To Continue The Way, Sometimes You Need To Stop

The events of recent months have developed too rapidly. Charlotte is not used to so many changes in her life. One of these changes was the Alaina Sanders appearance in the life of the Frenchwoman. The pink-haired girl never rushed to use the word "friend." Perhaps for the simple reason that she never had a true friend. Except for the sister. But this remained in the very distant past.

Now Charlotte was standing near one of the prestigious spas. The French are never late, so she politely arrived ten minutes earlier than planned. Since the girl had nothing to do, now she was in the clouds, thinking about one simple question. Who was Alaina for her? A rival? For sure. But was that all? A friend? She was not sure. Someone else? Recalling not strange moments during their match, Charlotte wanted to fall through the ground, she did not believe in this option. Charlotte did not feel negative about the American girl, but was not sure that she could call her her friend or... After all, they met only four times. Perhaps it was for the answer to this simple question that she was here now.

- What a nice day... - Charlotte said quietly, raising her head and enjoying the sunshine.

Today there was a bright sun and only rare clouds briefly covered it. It was neither cold nor hot outside. Great weather, according to the martial arts master. She never really cared about her appearance, so now she was wearing a tracksuit. She considered this type of clothing the most comfortable in the world. On her right shoulder there was a small backpack in which there was a number of some small things and a swimming suit, which was necessary for one of the treatments. The girl was sure that Alaina would not be late, so she need only wait a few minutes.

Attire:

The day after their last match, Charlotte found out that Alaina received a head injury, which forced her to take a break to recover. Charlotte, who never felt sorry for her actions, felt a prick of conscience for the second time in her life. She did not expect their match to be so tough, even considering that she personally rejected the hardcore rules. And in the end, she not only broke Alaina’s nose, but also left her a concussion. On the other hand, the Frenchwoman understood the simple truth that if she had not been so decisive in this match, then she would have been in Alaina's place, because in the end the Amazon did not show regret in their first match.

But be that as it may, Charlotte wanted to visit her rival during her recovery. However, she found out that Alaina chose to be at home rather than in the hospital. Maybe you can't say this about Charlotte, but she had certain manners. And she was sure that appearing on the threshold of Alaina’s house was rather uncivilized and inappropriate. Therefore, she took the help of Alaina’s manager and gave her rival an invitation to the spa, as soon as she recovered enough. They did not have enough time to talk after a chance meeting in the forest park, and now Charlotte had something to say. She suspected that now the Amazon has a rather difficult period in connection with recent events. Therefore, a complex of spa treatments and conversation were a good solution, according to the Frenchwoman.

Well, as Charlotte had supposed, Alaina hadn't kept her waiting. The door to the spa opened at the appointed time and the American girl appeared on the doorstep. The eyes of the pink-haired girl quickly ran from the heels to the crown of her familiar. Even though Alaina was bigger than Charlotte, she looked much more feminine. The Frenchwoman even once again thought about the words of her manager that a tracksuit is not the best choice of casual wear. However…

- Hi hi, - Charlotte greeted, giving Alaina a slight smile, - how am I doing? Enough... hmmmm... saturated lately. What about you? I hope you... - Charlotte hesitated for a moment, because she was a little embarrassed to talk about it, because in the end, she was to blame for Alaina's long rest... - recovered? I wanted to visit you, but I thought it would be ugly to ask the manager for your address, - the Frenchwoman looked away for a second before adding: - you look good.

She really felt a little strange, because she did not expect their last meeting to end so rudely. And although she had nothing to ask for forgiveness, Alaina was the second person after the Frenchwoman's sister, who received serious injuries during the fight. Perhaps somewhere on a subconscious level, their meeting today was some way of apologizing, although the girl herself did not think about it that way.

- I'm glad that you accepted my invitation, - said the pink-haired girl, - let's go, there are a lot of nice things waiting for us.

The girls went to the reception desk, where they were met by a friendly girl.

- Charlotte Ravel', a VIP treatments for two, - said the Frenchwoman.
- Cash or card? - politely asked the administrator.
- Card, - she held out her classic card, which she used almost all the time.

Being in a fairly good mood, Charlotte already wanted to ask Alaina something when she suddenly heard a sound that made her heart stop. The sound of a payment failure could not be confused with anything. The girl turned her eyes to the payment terminal and saw the most terrible inscription "not enough money". Charlotte was ready to fall through the ground with shame.

“Victoria, I’ll kill you... and boxing with that blonde won't save you...” - thought Charlotte, remembering her manager.

To reduce the load and free up more time, she allowed her manager to take responsibility for her cash transactions. Thus, she knew that this morning the prize money for the last matches, as well as for the tuition fees for students, should have come to her card. But apparently something went wrong. Charlotte felt her face flush with shame and resentment.

- Should I try again? - asked the administrator.
- N-no... no need, - Charlotte took her regular card, and then pulled another out of her pocket, this time it was golden, at least in color, her hand shook a little, but she passed the card to the girl, - everything will be alright with this one.

Charlotte covered her face with her hand, she had not used this card for almost two years. She hated the bank account that her family left open for her after they kicked her out. This was the second time she used this golden card, the first time was when she bought the old gym, which later became her martial arts school. Funny. For the second time in a fairly short time, she has to remember her family. Natasha did a great job and the pink-haired girl was very surprised to hear questions about her family during the interview. But even then, she was not so ashamed.

- Success. Please go into the locker room, - the administrator said with a smile, - your first treatment will be a hamam.
- I know, thanks... - the Frenchwoman answered quietly, taking the card and hiding it to hell.

Saying nothing more, she went to the locker room. She did not know if Alaina had read her interview with Natasha and if she was aware of the story that Charlotte told about her family, but that did not change anything.

“Calm down...” - the girl said to herself mentally.

They went to a separate locker room and Charlotte took a deep breath, trying to bring the smile back to her face. Memories of the family should not have spoiled this day. By the way, there is one question that needs to be addressed...

- Mmmm... - Charlotte began a little uncertainly, - our first treatment will be a Turkish bath with a lot of steam. Will we use swimwear? Or... - she again looked away, she had her own reasons for being embarrassed, - will we undress completely?

On the one hand, it was not very good that in the near future the American girl would not be able to train and participate in matches. But on the other hand, it was good that her health improved and now she could return to the life of an ordinary person. Although it was not enough for people like them, Charlotte knew it. She perfectly remembered the time that she could hardly move due to back pain after their first match. Well, time heals, the main thing is to be patient and remember that life goes on.

Now the pink-haired girl could breathe a sigh of relief. Alaina either did not notice Charlotte's excitement, or ignored it. Any of these options suited the Frenchwoman. Maybe she was ready for questions, but this does not mean that she wanted to be the initiator of this. It was quite enough for her that she began to visit a psychiatrist.

When she went into the locker room and Alaina offered to wear swimwear, Charlotte did not argue, agreeing with her familiar. It should not have taken much time, Charlotte took off her tracksuit, staying in a T-shirt and panties.

- And you owe me nothing, - she said, completely undressing, - you are my guest in a way.

She looked at her hands and feet, although she loved to sunbathe, her skin was still rather pale, because of this, it was still possible to see some bruises here and there, because not much time had passed after her last match on the beach against two girls at once. The Frenchwoman loved her body, but she did not really like her skin, but here she could not do anything. The girl took out a swimsuit from a backpack and at that moment one thought settled in her head. The girl’s heart missed a few extra beats. She slowly turned her head to the side to look briefly at Alaina. However, it was a very quick look, she wanted at least out of the corner of her eye to see the naked body of her familiar. Charlotte put on her swimsuit and reached out, turning to Alaina.

Attire:

- Ready? - she asked. - Then let's go.

At the exit from the locker room, the girls were met by two smiling women of Thai appearance. Alaina and Charlotte received slippers, bathrobes and towels, and then they were taken along a short corridor, after which they ended up in the shower room. One of the women began to explain the sequence of actions, however, Charlotte politely interrupted her, saying that she was familiar with this procedure. Taking off her bathrobe and slippers, putting the towel aside and unleashed the pink hair, Charlotte stood in one of the shower stalls.

- In fact, we were very lucky, - she said to Alaina, opening cool water, - such a spa salon is rare. Usually, salons use procedures specific to only one country. However, Turkish and Thai procedures are combined here. The last time I saw such a salon when I was in Russia.

Having taken a very short shower, Charlotte turned off the water and stepped out of the booth. Their next destination was a glass door. Behind this door, almost nothing was visible, it seemed that there was total darkness, but this was not so.

- Well... - she said enthusiastically.

She opened the door and they went inside. Now it became clear why it used to seem that it was dark here. There was so much steam here that it was hard enough to see anything further than a meter from your nose. It was a fairly large room, the floors and walls of which were made of fine glossy tiles. The heat hit Charlotte's face, although the temperature here was lower than in the usual sauna. But great interest was in the smell. The steam was saturated with the unusual taste of various medicinal herbs. Charlotte went a little further at a slow pace, and then sat on the parapet, closing her eyes. This place was wonderful.

- To tell you the truth, you are the first person in the last six-seven years with whom I spend time... - said Charlotte, opening her eyes.

Charlotte smiled ironically when she heard Alaina's words, although her interlocutor could hardly see this because of the huge amount of steam. In any case, her reaction was understandable and clear. There are people who do not like other people's company. There are people who simply do not know how to communicate with other people. But Charlotte does not belong to either one or the other.

- Now it’s clear that you did not read my interview with Natasha, - she said, taking a lying position, - your interview and photos were wonderful, by the way, I liked it.

In fact, the Frenchwoman was a little surprised that her rival did not mention their first encounter, but in any case it did not hurt her. The question about friends was quite voluminous, but now Charlotte was hoping to answer more briefly.

- I'm afraid no, - Charlotte smiled quietly and ironically, - I already told you when you met me in the forest park. I have no family and I have no friends. Perhaps then you thought that I was exaggerating, but in fact everything is exactly so. My last friend was my sister, but that was a long time ago... in another life.

Charlotte closed her eyes, feeling sweat begin to flow down her body. The body began to relax, which was the main purpose of visiting this unusual bath. The girl thought a little over her own words and remembered the words of Sintharia. Her psychiatrist recently told her that she has held on to the past for too long. This greatly slows her down and therefore she needs to change something. Well, she did just that. That match with two girls on the beach was real madness, because it was completely unusual for Charlotte. And now she invited another person to spend time with her.

- Thank you... - she said, - your company is also pleasant to me.

“She is the first one with whom I speak on such topics...” - the Frenchwoman thought.

Charlotte thought about some things again. She remembered their second match and that strange feeling that she had at the end. What was it? Perhaps the girl knew the answer, but was afraid to admit it to herself. When she looked at Alaina's face at that moment, she felt something unusual. Somewhere on a subconscious level, Charlotte understood that Alaina was attracted to her, but it was too difficult to accept.

- I'm sorry you did not take the title, - Charlotte said suddenly, but calmly, - the real victory was yours.

They did not have time to talk about this, because they both had too many things to do after their first match. However, Charlotte was fully able to imagine what Alaina felt and continues to feel after what happened. We can say even more. Charlotte was well aware that Alaina sees a huge difference between a defeat from Charlotte and a defeat from Adrian. This was a fundamental difference between the two. Alaina believed that the defeat has a certain degree, the defeat from the rookie was not as serious as the defeat from the champion. And Charlotte was equally harsh about any of her defeats, no matter from a champion or a rookie. But be that as it may, the Frenchwoman wanted, if not to support her familiar, then let her know what she was thinking about it.

- It was dishonest, mean and dirty, - the voice of the martial arts master trembled a little, - a real fighter would never allow himself that. And the one who gets victory in this way is nothing more than an insignificant animal, - the girl’s heart started beat faster and her fists were clenched, - such people deserve nothing because they are incapable of anything without their dirty tricks, they can only steal from those who have achieved their success with hard and exhausting work.

This could not be seen due to the steam, but Charlotte's eyes filled with fury. She did not have time to stop herself and her left fist crashed into the wall. It was a very sore topic for her. She devoted most of her life to the martial arts and everything she had, she achieved herself. After leaving the family, she relied only on herself, except for the purchase of the old gym. The fact that she considered herself a real fighter who deserves to be in the ring with the best of their best is only her merit. She hated those who go the easy way instead of hard work on herself. And even her property to restrain her anger did not help to cope with this hatred. Charlotte's heart slowed down and her anger receded a little. The girl dropped her hand down, her knuckles ached unpleasantly.

- Sorry... - she said, exhaling.

The girl’s anger retreated a little, and she breathed evenly again, she should not forget about this episode. The psychiatrist asked her do not forget any events that are not part of the girl’s usual day. Charlotte took a deep breath, and then smiled faintly. Alaina's words were very interesting. Although it was not surprising that she did not believe Charlotte for the first time. Natasha was also surprised by the fact that the Frenchwoman has no one with whom she would spend time.

- Thank you, I will consider your proposal, - she said,  - although I wonder what you mean by the fact that I might need something? Conversation? Another spa? Sex?

The pink-haired girl rose to her feet and stretched, raising her hands up, now her body was completely covered with sweat. She felt the pores of her body open, while her lungs filled with the scent of herbs. Before the following procedures, the body should become soft and supple, which is why it all started with a bath.

- It’s very sad that it all happened, - she said with a deep sigh, because she knew very well that getting so close to the goal and not reaching it was very painful, - but you know what...

Charlotte turned and went to Alaina. The Frenchwoman stood almost close to her familiar so that she could see her face even through all this steam. A wonderful idea came to her mind and she saw no reason to keep this idea with her. In the end, their second match was almost entirely passed on the principles of the Frenchwoman's code, so now she could consider Alaina not just a strong fighter, but a real fighter. Charlotte smiled broadly.

- When I become a champion, I will give you a chance to take it away from me, - she said, putting her hands on her sides, then her smile became a little more provocative, but only for an additional effect, - of course, I will not allow this to happen, but I will definitely provide you the opportunity.

Of course, it was mostly a joke in order to cheer Alaina up. But. Every joke has only a part of the joke. Actually, for this reason she used the word “when”, and not “if”.