Almost Caught: Hooky Hookup

Gia Derza sits up in bed, mischief pulling at her mouth. She checks a text, thumbs flying, then whispers, 'Just getting started, see you soon...' She kicks off the sheets, drops to the floor and hammers out jumping jacks until warmth blooms beneath her skin. Outside her door her mother Chanel Preston calls for her to wake for school. Eighteen years old, weeks from graduation, and still the morning routine persists. Gia dives back under the covers. Chanel steps in as Gia paints on a dazed expression and moans that she feels awful. Chanel’s palm meets her forehead, a quick search for fever. She returns a minute later with a thermometer and tells Gia to keep it under her tongue, then steps out for water. Alone, Gia rubs the glass between both palms, then holds it near a lamp until the mercury climbs. Footsteps sound; she slides the thermometer back between her lips. Chanel reappears with a glass, checks the reading, and declares Gia officially sick. She’ll call off work, make soup, play nurse. Gia swallows her disappointment and tries to refuse, but Chanel won’t hear it. A kiss brushes Gia’s forehead. 'Rest, baby.' The door clicks shut. Gia exhales a frustrated groan, grabs her phone and calls Alex. Her voice stays low, eyes flicking to the door every few seconds. Plans for today are shot. She missed Alex’s eighteenth birthday the week before; now this. Alex cuts the call short with a gleeful 'Wait right there!' Gia stares at the blank screen, wary and curious. Movement at the back door interrupts her sulking. Alex slips inside barefoot, grinning, already shedding clothes. She crawls beneath the sheets, warm breath skating down Gia’s stomach. 'Let me make you feel better.' Her tongue finds its target, slow, wet strokes that drag stifled moans from Gia’s throat. Every creak in the hallway forces a freeze, heartbeats counted in the pause before they dare move again. One sound too loud and everything unravels.