A Secret Love Affair

Chapter 6

"Great job college girl!" Becca, Sienna's best friend said. Since she was on speaker phone while Sienna ironed her hair, the genuine excitement echoed throughout the room and possibly throughout the hallway. If there was anyone in the vicinity that needed congratulatory words, Becca had just made their day.

"Thanks. I'm just glad I survived the first semester. The first couple weeks were rough but I'm glad I finally got the hang of it. I can't believe I passed that stupid math course" Sienna replied, sounding proud of her accomplishment.

"Well, you've got a certain someone to thank, though." Becca responded, not making the smallest effort to lower her voice.

Sienna quickly took the phone off speaker and put it to her ear. "I know she was a lifesaver, honestly. Paige really surprised me." She replied, lowering her voice in hopes her friend would get the memo and begin speaking at a lower tone.

"You guys have gotten pretty close. You better not be thinking about replacing me!" Becca responded, half joking and half serious.

"Never! You think that after fifteen years of friendship I'd ever consider replacing you? I've invested too much, I'm in too deep. We're in this for life!" Sienna replied, admiring the job she had done on her hair and noticing the smile that had crept on her face.

"Yeah, that's what I like to hear. Anyway, Andrew seems psyched to have you back home for winter break. Any big plans?" Becca asked.

"Andrew always has big plans." Sienna responded unenthusiastically, trying to get off the Andrew subject. "Anyway, it's almost 10:00 I have to get going!" Sienna replied, noticing the time.

"Aw look at you. My little girl is all grown up! Going to college parties and all. Have fun and text me tomorrow." Becca responded.

Sienna had been invited to a party last week by one of the girls in her graphic design class. Besides maybe a few bonfires and a few football games, she hadn't done a lot of partying her first semester of college. She grabbed her phone and slipped a small wallet in the back pocket of her ripped jeans. She was ready to take on the last Saturday night of the brutal semester.

Sienna's rideshare dropped her off in front of a cute little bungalow style home. The chants of the loud party goers who were clearly in the middle of egging on a keg stand, made it obvious that she was at the right place. As she made her way through what she was sure was a very nicely manicured lawn pre party, she looked to see if she recognized any familiar faces. As she opened the horizontal wooden gates that hid the backyard from the rest of the neighborhood, she realized that all the parties she had been to in Arkansas were miniscule compared to this.

"You made it!" a voice shouted, as Sienna made her way into the backyard.

Sienna was caught off guard by the tall and very drunk brunette that was now hugging and clinging on to her. She didn't know the girl but she wasn't one to make anyone feel bad. She wrapped her arms around her and returned the hug.

"Yep!" Sienna responded, giving the girl a polite smile.

"Let's go play flip cup!" the girl replied, dragging Sienna toward the tables that were set up for the popular drinking game.

Sienna felt nervous, besides her new best friend who's name she didn't know, she also didn't know anyone there. She had hoped to see a few familiar faces but had no luck. She had also never played flip cup or any drinking game for that matter. As she looked around she felt a sense of relief come over her when she saw Paige talking to a girl over by the cooler. She made every effort possible to somehow get Paige's attention, she hoped maybe Paige could hear her calling her telepathically. Then, they locked eyes. Paige ended the conversation with the girl she was talking to and approached Sienna.

"What's up, Arkansas? I see you're about to get into a rousing game of flip cup." Paige said loudly, giving Sienna a cheeky grin.

"I don't know if I'm actually going to play, maybe I'll just be a spectator. I've never played." Sienna said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"What?! You've never played flip cup? What about beer pong?" Paige asked, her tone sounding more incredulous than anything else.

"Nope. Never" Sienna responded, as her cheeks turned pink.

"Alright well I'll make sure your first time is one that you never forget" Paige said, putting her hand on Sienna's shoulder and talking into her ear.

Paige's touch sent chills up Sienna's entire body, then she felt Paige grab her hand. She followed Paige as she led her toward the table where they were setting up for the next game. She watched as Paige let her hand go and walked toward the guy who seemed to be running the game. Paige whispered something in his ear and within seconds, she was motioning for Sienna to go over.

After a brief explanation of the rules, Sienna found herself in the middle of her first round of Flip Cup and after a few tries, Sienna finally got the hang of the game. Within minutes of flipping the cup in just the right way, her confidence grew and she began to enjoy herself. It was no surprise that an hour into being at the party she had already drank a little more than she anticipated.

Sienna made quick friends with the party goers and she quickly realized that Paige was keeping a close eye on her. There was something about Paige being around that made her feel safe. Sienna bounced around going from conversation to conversation enjoying herself. It was almost as if she had finally allowed herself to let loose. She was actually having a really good time.

Upon realizing that maybe Sienna had a bit too much to drink, Paige went and got her a bottle of water. They managed to have a seat over by the firepit which to their surprise was empty.

"I've never had so much fun in my life." Sienna exclaimed.

"Easy there party animal, I know Arkansas is sleepy but I figured you had at least gotten into the moonshine a time or two." Paige said, mocking Sienna.

"Ha ha very funny. I'll have you know I went to plenty of parties back home, this isn't my first rodeo." Sienna said, trying to sound confident.

"Yeah ok." Paige responded, holding back a chuckle while unable to stop staring at how beautiful Sienna was.

"You only made it about two hours. Are you ready to go home, drunky?" Paige asked, gently grabbing Sienna's wrist and offering her a warm smile.

"You're the boss." Sienna responded, finishing the beer that was in the red cup she was holding in her hand. She flung the cup into an overfilled trash can and missed entirely.

"Water, I think you should maybe drink water. No more booze for you!" Paige said, laughing.

Sienna and Paige decided they'd walk back to the dorms. They stumbled through the empty city sidewalks and talked about anything and everything.

"When did you know you were into girls?" Sienna asked, catching Paige completely off guard. She inched closer toward Paige.

"I can't tell you when but I can tell you I always felt different. Then, one day it hit me like a train and I never looked back." Paige answered, it was her turn to feel nervous. Vulnerability was not her strong suit.

Sienna suddenly filled the space between them and pressed her lips against Paige's lips. It didn't take long before Paige returned the kiss, her tongue slowly slipping past her lips and touching Sienna's. Sienna had never felt the way she felt that very moment. She almost lost her balance and held onto Paige as the kiss intensified, then, they broke the kiss and looked into each other's eyes.

"Holy shit." Paige exclaimed.