Chapter 14: Let's Stretching

Alexandra told Roxanne to get changed inside the changing room; she said the staff had already prepared a swimsuit for her and she should've changed into it. Roxanne then stares at the changing room, which is bigger than her room back in Texas.

The usual changing room she grows to know is a small cubicle box in a public swimming pool that smells sour and sometimes smells like mold. People talking in some booths, children running and screaming, some even using the box for God knows what inside.

But this one is something she never thought could be happening in her life. A changing room that actually looked like a proper room itself, the polished wooden floors gleamed beneath the glow of a grand chandelier.

"I thought the chandelier in the gym was already too much, and we have it inside the changing room." Roxanne muttered as she took the swimsuit and started changing.

Her eyes then darted at the walls, which, painted in a creamy ivory tone, are framed with a molding that gives the space a timeless, almost regal touch. Subtle recessed lighting along the ceiling edges added a soft radiance, ensuring no shadows lingered, as if the room itself was designed to make its guests feel flawless.

At the center lay a plush, tufted ottoman in pale velvet, where she found a set of white towels and a swimsuit on top. The tufted ottoman is set atop a richly woven rug with beautiful patterns.

Roxanne was then staring at herself in front of the mirror; perhaps it was the soap she used in the house or the water, but her skin was glowing and looked smoother than when she was in Texas.

She steps outside to the private pool area, seeing Alexandra already standing on the edge of the pool with a chilled glass in her hands, "your water, drink first, and we'll do some stretching before we get in." She said, without turning her head.

But Roxanne can feel her knees weak; for a sixteen-year-old teenager, having a crush on someone isn't the first time in her life. But to have her heart feel like it is being ripped apart—this is the first time in her life.

Seeing people in swimsuits isn't a new thing for Roxanne. She saw it most of the time in Texas, especially in Summer, when people gather in the lake or the river for summer vacation. Some of them, even wearing much more revealing ones, are even sexier than the one worn by Alexandra. And never once did she feel something; even when her last crush, the school basketball player, revealed his abs, she felt nothing like today.

Alexandra stripped away her suit and revealed the truth of her body; Roxanne felt her breath catch in her throat. The lines of taut muscle, the ridges of her abdomen, the way strength and elegance lived side by side upon her frame—it all struck her like a revelation.

She isn’t just beautiful; she's dangerous, untouchable, and yet impossibly close. The tattoos climbing her arm only deepened the effect, weaving a story across skin that was both art and warning.

Roxanne’s pulse raced, her chest tightening as heat pooled low in her belly. She believed that the attraction she had previously felt was already unbearable, a forbidden ache that she could confine to silence.

But seeing Alexandra like this—raw, stripped of her clothes—is too much. Every forbidden thought she had buried came crashing back, sharper, hungrier, and harder to deny.

She wanted to look away, but her eyes betrayed her. They lingered too long on the taut curve of Alexandra’s waist, the steady strength of her arms, and the impossible combination of control and wildness written across her body.

And in that moment, Roxanne understood something terrifying: whatever this is between them, it isn’t just in her head. Alexandra is a storm, and Roxanne had already stepped into the rain. She'll either drown or learn to dance in the rain.

Alexandra had just lifted her glass, the cool water slipping past her lips, when she turned and froze. Roxanne stood there by the pool staring at her, the soft glow of the overhead lights and the faint shimmer of the water casting her in a glow that made her look almost unreal.

The pink swimsuit clung to her in ways that Alexandra had not prepared herself for, the delicate floral patterns tracing over her figure like blossoms daring to bloom in forbidden soil.

Her long ponytail spilled down her shoulder, strands catching the light like silk threads. She shifted her weight with unthinking grace, and Alexandra could feel the tension coil deeper in her stomach.

Alexandra’s throat worked, but instead of swallowing gracefully as she always did, the water caught in her windpipe. She coughed, a sudden, uncharacteristic break in her polished composure. For a woman who commanded boardrooms and silenced men twice her size with a look, it was absurd, yet she couldn’t help it.

Her eyes widened, not from the choking, but from the realization of what had caused it. Roxanne, who's still staring at her. The girl tilted her head, concern flashing across her face as she took a step closer. “Are you okay?” she asked softly, her voice filled with genuine worry.

Alexandra waved a hand, trying to regain control of her breath, her composure, and her heart that suddenly thundered in her chest. “Yes—yes, I’m fine,” she managed at last, though her voice was huskier than she intended. Her eyes, traitorous, lingered far too long before she forced herself to look away.

Inside, her thoughts are anything but fine. "God help me," she thought. "What have the fuck did I think? She's sixteen!!"

“You scared me for a second,” she said, her voice quieter than usual. “I thought you were choking badly.”

Alexandra forced a chuckle, low and throaty, though the sound betrayed her. “Just… caught off guard,” she admitted, her silver eyes flicking briefly toward Roxanne before darting away.

Alexandra’s lips curved faintly, but her eyes betrayed the conflict raging inside her. “By you,” she wanted to say. "By the way, you make me forget myself. By the way, I can’t look at you without feeling like I’m playing with fire."

But instead, she pressed her tongue against the inside of her cheek, forcing restraint. “You startled me, that’s all,” she replied, her voice carefully even, though the tension between them betrayed the simplicity of her words.

"Let's stretch, then?" Roxanne smiles at her, taking a step back.

"Okay, let's go." Alexandra put the glass back on the table.