At First Glance- A Marina Love Story

Chapter 8

After their kiss, Carina finished changing and the two women walked hand in hand to the elevator. They stole soft kisses from each other as the elevator lowered to the first floor lobby. At this point, Maya and Carina were both sober, so Carina drove Maya to the station to gather her car. When Carina dropped Maya off at her car, she leaned over and gave her one final kiss goodnight. Maya grabbed the door handle and took one step out when she heard Carina whisper, "I'll be seeing you, bella."

--

Maya's body naturally woke up at 7:30am, but her eyes were not ready to open. She felt a thumping in her head, and she wasn't sure if it was from the light pole incident or the tequila shots she threw back without abandon. Whatever the cause, she knew she needed some painkillers and caffeine as soon as possible. She pried her eyes open, sat up, and shimmied to the edge of the bed where she rested her head in her hands.

As she held her head, her vision danced back to last night in Carina's office. She reached down and softly rubbed her lips with her thumb. She felt as though she could still feel the soft touch of the Italian's lips against her own. The blonde slowly dragged herself to her bathroom where she ran the shower and began to get ready for the day.

--

Carina never fell asleep. She had been awake for over 24 hours now, but she couldn't stop thinking about Maya. She had only been in the country a week and had not anticipated falling for someone so quickly.

Even though she knew she needed sleep, there was no way her mind was going to allow that. Luckily she was used to long stretches of being awake thanks to her days as an intern. All she needed was some caffeine to get her through the morning and a short nap in the afternoon to hold her over. Carina moved out of bed and towards her bathroom where she started the shower.

--

The blonde decided that the fresh Seattle air would help her headache. After her shower she threw on a pair of grey Nike joggers and her navy SFD hoodie. She made her way through the halls of her apartment and out the front door of her building. Normally on mornings like this she would go for a run, but her head was not up for the challenge. She put in her Airpods, turned on her favorite playlist, and started towards her favorite local coffee shop. The coffee shop was about a mile walk, but Maya didn't mind. She planned on replaying the scenes from last night over and over in her head as she made the trek.

Just as Maya turned the corner onto the street of the shop, she looked up to see Carina exiting a town-home. The brunette was beautiful even from a hundred feet away. Maya admired her outfit, casual yet sophisticated. The Italian was dressed in dark black jeans and a light pink top. When the early morning spring wind hit her, the brunette buttoned up her beige jacket. Maya was embarrassed by her outfit. She didn't want Carina to see her looking so disheveled.

Carina paused for a moment and took a second to look around to take in her surroundings. She was still not accustomed to the streets in Seattle but she knew that there was a coffee shop on one of the corners. As she looked around she saw a small blonde woman standing at the corner to the left of her house. She thought it could be Maya, but that would be too much of a coincidence. The Italian decided to grab her cell phone and call her.

Maya thought that Carina might have seen her, so she decided to turn and walk the other way in order to not get caught. The music in her Airpods suddenly stopped playing when she saw Carina's name pop up on the screen of her phone.

She decided to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi Maya, are you by chance walking on the corner of Manchester and 20th?"

Shit, Maya thought to herself. She did see her. "Uh, yeah I thought some air would help my headache."

"I thought I saw you," Carina said. "Turn around. Do you see me waving?"

"I do," Maya whispered. She knew there was no escaping now. She hung up and started towards Carina.

Carina walked towards Maya, "Hi, bambina!"

Maya smiled, "Carina, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Last night you kept calling me bambina and bella. What do those mean?" Maya questioned.

Carina chuckled, "Sorry, I use the word bambina out of habit. Bambina means little child, but don't worry it is a term of endearment. Bella means beautiful. I only use that word when I mean it."

Maya blushed.

"Flustered again, bella?" Carina asked as she grabbed Maya's hand into her own.

Maya didn't respond to her question, but instead asked, "Where were you off to this morning?"

"I was hoping to find some coffee. I didn't sleep much last night, if at all," Carina shared as she let out a big yawn.

Maya swung their arms like children as they walked. "I know just the right place."