Catch 22
Who: Sugar Motto & Dani Harper Where: Mainly Sugar’s Apartment, but also, to and from there. When: Monday, August 15th, 2016, Evening. What: Sugar is sad and sexually frustrated, and she and Dani get a little carried away. Triggers: Not quite smut, but it might, as well, be.
Sugar stepped out of the bar, hitting send on her phone. ‘Hey, tried the bar but they said you’re off today, can we hang? My place?’ She made her way back to her apartment, her brain swirling from the events of the past few days. She hadn’t even had the heart to put together a proper outfit today, settling instead on a plain white button up and old pair of Sevens jeans. Her doorman greeted her as she stepped back into her building. It was rare that Sugar had so many days off in a row, but with fashion weeks coming up, she needed the time to get organized and rest up. She let herself into her apartment and set up a kettle to boil so she could have a cup of tea while she waited.
Dani was at the gym when her phone buzzed. She didn’t have many friends so it didn’t happen often, but when she say Sugar’s message, she decided that maybe she could pass on her usual routine, today. ‘Sure thing, Sugs. I need your address though. What’s up?’ She finished her bicep curls and figured, she could do with skipping the rest of arm-day, flashing herself a pose to make sure her guns hadn’t shown any signs of going away.
She sent Dani her address with a quick ‘see you soon’ she didn’t want to get into it over text. It was too complicated, and frankly too long to type out. It wouldn’t take Dani long to get here, she assumed, she could wait. Her kettle boiled and Sugar made her cup of tea while she waited, settling down on the couch. Picking up the latest Vogue, she idly flipped through it, smiling at one of the shots she had done. She was really glad the editor had chosen that one, it was one of her favorites from that day. At least, even if her personal life was in shambles, her career was still going strong.
Dani probably shouldn’t have been shocked to learn Sugar lived so close to the gym she went to. Williamsburg wasn’t that large, afterall. After deliberation, she decided she could probably just head straight to Sugar’s place from the gym. Going home to change out of her tank top, sports bra, and leggings, seemed a bit overkill since she’s have to walk right passed the gym in order to get to Sugar’s apartment. Even though she was sweating bullets and probably smelled like she was doing exactly what she had been doing, she hoped Sugar didn’t care too much. Sugar was nice like that. And if she did care, Dani could probably just use her shower and borrow some clothes. The walk was short and the doorman gave her a funny look, “Um, hi. I’m here to see Sugar… Sugar. I don’t know her last name. Shall I pass?” The man shrugged and opened the door, giving her the room number while doing so. Dani was starting to wonder if ALL of her friends were leaps and bounds more successful than herself. She knocked on what she hoped was the correct door.
Hearing the knock at the door, Sugar gently tossed the magazine back on the glass coffee table and got up to answer it. She smiled at Dani and pulled her into a hug. “Hey!” She instantly regretted the hug. “Wow…. um, maybe I should have mentioned it wasn’t urgent…” She laughed, stepping aside. “I mean, no offense, pal, but you are RIPE!” She laughed again, and shut the door behind her friend. She felt better just having someone else there, like she wasn’t sitting around lonely and sad, but actually surrounding herself with people she cared about. Plus, it was a nice distraction from thinking about what a dumbass she was for breaking things off with the most perfect girl on the planet. Okay, maybe that was a stretch, but whatever. She missed Ari and it hurt her heart at the idea that maybe Ari didn’t miss her.
Dani cringed, “Sorry. I would have taken a shower at the gym but I didn’t have a change of clothes. I would’ve had to put on the same clothes and I would’ve still stunk and felt dirty. Plus your apartment is far closer to walk to from the gym, then mine.” Dani felt a little self-conscience, now. “Maybe, it’d be better if I went home and got cleaned up and then came back?”
Sugar smiled and shook her head. “No big deal. You’re welcome to use my shower and borrow something, if you want? You look like my clothes should probably fit you. Help yourself to whatever you need!” She led Dani through her bedroom and showed her how to turn on the different shower jets, where towels were and where her clothes were. “If you need anything just holler. I’ll make us some tea, and then we can chat!” She smiled and headed out, closing her bedroom door to give Dani some privacy.
Dani shrugged. She kind off saw this coming, but was still surprised by Sugar’s generosity. Dani took a sec to wonder when their friendship became so close. Dani just wanted to make the mopey girl, at her bar, smile. And now she was using her shower after only seeing each other a few times. Dani usually showered relatively quickly. She learned not to waste water at a young age but she moved at a leisurely pace this time and wasn’t out until a whole TWELVE minutes after getting in. It was almost unheard of. She wrapped a towel around herself and realized that she maybe should have grabbed some clothes before she got in the shower. She opened the bathroom door once she was sure the towel was in place, “Hey Sugar. Where, did you say, your clothes were?”
Sugar sat back down on her couch and grabbed another magazine while she waited, reading up on some of the articles and just generally passing the time. She was surprised when she heard the water turn off after just a few minutes, but she figure maybe Dani didn’t want to make her wait too long. When she heard Dani’s question, she got up and went over. “It really depends on what you want to wear…” She said as she walked. “Casual shirts and t’s are in here, sweatpants, pajama bottoms, jeans are over here….. Or you could always throw on a dress if you wanted…. But all the maxi dresses are tailored to my height. Help yourself to whatever!” She opened drawers and gestured to the closet as she spoke, smiling at the end. “I’ll leave you to get changed! Do you want anything to eat?”
Dani was a little shocked at how extensive Sugar’s wardrobe was. She could count her own amount of t-shirts on two hands, excluding her wife beaters. And now, she was standing in front of more clothes than she had ever seen in one place. She thought rich people having so many clothes was just a myth, something you saw in movies, because really, you only use one damn article at a time, so why would you keep so many extras. So, she gave an answer to the only thing she could comprehend, while reaching for a plain aquamarine t-shirt, “Um, sure. Whatever you’re having, I’ll have.” She was taught to not waste food, so she often ate whatever was available. It was better than the alternative.
Sugar stepped into her kitchen and pulled out some cut veggies, hummus and some dip settling them up on the coffee table. Ever the perfect hostess, Sugar knew it was imperative to have snacks available when company was over, plus doing little things like this helped clear her mind from all her personal drama. She poured Dani a cup of tea and another one for herself and settled back down on the couch to wait for her. Now that her friend would be nice and clean, they could just chat and hang out without Sugar feeling like she couldn’t breathe too deeply.
Dani decided to go with the, recently mentioned, aquamarine t-shirt, quite possibly because it had to be the least fancy article of clothing in the whole room. Like, really? Even the damn sweatpants she threw on, were designer. It almost made her afraid that she was gonna spill something on them or rip them and have to pay Sugar a fortune for her discretion. She decided to go without a bra. She wasn’t gonna borrow one from Sugar, and even if the shirt was a tight fit, simply because Dani was a bit more built than Sugar, Dani figured Sugar wouldn’t mind. She exited the room that offended her with its pricey-ness and announced her presence in her usual way, “Alright! I’m decent. Well, actually, I’m amazing, but that’s neither here, nor there.”
Sugar smiled up at Dani and patted the empty space on the couch next to her. “That shirt looks amazing on you!” She said, though the fact that Dani was clearly not wearing a bra did not go unnoticed. Normally Sugar wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but given her recent sexless situation, feeling a little extra pathetic over Ari, and the fact that Dani was just plain hot, Sugar had to force herself not to oogle. “So, besides working on that fitness, what have you been up to today?” She asked, grabbing a carrot and dipping it before taking a crunchy bite.
Dani took a seat and got herself comfortable, she only worked out for about an hour and a half today, but she was still a bit sore, and the shower and couch felt awesome. “Nothing, really. Someone emailed me regarding a piece they wanted me to do and I gave them an estimate on how much it would be, based upon the canvas size and what they wanted. They haven’t gotten back to me, last I checked.” She always got her hopes up when someone asked her about a job, but sometimes they don’t ever reply and it’s disheartening. “But you asked me to come here. Was there a reason?”
“That’s awesome, Dan! I hope that works out for you!” She smiled at the other girl, Sugar loved celebrating the success of her friends, hence her Wall of Fame hallway which featured framed photos of her friends’ work, Playbills of Rachel’s, old TV guides of her own, some of Kate’s designs and most recently Santana’s magazine cover. At Dani’s question Sugar picked up another carrot and shrugged one shoulder up as she took a bite. “To be honest, I’ve just been having kind of a bad day. Rachel is busy, lord knows where Santana is and I just… didn’t feel like being alone. So, I tried going to the bar, because you always seem to make me feel better, but… you weren’t there. So, here we are.” She popped the rest of the carrot in her mouth and took a sip of her tea.
Dani brushed off the comment about her possible job. It wasn’t something she liked talking or even thinking about. The idea that her work was getting worse, was one that was keeping her up at night. She smiled at Sugar’s admission though, “Aww, I always make you happy? I mean, I love it, but you’re putting a lot of pressure on me here. If I had known, I would have prepared a routine or something,” she laughed. “I’m sorry you had a bad day, Love. Hugs?” She held her arms open with a bright grin. While she was joking, she also, really did hope that she could make Sugar feel better, and hoped that maybe someone to hold her, was all she needed. Sugar did seem lonely, as of late.
Sugar did lean in for a hug, wrapping her arms around the other girl and holding her a bit longer than she did their original hug. She smelled way better this time around. As she pulled away, she shook her head. “It’s not that my day has been bad or anything, it’s just… honestly, I’m not sure I’m 100% over my last breakup” That was a little fib, she knew she wasn’t anywhere close to over it, but why drudge it up. “Plus with every passing day that I don’t have sex or really any kind of action, I feel more and more like it’s never going to happen!” She shook her head and rolled her eyes at herself. “I’ve never had trouble getting girls before, seriously, NEVER, and now it’s like I’m girl repellant. I’ve lost my mojo or something.” She sighed and took another sip of her tea. She hated feeling like she was throwing herself a pity party.
Dani could definitely understand not being over her ex. Her ex made her homeless for a small time, but she probably would have still taken her back even after she got back on her feet, assuming, she had tried coming back. “Do you think there’s any chance of things being fixed? Was she not good for you?” Dani had to suppress a laugh at Sugar’s next comment. Sugar was upset because she doesn’t want to be sex repellant, while Dani often wished she was sex repellant. “I’m sure, you can get your mojo back. You are incredibly charming and exceedingly gorgeous, Sugar. You’re probably just in a slump. I know, I get crazy if I don’t have sex in too long. Maybe, once you get “some action”, as you put it, you’ll go back to being your chick-magnet self.”
Sugar dipped her head. “I um… I doubt it. She was amazing, still is. I just… think she wanted to be my friend more than my girlfriend, that’s all.” She smiled and rolled her eyes at Dani’s compliment. “You’re sweet, and normally I’d agree with you, but lately…. I dunno. I mean, look how we met! A Tinder hook up stood me up. TINDER, Dani!” She shook her head. “I’m pathetic. No wonder I’ve been so needy lately.” With a sigh she leaned back and crossed her legs. “You know, I’m sure you’re right, it’s just actually getting some action that’s been the problem as of late. I’m open to suggestions, but not online dating or whatever, I’m done with that for a while.”
Dani smiled at Sugar’s frustration. It was truly adorable. “You’re not pathetic, Sugs. And if you think you’re pathetic because a Tinder date stood you up, then I have a confession to make.” Dani let out a long breath and said, in the most overly dramatic fashion she could muster, complete with one hand clutching her heart and the other, palm facing out, on her forehead, “Your date didn’t stand you up. When I saw you enter MS, I fell completely in love with you and knew that I had to have you all to myself. So I killed your Tinder date! Threw her body in the Hudson! And then I came back and picked up the pieces of your broken heart! I’m sorry for the deception, but we were meant to be together!” Dani put her hands down and stifled her laugh with a smile. She thought she was hilarious but most others didn’t quite agree.
Sugar blinked at her friend for a moment, absorbing her words. “You probably could have just told her I had the herp and saved yourself a lot of trouble.” She said before a huge grin spread over her face and she shook her head. “You’re sweet. I know once I get past this little lull I’ll be fine, and maybe it’ll help me get over my ex. But…. it’s just so frustrating! I met a girl at the party, turns out she’s bi-curious and just wants to see what it’s like. I don’t want to be someone’s experiment, you know? That’s what your dorm mate is for. I mean, not mine, but...” She was babbling. “I dunno, maybe I’m being too picky for someone who is having a worse dry spell than California.”
Dani laughed at Sugar’s comeback, then smiled goofily at Sugar’s own smile. Pretty girls deserve to smile. Always her goal. But this whole, “worse dry spell than California,” was really getting to Sugar, and Dani really didn’t have many solutions, other than, “I mean, I can give you some pointers. Whether you wanna use them to try to get your ex back or to seduce a quick lay into your bed, they might help?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She didn’t really have too many pointers and most she hadn’t purposefully used in years. But it was out there now, and it wasn’t like she had any better ideas.
Normally Sugar would have been offended at the idea that she needed pointers. I mean, hello, she was freaking famous for god’s sake. She wasn’t someone who needed help getting a girl in bed. But then again, she obviously was. Maybe Dani would actually have some useful tips, it couldn’t hurt anyways, right? “Okay, fine. I’m open to anything at this point. Show me what you got.”
“Um, okay.” Dani cleared her throat, suddenly feeling self-conscience. Somewhere in the back(forefront) of her mind, she was worried, Sugar might find the things she was about to say, silly. But she decided to just, go for it, “Well, I just want you to know, it’s been a long while since I’ve used these, so I’m sorry if I’m not much help. Starting off, to convey someone you’re interested in them, most of the time, it’s better to show and not tell. Actions are far louder than any words you can offer. Smile when you make eye contact and no matter how difficult, don’t look away too quickly, but also don’t stare so long that it’s creepy. You want to hold it, for just long enough, so that you can show her, that one, you really are looking at her, and two, are aren’t ashamed of looking at her. And I mean her eyes, by the way. If you look at her body, some might think all you want is sex and brush you off. You following me, so far?”
Sugar tapped her foot as Dani spoke, waiting for her to get to the good part. Sure, she was in a slump, but she wasn’t 12 years old or anything. “Maybe we can fast-forward past Intro to Girls 101 and get to the good stuff? I know how to make eye-contact, believe it or not.” She said, taking another sip of her tea. “What I’m having issues with is the follow through. Girls seem all interested until it comes time to go back to someone’s place and then it’s the brush off. Like I suddenly stumbled into some bad lighting or my dance moves are off, or I’m a bad kisser. Which, by the way, I am not. Unless maybe my technique is off because I’m so rusty now.” She sighed.
Dani sighed with a chuckle at Sugar’s impatience. She held her hands up in surrender, “Alright! Alright, maybe I need more information to better help you. Will they leave with you and then pull away or will they not leave with you? Also, I’m sure your kissing technique is fine, but if you wanna go over that, we can.” Dani wasn’t sure what the poor girl wanted from her. She was practically bursting with sexual frustration, and Dani might have found it adorable, if it wasn’t having such an affect on her.
Sugar shook her head. “It’s different each time, it’s not like a formula. Some girls are teases, some chicken out as we’re leaving, some come back here and then just want to talk about how “famous” I am because they used to watch my show with their grandma or whatever, some just want to cuddle and talk about their hopes and dreams or whatever. It’s just….” She made a disgusted sigh. “Maybe we should just forget this whole thing…”
Now, Dani was feeling frustrated. What girl wouldn’t want to sleep with Sugar? Dani almost felt insulted. She pushed on forward though, “Stand up for a second, Love.” She did so, herself and moving to where there was an open space in the living room.
With a shrug, Sugar did as she was asked. It was really nice of Dani to try to help, so she figured she should try to see this thing through and maybe she would come away with a pointer or two. At the very least, it was a really good distraction from thinking about Ari and how good she had looked at the party the other night.
Dani stood very close to Sugar, “So, as a build up, throughout the night, look at her lips when she talks. Not only does it make her feel like you’re actually listening to what she’s saying, but it also, in turn, makes her look at your lips, which of course, leads to her subconsciously thinking about kissing you. Also, throughout the night, touch her. Platonic touches, I mean. Periodically, brush hair out of her face so you can see her eyes, or grab a piece of lint(that isn’t actually there) off of her shoulder.” To demonstrate, even though, it wasn’t particularly necessary, Dani reached for Sugar’s shoulder and “picked” and invisible hair off of Sugar’s blouse, showed it to Sugar, in such a way, that it looked like there really was something pinched in her fingertips, before opening them, revealing an empty hand. Dani began to speak a bit more deliberately, annunciating, “These make you out to be a protective person. But don’t make a huge show of it, just make it seem like instinct, so that they don’t think twice when you get closer and brush their hair away again, until they realize, you are looking right into their eyes, getting even closer.” Dani continued to demonstrate her words, by stepping closer into Sugar’s comfort zone, until their lips are centimeters away from each other. Dani knew Sugar could, not only hear but feel her words when she whispered, “But don’t go all the way. You want her to make the decision to close the gap. This all making sense, Love?”
Sugar practiced what Dani was saying as she said her, moving her eyes down to the other girl’s lips. She reached out and brushed a piece of hair back behind Dani’s ear. This was fine, she could make more of an effort to do little things like this instead of just relying on words and compliments. As Dani got closer and closer, Sugar instinctively licked her lips. “Yeah, it makes sense...” This was getting a little weird, did Dani want to kiss her? Was this some kind of test? But at the end of the day, any distraction from Ari was a good one…. Right? She leaned in and kissed Dani, softly at first, just to test the waters. Just enough that she could laugh it off if she needed to.
Well, maybe Dani got a little carried away, but she really wasn’t expecting Sugar to actually react the way she did, and instinctively pressed her lips against Sugar’s tentative ones, wrapping an arm around her waist and gently pulling her closer, and using the other to hold Sugar’s face, rubbing her thumb against her cheekbones.
She hadn’t really expected Dani to kiss back, and certainly not this intensely, but Sugar would be lying if she said it wasn’t a total turn on. Her hands moved up to cup the other girl’s face and she guided them back over to the couch. She hated making out while standing, it always felt so unnatural. Parting her lips and tracing her tongue along Dani’s lower lip, she gently pushed her down to a sitting position, not breaking their contact.
Dani let herself be led blindly to the couch and, upon being pushed to the couch, she pulled Sugar into her lap. She moaned and opened her mouth and met her tongue with Sugar’s and if she could think clearly, she may have thought, ‘There is no way it’s her kissing technique that needs work!’ She wrapped both arms around the smaller girl’s waist and pressed herself against her once again, and she felt her nipples harden, as she became more worked up.
Sugar ran one hand down to the other girl’s waist, rolling her hips against hers with a soft moan as her other hand tangled itself in Dani’s hair. It felt so good to kiss, to be kissed, to have a warm body against hers. All thoughts of her ex-girlfriend flew out of her head as she focused on the feeling that was pumping through her body. She sucked softly on Dani’s lower lip as she pressed their bodies closer still.
Dani reached underneath Sugar’s blouse and scaled up her back, before moaning and dragging her nails down her back. Dani bucked up in response to Sugar grinding into her. Dani pulled her lips away from Sugar’s, lightly biting at the lower one before trailing down Sugar’s jaw, giving several light pecks until latching onto her pulse point and sucking.
Dani definitely knew what she was doing, and Sugar moaned in response to the girl’s touch and roaming lips. Her own hand slipped inside the shirt Dani was wearing, her fingertips caressing against the soft skin of her waist and then upwards, cupping her breast and gently teasing her nipples. She bit down on her lip and rolled her hips again, harder this time, the friction causing her to whimper. She shifted her weight, leaning down to press her lips to Dani’s again before the other girl could leave a mark.
The sounds that Sugar kept making, made Dani want to continue being the cause of them. She cupped her hands on Sugar’s ass and used the leverage to pull the girl’s pelvis against her, grinding her own body in turn. “Fuck, Sugar!” were the only actual words she could express at the moment, and she took one of her hands off of Sugar’s backside so she could reach up her blouse again, but in the front this time, to cup and squeeze a bra-clad breast.
This was the furthest Sugar had made it with a girl in… well, months and it felt incredible, though a very quiet nagging voice in the back of her mind was telling her to slow down and think about the situation. Hooking up with friends didn’t usually end well. But she had hooked up with Santana before without any kind of issue, so maybe this wouldn’t be a problem either. Afterall, hadn’t she broken things off with Ari so that she could be more physical? No. That wasn’t the reason. She pulled her hands away from Dani to unbutton her top and peel it off, throwing it aside as she shoved the thoughts of Ari back out of her head.
Dani immediately shoved her face into what cleavage she could see, sucking and nibbling on and soft flesh she could find, while at the same time, reaching behind Sugar and with a snap of her finger, had the offending bra undone. She smirked at her talent. It’s a great party trick and she briefly wondered why she hadn’t used it at the party a couple nights ago, but was quick to focus back on her task of pleasing the girl in her lap, wrapping her lips around a nipple and sucking, hoping she could make Sugar forget all about her dry spell, and damn any consequences.
Sugar groaned, closing her eyes at the feelings and sensations that swept over her. This was good, fuck it felt so good. But her stupid brain just wouldn’t shut up about what a bad idea this was. Her hands slipped down between them and worked their way into the waistband of the sweatpants Dani had borrowed. She put one hand on the back of the couch and the other slipped further down into the sweatpants, finding Dani’s core. “Mmm, so wet…” She moaned, her fingers teasing the other girl. She tried very hard to focus on what was happening rather than what might happen.
Dani was pretty sure she was sweating. She loved it all so much. The sounds Sugar kept making, spurring her on. The lovely body on top of hers, building her arousal. And when Sugar began to play with her center, she groaned. But it only lasted until Dani let go of Sugar’s nipple, grazing her teeth against it, and said, “No. You need this more.” It was all she could get out and she threw Sugar down onto the couch, kissing all down her body, starting at her jaw, and leaving a trail between Sugar’s breasts that she grabbed with both hands, crawling further until she reached her navel, to dip her tongue into the little belly button she found. She removed her hands to unbutton the jeans in her way, biting lightly onto Sugar’s hip bone.
Sugar arched her back, this felt so good and her body reacted to every touch, every graze, moans and whimpers spilled from her lips like a waterfall. But at the same time, it didn’t feel right. Something was keeping her from really letting go and enjoying this. Like it would potentially destroy her friendship with Dani, and like it would potentially destroy any chance she might have getting Ari back. Did she want Ari back? Fuck. “Fuck.” She whispered, but it wasn’t as lust-filled as one might have expected. “Stop…. Sorry! Just… stop.” She pulled away from Dani, sitting up. “I’m sorry.”
Dani’s gaze was fogged. Drunk off of lust. But she was real quick to stop everything once she heard Sugar tell her to, “What is it? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” When Sugar apologized, she was quick to silence her, “No, don’t be sorry. It’s okay.” She cupped Sugar’s face with her hand and made circles with her thumb in the most soothing way she could manage. She moved to wrap her arms around Sugar’s shoulders protectively.
“No.” Sugar shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I mean, physically…” She pulled away again, not wanting to be touched. She was half naked and felt like shit, the last thing she wanted was to cuddle. “Just, please stop.” She stood and grabbed her shirt, putting it back on quickly. “I’m really, sorry I just… I didn’t mean for this to happen, I wasn’t…” Everything she said sounded wrong. She hated that she had even kissed Dani in the first place, now she was being the tease she had just finished complaining about. “Maybe you should just go.” She said softly. “Sorry.”
Dani’s arms dropped pathetically to her sides. Now, as she came back into her right mind, she became horrified with herself. “No. Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry. I took advantage of you,” she tried to explain, fighting tears. “I’m going. I’m so sorry, Sugar.” Her voice cracked. The idea that she would do something to hurt someone she cared about hit her like a train. And at the moment, it felt like she had actually been hit by one. Dani walked to the front door, doing her best to not cry.
Sugar felt like absolute shit. “You didn’t…” She said weakly, but Dani was already heading out the door. Great, she had ruined the friendship anyway. No wonder no one wanted to be with her, she was a horrible person. She had broken up with someone she loved because of sex, and now she had destroyed a friendship over it too. She should just be exiled from society, join a convent or something. She hated herself. Flopping down on the couch, she began to cry. It was all that was left to do.
Dani made it out the door and jogged back to her apartment, hoping nobody saw her red, watering eyes. She was back home before she realized, she left her clothes in a neat pile next to Sugar’s couch. She supposed, she’d probably never see those again, and with that, she decided to head to bed early, at least she had something new to keep herself up all night.
