Chapter Forty-Nine

Darcy pulled out the contents of the bag. You have got to be kidding me. “More spandex? Why do you hate us?”

Natalie made a face at the stretchy suit in her hands. “Come on.”

Raquel fixed them with a stare that said, I’m your fucking boss, deal with it . “I assumed you two would know the proper attire for speed skating. I’m a little disappointed you’re surprised.”

She was enjoying this way too much for Darcy’s liking.

“Once you’ve gotten into your outfits,” Raquel said, with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, “go that way and find the bench area. We have skates for both of you to try on before the segment.”

Darcy pulled the suit all the way out of the bag. Hers was red and white and Natalie’s looked like an American flag. “We’re going to look so stupid.”

Raquel laughed. “It’s going to be great TV.” She answered her phone and walked away, leaving them in the dimly lit underside of the stadium.

Natalie pulled at the suit, testing out its stretch. “I’m going to look like a knock-off Captain America.”

Darcy showed her suit. “I’ll look like a cross between Waldo and a candy cane.” She stepped closer to Natalie’s suit. “But think how it’s going to look on your ass.”

Natalie looked up at her. “Oh god, my ass in spandex on national TV. Remind me why they make us wear the outfits for each sport? It’s not like we couldn’t try this in a nice comfy pair of sweats.”

Darcy looked around. “No idea. Do you see the dressing rooms? I don’t really want to strip down right here.”

Natalie shrugged. “Could be fun.”

Darcy rolled her eyes and walked off in search of someplace with a door where she could squeeze herself into this ridiculous outfit without the entire crew watching. Natalie hurried to catch up.

Darcy stopped in front of a gender-neutral bathroom. “This might be as good as it gets.” She opened the door. At least it was clean.

Natalie grinned. “You need any help? I’m very handy.”

Darcy lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. “You have to stop. We are at work. You cannot be doing whatever this is where there are people!”

Natalie put her hands up. “Okay. There’s no one here, I thought it was safe to joke around with you.” She stepped back. “But clearly I was wrong.” She held the door open. “Your dressing room awaits.”

Darcy suppressed the grin threatening to give away how amused she was. She stepped into the bathroom and flicked the lock. Stripping out of her clothes was no problem, but it was only afterward that she realized how hard it was to get into the tight spandex of her skating suit. Ugh. She did not want to have to ask for help. Natalie would never let her forget it. She tugged on the legs but they refused to budge enough to get the shoulders of the suit on, too.

Fuck.

She sighed and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her suit was up over her thighs but then it stuck, leaving the top of her with only a sports bra and one arm halfway into the sleeve. She looked like a complete dipshit.

“Natalie?”

There was a soft knock on the door. “You okay in there?”

Darcy shook her head. This was not how she wanted the day to go. Especially not the morning after they had sex. “Can you come help me?”

She unlocked the door and slowly swung it open enough for Natalie to slip inside. “Couldn’t resist my offer, could you?” Natalie joked before seeing Darcy. “Oh my god. Are you stuck?”

Darcy met Natalie’s eyes in the mirror and nodded sadly. “I fear this is going to kill you ever thinking of having sex with me again.” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Natalie smiled and placed a gentle kiss on Darcy’s cheek. “Don’t be stupid. We were teammates for a year. I’ve seen you look way stupider than this.” She looked at the suit. “Is it okay for me to help you?” Darcy gave her an impatient look. “I just mean, I kind of have to put my hands on you for that and I wanted to be sure you were okay with it...”

Darcy turned around and grabbed Natalie’s face in her hands. “You’re really hot when you ask for consent.”

Natalie gave a half smile. “I never, ever want to do something you don’t want.” Her face hardened for an instant before she smiled again, leaving Darcy to wonder what thought interrupted Natalie’s smile. “Where are you stuck?”

Darcy looked down. “It feels like it’s not sliding over my thighs.”

“That’s not what she said.”

Darcy sighed but couldn’t fight the laugh rising in her chest. “Oh my god, I am trapped in a spandex outfit in a public bathroom and you’re making stupid sex jokes!”

Natalie spun Darcy around to face her. “You’re freaking out. We can fix this and honestly you’re cute like this, so whatever you’re worrying about, don’t.” She grabbed the fabric that was clinging to Darcy’s legs and tugged until it released.

“Thanks,” Darcy said in a low voice, embarrassed by her freak-out. No longer held hostage by the suit, she tugged the fabric up her arms and over her shoulders. She reached for the zipper but Natalie stopped her.

“May I?” she asked, her eyes burning into Darcy’s.

The warmth of Natalie’s hand on her stomach was more than she could handle. She leaned into the feeling of her warm palm on her bare skin and kissed Natalie hard. Natalie smiled, her lips curling against Darcy’s.

“As much as I would love to have sex with you right now, I would rather wait until we are not in a public bathroom.”

Darcy smacked Natalie playfully on the arm. “I’ll hold you to that. I can turn around if you want while you get into your suit.”

Natalie laughed. “I think we’re way past you needing to turn around. Unless, of course, you won’t be able to control yourself at the sight of me in spandex.”

Darcy laughed. “You. Are. Ridiculous.”

Natalie shot her a wicked grin and pulled her shirt over her head, revealing a Team USA sports bra and the delicious abs that Darcy enjoyed licking the night before. Jesus Christ, she was cocky but with good reason. Darcy swallowed and reminded herself that they were at work and there was no way she was going to lose her job and her reputation by fucking Natalie in a public bathroom. No matter how much she wanted to.

Natalie stripped out of her pants and smiled up at Darcy. She was going to die. Standing there, seeing Natalie’s muscular thighs on full display and not being able to do anything but let images of the night before run through her mind, was actually going to kill her.

“Fuck, Carpenter. Why do you have to be so hot?”

Natalie shrugged, which only exaggerated the muscles in her arms and shoulders. “Maybe we can do more research on how both of us are so hot later?” She pulled her suit on with so much ease that Darcy felt like a complete loser for needing help.

Natalie leaned forward and kissed her, slow but with hints of the kind of heat that made Darcy want to quit her job and run back to the hotel room.