Mike clears his throat. "So... er... you really don't know what Marama does?" he asks.

"Well, she's..." I start to say, but then realise that maybe her parents don't know what she does here in London and she probably doesn't want me saying anything.

"No, no, babe, don't say it," Marama interrupts, "I know what you think I do, and I get why you think that and the fact that you still want to be with me is kind of amazing as actually."

"Why? What do you think she does?" Lisa asks, sounding intrigued.

"Mum!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Anyway, I promised I'd tell you after you'd met my parents: I wanted them to see that it was me that you loved, not the media persona."

"Wait? You're famous?" I gasp.

Marama's biting her lip, looking at me. Her hands feel sweaty in mine.

"Say something Marama? Who are you?"

"Tell her love," her dad says.

Marama sighs. "Yeah nah, it's just... I've loved it just being us, you know? I love that you fell in love with me and I'm terrified that this is going to change things, change how you feel, eh?"

"I promise it-"

"-No," she cuts me off, "you can't promise that. Honestly, not even."

"Don't say that," I reply, squeezing her hands. "Please, Marama, tell me, you're worrying me now."

"Okay," she sniffs, "okay," she looks at the ceiling, then at her parents, who nod at her, her mother's hands at her mouth, then finally at me. "Luna, my love, my name is Chloe Marama Ngata."

There's a pause.

I blink at her, not sure what to say. I mean, I don't want to be rude. I glance at her parents on the screen. Her dad looks like he's going to laugh again.

"I'm sorry Marama, should I recognise that name?" I manage.

Her dad laughs, a deep belly laugh, then a second later her mother gives something like a yelp, which I think must also be a laugh. Then Marama's leaning into me, shaking with laughter, arms around my neck and my arms go around her, still totally confused.

"I love you," she whispers in my ear.

"Oh, that's just far out," I hear Mike say, "I wish the boys had seen this. They won't believe me."

"Not even, ow! I'm glad they didn't," Marama says, turning to face them, but still holding onto me, "I'd never live it down."

Her mum is still doing her funny little yelping laugh and her dad is still chuckling away, but it sounds like relief, not mockery.

Marama - or Chloe, I realise - sits up to look me in the eyes. "I'm an actress babe. A pretty successful one."

"She won an oscar!" her mum shouts, full of pride.

"Yeah I did, that was four years ago, for Aroha, and since then I've been in two Marvel movies."

"And you're the new Doctor Who!" her dad says.

"What?!"

"Yeah nah, your folks are gonna get a shock when they meet me tomorrow!"

"Don't forget the modelling!" Lisa shouts, to which Marama rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, I do modelling too; I'm the face of Chloe perfume. I'm on the side of buses and everything."

"Oh wow!" What else is there to say?! "I mean... I told you I was crap with faces."

"But," Mike asks, "had you really not heard of her?"

"No!" I say. "Sorry!" I look at Marama apologetically, but she just smiles. "I really don't watch many films at all."

"Yeah, you said," she laughs, "I just didn't think... anyway," she shakes her head, "so we're cool?"

"Of course babe, why would you-"

She cuts me off with a kiss, deep, full.

"Hu-hum! We're still here, Chloe!" I hear her mum say.

"Sorry, not sorry," she says, with a laugh.

"So, wait, when you said that Matt was your agent..." I start to say.

"I meant he really was my agent."

"Oh shit!" I say, clapping my hand over my mouth.

"Yeah nah, not for much longer, eh?"

"Good!" her mum shouts.

"Sweetheart, it's about time you cut him loose, eh?" her Dad says, "I know he helped you a lot at the start, but he acts like you owe him."

"I know mum, I know papa. I'm sorry it took Luna here knocking him out for me to see it."

"What?" her mum shrieks, while her dad laughs even louder at that.

"Yeah nah, you should have seen it dad. Like three moves, two seconds and he was out. My girl don't play!"

Her mum claps. "Thank you Luna. I've always detested that man."

"Yeah, he's gone. Or he will be. I've been putting off speaking to him, but on Monday, I'll deal with it."

The mention of Monday, and all that entails, dampens my mood. Work. Reality. The cold, hard logic of careers and, with that, I now see, the gulf in our status. Before, I'd been imagining myself as the breadwinner, coming home to Marama who would... I don't know exactly. I hadn't gotten that far in my day dreaming.

Now. Well.

Marama - or Chloe as I guess I should start thinking of her - must see something in my face, as she pulls me into a hug, tucking my head into her neck.

She smells so good.

"Mum, Dad-"

"Yeah yeah, we get it Marama - I'm gonna keep calling you that I think - you two need some time to deal."

"Thanks," Marama says.

"Luna?" I hear her mum say, and I pull my face back, keeping my arms around Marama, "it was lovely to meet you."

"You too," I say, "thanks for being so kind and welcoming."

"Aw, bless you. We look forward to meeting you properly soon."

"Likewise," I say, sincerely hoping that it's true.

And with a flurry of waves and smiles and "love yous" her parents sign off.

We don't say anything. Marama just wraps her arms around my neck, tucking her face into mine. Suddenly, I'm back in that tiny staff kitchen just 24 hours ago, and our first hug.

How much has changed. Forget the last 24 hours though: try the last 24 minutes.

I blink back tears.

I feel Marama pulling back and I realise this is it. The end of the dream.

But then she takes my face between her hands and kisses me tenderly, lovingly, a gentle motion of lips on lips, a physical poetry, with rhyme and metre and all those things I never understood.

Funny how I thought I knew kisses before Marama, thought I knew love.

Yeah nah, as she would say. I knew love like fans know fighting; they recognise the moves, the styles, the techniques, but unless they are there in the middle themselves, they never understand the risks and rewards, the heart in mouth moments, the triumphs and disasters, the passion and the desire.

"Are you okay, Luna?"

"Yes," I sniff, "I mean, I love you, but, well, it's just hit me: I thought this was a Cinderella story, and it kind of is, but it turns out I'm Cinderella."

"Yeah nah, that's not it. You've got a good job, a career."

"But you're rich, you're famous. What would you want with somebody like me?"

She kisses me fiercely, kneeling over me, straddling my legs.

"You," she says, when she pulls away, "you're what I want. You. I love you, because you make me feel safe, you make me feel seen, you make me feel like Marama, the girl from Auckland who loves dance and drama, Mike and Lisa's daughter, not Chloe Ngata the famous movie star from New Zealand. But," she says, stroking my face, gazing into my eyes, "also because of who you are. You're kind, you're brave, you're generous, you give wholeheartedly. And I know it's kind of selfish, but I want you in my life, eh?"

I sob. "That's... that's the loveliest thing... anyone's ever said... to me."

She pulls me to her, resting my head on her chest, kissing my forehead.

"Chur, get used to it, babe. I'm keeping you."

I snuggle into her, revelling in the feeling of her wanting me, wanting to be with me.

"But," I ask eventually, looking up at her. "What will I do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, like, when you're acting and stuff, what will I do?"

"Aw, sweetie, have you not worked it out yet, eh? We're going to be working together."

"What?" I ask, befuddled.

"I'm starting filming on Monday too. At Pinewood. Five month shoot."

My eyes go wide as realisation hits me. "I'm going to be your stunt double! Oh shit!"

I start laughing and crying at the same time, burying my head into her shirt. I can feel her chuckling.

"So yeah, I guess it was destiny, eh? I mean if we hadn't met - shit, was it only last night? - we would have met next week anyway," she whispers into my hair.

I look at the bedside clock. It reads 10:12pm. Pretty much exactly 24 hours after we met.

"Yep, what a difference a day makes, huh?" I look up at her. "But would this have happened without last night?"

She shrugs. "I hope so. But if we'd met on set, it would have been one of those slow-burn romances, you know?"

I shake my head.

"You know, come on, like, all those lingering looks across a shoot. Trying to be professional and failing. Finding excuses to talk, to touch, that whole 'is she into me? Am I into her?' you know the type of story, eh?"

"Not really," I say, "like I said, I'm not much of a reader. But it sounds like it would have been really emotionally draining and complicated, plus we'd have waited ages before we started sleeping together."

"Yeah nah, you're not wrong. Much better this way, eh? Getting to the good stuff straight away. Sweet as."

She leans down to kiss me and I realise she's absolutely right. Fuck delayed gratification.

"But are you sure you're ready for this life, babe? It's daggy at times. There's going to be paparazzi in your face, like that guy outside..."

"What guy?"

"When we came back earlier, there was a photographer outside. Somebody at the hotel must have tipped him off."

"No way!"

"Yeah nah, that's the reality I'm afraid. I'm worried as that they might turn up to the lunch tomorrow with your folks."

"Oh shit yeah!" I focus on her, something that comes so easily, in a way it never has. Her brow is furrowed. "Marama, listen, I was willing to do anything for you within about half an hour of meeting you. It's crazy but it's true."

"Snap." She drops a quick kiss on my lips.

"I know babe. So... well, if loving you means having to deal with photographers and fame and travel, well, that's a small price to pay."

We kiss again, but now my insecurity is nagging at me.

"But how will being with me affect your career? I mean, aren't you expected to date some hot actor or something?"

Marama pulls back from me a little, though she still has her arms around me, and she cocks her head to one side, seeming to consider something.

"Aw, fuck it. I'm in enough trouble anyway. Let's do it."

"Do what? Why are you in trouble?"

"Here, lean back against the headboard, babe. Lemme just," she settles between my legs, tugging the laptop over, "that'll be right. Yeah nah, I'm not really in trouble," she says, opening the laptop and clicking onto Instagram, "aw, shit what's my password? Oh yeah. Sorry, I normally only use it on my phone. Yeah, it's just I've been incommunicado for 24 hours, so I bet my PR team are going apeshit, and this'll just drive them nuts."

"What will?"

"Here, smile!"

The fake shutter sounds and I'm gawping like a goldfish. The resulting picture has us both giggling, and she clicks it again, the second effort far more natural, both of us with wide smiles and crinkly eyes.

"Kiss me," she says, twisting her head sideways.

I hear the shutter go again.

She fiddles with filters and the picture that results takes my breath away. The lighting is soft and romantic, as is our pose. Soft. Romantic. Loving. We're almost mirror images, darker skin against the pale white of the walls.

"Oh wow!" I whisper. "Is that what we look like?"

"Yep. Right, let's share those with the world..."

"What?!"

"Yep. I mean, it'll spike the paparazzi's guns a little. Besides, I want you to realise I'm proud of you, of us. I'm not hiding this. Our folks all know, so..."

"Aw, Helen's going to be so pissed."

"Do you wanna call her first?"

"I'll message her, hang on. Lean forward."

I grab my phone and she settles back against me. I tap out a text:

Hey Hels! Got some news, very hot off the press. I'm in love with Chloe Marama Ngata. Check her instagram. Love you! Luna x

Marama swivels in my lap, so she can look me in the eye. "You okay with me putting this up?"

"Okay? I feel like my heart is about to burst with happiness. Nobody has ever been proud of me before."

She kisses me gently and then turns back to the keyboard.

She narrates as she types.

"Kia ora world!

Chloe here. Got somebody very important I want to introduce you to, the most special girl in the world, the love of my life, Luna-"

"Shit! What's your surname?"

We look at each other and then crack up at the whole, crazy, fast-paced, ridiculous nature of our romance.

"It's Ashby. Luna Ashby."

"Yeah nah, not for long," Marama says and I squeeze her tight as my body flushes hot at what she's suggesting. "Right, where was I? Oh yeah - the love of my life Luna Ashby. You'll be seeing a lot more of her! Say hi everyone!

Lots of love

Aroha

????️‍???? Chloe Marama Ngata ????️‍????????♀️♀️ Xxx "

And she posts it!

"Alright, let's get that on BlueSky too... there we go! And we're out to the world. Hang on babe, it might get rough, eh?"

I link my legs over hers and fasten my arms around her like a belt. "You bet. I'm never letting go."

And then notifications start pinging on the laptop like a high-pitched drum roll and my phone lights up...

Auckland

5 months later. Luna

The flashes go off as we exit customs at Auckland airport. Security are keeping the scrum back. It's not just the media, but fans too, many waving rainbow flags, others in cosplay as some of her most well-known characters.

"Chloe! Chloe!" come the calls.

Marama looks at me. "Do you mind?"

I'm knackered after the very long flight, for all that first class was utter luxury. I just want to get to her parents' house. But I know that this is important. And for some of those girls there, it'll be inspirational.

"Of course not, love."

Keeping my hand firmly in hers, she heads over to the fans, whose screams increase several octaves and decibels.

"Chloe! Chloe! How long are you in New Zealand for?"

"That's undecided yet," Chloe replies levelly, as she reaches for the closest pen and photo being proffered to her, "but it's sweet as to be home."

She pulls my hand around her waist, forcing me to step in behind her, then places my other hand on her hip, so she has both hands free to sign autographs. She signs and smiles and thanks well wishers, but mostly ignores questions.

So the press try a new track. "Luna! Luna! Are you two going to get married? Who is going to propose? Where will you live?"

But I've had my media training now, so I just lean my forehead onto the back of her head and giggle, my shoulders shaking.

Not at the ridiculousness of my amazing and wonderful new life - though that too - but because that's exactly the question I've been asking myself for the past five months.

How soon is too soon to ask her to marry me? And which of us should propose?

I've got the ring picked out, in my luggage, but I wanted to ask Mike and Lisa's permission first - Sue and Phil's advice to me when I asked them. I've been in regular contact with both her parents, especially Lisa, messaging back and forth. I guess I could have asked them already, but I want to do things properly.

We'll be staying at Mike and Sue's house tonight, sleeping in Marama's old bedroom.

So, assuming they both say yes, I'll ask her to marry me this evening.

As if she's read my mind, Marama drily replies, "ask us again tomorrow."

I didn't think the fans' screams could get louder, but they prove me wrong.

-------------------------------------

Thanks heaps to Cagivagurl for beta-reading; go read her stories! Any remaining errors were entirely my fault. This story was partly inspired by Tiaara Golden's "Red" "The actress" by Salander and "Side by side" by Sugarstorm. If you enjoyed this, maybe go read those... but vote and leave a comment first, eh? That'd be choice!