Reece's Faith (23 page)

The actress held up a hand signaling Cori to come over while she said good bye to her co-stars. "Hey, Ali, thanks for helping me out, I really wasn't myself. I don't know why I let that man get to me."

"That's alright, no need to thank me. Are you feeling better than you were before?"

"Yeah, much. I'm still beat, but now I can think of plenty to say to that moron. Man, he pisses me off!"

"Who pisses you off?" Cori inquired.

"Chucky, the asshole producer of this show. He started in on that pervert crap today. He came into makeup and saw a hickey or two and said something in reference to a lap dance."

"Get the fuck outta here! What happened?" The dancer frowned.

"She tore him a new asshole. I whisked her away before she shoved her foot into it. Was nothing really." Ali winked at Faith.

"Alison, my hero, meet Cori, my savior." Faith winked back at her friend.

"Savior? Really, Faith, all I did was loan you some underwear."

Ali raised an eyebrow at Sandy, who'd only caught the last part of the conversation.

"OK, you can't just say something like that without expanding a little bit." She offered her hand to Cori.

"I'm Sandy, pleased to meet you. Now elaborate."

"Cori, pleasure. See, Faith was working in a bar when I met her. Her jeans were soaked and.."

"Oh? And what kind of bar was this exactly?" Ali inquired.

"Hey, you guys hungry? Wanna go grab a bite? We could chat over food."

"Yeah! The two of us were just going shopping, wanna come with?" Faith offered.

"Sure, I'm free, what about you, Sandy?" Alison was eager to meet Faith's friend, maybe hear some embarrassing stories as well.

"I'm game. Besides, I'm sure you have plenty of dirt for us on this one here." Sandy pointed at Faith, who was giving her a face.

"Pretty. Posing for a new head shot?"

Just then Michele wandered over to the crowd. Alison rolled her eyes, giving Cori the impression that the newcomer wasn't a welcome addition.

"Hi guys. What are you talking about?"
Who's this oddball?

Faith noticed the way Michele was looking at Cori and couldn't figure out if it was curiosity or intrigue.

"Hi, Mish, this is Cori, she's taken." Faith smirked.

"Don't believe everything you hear, I'm not such a letch." Mish narrowed her eyes at the group, who collectively snorted. "I don't know why everyone thinks I am." She shook Cori's hand and smiled. "You know, I don't ever think I've seen hair quite that color before. It's, um, unique. And that thing?" She pointed to the tattoo winding around her shoulder. "God! It's so, so...masculine!"

Cori glanced at her shoulder and quirked an eyebrow in annoyance, which drew Michele's attention to the piercing.

"I can't imagine what kind of job you can hold down with all those rings in your face."

"I do just fine, thank you." The dancer sneered at Michele.

"Ok, well, later, Mish, we gotta get moving." Sandy pushed Alison, who pushed Faith. Cori was still glaring at Michele, and Faith had to grab her by the elbow and drag her away.

"Oh, she's a breath of fresh air, ain't she?" The dancer said with disgust.

"You should see her when she's on a roll. I don't know if this is insulting or not, but I think you may be the first woman to come this close to Michele that she didn't try to pick up." Sandy laughed.

"Definitely not an insult." The dancer grinned.

"I think you frightened her actually." Faith joined in the laughter.

"Maybe if I would have showed her my tongue.." Cori wiggled it at the girls.

"Whoa." Alison gasped. "Did that hurt? I've seen one, but two?"

"Reece calls her a freak."

"Faith, now, you know she means that as a term of endearment. She loves me, face it." The dancer teased. "Besides, she should talk."

"Reece has a tongue piercing?" Sandy raised an eyebrow. Cori raised one back.

"Well c'mon then, it looks like you have a few stories to tell." Ali linked elbows with Cori and the four women strolled away.

"Starting with Faith's wet underwear." Sandy prompted.

"Nooo, Reece's tongue!" Ali shouted.

 
*  *  *

Alison came out of the dressing room with a flourish and posed dramatically for Cori and Faith.

"That is definitely a keeper!" Faith clapped as Ali twirled around and looked over her shoulder like a runway model.

"Come on Sandy, let's go!" Cori urged.

"No, I'm not coming out there wearing this! Uh uh, no way."

"Sandy, if I'm wearing this, you can wear that." Alison gestured to the tiny little outfit she was hardly wearing.

"Whose idea was it to go to Frederick's Of Hollywood anyway?" Sandy yelled from the dressing room.

"That's it, woman.." Faith pulled open the door and everyone giggled.

"See? I look ridiculous!" Sandy whined.

"You were supposed to take off the sweat socks and work boots first, hon," Cori snickered. "Although the feather boa does complete the look."

"Bite me." Sandy yanked the door closed behind her.

"Well, that does it, she's way too butch for me." Cori teased.

"Hey wise ass, why aren't you trying on anything racy?"

"You know, Sandy, for someone who spends most of the show in a negligee, I don't see how you can be shy?" Faith wondered.

"That's easy, it's a character in her underwear. Not me. She does the crazy things, I don't." She opened the door and went rummaging around in a clothing rack.

"Oh, I know that one." Ali nodded. "I do that too. It's much easier, right Faith? Isn't that how you were able to make out with Jim?"

"Well, actually, I didn't pretend to be anyone else, I pretended that he was." Faith accepted the garments that Sandy handed her and went into the dressing room.

"Tall, dark and gorgeous no doubt." Ali snickered.

"She's gorgeous alright. I think I'll pretend it's her too. You don't mind, Faith, do you?" Sandy grinned.

"Nah, it's cool, she shares." Cori answered.

"Oh, more stories? Do tell?" Ali wiggled her eyebrow.

"I do not share her! And no more stories, Reece's ears must be burning." Faith yelled from behind the door.

"Don't you mean her ass? You got me daydreaming about her underwear now. Thanks, Cori."

"Don't mention it." She grinned.

"So? What do you think?" The redhead emerged from the dressing room wearing a little black and royal blue number with garters and all.

"Oh baby! Faith, you are stunning!" Sandy blurted.

"Shit yeah! Wrap it to go!" Ali nodded in agreement.

"Reece will fall to her knees in worship if she sees you in that." Cori twirled Faith around. "Oh, I may fall to my knees in worship."

"Cut that out, you guys. It really looks good?" Faith received six raised eyebrows in reply.

"OK then, I'll take it."

"Remind me to be far away from the house when you model that one, Faith. I really don't wanna see what unfolds."

"I wouldn't mind seeing Reece on her knees, would you, Ali?" Sandy teased.

"Not at all. As long as she was in front of me."

"Is there one person who isn't in lust with my woman?" Faith rolled her eyes.

"John." Three voices replied in unison.

 
*  *  *

Cori and Faith had some time to talk after the girls had left, so the actress filled the dancer in on the events of the day. Cori was extremely surprised that Reece managed to get herself home from wherever she had gone with that bad of a hangover. She was also very angry with Reece for driving like that in the first place. She reminded herself to lay into the boss about that.

Cori explained to Faith that returning to her, in that kind of a vulnerable state, was proof as to how much the tall woman needed her. The dancer went on to tell her that Reece was never willing to let anyone that close when she was that weak. That she came home to Faith--and seemingly innocently stripped herself naked--was nothing short of a miracle. In the club owner's strange way, she was begging for Faith to forgive her, hold her and mother her.

Faith was beginning to understand more and more about the way her lover acted and reacted. Thanks to Cori, she was more attuned to Reece's thought processes. Each time they talked, the dancer always added more pieces to the puzzle; sometimes the littlest things were like giant doors of understanding opening up for Faith. Each door the actress walked through brought her closer to the club owner. It certainly wasn't easy dealing with her lover's erratic and confusing behavior, but Faith was willing to go to hell and back just to be held in those strong comforting arms. She even doubted that Reece had any idea how much it meant to Faith to wake up next to her in the morning.

Faith felt so close to Reece when she walked in the door, and she had every intention of smothering her with love and attention for the remainder of the day. Entering the bedroom, the actress was startled to find Reece still asleep. She tiptoed out and went down to the kitchen for some coffee.

I hope she's ok..
she worried.

Faith was really tired herself, but going to sleep now would screw up her body clock, and it took weeks to get her adjusted to normal working hours.

Well, if you can call this normal. Stupid Charles. Why is he so hell-bent on picking on me? What did I ever do to him? Thank God Reece doesn't know about this. Then again, maybe she'll...

The actress thought about having Reece 'talk' some sense into the guy, then dismissed it with a shake of her head.

That's too schoolyard. My girlfriend's bigger than your girlfriend.
She chuckled.

Turning to the sink, she saw dirty dishes and was glad that her lover had woken up and eaten some time during the day.

"Now she's just being a lazy-ass." She grinned.

Faith cleaned up the kitchen and took two cups of hot coffee upstairs to the bedroom. After setting them down she looked over at the sleeping woman.

She certainly is a sight.

Reece was sprawled on her stomach with only her underwear on. She had her left arm under the pillow she was hugging, the right one thrown up over her head. Her shoulders were smooth, relaxed, and her back looked inviting. It was all Faith could do not to crawl on top of the woman and lick her from butt to shoulder. Reece was facing towards Faith, her lips parted slightly, also very inviting. The only thing keeping the redhead from acting on her urges was the expression on her lover's face.

She looks so peaceful.

Faith got on her knees to study Reece more closely. She carefully removed the stray lock of hair that had fallen into Reece's face, tucking it behind her ear. The tall woman flinched and Faith jumped back. Knowing her lover was nearing consciousness, the actress leaned in slowly and gently touched her lips with her own. Faith could smell the soap and shampoo and knew there had been a shower involved too sometime today. She inhaled again, letting the familiar scent calm her. Reece licked her lips and turned onto her back, giving Faith a full frontal view.