A couple of minutes went by. Malcolm found it unusually hard to sleep. He could feel the motion of Tapestry’s breathing through the blanket, and smell the scent of whatever shampoo she’d used earlier in the shower.
Tapestry rolled over, either accidentally or intentionally putting herself into contact with him. Malcolm couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not. He stayed where he was for a couple of seconds, and then shifted, putting an arm around her.
He expected Tapestry to stop him, or at least say something, but she didn’t. It felt natural to spoon with her, and shockingly intimate. It felt as though, for once, Tapestry had her guard down, and Malcolm had managed to respond in the correct way.
She’s really soft. And she has a great body. Uh-oh…
It only took another minute for Malcolm to realize the hard predicament he’d put himself into. He considered disengaging from Tapestry and giving himself the space needed to cool down, but it felt too nice cuddling with her to make himself do it. He closed his eyes, and forced himself to sleep.
Malcolm woke at some point during the night to Tapestry nuzzling his neck. She’d shifted, turning so that she was facing Malcolm directly. He couldn’t tell if she was awake or not, but he could feel her against him, her thin night gown doing practically nothing to disguise the fact that she was naked underneath it.
He was still hard. Tapestry let out a soft sigh and shifted her head against his neck. Malcolm’s lips found hers, and as he kissed her, he felt her respond in kind. Malcolm ran a hand down her back, finding the bottom hem of her nightgown and sliding it up until he could grope her soft, naked butt.
Tapestry sighed again, and her hand went to Malcolm’s face. She let her crotch push forward against his and Malcolm kissed her neck.
“Allen…” she whispered, dreamily. “It’s been… so long.”
Allen… That’s her late husband’s name.
Malcolm stopped himself. He disengaged, though it took all the willpower he had. Knowing that Tapestry was still mostly asleep, thinking he was someone else, made him feel a little dirty.
He rolled over in bed. Tapestry cuddled against his back, and he tried to ignore the sensation of her nipples softly pressing in between his shoulder blades.
He didn’t get much sleep.
CHAPTER 17
A free breakfast was delivered to their room the next morning. Malcolm shared waffles and bacon with Tapestry, not daring to bring up their sleeping arrangement from the night before. Tapestry had found an activity brochure, and was slowly flipping through it.
“Here’s the masquerade ball you mentioned,” she said. “It looks like we need to call ahead to reserve ourselves masks, given that we didn’t bring any. I’ll take care of that.”
Malcolm nodded, his thoughts elsewhere.
“It also says that there’s a mediation retreat happening this afternoon in the Hawktail Spa,” said Tapestry. “Interested?”
Malcolm shrugged.
“Sure,” he said.
“I figured you would have rather stayed at the casino and done some more gambling,” said Tapestry. “Surprising…”
I would if I wasn’t banned…
“Nah, this seems like it could be a good bonding activity for us,” said Malcolm.
Tapestry raised an eyebrow at him.
“A bonding activity?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “For us to get closer as, uh, partners. That makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Did you get enough sleep last night, Malcolm?”
“No, actually, I didn’t,” he said. “But you know what I mean. We haven’t exactly been on the same page all that consistently, lately.”
Tapestry sighed.
“I guess you’re right,” she said. “No promises, though. I don’t think the friction between us is of the variety that can be bonded out.”
Malcolm chuckled.
“We’ll see,” he said.
The meditation retreat was held in a building adjacent to the hotel. As soon as the other participants began to file in, Malcolm began regret his decision to tag along. The crowd was mostly female, and mostly young. He stood out like a sore thumb.
It began with a yoga class. Malcolm stumbled through it, not having a good sense of what the moves were or how to go into them. He had to rely on his wind manipulation to hold his body in place for a few of the movements, which was actually good practice.
A massage came next, and Malcolm enjoyed it far more. Tapestry was in the same room as him for hers, and he listened with a bit of ironic delight as her masseuse complimented her on her flawless skin and bemoaned the fact that youth was wasted on the young.
Feeling much, much more relaxed than he’d expected to, Malcolm headed with Tapestry toward the last activity. The brochure in their hotel room had listed it as a spirit sauna. Malcolm had only a vague idea of what that meant.
“I guess we both wear towels for it?” said Tapestry, as she examined the area outside their assigned sauna.
“Well thank god for that,” he said. “Otherwise I’d have to see you naked.”
She punched him playfully on the arm and scooped up one of the massive towels. The saunas were small, only large enough for two or three people each, and after ditching their clothes and donning their towels, Malcolm and Tapestry walked into theirs.
It was dimly lit inside, and the illumination that did come through came from lights that gave off the effect of a constellation in the night sky. Ambient music played softly in the background. The air was hot and dry, and smelled slightly of sweet smoke.
“Now what?” asked Malcolm. “Do we just… sit, chill out here, or something?”
“You’re so impatient,” said Tapestry. “It’s a spirit sauna. You just focus on your breathing, and try to find a place of peace.”
“You sound like you’ve done this before,” said Malcolm.
“A couple of things kind of like it,” said Tapestry. “Not this specifically.”
He went quiet. A minute or two passed by, and Malcolm saw what she meant. The heat made him sweat relentlessly, but there was something calming and cleansing about it. It was easy to lose track of his own thoughts and fall through to a deeper state of being.
“What was your life like before you became a champion?” asked Tapestry.
“Uh…” Malcolm frowned. “Is it question time, or something?”
“It can be, if you want,” she replied. “I just realized that you haven’t told me all that much about it. Now seemed as good a time as any to ask.”
What was my life like before I became a champion? Where do I even start…
“It was boring,” said Malcolm. “And really pointless.”
“Give me more than that,” said Tapestry. “I’m really asking. Boring and pointless can describe anyone’s life, at some point.”
“I guess that’s what I was getting at.”
“You mean…” Tapestry hesitated. “Because of your family?”
“Partially,” said Malcolm. “That was the seed. Losing mom and Danny… threw me off balance.”
Losing mom. But Danny is still out there, still a loose end looking to be tied up.
“Elaborate,” said Tapestry. “Threw you off balance? What does that mean?”
Malcolm sighed.
“I was fifteen when they died,” he said. “Think about that for a second. I didn’t have any real coping skills other than to keep my mouth shut about it and try not cry in front of people.”
“I’m sorry,” said Tapestry.
“When I say that I was lonely, I mean that I was alone,” said Malcolm. “It was just me. With all the usual teenage stuff going on, along with emotional trauma and a hole in my heart where my family used to be.”