The Butch Lesbian

Glistening Sights

"Kacii, isn't it?" 

"Yeah," I giggled, "and you're...uh...Tianna, was it?"

"Sure is."

We awkwardly exchanged glances for a couple of seconds before she broke the strange silence.

"What brings you here?"

I didn't want to give her a truthful reply, so I hastily answered, "My friend brought me here."

"Are you tired, or why else are you at the bar? Tryna find a lovely lady?" She cracked up, tapping her nails annoyingly along the side of the table.

"Well, let's just say I got incredibly bored and needed a place to chill. Gotta get the alcohol into my veins, you know what I mean?" I forced out a laugh, though I was absolutely taken in by her deep green eyes that gave me a icy yet sweet and innocent glare. 

"I feel you. Days like these make me want to run away from life." 

I opened my phone to check for any messages. Tianna instantly recognized my lock screen and chuckled.

"Mississippi girl, heh?" She laughed, flashing those pearly whites.

"Yeah." I stared down at the family picture Aidan, Dad, Mom, and I took next to the Ocean Springs shoreline. It all looked too old to remember.

"I see you've moved?"

"Nah. Just staying here for the summer." I furrowed my brows. "Are you from nearby?" I took a sip from my drink.

"Yeah, I guess. Southern California is where I grew up, near San Diego. Pretty small neighborhood, I would say, but it was equivalent to any other grand life out in the open. In my eyes—though I wasn't the most fortunate kid growing up—I loved my childhood years. Wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world."

I squirmed in remembrance of Elle's similar experiences.

"Hey, I'm sorry I gotta go." I almost left in a flash, before Tianna grabbed my arm, preventing me from moving.

"Before you leave...can I show you something?" She smiled mischievously yet adventurously. Her voice was seemingly full of peril and curiosity.

I got lured in almost instantly. "Sure," I replied spontaneously, not even thinking about how suspicious the entire situation was at hand.

I followed Tianna as we weaved through countless numbers of guests all throughout the restaurant. We reached the front door and left the building, only to suddenly be hit by a large, frigid breeze that hit our faces. Moving on, we strolled down the street and continued to engage in a random conversation as we started heading toward a dark alleyway.

"Is it safe down there?" I asked, obviously taking in the creepy alley that lied ahead of us.

"Trust me," she walked a few extra steps before looking back and continuing, "I've been here all too often to not be sure." Tianna smiled gingerly and reached for my hand. "Just follow my lead."

I grinned back sheepishly and was led past dumpsters and street trash tossed to the sides of the alleyway. It was absolutely filthy around, but something in me just so happened to trust that Tianna was going to show me somewhere legit.

"Here we are." She motioned for me to sit down, which I did immediately. Next to me, she lay down on the dark green grass that smelled of lush soil and nature. She stared up at the prepossessing starlight that shone and illuminated the Earth below. "You know," she glanced back up at me. "You can join me." Tianna patted the grass on her other side, as if she was pleading for me to lay down next to her.

I hesitated for a long second, before screaming "yolo" and doing it anyways. Looking up, I saw the most ravishing sight known to the universe. Tiny specks of light dotted the jet black canvas of a sky like little fireflies on a colossal field. "It's breathtaking."

"I know. I used to come here as a kid. Would even bring a battery-powered light every so often and my homework and write away. The place just relaxed me. It seemed right every now and then just to come here and let go." She looked over at me. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," I answered, remembering a lake close to where I used to live back in Jersey. "I had one of those places too." I smiled back at her, noticing our close distance. Though we seemed just close enough to touch, I backed away to stare up at the stars once again. She did the same.

"So, what's your story?"

"What do you mean story?"

"Well, everyone has a story. What's yours?"

I switched back to staring into Tianna's emerald green eyes. "Um... well, where should I start?"

"Maybe a 'my name is' would work?" She chuckled, grinning from ear to ear.

"Cool. My name is Kacii Li Macias. I'm a butch lesbian, and I'm 21 years old. Uh... I was born in New Jersey and moved to Mississippi at age 17 and lived there ever since. I got kicked out for the summer so I'm spending my summer with my brother Aidan—yes, Aidan Macias..."

She smiled.

"And although summer is close to over, I still want to enjoy California while it lasts. College is coming back into session sooner or later, so my crappy little life is just starting. What about you?"

Tianna had been scrolling and texting on her phone for the past minute, so I was confused on what was going on. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I gotta start heading home. My sister's boyfriend is texting me and I can't figure out why. But hey, I had a great time. " She got up the same time as I did and scribbled down her number on a piece of paper from her pocket with a pen. Tianna handed me the slip of paper and ran off just after half-heartedly caressing me.

"Bye to you too," I whispered back, waving gently to the soft whistling of the wind.