Chapter 1
“Hill! What do you want for your birthday?”
“Nothing. To be left alone,”
I started at the voices coming from the common room of an apartment. I had been taking a nap on my friend Maria Hill’s couch after a long mission. We’d both been sent to Italy, undercover to get intel on our enemies’ plans to take down the Avengers.
Take down the Avengers? Ha! I thought, getting up from the couch in the spare bedroom.
“You have to want something. And you don’t really want to spend your birthday alone do? Come out with the boys. Invite that pretty comrade of yours too. Lauren Rogerson, right?” the male voice – I assumes belonged to Wilkins – a new agent who had recently joined our group with larger missions - complained. Even though I wasn’t in the room, I could sense one of her eyebrows raising up at the last comment, as if to say, ‘Really? You’re just going to drool over her all night,’
“So, you and Mendelson can flirt with her all night? No, thank you,” Maria snapped. I almost laughed at the comment.
“When will you realize I’m not interested? If she wants to be left alone, then leave her alone. Not everyone wants to be surrounded by people on their birthday,” I said, walking through the room to the kitchen.
“Rogerson. Looking good. You sure you don’t want any of them?” Wilkins greeted me. I paused, looking him over. The tall, lanky build he had, his black hair cropped short in the back, fringe lying across one eyebrow, and his dark green eyes. There was potential, but I didn’t feel the attraction to him. Not like I did with Maria or some of the Avengers; both men and women. I saw how he flexed his muscles, thinking that was how he’d win over my love and affection.
“Fuck off, Wilkins. Not. Interested. Hill, got any eggs?” I answered, deliberately swaying my hips as I entered the kitchen. I wanted her to look at my ass, not Wilkins but felt his eyes on it anyway.
“Yeah, they’re in the very back, top shelf. I’ve got cheese too and picked up another bottle of hot sauce,” she said. She knew without asking what I had wanted and something that I loved to make for the two of us whenever we got back from a mission. An egg sandwich fixed to perfection; the yolk that ran sopped up with the bread.
“Want one?” I asked, waving the bread in her direction.
“Sure. Wilkins, leave. Now. I’d like to relax on my day off,” The agent left as I fried the four eggs to put on the sandwich, followed by the cheese and hot sauce.
“So, what are we doing for you birthday?” I asked, spreading a thick layer of mayonnaise on the toasted bread as I waited for the eggs to finish cooking. Maria shrugged on her way to sit at the dining table.
“You’re telling me you haven’t thought of anything to do on your birthday? Nothing at all?” I questioned.
“Well…there is one thing,”
“Which is?” I asked, raising my eyebrows, putting the two sandwiches on plates and sliding Maria hers. I pointed at the coffee and she nodded; I poured two cups and doctored them up with what we liked in them.
“You wouldn’t be interested in an escape room, would you? I mean, we’d probably get done in about half an hour but, they seem fun,” she said.
“Actually, that does sound like fun. Should I invite Nick? Steve? Tony? Both?”
“Sure. To all four,” I simply nodded, forming a plan in my head. I’d be in charge of putting things into place for tonight because she didn’t feel like doing anything that wasn’t work. You’d think it would be the same, but no, not in this case. In the office or debriefings, even in the field, she took charge, but off the job she was more laid back, which is something I loved about her. Though, she didn’t know it. That I loved her.
For three years, I had a crush on the woman, ever since SHIELD had recruited me. I had great communication skills but lacked in knowledge of weaponry. She had taken it upon herself to teach me the basics, both in hand to hand combat as well as weaponry. I had liked the way her fingers lingered on my skin or the way that she gripped my waist while helping my form in punching. I cherished the way she whispered in my ear as she taught me about shooting a gun. I thought she was interested, but I still had doubts about it. Hell, she could be straight for all I knew, and my bisexual ass could have misinterpreted things.
As I called in reservations at an escape room – I researched all sorts in the New York area – I took a chance to glance at Maria. She wore a gray tank top and light pink pajama pants. No bra, as evident by her nipples poking through the thin fabric. She wore no socks, her bare feet stretched out on the couch she was sitting on after we left the kitchen. Her shoulder length brown hair messy in the morning. A beautiful sight.
‘Have you asked her out yet?’ a text message from Stark read.
‘No, Tony. She may not like women, anyway.’ I sent back.
‘You won’t know until you ask. The worst she could do is say no, right?’
‘I know. I’m too nervous to ask her.’
‘Lauren, you’re one of the most confident women I know. If you don’t ask her out soon, I’m going to tell her you like her.’ He texted.
‘No. Don’t. It’s not the right time.’
“Everything all set?” Maria asked, breaking the silence. It caused me to jump since I had been texting away with Tony.
“Yep. We’re meeting the guys downtown at 5. It takes an hour to do the escape room,” I told her.
“Okay,” she said.
‘I’m going to text her. Better ask her out now,’
‘Stop threatening me. Alright, fine, have it your way. I’ll ask her.’ I texted. Here goes nothing, I thought. I took a deep breath, preparing myself.
“Hey, Maria?’
“Yeah, Lauren?”
“Do you…would you like to grab dinner after the escape room?” I asked.
“Sure. The six of us can decide what we want to eat once we get there,” Of course she’d think I’d want them to tag along.
“No, not with them. Just us. Alone,” I clarified. I started twisting my hands together, a nervous habit I developed in middle school.
“Are…are you asking me out?” Maria asked, surprise written on her face. My face grew hot and I averted my eyes to the floor.
“Yeah, I guess I am. You don’t have to say yes if you’re not interested,”
“I’d love to go out with you,” she stated. I looked up at her in surprise at her answer.
“Did you really think I didn’t like you? Why do you think I agreed to train you?” she commented.
“I wasn’t sure. I kept think I was reading things wrong,”
“You weren’t. I was hoping you’d catch on to my feelings,”
We got ready a few hours later to meet the guys at the escape room, excited for our date afterward.
An hour, my ass. The six of us completed the room in half an hour, going our separate ways to dinner. Maria and I decided on fish and chips for dinner, heading to our favorite pub to eat and drink a few pints of beer. We were already so comfortable with each other that the conversation flowed naturally and at the end of the night, she asked to come over.
“I’ve never seen your place. You’re always over at mine,” she said. I countered with the fact that she had never asked to stay at my apartment when missions were done.
“It might be a little messy. I didn’t expect any company tonight,” I told her. We took her SUV to my apartment building, parked and walked up three flights of stairs to my door. I unlocked it and we went inside where we could talk some more…or do something else.
“I have to say, I like your apartment better. It’s much more spacious than mine. How big is your bedroom?”
“Eh, it’s decent. There’s two of them. I’ve converted the one in the back into a library. There’s better lighting in there whenever I feel like curling up with a good book,” I answered, bringing her to the one closest to the kitchen, across from the second bedroom’s bathroom. Mine had a bathroom connected to it, so I left the one of the second reserved for guests. I let her look around, an unofficial tour, trying not to cringe at the mess on the floor.
“What do you -,” I asked, cut off by her lips on mine. She pushed me back towards the bed. I stumbled, taking her down with me. We laughed and her lips captured mine again. Her hands moved to unbutton my jeans and she continued to unzip them from there. She paused kissing me to tug both them and my underwear off. Coming back up, she kissed me again.
“This isn’t going to be a problem is it? Sex on the first date?” she asked.
“No, of course not,”
“Great, because I’ve decided I want you to cum all night. It is my birthday after all,” she said. She pulled off my shirt and bra, leaving me naked before her. She undressed and laid flat on me, her fingers going to work on my folds, slipping one finger inside my entrance, followed by two more. I moaned into her kiss while she fucked me with her slender digits. Maria was magical with her fingers and I came over and over again. She didn’t stop there. She made me cum with her mouth, her tongue and even asked if there were any toys she could play with.
I only had two to our disappointment, a wand vibrator and one that sucked on the clit. I made a mental note to pick up some more for next time. I got her off a couple times with my own hands, though she still got off on making me orgasm, turning on me every chance she got. Maria preferred being on top and the more she played with me, the more dominant she got. I was excited to see where she would take it. By the time we finished, we were both sweaty and sticky and the sun was shining through the blinds. She held me tight in her arms, spooning me and kissed my cheek.
“Best birthday ever,” she whispered, allowing sleep to take over us both.
