always looking to strike a match...

With Jules’ hand in hers, Phil let herself be guided without question of commentary, all the way until she was standing in the middle of Jules’ room, not sure quite what to do with her hands. All worries of how awkwardly she was standing, however, were abandoned when she began speaking. Phil listened carefully, nodding as she tried to parse out what exactly Jules was worried about. “We’re okay,” she said first, because that was the most important part. “If anything, it was a bit of a relief… I mean, I like the girls well enough, but I don’t feel like I know them well enough to say… you, you’re my perfect match. I honestly thought that maybe you had found someone, but…” Was she relieved that Jules hadn’t? Should she be upset at all that in a house full of connections and chemistry, Phil hadn’t yet felt like she’d found a soulmate? “If you’re fine with it, I’m fine with it,” she settled on with a nod. That felt reasonable enough.

{ - }

With a little laugh, and a great sigh of relief, Jules slumped back against the door. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said, with the playful sort of smile she kept for their talks. “I just thought it might’ve seemed– weird, or that maybe you had somebody in mind that you would’ve picked… but then I thought about the opposite, and the idea that you wouldn’t know and you’d have to pick somebody you didn’t really know, and what a nightmare that kind of thing is in Phil-world…” she rambled, eventually trailing off with a little shake of her head. “I just wish I’d thought of it ahead of time. We could’ve made a pact!”

Phil nodded, taking in the point, and quickly forgetting at least half of it under the haze of her own making. “But what if that’s why we’re such good friends?” she asked, letting her head tip and rest on Jules’ shoulder. She’d always had such a nice one, perfect for crying, or for resting, or just for this. Oh, god. Phil closed her eyes and rested her forehead against it, letting herself experience the sensations as she began her jumbled ramble, full of nothing but the thoughts that had been occupying her head.

“I mean, perfect couples aren’t people who are the same, right? Why do we work? It’s not because we like all the same things, or because we… yeah. And maybe… maybe they liked that idea! That we could known each other all our lives and not know until we were here!”

{ - }

Jules stared ahead, distantly aware of the familiar smell of Phil’s hair and the way her head settled, so very naturally. Just like always, she leaned back, her head coming to rest against Phil’s while she wracked her brain, and tried to piece together how exactly she ought to respond. They’d talked about it, hadn’t they? Well, no, not really - they joked about it before the show, before they even knew they’d be on it for sure.

“We’re good friends because we’re good friends,” Jules began, as though that was a complete thought in itself. God, she was usually smarter than that– where did that go? “Couples, and friends… they work differently. It’s just– not the same thing! That’s a totally different kind of relationship, and if we’re perfect for this one… There’s no way we’d be perfect for that one, too.” That would just be too good to be true. “And– even if perfect couples aren’t always the same, maybe… I don’t know! We don’t know how that survey works. It’s not… We can’t think like that.”

“I mean I was keeping my eyes on you regardless, but that’s fine,” she answered playfully. Sadie moved in sync and time with the dark-haired femme , thankful that Juliana wasn’t getting technical and was keeping things light and rhythmic. It made Sadie’s nerves settle down a little.

What Sadie lacked in dancing, she carried in confidence. “Oh really?” she grinned, happy to hear that the other at least found her attractive. Sadie wrapped one around Juliana’s waist, her other hand cupping the side of her head, leaning in to press her lips against the other’s, her head slightly turned to the right , making it a little more than a peck.

{ - }

Juliana felt a familiar shiver, the kind that Sadie seemed to be an expert in eliciting. She let the other woman take the lead, since Jules got the impression that she knew exactly what she wanted. As the gap closed, her breath caught in her throat, but that was the last thing she was worried about. Sadie’s lips were soft, and just insistent enough to pull Juliana in, much like the arm around her waist.

She wondered if the dizziness was all Sadie, or if the tipsiness had finally caught up with her, but either way Jules leaned into it. Her hand moved to cup Sadie’s cheek, in a touch as light and exploratory as the kiss felt, until she retracted a little. Jules didn’t move far away, and her smile grew quickly. “So… there’s your test,” she said, barely loud enough to be heard, “find out anything… useful?”

Sadie watched as Juliana took hold of her hand and felt the other tug them over towards the dance floor , knowing that wasn’t her area of expertise . The femme could talk her way out of situations , but dancing wasn’t her speciality . She glanced around at people nearby and tried to pick up on moves they were doing , not wanting to look foolish .

“ I need to tell you why I want to kiss you in order to earn it?” a smirk spread across her lips. “Maybe I think your hot and I haven’t been able to get your face out of my head,” she admits , not losing eye contact with Juliana as the words rolled out of her mouth.  Sadie picked up on how the other was dancing , and tried to copy her , but of course it wasn’t as crisp and clean as Juliana’s movement. “ No harm in testing it right? See if it feels right?”

{ - }

Sadie’s search for guidance was obvious, and surprisingly cute. “Just keep your eyes on me,” Jules winked, “I’ll get you through it,” she pitched playfully, both for selfish and helpful reasons. She kept things simple, more of a light rhythmic sway than serious dancing, mostly for the sake of not overwhelming her partner.

Jules bit her lip, averting her eyes to allow herself that excited, girlish sort of smile she’d usually hide. “Not exactly… I think I just wanted to hear you say it,” she confessed, with a challenging arch of her eyebrow. “And I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been thinking about you, too…” that sort of honesty was only fair considering Sadie’s initiative, and she decided to match it, bringing her free hand to rest on the other girl’s shoulder. “So then… Maybe we should. Just to test it,” she mused, with a mischievous spark in her eye.

Compared to Jules, Deja might as well have been sober, but even without many drinks in her system, she hardly said no to some fun. Jules’s suggestion won a crafty smile from her, and she nodded gamely. “I say hell yeah,” she agreed before hopping from her chair, a hand extended to help Jules up and lead the way outside.

{ - }

“For real?” Jules lit up at Deja’s immediate enthusiasm, and took her proffered hand as confirmation. She pulled herself up and held on, hurrying alongside Deja with a grin and a giddy skip in her step. “Let’s go!” she whooped, stepping into the pool area with a little twirl. “You know, I honestly thought that was going to take a little convincing… but I’m glad it didn’t.”

“hmm…” fizzy tilted her head, spending a hot minute assessing the question with all of her drunken might before she responded. “no, i guess it doesn’t!” she announced happily, letting out a laugh. fuck, she was really drunk, but she was having an excellent time. fizzy raised an eyebrow at her. “i feel like now that you’ve said how coordinated you are, you’re ten times as likely to slip and eat shit,” fizzy countered with a grin. however, she had to admit she was impressed with the way jules was able to kick off her shoes with a dramatic flair. “ten out of ten!” fizzy rated her performance with a giggle, taking far more care kicking off her own shoes — the last thing she needed was to fall on he ass after all her teasing.

{ - }

“Oh no, you think I’ve jinxed it?” Jules giggled, bubblier than the champagne she’d kicked off her stay with, bubblier than she tended to let herself feel. It was nice; the air was different around the pool, warmer and humid, almost clammy, which was all the more encouragement to remove the material that was oh so incompatible with that atmosphere. She let out a cheer as Fizzy’s shoes flew past her line of sight, arms in the air in celebration, before they dropped and her hands scrabbled over her own back. “Where’s the…” she pouted, and then looked over her own shoulder. “Hey– does this thing even have a clasp? I straight up don’t remember…”

“ thank  you ! ”  she  went  ahead  and  gave  juliana  a  hug  followed  by  a  peck  on  the  cheek , as  a  way  of thanking  her  besides  words  but  also  as  a  greeting  since  it  was  their  first  meeting  at  the  party . alana  has  always  been a touchy  person , it  being  her  way  of  demonstrating  affection , but  that  didn't  happen  with  just  anyone , after  all , she  had  no  business  being  affectionate  with  people  she  didn't  care  about . juliana was  someone  she  liked  in  that  house , she  didn't  know  her  for  that  long  though , but  with  a  little  alcohol  in  her  system , alana  wanted  to  hug  and  kiss  people  that  would  merely  talk  to  her  in  a  way  she  enjoyed … but  again , not  just  anyone .  “ cheers ! ”  she  repeated  making  the  glass  meet  hers  before  taking  a  sip  form  it . “ you're  looking  so  amazing , jules ! ”  she  spoke  slightly  louder  than  her  usual  low  voice  due  to  the music  echoing . it  being  said  with  the  intention  of  giving  a  genuine  compliment  instead  of  flirting .

{ - }

Alana’s appreciation was sweet, and the kiss was sweeter - an unexpected little reward for the gesture. She suspected that the lighting, thankfully, would mask the little flush that followed on her cheeks. Her glass gladly met Alana’s before she took a little sip of her own, and the praise that followed had her grinning from ear to ear. “You think so? This is the exact kind of thing I would’ve dreamed of wearing when I was a little kid… and look at me now!” Just for effect, she gave a twirl, enjoying the swoosh of her skirt as she went. “And you! Alana, you seriously look incredible… You’re going to have at least somebody falling at your feet tonight, and honestly, I would not be surprised if it was me.”

The brunette loved an event where people felt like they could have fun and be social with one another. She felt at ease when people were drinking because she wasn’t the only forward one in those type of situations. She had promised herself not to drink too much. She adored alcohol, but drinking only made her more flirty and outgoing, and some people couldn’t handle that.

She bit down on her bottom lip watching as the other approached her. “Hey gorg! ” She answered, smiling as the other mentioned that she wanted to dance with her. “ I’ll dance with you , but please don’t expect anything good. Dancing isn’t my forte,” she added , wanting to make sure Juliana knew what she was walking herself into. “ Are we telling each other what we want though? I want to kiss you at some point. Test it out you know,”.

{ - }

The suggestion lit a little spark in Juliana’s chest - was that not inevitable, with a gorgeous woman telling her she wanted to kiss her? Maybe it was just a drunken idea Sadie chucked out there for the sake of it, but that didn’t make Juliana any less willing. “You’ll be fine… I’m a pretty decent leader!” Jules announced, confidence stoked, as she took Sadie’s hand and boldly tugged her along to the dancefloor.

“You know, if you well me why you want that, I just might let you,” Jules suggested, although her eyes were warm and open, even as she began to sway to the rhythm. It came rather naturally to her, but she was admittedly looking forward to seeing if Sadie struggled as much as she made out she would.

after spending at least a good hour at the party, she figured she could use some air. not to mention it was getting a little hot inside so getting some air sounded nice and relaxing at least for a little bit right? she stood on the balcony and glanced out at where they were taking in the sight, inhaling deeply at the cool air hitting her skin. she was soon pulled from her thoughts when she heard a familiar voice and smiled when she realized who it was, “hey yourself.” she responded and smiled with a soft giggle before nodding her head, “yeah just a little bit.” she added then looked to jules with the smile on her expression, “oh yeah of course, and you?” she could tell the other was probably enjoying herself by seeing how much she probably drank. 

{ - }

“Definitely.” Jules’ answer was quick, and came with another little laugh she couldn’t place the cause for. “It’s so much fun, but it’s also just… so much, you know?” she added, coming to lean against the balcony’s railing with a more sheepish shrug. “It’s not exactly my scene… At least, not in the sense that I’d… have the time to come to a party like this.”

fizzy couldn’t help but let out a little snort as she laughed at the other girl’s drunken antics, shaking her head fondly at jules. “not exactly staring at anybody, but i am wonderin’ who’s gonna be the first to fall on their ass. my current bet is on you.” fizzy followed with an amused expression as jules led her towards the water, only sober enough to be slightly worried about her attempts to walk backwards. “alright, fine. i have full faith in your drunken abilities. does that make ya feel better?” fizzy teased with a slight smirk. 

{ - }

“Okay, okay, I hear that… but I raise you this: does it count as falling on my ass if I land in the pool, hm?” Jules posited, and in her mind, it was up there with the great philosophical debates that had plagued mankind for centuries. “And that does make me feel better… I feel like– I’m pretty coordinated, for somebody who’s as drunk as I am… which is pretty drunk,” the last part was a whisper, as though that was a secret to anybody at the party anymore. As though to prove it, she kicked off her heels, the first casualties on her skinny-dipping quest. They landed with a decidedly ungraceful thud against the wall, but at least they didn’t end up in the water.

“jules… i like that.” piper smiled. she liked the way jules danced, carefree and happy. their hands together as the music played, piper was having a lot of fun! jules got closer to speak and piper felt her heart beat (or was it the bass from the dj… either way, it felt nice). “n-notice? me?! please!” piper swatted her hand in a dismissive gesture. “if anyone is worth noticing, it’s you, pretty brown eyes.” she gave her a wink, reaching around jules’ waist to bring her closer. 

{ - }

“Thanks! I like it too,” Jules grinned, happy to guide the dance for the pair of them. Maybe it was all the pink, but Jules felt lighthearted; the pressure of being a fish out of water had begun to wear off, thank goodness. “It’s… Piper, isn’t it?” she recalled, with slight trepidation; she was sure she’d overheard that name at some point or another. A tough one to forget, much like that little flutter she got as Piper pulled her in. Jules, in turn, let an arm drape over the other girl’s shoulder, with a knowing look in her eye to conceal any traces of nervousness. “You’ve got to be kidding… With hair like that? You’ve been turning heads for a while, and I think you know it.”

“Skinny dipping?” Charlotte asked with her eyebrows raised. Sure, Charlotte was comfortable in her body and was all about sex positivity. But the idea of skinny dipping scared her because she didn’t want people to think she was a wild party girl, even if she tended to be the life of the party sometimes. Besides, going nude on camera even if the show would blur everything out was a little much for the blonde. “Maybe when I’ve had more to drink.” She laughs, sipping on her rose. She was a lightweight, so maybe it wouldn’t take that long. 

{ - }

Although Jules pouted, she quickly accepted Charlotte’s stance on the matter. Someday, perhaps she’d look back on the dismissal gratefully - especially considering how little time she’d spent considering the pros and cons. “That is a very good point… I should have more to drink,” she decided, with another glance towards the rose, her new beloved. “And I can just do that here… It’s just free. That’s crazy. It’s crazy, right?”

fizzy was somewhat startled by the voice coming from next to her, because for the life of her, she couldn’t identify when the other girl had gotten there. “fuck me, how long have you been there?” fizzy asked with a tipsy giggle, turning her head towards jules. the look on her face already told fizzy something insane was afoot. the proposal made her raise her eyebrows, but the other girl was clearly one hundred percent serious. “well…” fizzy heaved a dramatic sigh, managing to push herself up from her leaning state against the wall, offering jules her hand. “i feel like you might die if i don’t come with you to make sure you’re okay, so c’mon,” she joked with a grin.

{ - }

Juliana giggled too, an uncharacteristically ditzy sound for her, as her own head lolled to the side. “Long enough… I’m just sneaky. You didn’t even notice! Who were you staring at, huh?” she asked playfully, with a teasing waggle of her eyebrows. Although, with that decided, Jules brings her hand to Fizzy’s with a decisive grip, leading her towards the pool. She walked backwards herself, to keep her eyes on the other woman on her path. “Your faith in me is incredibly flattering, by the way,” she added, in a sarcastic drawl.

piper smiled, following her to the dance floor. she reached for the other girl’s hand as she (very terribly) danced to the song. “we haven’t, have we?” piper leaned in closer to the other’s ear and said over the music, “i’m piper. what’s your name sweets?” her inhibition faded as she swayed to the music. “i just got here the other day, still a newbie but loving it.”

{ - }

Jules wasn’t the worst dancer; she had a natural sense of rhythm and a flow to her movement, but she was far from the best, too. Still, so far, Piper was fun to dance with - the technique was never Jules’ main concern anyway. “Juliana! Or Jules– I prefer Jules,” she answered, using their joined hands as an excuse to get a little closer, all in the name of being heard over the music, of course. “And believe me, I noticed! Gorgeous girl like you rocks up… well, we were all going to notice.”

“You know what we should do?” By this point, Jules had drank at least half her body weight in liquid ounces, and she was feeling it - evidenced by the way she slumped against the wall, eyes hazy and smile lazy. She turned to the nearest girl (was she expected to remember anybody’s name that late in the evening?) and flashed a mischeivous grin. “Skinny dip,” she whispered, popping the p at the end. “So? What do you say?”

if  two  beams  were   reason  for  a  little  party  ,  the  fact  that  they  just  found  a  perfect  match  was  worthy  of  a  huge  celebration  .  mimi  danced  on  the  small  dance  floor  ,   holding  a  glass  of  champagne  in  her  hands  .  her  pink  ,  feathered  robe  swayed  along  with  her  body  ,  the  sheer  piece  that  showed  off  the  black  lingerie  underneath  .  sipping  her  champagne  as  her  eyes  met  the  other's  ,  a  mischievous  smile  forming  on  her  lips  .  “  so  are  you  just  gonna  watch  or  are  you  gonna  come  dance  with  me  ?  ”

{ - }

In most areas, Jules would be shocked to find herself being called a watcher - but Mimi had a point. Invigored, she moved closer with a sway in her step, and a little twirl before she was finally in dancing range. “Watching was pretty fun, you know... That’s quite the outfit.” Jules wondered if her own seemed juvenile in comparison; though the top was a little risque, the skirt with it’s silken frills was something she chose purely for the swish of it. “You seem like the type who’s pretty into the party scene...”