Sweet & Spicy Lesbian Short Stories (GirlxGirl)

Leap of Faith: Part 1

As Kris tries to summon enough bravery to leap off a rope swing, her crush comes by to help her get past her fear... and makes a tantalizing promise.

~

I scramble up the muddy slope, my hands and knees getting covered in grit. The hot sun dips lower in the sky, and I have about an hour before it sets.

An hour to stop being such a wimp.

I can do this.

My heart is beating out of my chest, and not from walking through the forest to get here. I'm trembling as I step out to the edge of the rock, gripping with my toes as if that'll stop me from falling. Every step takes me closer to the bane of my existence: the rope swing suspended over the glassy lake.

I wipe my muddy hands on my butt, then regret it. Maybe this wasn't the best day to wear a white bikini.

With a steadying breath, I grab the curved stick that everyone uses to pull the rope closer. The stick has been rubbed smooth from all the handling, and stinks like sweat.

Gross.

"Carpe diem," I whisper like a meditation chant. "Carpe diem, carpe diem."

It's not helping. As much as I want to seize the day and experience the same adrenaline rush as everybody else who's ever been to this damn campground, I'm teetering on the edge of what is literally a cliff, holding onto an ancient rope, which is tied to a tree that's probably had enough of everyone's shit.

Is this safe?

I study the water as if expecting a hazardous boulder to have appeared since the last time someone did this. The water is dark with patches of weeds and lily pads across the surface. Will my legs get tangled in weeds? And does anything live in this lake?

I'm only ten feet up but it feels like a hundred. The cliff looks so much higher from here than it did from the water.

There's a distant whoop. Across the lake, the five tiny figures of my friends watch me. They're warm and dry right now, and I hate them more for it. All of them did this swing earlier without hesitating. They did it several times, in fact.

Me? I stood back with my pulse racing, light-headed, feeling worse by the second for being such a wuss.

But I've had all afternoon to think, and I've decided I won't go home tomorrow without having done this. Today is the first day of a new Kris. A brave Kris.

I hold the rope with both hands, breathing deeply.

Is this whole carpe diem thing supposed to be so terrifying?

Footsteps approach from the forest.

Crap.

I let go of the rope and turn around, crossing my arms to shield my half-nakedness—which is ridiculous. We're at a lake, so of course I'm in a bikini.

The person looks up, and my insides flip over. I drop my arms, trying to look less awkward. Of course it's Faith. She and her friends are staying in the campsite next to us, and she's the type of woman who makes me forget how to say words. She's a little older than me, maybe in her early twenties, with an Australian accent that makes my knees weak. She's tan-skinned with brown eyes and long, brunette hair that she keeps down and messy under a backwards snapback hat. In the three days I've known her, she always looks like she's ready to go longboarding—today, she's in an oversized tee and board shorts. Everything about her is cooler than I will ever be, making me wonder why she bothers talking to me.

And now she's here to witness me being too afraid to jump off a little rope swing.

"Hey," I say weakly, offering a small wave.

Faith's face lights up with the most gorgeous smile. "I haven't missed the big jump?"

"Nope."

She kicks off her shoes and scrambles up the slippery bank toward me.

What's she doing here? And why is she by herself?

"Did you get the sudden urge to jump?" I ask, motioning to the rope.

"Your friends sent me here."

"Oh."

I am absolutely going to murder them.

I look over to the campsite, where they're too far away to glare at, but I swear they're huddled together and watching us intently.

Last night, after darkness fell and the drinking games started, I spent more time talking to Faith than I did to my own friends. They teased me about it this morning, making me blush until I was so red that it looked like I had a sunburn. I guess I wasn't exactly subtle about how much I like her—and if I was reading her correctly, I don't think she was subtle, either. It was the way she spent all evening standing close, reaching out to touch my arm, leaning in under the pretense of getting closer to hear me better... She'd been such a tease. I'd wanted the night to end with her on top of me, but that sort of thing is a little hard when you're sharing a tent with other people. So between that and my being too painfully shy to make a move, nothing happened. And I've spent all day regretting it.

But maybe it's not too late.

"Afraid of heights?" Faith asks, standing next to me to gaze out at the lake.

I look uneasily at the water ten feet below. "I've never really thought about it. But...there's a small chance that I am."

She laughs. "I know your friends sent me here to pressure you, but Kris, at the end of your life, it really won't matter whether you jumped off this rope swing or not."

"Won't it? I thought everyone on their deathbed says they regret not seizing the day more."

"Well, yeah, but there's a difference between seizing the day and giving into peer pressure." She shrugs. "Don't do it if you don't want to."

Her moral support is sweet. I feel my lips tugging into a little smile. "It's not just pressure making me want to do this. I really want to."

"Yeah?" She nudges me gently, sending a tingle through my arm. "Why?"

"Because..." I search for words. The reason is solid in my head, but I haven't explained it out loud to anyone. "I've spent my whole life with the reputation of being the reserved one. The quiet one. Like, when people meet my group of friends—" I point across the lake, where they're still waiting for me to jump. "—I'm just a sidekick. An extra."

"Kris, that isn't true."

Something about the way she's looking at me makes my cheeks burn. Her lips curve upward, and they're full, shapely, pink... and so kissable.

Part 2 coming tomorrow! Read the full story right now on "Sweet & Spicy Sapphic Stories" at patreon.com/tianawarner. Plus you'll get early access to next week's story.