I Knew You Were Trouble...

[Alexandra Lawson]

It was that time of year when Alex needed to start forcing herself to get back into some sort of active routine.  While she only slacked a little during the summer when it came to her physical activities, Alex was a procrastinator at heart and often waited until the last minute to complete tasks or get her way down to the gym or work up the energy to put her shoes on for a quick run.  Today, though, she'd been working on just that and had managed to get through a long session in the Academy's gym.

After silently chastising herself for being lazy and letting her conditioning slip in lieu of long hours behind her game controller eating Doritos and Skittles, Alex winced her way into the locker room.  Her blue t-shirt emblazoned with the Golden State Warriors logo framed by the words 'SPLASH BROS' clung to her skin.  She always hated when that tiny little bug in the back of her mind ended up kicking in and pushing her with a will and determination that was usually reserved for online gaming.  Her muscles ached and screamed in protest as she peeled the damp shirt over her head and tugged the tie keeping her long, red tendrils in check out of her hair.  Her shoes and shorts followed before she wrapped her nude form in a towel and headed for the showers.

Stepping beneath the shower head was a welcome relief.  The hot water cascaded over Alex's body and began to sooth her burning muscles.  She gave a sigh and leaned forward, splaying her hands against the tile and bowing her head.  Brilliant, crimson locks spilled to either side of her face, shrouding her features.  With eyes closed Alex began to lose herself within her own mind.  Everything that had transpired in recent weeks began to replay in her mind.  So engrossed in her brief mental odyssey, Alex completely failed to notice the presence of another person in the room until they were far too close.

[Sam Wilde]

Sam practically ripped off the blouse she had chosen to wear for the day and inspected the red sauce on the back, fuming a little. "Stupid children. Bloody waste of food. Morons the lot of them." She grumbled as she removed her jeans and her undergarments as well, piling them in a heap on the bench adjacent to her locker. Without even bothering with a towel, she stalked over to the shower stalls to find that she wasn't alone.

A smirk played across her delicate features and she stepped into the stall right beside her exes before making her presence known.

"Don't hog all the hot water." She said as she pulled at the shower faucet and let the warm water drench her. She pushed her face up in the direction of the shower head for a while before running her fingers through her hair to get the gunk out.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex jumped at the sudden sound of a voice in the room. She let out a surprised squeak and pushed off the wall, turning to face the blonde. It took a few seconds for Alex's mind to catch up with what she was seeing. Sam was the last person Alex had ever expected to speak to her again. She would have been less surprised if George Washington himself (zombified or otherwise) was standing in the shower attempting to speak to her. But here she was. Samantha Wilde, in the flesh. In only flesh.

With a cough Alex pulled her gaze from the gorgeous example of the human race that was standing before her. Her eyes fell to the floor, lifted to the wall, threatened to shift over toward the blonde again, then dropped again. Her head instantly began to swam and she felt a flush of heat surge upward into her chest. She could feel hear heart begin to thud heavily and she swallowed hard. "Oh. S-Sam." She said, her tone soft as she moved down to the next stall so she could put distance between herself and the blonde while also solving the problem of having had her shower head hijacked. Her jaw tightened and all she could do was hope like hell the other girl didn't notice the faint crimson hue that was already tinting her cheeks.

[Sam Wilde]

Alex's reaction to her being there was more than enough to confirm all of Sam's thoughts on the effect she had on the redhead. Still. After how long?

The smirk on her face deepened as she gathered her hair in one hand, pushing it aside to let the water clean the side of her neck. "Don't leave on my account. You seem to really need the shower." She paused before chuckling softly. "A cold one should do the trick, no?" She asked, purposely stretching so Alex would keep a lookout for her.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex's mouth opened and her jaw worked for a second as if to form words that would never see the light of day. The snarky, arrogant comment should have made Alex's skin crawl and she knew it. That she didn't grimace in disgust and outright leave the shower but hesitated in pulling away because she actually was confused as to whether or not the subtle comment was an invitation.

There was no keeping her eyes off the blonde. Sam had always had an intoxicating effect on her. Both of the girls knew it. Alex was also terrible at hiding this fact. There had to be something she could use to keep her mind of everything. Something to distract her, a way to make Sam feel more human and not like some lingering spectre of a time long gone that Alex simply could not let go of. And then Alex's head tilted as she snuck a glance back toward the blonde. "What happened to you?" She asked as she caught sight of the bits of... whatever it was Sam was cleaning off herself.

[Sam Wilde]

The silence coming from the redhea spoke volumes and though Sam knew better victories than this, it still made her want to laugh. Though she wasn't that crass. She did however let her smirk deepen as she continued to wash her hair of the gunk that had been left by some bird-brained neanderthal.

Turning her head at the question, Sam shrugged and squirted a bit of shampoo into her hand from the dispenser and started lathering her hair. "Foodfight broke out in the cafeteria." She rolled her eyes. "I'm rethinking being utterly lazy to move out of the country to pursue my education in Zimbabwe or Singapore."

[Alexandra Lawson]

"Oh." Alex then frowned. She couldn't pull her eyes away from the the girl who, even being a few feet away, was far too close for Alex's own comfort. Alex's head shook as she snapped back to reality and forced her gaze to turn upward to the shower head above. She reached out and turned the knobs, being careful to step aside so she could let the stream heat up before slipping beneath it. Unfortunately the turning of the knob didn't have the desired effect. Not stream of muscle soothing water came. Only nothing. She gave a sigh and looked back toward Sam.

"Um." She said, knowing what was about to come next was probably the worst idea she'd had since she nearly set her dorm kitchen on fire experimenting with new culinary ideas. Alex took a hesitant step toward Sam as her arms wrapped around her chest in order to keep some semblance of modesty. "Could you-. Uh, would you mind sharing?" She asked, nodding weakly toward the one good shower spout Sam stood beneath.

[Sam Wilde]

For a while, she thought Alex was done with the banter that didn't really form. That was until the redhead asked to share the shower. Raising a perfectly arched eyebrow, Sam made an agonisingly slow decision, stepping aside only after she thought the girl had sufficiently done enough squirming.

"Do you need me to help you with the soaping too?" She asked as her hand reached out to get the soap to lather on her body.

She could have moved, Sam, but what was the fun in that?

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex swallowed hard. Her mind had gone into full panic mode now as she screamed desperately at herself to walk away as quickly as possible and never look back. Never, ever look back. Alex's feet refused to listen and chose, instead, to take their own course of action. With her entire body shaking both from the cold of being wet and naked as well as reasons she didn't care to admit, Alex took a step forward. It was a slow, tentative step of a lamb moving toward what it knew to be nothing less than a wolf.

"N-no." She managed to get the single word out before she lifted her gaze from the tile floor to the knowing hazel eyes that were peering down at her.  Alex lingered perilously close to Sam for far longer than she cared to.  She trembled, and arm still covering herself as best she could, then reached up, her hand passing by the other's girls head to turn the showerhead toward her.

[Sam Wilde]

Sam didn't remember a time when she didn't find it amusing that she could render someone speechless, especially someone like Alex. She supposed she shouldn't be too surprised that the redhead was the way she was right then. Sam did, most likely, break the girl.

"You don't have to cover yourself up, Ally." Sam said in a soft, almost gentle voice. "I've already seen everything." And there was the malicious tone Alex would have recognised from when Sam dropped the other shoe to end their whirlwind romance a few years ago.

[Alexandra Lawson]

No. Alex was not going to fall prey to this again. She wasn't going to allow herself to be drawn in by the tainted allure of the girl in front of her. Alex was stronger than Sam had ever given her credit for and didn't need anyone to tell her so. Yes, Sam had hurt her. Yes, Sam had, at one time, an almost unhealthy hold upon Alex. That was a long time ago. Alex had grown up a lot in that time and was no longer the easily controlled girl that Sam had known and manipulated.

Which was exactly why Alex slowly lowered her arm at Sam's direction. The stream of hot water warming her skin did little to stave off the shivering. Carefully Alex pulled her other arm back away from the showerhead. She lightly bumped Sam's shoulder in the process which only succeeded in drawing out a deeper shade of crimson in Alex's cheeks. "Sorry." She murmured before turning her back to Sam and squirting the soap from the dispenser into her hands.

[Sam Wilde]

The bump didn't do any harm, only inciting more amusement in the blonde as she continued to soap her body.

"Are you though?" Sam teased further. She let her eyes run over Alex's body, taking in every curve that had developed over the years through cheerleading and swimming, the ever evident dimples just above her bottom... Sam had to admit, Alex was grown.

"Because I'm not." She continued before pulling the showerhead to her, purposely sliding her body against Alex.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex's head turned but she still couldn't fully look at the girl behind her. She felt every word that came from the blonde's lips slide over her skin and cause a shiver to run up and down her spine. Alex knew those hazel eyes of Sam's were doing much the same and it made her feel wrong and flushed at the same time.

"Should I be?" Came the soft, subdued reply. "You-" The words caught in Alex's throat as she audibly gasped. Her entire body immediately tensed at the feel of the soft warmth pressing into her. She went rigid, unable to move, as if paralyzed by fear. A deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck. Escape was all around her but she couldn't find a way to cease the terrible noise that had erupted in her head long enough to think.

Slowly Alex turned around. Even though she felt the blonde it was startling to see her so close again. She was trembling again as she looked up to Sam with a mix of fear, confusion and pure, unadulterated lust. She couldn't muster up the strength to move forward, though she was incapable of pulling away. All she could do was stare up to the other girl and silently beg for mercy.

[Sam Wilde]

The move had the desired effect and as Sam stood back at her own height, she realised that Alex was definitely turning around to face her. She hid her smirk and stepped back just a little, enough to look at Alex properly.

"Ally? Something wrong?" She asked, feigning concern before reaching a hand out to touch the other girl's shoulder, purposely brushing against the side of the redhead's neck.

"Is the water too hot?"

[Alexandra Lawson]

A faint gasp escaped Alex's throat at the feel of Sam's touch against her skin. It'd been so long since the blonde's fingertips had brushed against her and it, by itself, nearly made Alex weak in the knees. She reached up to push the hand away but the moment her fingers touched Sam's they stopped, the tips lingering ever so gently there.

"What are you doing, Sam?" What little resolve Alex had was already waning. She never had a good track record with keeping her emotions in check around Sam. She just happened to be that one person Alex doubted she'd ever truly be able to forgot. As it stood Alex could barely muster up enough will to speak in anything louder than a hushed whisper. Her eyes searched Sam's, begging to be released and left alone all the while dreading just such a result. "Please... just..."