Chapter Text
After a week back in the states, Nadine isn’t the only one who’s exhausted. Chloe’s apparently kept a restless schedule, running constant errands, acting irritable, and exasperating her team.
Nadine hopes it passes, once Chloe feels safe again in her LA routine, but she makes a point to give everyone bonuses in their next paychecks.
Her first order of business is keeping track of the inevitable news break of Chloe’s would-be attack. Chloe’s publicist is good (if at the end of her rope; Frazer gives her enough difficulty in the best of times) but someone on set was bound to leak the story eventually.
They react preemptively with a statement to the press, as soon as whispers of the story begin to emerge online. It reads as authentic to Chloe’s voice, though Nadine can tell where the language has been tempered to be slightly more professional.
Recently, while shooting the new Lena Crane film in South Africa, I was attacked by a masked assailant at the hotel where I and the rest of the crew were staying. Fortunately, due to my security team, I, as well as the rest of the crew were unharmed. Unfortunately, my attacker escaped, and is currently being pursued by local authorities. I did not wish to acknowledge this event publicly for two reasons: 1) Publicizing the attack emboldens others (hi! I get a lot of threats from day to day, actually!) and 2) While I work hard to protect my physical safety, and my mental health, I don’t want to have questions about either thing hurled at me on red carpets or press events. I’ll share any updates on my terms, or not at all.
I’m happy to talk about Lena Crane, my cat, or Sam Drake’s terrible dad-jokes <3
Nadine cringes at the mention of mental health— she’s not been without nightmares since the attack, and Chloe’s been under a much higher level of pressure on all fronts, save for the physical blow to Nadine’s face. Chloe has a therapist, a full team of people besides her looking out for her, but she still feels… guilty. But any comfort she might be able to offer wouldn’t be worth the complication.
_
Gradually, life resumes a somewhat mundane routine; Nadine feels the absence of her interactions with Chloe like a dull weight in her chest, full and hollow like the cactus tree in the Joni Mitchell song Chloe had made her listen to one night, trying to explain her own inability to settle.
But weight gets easier to carry, in time; what began as a painful wound becomes a quiet pinprick of acknowledgment throughout the day: wake up, notice she misses Chloe; filter through threats and draft security plans for upcoming events, notice she misses Chloe; work out, notice she misses Chloe; go to sleep, notice she misses Chloe.
(Dreaming is another matter altogether. In the moments just after waking, Nadine sometimes has the phantom sensation of Chloe’s warmth, her smell, the sound of her laugh all lingering around her.)
The distance brings clarity: Nadine is able to follow leads (or outsource them to others) without distraction, make decisions without worrying about Chloe’s comfort (her safety, yes, but convenience sometimes gets disregarded).
3 months after returning to the states, when the film is set to premiere in a week and the press cycle has fully amped up, one of her old Shoreline contacts in South Africa comes through with a snippet of evidence.
It’s not much: a substantial ATM withdrawal by Asav, and 2 calls from his phone to a local with a rap sheet half a mile long. Enough to confirm Nadine’s bad feeling about the man, but nothing that would convict in a court of law.
As a mercenary, Nadine would “present” the evidence directly to Asav, and make a convincing argument of breaking his legs (or worse), but show business generally requires more finesse.
She assembles the entire team, along with Chloe and Meenu, and shares the update, asking Chloe what steps she wants them to take.
Chloe laughs bitterly.
“I mean, what can we do? John Landis and Roman Polanski are still working, why would Asav be any different? I’d bet my life he paints me as a hysterical diva who brought the attack upon myself and it’s only due to his leadership that things weren’t worse. Fucking psychopath.”
“But what about protecting actors?” Meenu frowns, dismayed to see Chloe defeated.
Chloe crosses her arms, contemplating.
“Victor knows a few journalists who are good enough to follow those leads. Wait until we’re through the premiere cycle, then he’ll get you in touch. Bad press is the only thing that will deter studios from working with him.”
Nadine nods her understanding.
“The silver lining is that since his motive appears to be pinning the success of his film on your… tragic death, you should be much safer now that you’re away from his set.”
“Tell that to my body’s trauma response,” Chloe rolls her eyes.
Nadine grimaces, but pushes forward with the briefing, keeping things all-business.
“We’ll still have a full team for the LA premiere, and we’ll keep the cameras at the house up at least until the end of the press cycle.”
“Fine, fine,” Chloe sighs, sounding uncharacteristically defeated.
Nadine wants to reassure her, wants to describe just what she would do to Asav if she got her hands on him, but she can’t.
She’s no longer in the business of revenge.
_
Chloe seemingly recovers enough to give a dazzlingly charming run of interviews to promote the film (careful to avoid the spoiler of her character’s death, which feels especially grim now.)
There’s one clip, on a late night talk show, that goes viral on Twitter (leading to an uptick of internet threats amongst the praise and delight of Chloe’s fans):
Host: So, you’ve had a really long time to get to know Lena Crane, over the course of four films and more than a decade. What’s one thing you have in common with her, and one difference between Lena and Chloe?
Chloe: Hmmmm. Well, we both have an awful habit of not thinking before we speak, getting into a bit of trouble for that… (pauses, as the audience laughs) As far as differences go, you know, Lena’s only ever had male love interests, and I’m a bit more open-hearted than her (chuckles).
Host: Okay, so if Lena had a female love interest who would you cast?
Chloe: Ooooh, I think a May/December situation with Katherine Marlowe’s character would be a lot of fun.
Host: Isn’t she a villain?
Chloe: The heart wants what the heart wants, Steven (audience laughs)
A fan has posted the clip with the caption “Did Chloe Frazer just come out as bi?????” to the tune of 10,000 retweets, one of them from Chloe herself.
@chloefrazer: well, i started acting old enough that i never considered myself “in,” but since i’ve been just as hopeless at dating women as i am with men, the press never caught on! So let’s make it official, shall we? I’m proudly bisexual xoxo
Nadine feels her pulse pound in her ears as she reads the tweet, feels her whole body vibrate with excitement.
It’s stupid, really— what does Chloe’s statement change for her ? All it means is Chloe’s feelings weren’t a fluke; that of all the complications preventing anything resembling a relationship between the two of them, sexual orientation isn’t one of them. But underneath her own dismissiveness, Nadine can’t deny the sparkle of what feels very much like hope.
_
The next three months pass uneventfully, in the way that life becomes a blur in retrospect; monotonous and grueling in the moment, to merely “the time between point a and point b” in past-tense. Nadine spends most of her working hours behind a computer screen, monitoring video feeds and communicating with her team as they handle the on-the-ground work. She’s hypervigilant, sleeping four hours a night and then, only under the duress of physical exhaustion. It’s not a sustainable way to live, but it’s distracting enough that sorrow stays at bay.
Chloe does most of her big events on Sam Drake’s arm, but reinforces the fact she thinks of him as a brother in interviews. Fortunately for him, Asav isn’t present for the promotional cycle (Nadine’s not entirely certain she could keep her promise not to physically harm him if she encountered him again), choosing instead to cultivate an air of mystery (or distance himself from the filthy masses, more like).
The film itself gets mediocre reviews but does well at the box office; Chloe’s fans lament the loss of one of their favorite characters and she faces down questions about what comes next now that Lena Crane is officially over.
(“Carbohydrates” is her go-to answer.)
Nadine spends more time fielding prospective contracts than anything once the film is out of theaters; Chloe has passed on her leads to a journalist who vows to investigate every set Asav has ever run, but things are quiet for now, other than a few rumblings among whisper networks.
She’s wary about taking on additional work, but in June, almost a year to the day after Victor Sullivan’s initial call to her, he rings her again.
“Nadine, I want to start by saying you’ve done what no one else could do. Working with Chloe for a full year? You deserve a medal.”
Nadine laughs, feeling unexpectedly light at the news.
“Am I being relieved of my services?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Victor sounds sincerely apologetic. “But half of my other clients are interested in hiring your team for contract work, if you’re interested.”
“Set up the meetings, Victor. And thank you.”
“Thank me? Nadine, I think we all know you’re the one who did me a favor. Enjoy the break from Chloe… you’ve earned it.”
Nadine ends the call and sets down her phone, unable to stop the smile from tugging at her face. It’s foolish, perhaps, to feel hopeful at this point, but Nadine can’t keep the spring out of her step for the rest of the week.
_
Nadine’s afternoon (sorting through contracts, happy day) is interrupted by a facetime notification.
Chloe’s number is still saved in her phone, though she had studiously avoided looking at her contacts for the past six months. Still, there’s no hesitation when she answers.
“Hiya, love. Since you picked up, I’m guessing Sully talked to you?”
The sun is lower in the sky where Chloe is, the environment clearly more remote than Los Angeles. Her skin looks tanned and warm and she looks… happy.
“Thanks for firing me,” Nadine mock-scowls.
“Anytime, darlin’,” Chloe drawls, winking.
“So… you made it back to Australia?”
“Mmmmmm, should’ve known you’d find me out.”
“Lucky guess,” Nadine shrugs. “Why go now, though?”
(And why wait until she’s halfway around the world to reach out?)
Chloe pauses, but she doesn’t look wary, more like she’s centering herself.
“My mum’s sick. And I gave her hell when I was a kid, so I figured I owed her a little company for chemo.”
“I had no idea, Chloe, I’m so sorry,” Nadine murmurs.
“No, I mean, she’ll be— they caught it early, and breast cancer is pretty treatable now. Still, I didn’t want her to be alone for treatment, so I’m here for a couple months, much to the chagrin of my very stubborn mother.”
“I’ll reserve any observations about your personality similarities.”
“Good girl,” Chloe laughs, pausing a moment to openly stare at Nadine. It’s uncomfortable, and electric, (and more than a bit wonderful) to just look at one another.
“It’s good to see you,” Chloe says, after their moment of mutual adoration.
“Ja. It’s good to see you, too. Albeit over a screen. Is Ganesh with you?”
Chloe chuckles.
“Yeah, poor thing. Hates an airplane even more than you. I’m actually just waiting outside at the clinic for my mum to be done, but I’ll send you a photo of him when I’m back at the house? Sorry for not sending any earlier, but I didn’t want to impose…”
“My son could never be an imposition,” Nadine gasps, before allaying Chloe’s concerns. “But I appreciate you respecting that boundary, even if it means I didn’t get to see him.”
“Of course, china,” Chloe nods, her eyes searching Nadine’s. “Listen… I don’t know how to do… this.”
“Meaning?”
Chloe waves her hand haphazardly in the air.
“You know, feelings and maturity and a relationship built on a foundation of mutual respect and trust.”
“Oh, that ,” Nadine laughs. “Ja, I don’t either.”
“But I just thought… would it be alright if I called you every now and then? For the next bit? Is that an overstep?”
Chloe looks unsure of herself. Nadine finds it terribly endearing.
“I think that would be really nice.”
_
They make a routine of it, navigating the 19 hour time difference between Los Angeles and Hobart without too much difficulty. Nadine calls Chloe, after their first conversation, since she’s got a more rigorous schedule. In between they text, almost constantly. True to her word, Chloe sends lots of cat pics, as well as photos of her mum, her childhood home, the Tasmanian landscape.
Nadine feels like she’s boring in comparison, but well, Chloe did call her, so she must find something about her reasonably compelling. She sends her snapshots of signs that make her laugh, cute dogs she spots on her runs, and occasional workout videos, when she’s feeling particularly confident.
She and Chloe had gotten close quickly when they’d worked together, but their conversations had mostly stayed superficial. With every call, more layers are revealed; Nadine hears stories about Chloe’s childhood scrapes and her first loves, she tells Chloe about her father’s legacy and her failure to uphold it.
“I’ve never thought about it until just now, but— you’ve killed people, haven’t you, Nadine?”
Ah, there’s that famous Frazer tact.
Nadine swallows heavily, looking away from her phone screen.
“I’m not at all proud of it, but yes. Private military corporations aren’t often bastions of ethical decision-making.”
Chloe doesn’t assuage her guilt or recoil in horror.
“I’m sorry you were born into that work. You did good to get away from it.”
Nadine nods, shaking off the reminder of who she used to be.
“I don’t know that providing security to the biggest egos in the world is atonement, but at least I don’t have a body count.”
“I think…” Chloe bites her lip, “If given the chance, I would’ve killed that bloke at the hotel to stop him from hurting you.”
It’s a strange way to say ‘I love you.’
(But then again, Chloe’s plenty strange.)
“I’m glad you didn’t have to.”
_
Chloe’s mum seems to be doing about as well as she can through her treatment, and Nadine feels like she knows her even from fleeting glimpses of her on FaceTime, quick hello’s here and here. She seems in better spirits than Chloe somedays, as if Chloe’s carrying enough fear and worry for the both of them.
“I know, I’m a grown woman, but god, I just couldn’t handle losing her, you know?” Chloe sniffles one afternoon.
“It’s good you're there with her. Not everyone would make that trip.”
Chloe sighs.
“I really was an absolute arsehole of a teenager, Nadine. Angry about losing my dad, pissed off about living in the middle of nowhere, too cool for fucking school. Left home as soon as I could, scampered around the world and then bloody moved twelve thousand kilometers away. Talk about selfish.”
“Most teenagers are selfish dickheads, Chloe. Your mum was probably one, too, at that age.”
“Still… it’s been nice seeing her, though. Just talking, making up for lost time, I suppose. We’ve gotten really good at jigsaw puzzles, to boot.”
“Maybe someday I can join you for one. We can get a big one made with a picture of Ganesh.”
Nadine’s half-joking, but the impulse to make plans, envision some sort of future with both her and Chloe in it, is strong.
“I’ll be holding you to that, love.”
“So,” Nadine worries her tongue over her teeth, ”you know, you’ve talked to me about your ex-boyfriends, and the common trait there seems to be charming meatheads, but I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned what type of women you go for.”
(The question is an effective distraction from talk of preemptive grief, judging by Chloe’s cackle or surprise and excitement. Nadine decides the risk was worthwhile, nay, necessary.)
“ Well, ” Chloe begins, talking animatedly with her hands,” I did shamelessly flirt with Elena Fisher before I realized she and Nate were a thing. Her loss,” She pouts. “I dunno, Nadine, I think I’m enamored of almost every woman I meet.” She leans back in her chair, holding the phone above her head to capture her desired camera angle. “I’ve always been drawn to dark eyes, though. How about you? Any commonalities between the trail of broken hearts in your wake?”
Nadine laughs. She wouldn’t exactly use that imagery to describe her love life over the past decade.
“I like a bit of a challenge, I think.”
Chloe raises a brow.
“What about more than a bit?”
“Ja, I like a big challenge, too. And I like a woman who can get her hands dirty.”
“Can I ever , love,” Chloe winks.
Nadine yawns. Chloe frowns.
“Sweetheart, much as I would love to sleep with you, I’d rather not listen to you snore over the phone. I’ll talk to you in the morning, alright?”
“Didn’t realize how late it’d gotten,” Nadine murmurs.
“Mmmm, time flies when you’re talking to the most charming woman in the world.”
“I didn’t say I was into massive egos, Chloe,” Nadine rolls her eyes.
“Not in general, sure. But I’m special.”
“You’re very special, Chloe. And perhaps against my better judgment I happen to like you a lot.”
While she’d been unfazed by the earlier flirting, Chloe flushes at Nadine’s admission.
“Well, you must be well and truly knackered if you’re saying nonsense like that. Night, love.”
_
Nadine doesn’t quite realize how much her relationship (whatever it may be) with Chloe has infiltrated her life until her employees call her out on it.
(Well, her soon-to-be equals, once the business officially transfers to a co-op model. Which is largely inspired by Chloe’s influence, so, point fucking taken.)
She’s reading a text as she walks into a team meeting, and apparently her smile is a departure from the norm.
“Either we just got a bigass contract, or Ross has a crush,” Ellie quips.
“No contract,” Nadine sighs. “And no comment.”
“Well, tell Frazer we say hello. Kinda miss the ol gal,” Tracy smirks.
“I didn’t— it’s not— you all have a lot of fucking nerve,” Nadine stammers.
“Relax,” Maria claps a hand on her shoulder. “We figured you two had either majorly fallen out or fallen in love on that film shoot. And now I owe Constance twenty bucks.”
Nadine sighs, figuring that she owes her team honesty if they’re going to respect one another moving forward.
“I don’t make a habit of mixing personal and professional boundaries.”
“Yeah, we noticed,” Constance rolls her eyes. “Hope you’ll come to drinks every once in a while once you’re not the boss anymore.”
“I hope you won’t judge me for my friendship with Chloe, but I understand if you think less of me. I won’t claim not to be a hypocrite.”
Ellie shrugs.
“Just invite us to the wedding, dude.”
_
Three months after her initial call, Chloe’s mum is finished with chemo and by all signs looks to be in remission.
“Listen, I’m going to be back in the states in a couple weeks, tying up loose ends—”
“Do you think you’re going to stay in Australia for good?”
“—let me finish, please. As I was saying . I’m going to be in the states in a few weeks, and in addition to taking meetings I’m also hopefully selling my house, so. Could I stay with you?”
“Wouldn’t you want to get a hotel?”
Chloe looks at her like she’s the stupidest person in the world.
“Nadine, if you don’t want to take this beyond long meandering phone calls and safe-for-work selfies, you can just say so.”
Nadine chokes on her water.
“I’ll pick you up from the airport.”
_
Two days before Chloe flies back to LA, the Asav story breaks: decades of allegations of verbal abuse, unsafe working conditions, womanizing, and threats to all who dared oppose him.
(Chloe’s attack isn’t included; Nadine had figured the scant evidence she’d had wouldn’t stand up to journalistic standards, but she had hoped other pieces would emerge.)
She’s accosted by reporters when she leaves her gate, stopping her purposeful walk towards Nadine’s car to address the throng.
“I stand with all those who had the courage to speak out against Asav’s misconduct. I hope that Hollywood has learned enough from its past mistakes to not let him work again.”
“Oh, come on, give us something more candid,” one young gossip reporter needles.
“He’s an asshole and I’ve never had a more miserable time than working with him. And as you can tell, by the giant shit storm that was the last Lena Crane film, he’s a shit director, too.”
Chloe flips off the cameras for emphasis, then scurries quickly to Nadine’s car before she can be further deterred.
“So, judging by that,” Nadine gestures, “I’m guessing you’re not too keen on acting again at the moment?”
“She’s smart and good looking!”
“Did you want to drive? For old-time’s sake?”
Chloe shakes her head, settling back into the passenger seat and letting her hand cover Nadine’s own on the gearshift.
“It’s okay. I trust you.”
It’s a bit of deja vu, driving home from the airport with tension hanging in the air between them.
Nadine’s apartment is perhaps a less cinematic street view than Chloe’s house, but Chloe studies her as she parks the car, slowly unbuckling her seatbelt and leaning forward.
“Listen, Nadine, I’m jet-lagged and cranky and could really use a bath, but I’d still very much like to kiss you, if that’s okay.”
Nadine nods, meeting her gaze and fighting a blush.
Chloe brushes a calloused thumb against her cheek, before cradling the back of her head and leaning in, until their lips just meet.
Her lips are dry and chapped from the flight, and Nadine feels herself holding her breath for the duration of the chaste kiss, wondering the whole time “ is this really happening ?” and seeing the whole scene in her mind’s eye as if from a distance.
There are no sparks, or fireworks, but the world around her feels solid and comforting.
Chloe pulls back.
“I’m not overstepping, am I?”
Nadine shakes her head. Leaning in for a proper kiss this time, before whispering against Chloe’s lips.
“It’s okay, I trust you.”
_
Chloe grabs a quick shower at Nadine’s place, before Meenu drops by to pick her up in a pristine BMW.
“How much are you paying her?” Nadine asks, eyeing the car. (She would’ve thought Chloe’s beat up civic was more in line with what personal assistants made, but then again, Chloe’s known to be overly generous where her own money is concerned.)
“More than a living wage, but Meenu is a woman of many talents, and she has a wildly successful vlog, which you would know if you were under the age of 20.”
“Thank god I’m not,” Nadine scoffs.
“Being in your thirties— well, forties for me— is liberating, isn’t it? Not to mention it’s a woman’s sexual prime,” Chloe winks.
“Shouldn’t you go commandeer Meenu’s new car?”
“I should, alas. I’ll let you get back to work. Thanks for taking the time to pick me up, Nadine.”
“Text me when you’re on your way back? I’ll get takeout.”
“I would complain that you’re not taking me out,” Chloe cuts her off before she can interrupt “but I know that you’re only helping me avoid the paparazzi and an assault charge, so I’ll only hold it against you a little bit.”
_
Nadine orders pizza, from the same place Chloe had had on the first night they’d met.
Chloe spies the box when she walks into the kitchen and freezes, hand over her heart.
“Didn’t take you for the sentimental type, Nadine.”
“A Capricorn never forgets,” Nadine shrugs, offering Chloe a plate. “I figured if you were out of the biz, we could stand to celebrate the old-fashioned way.”
Chloe moans around her first bite, and for the first time, Nadine doesn’t try to suppress her reaction, grinning instead.
“That good, huh?”
“Babe, the sounds you are gonna hear from me… you have no idea.”
“I dunno… I’ve got a pretty active imagination,” Nadine mutters.
“Hah! I knew you’d fantasized about me. You’re not as pure and noble as you’d have me believe, Nadine Ross.”
Nadine feels her cheeks burn, but she doesn’t mind, not really.
“You’re one to talk, with your little push up photos of me.”
“Yeah,” Chloe blows her bangs out of her face,”but I’ve never claimed to be anything other than an unabashed lech.”
Nadine chuckles.
“How was your day?”
“Really? You’re going to distract me from talking about how much I want your hot body to talking about real estate and contract law?”
“I am.”
“If I didn’t know in my bones with absolute certainty that you’re a secret wildcat in bed I’d be very disappointed right now.” Chloe picks at her crust, ripping out little pieces and dunking them in marinara. “House is officially on the market; offers have already come in so I reckon I can probably get a buyer before I go back to Australia. Victor didn’t seem too surprised at my telling him I wanted to take a break for at least a year, and my publicist thanked me for giving her time to recover from my last press cycle.”
“Sounds like a productive day, then.”
Chloe nods, finishing her last bite and dusting off flour from her hands.
“Shame all I could think about the whole day was getting the chance to be alone with you again.”
Nadine abandons her own plate, scooting her chair back from the modest dining room table and leaning back.
“What did you have planned? Filming me planking?”
Chloe stands, stretching her arms overhead before extending a hand to Nadine.
“I think we can find a better use for that upper body strength, don’t you?”
_
Nadine’s used to taking charge of situations (and she finds it’s something people tend to expect of her), but it’s Chloe who kisses her in the kitchen, who slips her tongue into her mouth and pushes her up against the wall of the hallway, as they haphazardly stumble to Nadine’s bedroom.
(They both taste of cheese and oregano. It doesn’t matter.)
“Control thing, hmm?” Nadine pants, as Chloe kisses her neck and unbuckles her belt.
“Does it bother you?” Chloe steps back, giving herself a moment to breathe and slow down. “Because we can absolutely have a sexual battle of dominance if you want, but that wasn’t the energy I was picking up on.”
Nadine takes advantage of the space between them to tear her shirt off, tossing it aside.
(She feels a swell of pride at Chloe’s blatant ogling of her torso. Hard work pays off, kids .)
“Not bothered, Chloe.” She takes off her pants as well, to drive the point home. “Told you I liked a challenge, not that I had to come out on top.”
“You’ll be coming, babe, trust me.”
_
The sex is alternately awkward in the way first times with another person always are, and exhilarating in the way of a long expected arrival. It takes Nadine a full five minutes of working through her previous worries that she and Chloe wouldn’t actually have physical chemistry to get out of her head enough to realize that a)they very much do, and b)she’d be having a lot more fun if she focused on the gorgeous woman on top of her instead of her own internal monologue.
“You all right, love?” Chloe’s hands have slowed their exploration of her body, sensing Nadine’s disconnect from the moment.
Nadine takes a deep breath, and props herself up on her elbows so she can see Chloe better.
“Ja, sorry. Got lost in my thoughts there for a moment.”
“Nadine, we don’t have to do this yet, I just want to be close to you, honest. Hell, we can just cuddle if you want.”
“No, I want to.” (She really, really does. No doubt or hesitation there.) “I just needed a minute to wrap my head around the fact that this is actually happening. That you’re really here.”
Chloe pounces upward to give her a long, hard kiss.
“You’re too fucking sweet, you know that?”
“Shhhh, you’ll ruin my tough guy image.”
“Our little secret, then,” Chloe winks, kissing her way back down Nadine’s chest.
Chloe is gentle, tentative with Nadine in a way that she hadn’t expected (in a way that maybe she isn’t often with others), checking in constantly, observing every expression that crosses her face, every response of her body to her touches.
It all feels wonderful, but Nadine is so tense about the mere fact that it’s happening at all that she worries she’ll exhaust Chloe before she gets anywhere close to an orgasm.
“I’m sorry… I’m not sure I can tonight.”
“No worries, love,” Chloe murmurs, kissing her hip bone. “But if you felt comfortable, could you touch yourself for me? I may have a massive ego but not in the bedroom, sweetheart. I just want you to enjoy yourself.”
Nadine hesitates for a moment, before dragging her left hand down to settle between her thighs, spreading her legs wider subconsciously so Chloe has a better view.
“I’ll try.”
“Is it okay if I talk to you while you do?”
Nadine shivers at the mere suggestion.
“More than okay,” she gasps, feeling just how worked up Chloe had gotten her.
“I love seeing you like this, open and wanton. Wet and glistening for me.”
Nadine’s fingers speed up of their own accord.
“You are divine , Nadine Ross. You are the sexiest fucking thing I have ever seen.”
“Chloe, you’re a fucking movie star.”
“ Did. I. Stutter. ”
(And yeah, maybe the stern voice is half a bit but it’s also half very much not, and Nadine can unpack what that all means later but for now she simply follows her body’s reaction to the tone of Chloe’s voice.)
Nadine can feel herself approaching the edge, and she feels a sudden urge to have Chloe as close to her as possible.
“I need— your fingers— inside,” Nadine grips Chloe’s hand from it’s resting place on top of her thigh and guides her by the wrist.
Chloe eases in, but she’s slick and ready.
“ Fuck ,” Chloe moans, sinking in to the third knuckle. “You are going to feel so good coming around me, aren’t you?”
Nadine’s reached the point where words don’t matter anymore, where curling her toes and whining in frustration will simply have to do.
Chloe gets the message, talking her through.
“That’s it, darling, go ahead and let go for me, show me what you can do.”
Nadine comes with a moan, her hips spasming as she rides out the waves of her orgasm. She feels herself pulse and flutter around Chloe’s fingers, as she slows her own circles around her clit. When she’s well and truly spent, she slumps backwards against the mattress, and Chloe withdraws her hand, crawling up the bed to curl up against her side.
“You’re magnificent.”
“ Please ,” Nadine huffs, catching her breath, ”that was all you.”
“Hush,” Chloe presses a finger to her lips. “And let me know when you’ve recovered enough to use those glorious arm muscles to fuck me into next week.”
Nadine’s always been proud of her capacity to regain her second wind. Tonight is no exception.
_
After two weeks of packed business schedules during the day and truly remarkable sex at night, Chloe’s return flight to Australia looms large. The morning of her departure, lying in bed together, Nadine tries to rip off the bandaid of the inevitable emotional wound.
“Listen, Chloe…”
“Make me coffee before talking to me about feelings,” Chloe grumbles into her pillow.
Nadine obliges, gathering her thoughts as pours them each a cup.
“Better,” Chloe opens a bleary eye over the rim of her mug, eyeing Nadine suspiciously.
“I’ve really enjoyed having you here.”
“I’ve really enjoyed being here,” Chloe sighs. “So we agree! Perfect.”
“I just wanted you to know that if all this is is two great weeks, that’s okay with me. Long distance isn’t for everyone.”
Chloe sits upright, all at once very awake and very annoyed.
“Nadine, I waited a year to kiss you. I can handle a bit of phone sex every now and then. If you want to dump me have the balls to say it with your chest,” she glares.
“What? No! I don’t want to dump you? I just didn’t want you to feel obligated to…”
“Nadine,” Chloe sighs, taking a sip of her coffee for fortitude, “I don’t want to be a fucking u-haul lesbian couple stereotype, but I thought I was pretty clear on the fact that I’m clearly head-over-heels in love with you. Even if you are a fucking idiot about it sometimes.”
Nadine feels like she’s going to pass out, so she says nothing.
“And, now I’ve made it weird. Good going, Frazer.”
“No, I, Chloe, I. Look, you and I have different relationships to sex, okay, I just, didn’t want to make it mean something for you that it didn’t even if it did for me, and…”
“Right. Well. That’s that sorted, then.”
“But you’re going back to Australia!” Nadine feels suddenly panicked, her assumption that she would be let down easy now totally out the window.
“Yeah, I am. And I sort of had this wild idea that I’d convince you to move there with me and raise cats, eventually. I mean, I know you would have lots of things to sort but despite my reckless image I do have a good bit saved up.”
“I couldn’t take your money, Chloe.”
“I know, love. But I’m pretty sure now that we’re living in the information age you can do hi-tech security blah blah blah on the other side of the world. You don’t have to go and turn your life upside down today, okay? Just… keep it in mind, maybe. Keep me in mind.”
“You’ve always been in my mind, from the moment I met you,” Nadine admits.
Chloe pushes her back down on the bed, straddling her waist.
“China, you’ve got to stop saying shit like that or you’ll make me miss my flight.”
_
On Chloe’s 41st birthday, she posts a photo of herself and Nadine to Instagram. She’s kissing Nadine on the cheek while Nadine holds Ganesh up to the camera. Everyone is smiling, practically glowing.
She captions it thus:
wow. What a year, huh? Some of you may remember a photo i posted many moons ago of a very hot bodyguard. I regret to inform you all that the rumours of my selfishness are absolutely true, and i’ve claimed her for my own (long after we finished working together, not that anyone cares, but she would want me to mention that, so, it’s done, everyone knows how hard you made me work for it, love).
I’m grateful to all of you for making this past year special- for finishing the Lena Crane journey with me, standing up to abusive people in the industry with me, and for understanding why i had to step away from it all for a bit.
And I’m grateful to Nadine for showing me that sometimes walking away is the bravest thing you can do x
The next February, Meenu’s YouTube Valentine’s day exclusive vlog interview with Chloe and Nadine gets 10 Million hits.
Nadine pivots to becoming a traveling security consultant, transferring on-the-ground operations to her LA team, which grows by the week.
Chloe gets a gig presenting a travel show, and if her and Nadine’s work schedules auspiciously line up more often than is sheer coincidence, no they don’t.
Ganesh ends up making a very fine ring bearer.