"Don't say it," Carina threatens as she glares at Lily hard in the face.
"Please?" Lily begs with a smug and playful grin.
"No."
"Too bad because I'm going to say it anyways-"
"-Lily, I swear-"
"-I TOLD YOU SO," Lily exclaims, much to Carina's annoyance. "I told you that you were going to get sick and I told you that you were going to feel like crap and I told you that you shouldn't have kissed me but you did anyways and now look who's sick?"
When Carina didn't show up to school this morning, Lily knew exactly the reason why. She was already showing some symptoms of a cold and Lily didn't want to make it worse by kissing her, but being the little shit she is, Carina tricked her into it anyways. And now she's suffering the repercussions of it. She's definitely not doing a victory pump now.
Right before class began and Lily was sitting at her desk without her girlfriend in front of her, she was smiling to herself as she simply sent her a text.
LJ: feel better darling i'll come visit you after school today with a kiss, a box of tissues, soup, and a big fat I told you so :-)
Carina replied a few minutes later with:
CC: yay for the first part, nay for the last
So here Lily is now, tissues and soup on her bedside table and the kiss has yet to happen. With the scowl on Carina's face right now, she probably would tear her arms off if she gets close enough. Lily discretely takes a small step back. She would prefer to keep her limbs for a little while longer.
"I would say you're the worst, but that soup is really calling my name," Carina mutters under her breath, eyes glancing towards the container beside her.
Lily smiles brightly at her, fully appreciating how lucky she is to be able to call Carina hers. They have playful little arguments like these all the time where they purposefully annoy each other, but they both know that they wouldn't want to be with anyone else. They can be themselves, but they can also be each other's at the same time.
Lily rolls the chair from Carina's desk over beside her bed before she takes a seat. Carina sits herself up completely, back pressed against her headboard as Lily hands her the hot container of chicken noodle soup along with a spoon.
"Thank you," Carina says gratefully after she drinks a spoonful, the comforting and soothing warmth of the soup helping her throat. "You didn't have to come over and do this for me, but I really appreciate it nevertheless."
Lily places a hand on Carina's thigh over the blanket and she gives it a gentle squeeze. "Of course, love. Anything for you." She doesn't remove her hand. Instead, she drags her thumb over the blanket repeatedly along her thigh.
Carina blushes slightly as she leans over and lightly nudges her forehead against Lily's for a second before pulling back in a smile. "Did I miss anything at school today?" she asks before placing another spoonful of soup in her mouth.
Lily shakes her head. "No, nothing much. Desi and Naomi were worried about you and told me to tell you to feel better and Amanda and Trevor were getting a little flirty today too."
"I love Naomi and Desi," Carina chuckles. "They tease the hell out of me but I know they mean well. I've definitely gotten really comfortable with them. And, ugh, I will be bald by the time Amanda and Trevor make it official. They practically are a couple already, but I think they're afraid of labeling themselves as one."
"Why do you think that is?"
Carina shrugs after thinking for a moment. "Maybe because it makes things so much more real, you know? It's actual commitment and you're placing your heart and faith and trust into someone else. Though Amanda is the most loyal person I know and I would actually murder Trevor if he ever hurt her in any way, it still can be scary because you never know what could happen. Things are incredibly unpredictable and shit happens between people all the time.
Lily nods as she listens to Carina's words. Though this is only her second relationship, Lily wholeheartedly understands just how significant and serious it is. Relationships aren't something to fuck around with because it involves another human being's feelings and emotions. You have the ability to break their heart quicker than anyone else. It's a scary risk. The person who makes you happiest could very well be the same person who could break you in an instant.
"Is that also why you wanted to wait a bit with me?" Lily asks curiously, looking into her brown orbs.
Without hesitation, Carina answers, "definitely. I mean, you know how guarded I am and how I don't really trust people all that easily. I was scared of commitment until I realized that my fears didn't really pertain to you. I trust you completely, Lily, and I know I wanted to take those risks head on with you by my side. I still do."
Lily's touched, to say the least. Carina's trust is one of the most important things to her and the fact that she's so willing to give her every part of her heart means everything. She isn't going to mess up the best thing she's ever had.
Actions speak louder than words and right now, Lily's lost all ability to speak so instead, she reaches over and places a palm on Carina's warm cheek and leans in slowly. Right before Lily closes her eyes, she catches a glimpse of Carina's smile before capturing her lips with hers, their mouths conforming to each other's perfectly.
Lily pulls away after a moment to see the smile still on Carina's face. "I was beginning to wonder when I was going to get that kiss you promised me earlier," she says softly.
"You know you never have to ask or wait for one, you know," Lily smirks, the pad of her thumb stroking the corner of Carina's pink, full lips. Her lips are definitely near the top of Lily's list of favorite things about her. She's still unsure of what her number one would be. It changes constantly.
"Oh, I know," Carina says matter-of-factly, "but I like the fact that you're almost always the first one to initiate it first and do you know why?"
Lily raises an eyebrow in question. "Why?"
Carina suddenly leans in again and Lily thinks that she's about to kiss her again when her lips stop just before they meet Lily's. The miniscule gap between their mouths is so thin that they could slip a piece of paper in between them and it would stay. Carina's brown eyes look intently into Lily's and with this close proximity, Lily can just vaguely make out her own reflection in those light orbs. She doesn't move a muscle.
"You always kiss me first," Carina whispers slowly, her lips just barely grazing against her girlfriend's with every slow movement of her mouth, "because you are whipped. As. Hell ."
Lily opens her mouth to protest, but nothing comes out as if her body refuses to deny the truth that Carina's words hold in them. She feels like she would do just about anything for her because it's Carina , aka the greatest thing that's ever walked into her life. If one were to ask her last year if she could ever imagine herself being so taken with another girl before, she would say absolutely not. Little did Lily know that this shy and tiny little thing would eventually knock down and blow away all of her strength and composure.
"Hell yeah, I am," Lily nearly growls as she tries to close the gap and connect their lips once again, but Carina pulls back with a happy and satisfied laugh, leaving Lily frustrated and scowling. "Hey," she whines.
"Nope," Carina says defiantly with her chin in the air, "I won't let you kiss me because I'm sick."
Lily raises her eyebrows in challenge. Even though it wouldn't really matter because she can't catch the same cold twice, Carina knows exactly what she's doing. She's deciding to play the little game that they played yesterday, except now the tables are turned.
She definitely has learned a few things from Lily lately.
"Fine," Lily says as she crosses her arms across her chest and leans back in her seat. She likes a good challenge anyways. "Unlike you, I can control myself a lot better."
"Says the girl who just about pounced on me," Carina giggles. Her focus then turns to something outside of her window and she adjusts her body to get a better look. "Oh, hey, my parents are home now."
Lily checks out her window herself to see Salvia and Antonio getting out of the car, sharing a laugh. She's never really seen either of them in bad moods before and she's definitely noticed a more upbeat and happy aura radiating from Carina lately as well. Lily has a feeling that they both are each other's reasons for the more frequent smiles she's been seeing.
"Oh! Speaking of your parents," Lily begins as she pats Carina's thigh to get her attention back, "have you told them, you know, about us?"
Carina shakes her head. "No, not yet. Have you?" Lily also shakes her head in response. "Do you want to?" she asks with a growing smile.
Lily's not going to lie. She's a bit nervous at the thought of telling Carina's parents about them because of the typical worry and doubt that they wouldn't accept her or think she would be good enough for their daughter. Lily's spoken to them a handful of times before and they get along well, but that was when she and Carina were still friends. Now, coming forward and presenting to them that they are a couple would change things and would change how they look at Lily. Carina is their little girl and they, like any parent, would want nothing but the best for her.
Possibly detecting Lily's hesitation, Carina places a hand over Lily's that still rests on her thigh and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "We can wait if you want to," she says kindly.
Immediately Lily protests and flips her palm so that she's holding it properly. "No, no," she mumbles shyly. "I'm just a little scared they wouldn't think I'm good enough for you."
Carina looks at her with soft eyes and places a hand on the back of Lily's neck, lightly scratching her skin in the way that Lily absolutely loves. "Believe me when I say that there is no one better for me nor is there anyone I would rather be with."
The corners of Lily's mouth involuntarily tug upward into a blushing smile at her girlfriend's heartfelt words.
Fuck this challenge.
Lily cups Carina's cheeks and leans in to press her lips tenderly against hers and she feels Carina sigh contently in response.
"I guess you're feeling better."
Oh shit.
Lily's eyes widen as she quickly pulls away after hearing Salvia's voice, heating rushing to her face and completely flustered. She sits up modestly with her hands in her lap as if they weren't tugging at Carina's hair two seconds ago.
Lily avoids all eye contact with Carina and her parents and instead stares down at her hands awkwardly, hoping to god that they'll suddenly disregard the fact that they watched her almost place her tongue in Carina's mouth and just walk away.
"Hi, Lily," Antonio's voice comes into play with a slight chuckle. "It's always nice to see you."
Oh god. This is sufficiently awkward.
Lily forces herself to look up and make eye contact with Carina's parents no matter how much she wants to spontaneously combust into thin air. They're her parents and she was going to treat them with nothing but the upmost respect.
"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Cabero," Lily greets sheepishly, her voice weaker and more nervous than she would like. She can only imagine how red her face is right now. She probably perfectly resembles a tomato right now.
Lily sees and hears Carina giggle from the corner of her eye and she shoots her a quick glance. How is Carina as cool as a cucumber right now? She looks like she's having the time of her life whereas Lily wants to sink down and sliver on out of the window like a snake.
Antonio places his arm around Salvia's shoulders and they, oddly enough, give Lily and Carina bright smiles. "Don't get your girlfriend sick now, honey," Antonio says, pointing his finger directly at her.
Before the girls can even react, Antonio leads Salvia out of the room and shuts it closed behind them. Lily can hear their muffled laughter through the door and she and Carina exchange a very confused look.
"What the hell just happened?" Lily asks her with an uneasy chuckle.
"I think we just came out and announced we were dating to my parents?"
Lily grins happily as she places her hand back on Carina's thigh. "Well that was easy. Two down, two to go."
-
After about a couple of hours of talking, laughing, cuddling, and teasing, Lily noticed just how tired and sleepy Carina was beginning to look. Her eyes were half-lidded and her words were slurring together and she was sneezing and her nose was bothering her every other minute. She took that as a cue that it was time to let her rest.
"I think I think it's time for me to go home now, darling," Lily says as she begins to lift herself up from the bed from her previous position of lying down on her back beside Carina.
"No," Carina mumbles softly in protest, immediately throwing herself on top of Lily, resting the side of her head on Lily's chest.
Lily laughs quietly as she places a hand on the back of her head and runs her fingers through Carina's dark, soft locks. "Aw," she smiles in adoration, "I don't want to go either but I have to, love. You have to rest so you can get better."
"I'll rest and get better quicker if you're here with me."
Lily lets out a small sigh as she moves her fingers from the back of Carina's head, down to her back, tracing her spine. Her body is warmer than usual due to her sickness and Lily was beginning to get hot from Carina lying on top of her. She would kill to stay like this forever but unfortunately things don't work out that way.
"Not making this very easy for me, you know."
Carina lets out a small laugh before she pulls herself up off from Lily and looks down at her. "I was just playing around," she says casually, "you can go home now."
Lily's jaw drops slightly and furrows her eyebrows at her. "Literally 5 seconds ago you didn't even want me to leave and now you're kicking me out?"
Carina blinks once and gives her a simple nod. "Yep."
But she's never been able to keep a straight face on for long before she breaks out into a smile. There are a lot of things that Carina can do, but acting is certainly not one of them. Lily can clearly imagining her being the one to ruin a surprise party because she would just be giggling like an idiot around that person all day and dropping hints.
Lily shakes her head to herself and smiles as she throws her legs off of the bed. She straightens up her shirt and runs her fingers through her hair. "Alright, I'm going to leave now to let you sleep but please call or text me if you need me for anything, okay?"
Carina nods and gives her two thumbs-up. "Got it."
Lily leans across the bed to plant a kiss on her forehead before wrapping her arms tightly around Carina's shoulders in a warm embrace. Carina leisurely drags her fingers up and down Lily's spine for a moment before Lily forces herself to tear away, knowing that if she were to stay any longer, she might wind up staying the entire night. God. The last thing she needs is another sleepless night in the middle of the week.
Lily grabs her keys from Carina's bedside table and jingles it around in her hand. "Remember," she says as she looks at her girlfriend seriously, "call me if you need anything."
"Yes, mom."
Lily smiles as she gives Carina one final last wave goodbye before stepping out of her room. She walks down the hallway, humming to herself happily and as she's about to place her foot down on the first step of the stairway, The Spider-Man theme song comes into play in her pocket.
Carina's ringtone.
She whips her phone out of her pocket with a confused expression on her face as she brings it up to her ear. "Hello?"
"Remember when you said to call you if I need anything?"
Lily slowly turns herself around, looking down at the empty hallway, which diverges into Carina's room at the end. "Yeah..." she trails off. "Like 30 seconds ago."
"Well, Lily, I would like a proper kiss goodbye if you don't mind."
Lily's face breaks out into a grin as she jogs down back into Carina room and swings her door open to see Carina already standing there, phone to her ear and a playful smirk on her face. She already knew that Lily couldn't resist and she was waiting for her. Hell, Lily herself knew she couldn't resist.
"Oh, I do not mind at all," she says flirtatiously, looking straight into Carina's eyes before ending the call and jamming the phone into her pocket. She closes the door behind her and Carina motions for her to come over with her index finger.
Lily walks the few steps towards Carina, never once breaking eye contact, and puts both of her hands on the curves of her waist while Carina interlocks her fingers and places them behind Lily's neck. "I told you you were whipped as hell," Carina says smugly, voice barely over a whisper. Her eyes are now blatantly locked onto Lily's lips just a few inches away.
"Says the girl who made the phone call."
Lily watches as Carina slowly tucks her bottom lip behind her teeth, the white in major contrast with the pink tint of her mouth behind them. Lily swallows deeply, feeling her heart race in anticipation of simply looking at her doing that simple yet sensual action. Carina knows all of Lily's weaknesses and she manages to perfectly hit all of them.
Lily moves her hands from Carina's waist to the small of her lower back and brings their bodies closer together, their hips meeting. Carina's eyes travel back up at Lily's and there's a ravenous and lustful look in them that she hasn't seen before. She's just as eager as Lily to close the miserably taunting gap between their lips, but neither will make a move. And Lily can't help but to kind of enjoy the sexual tension and the hungry look in her girlfriend's eyes. She's not used to this side of Carina and it's quickly starting to become her favorite side.
Apparently the tension was becoming too unbearable because a mere second later, Carina's lips are on hers. Lily's taken by surprise a bit, but smiles against the kiss, even snaking her hands under Carina's shirt to get a touch of the warm, soft skin of her lower back. Lily and Carina open their mouths to find their tongues meeting in the middle, neither one being too aggressive nor too gentle.
Lily's head is in a daze and it's not because the lack of proper breathing. Everything is always so overwhelming whenever she's kissing Carina. It's like she can't get enough and she's trying to learn everything about her body as she can within that time. Her hands tremble as the addicting feeling of Carina's bare spine graze underneath the pads of her fingertips and she finds herself trying to pull her closer, even with the front of their bodies pressed completely against each other.
Lily playfully bites and pulls on Carina's bottom lip and in response, she releases a low, guttural moan and, god, Lily's never been so attracted to her. If she weren't just a couple of inches away, she wouldn't have been able to hear that godly sound slip past Carina's parted lips. And she really wants to hear it again.
Grinning in pride, she begins to trail kisses down Carina's jawline down to her neck and towards the spot right beneath her ear, knowing that that's one of her sweet spots that she loves and Lily's ears are blessed with another soft sigh of pleasure. Carina's fingers weave themselves into Lily's thick, black hair and tugs at it eagerly as she tilts her chin up, allowing her girlfriend to have more room to work expertly on her heated skin.
Carina suddenly pulls her neck away and holds Lily's face in between her hands. Her lips are swollen and smeared slightly with Lily's pink lipgloss. "I would love for you to keep kissing me, trust me," Carina breathlessly whispers as she runs her thumb across Lily's cheeks, "but I'm not trying to get caught again."
Lily blushes. She totally forgot about that awkward incident for a moment there. Imagine if they walked in during this kissing session instead. Lily's now thanking the heavens above that they decided to walk in earlier instead of right now.
The older girl reluctantly removes her hands from under Carina's shirt on her bare back, skin warm from the fiery passion that was coursing through both of their veins. Also because Carina's still sick. Lily really loses all common sense when she's around her. It's a really good thing you can't catch the same cold twice in the same season.
"Ugh," Lily groans in protest. "You need to get better soon. Please."
Carina grins goofily and proceeds to hold a pinky up. "To be continued?"
Lily's mind flashes back to that night where she was the one to force Carina to pinky promise to continue their little kissing session later. Now she's doing the same thing and Lily's heart feels like it's going to burst.
Lily throws her head back and laughs, feeling nothing but giddiness and joy in this moment. Just a few months ago they didn't know so much as each other's names and now here they are, closer than ever and Lily's never been quite this happy. The universe is magical. It's ability to bring people together and into each other's lives in serendipitous ways never ceases to amaze her. There are over 7 billion people in this world and somehow she was blessed enough to have found Carina.
She links pinkies with the dorkiest yet most charming person she's ever been privileged to get to know, sealing the promise that for sure will be redeemed soon.
Hopefully very soon.
With pinkies still intertwined, Lily leans in and kisses the tip of Carina's nose. She scrunches up her face and giggles adorably, the sweet sound traveling into Lily's ears. If she never heard another sound other than Carina's again, she would be okay with that.
And if she never fell in love with anyone other than Carina, she would be okay with that too.
-
On Friday after school ends, Carina, Desi, Amanda, and Naomi are all talking and filling each other in on the events of their days while Lily is still inside, speaking to a teacher about a question she had on an assignment. Carina smiles to herself as she thinks about how much she admires and loves the studious and ambitious side of her girlfriend. Lily gives her all in academics and Carina likes seeing the drive and dedication.
Desi has an arm around Carina's shoulders casually while she's explaining a story about a fight between two students she witnessed earlier. Carina's grown to be really comfortable with Naomi and Desi lately. All of their paths have now crossed and they're walking the same road together now simply because of Lily and Carina's relationship. Carina didn't just gain a lovely and beautiful girlfriend, but she also gained two hilarious and caring friends. They'll all text each other here and there and Naomi and Desi have definitely played a part in helping Carina creep out of her shell.
Sure, she's still shy and sometimes has trouble talking to people she's never met before, but not nearly to the extent as it was before. The three girls who have entered into her life the past few months have helped her into becoming a better version of herself and she's eternally grateful for that.
Carina stops listening to Desi's intriguing story when she spots the black hair, pale skin, and curvaceous figure walking out of the school. Even from a distance she makes Carina's heart race at the sight of her.
She watches as Lily makes her way down the steps towards them but another girl who Carina doesn't recognize taps Lily on the shoulder, forcing her to turn around.
"Hey, Desi," Carina says, tapping her hand that's hanging loosely off her shoulder, "I don't mean to interrupt, but do you know who that girl is that's talking to Lily?"
Desi, Amanda, and Naomi all shift their gaze towards Lily and the brown-haired girl she's currently talking to. A jealous flame flickers inside of Carina when she realizes how pretty she is. Her blue eyes can be seen all the way over from where they stand and her long, wavy hair flows effortlessly against the light breeze. She's taller than Lily and her legs seem to stretch on for days.
"Oh, uhm, that's Malia," Desi mutters, the tone of her voice not helping Carina's concerns.
"Who is she?" Carina narrows her eyes at the new girl, who's perfect smile is now dazzling brightly at Lily.
Naomi and Desi exchange a look that only furthers feed into the jealous fire inside of Carina. Lily and Malia definitely have some history considering the lack of explanation from her two friends.
Lily gives Malia a small wave goodbye before proceeding on her way towards the rest of the girls down the stairs. Carina glares at Malia, but then smiles softly at Lily in greeting when she opens her arms for her.
"Hi, love," Lily says happily as she pulls Carina away from Desi and wraps her up in a tender embrace, arms around Carina's head. "And hi, guys!"
Different exchanges of friendly hello's and hey's get passed around the group. Then, Naomi asks the question that is for sure lingering on the girls' minds, particularly Carina's.
"What did Malia want?"
"Oh, she was just talking to me about a party she's having tonight," Lily replies casually. "Actually, she invited all of us."
Carina lifts her head from Lily's chest and looks up at her with a confused expression on her face. Did she hear that right? She was invited to some teen rager?
"Are you sure?" she asks in disbelief.
"Pretty sure! Unless there are other Carinas, Desis, Naomis, and Amanda Henriquezs in this school," Lily laughs as she tucks a strand of hair that managed to get out of place back behind Carina's ear.
"How does she know me?" Carina asks curiously. She's so used to being that girl no one paid any attention too. She didn't think that anyone aside from the girls and her teachers knew who she was.
"Well you are my girlfriend," Lily says matter-of-factly, "and I'm sure our handholding and little kisses during school haven't gone unnoticed, especially by these nosey little pricks at this school. People talk all the time, Carina, and news spreads like a wildfire and people scarily know everything. I wouldn't be surprised if they knew we were together before we even made it official."
Well that does lessen the jealously that she felt when Lily was talking to Malia. She clearly knows that Lily is taken and she even graciously put it upon herself to make Carina feel included. It might have just been her crazy and jealous side showing. But that doesn't explain why Naomi and Desi were so hesitant to explain to Carina her ties with Lily. She makes a mental note to ask about her later.
"It's true," Desi nods in agreement. "One time there was this rumor that went around that I was dating this kid who I didn't even know then the rumor actually gave us some common ground and little did I know, we actually started dating eventually. There are definitely some matchmakers in this school."
Carina tries to hide the smile that's fighting its way to come out. Well, her and Lily's English teacher definitely played matchmaker with them.
"Sucks he had to move," Naomi adds in, "I actually liked him for you. But anyways, are you guys going to go?"
Amanda shakes her head. "Nah, I think I'm going to pass," she says. "I'm hanging out with Trevor tonight."
"Ooooooh," Desi says suggestively as she pokes Amanda in the stomach playfully, making her laugh. "Get it, Amanda. But no, I'm not going to go either because I have to babysit all of my 200 siblings tonight while I give my parents the night off."
"I think I'll go," Naomi says with a shrug. "Wouldn't kill to go nor have I been to a party in a while. What about you guys?" she asks, referring to Carina and Lily.
Carina immediately shakes her head. Honestly, the thought of being in a house full of other people she doesn't and has never spoken to kind of scares her. On top of that, they definitely weren't going to be sitting in a circle playing Duck-Duck-Goose the whole night. The thought of drugs and alcohol doesn't really appeal to her so she's going to sit this one out.
"Not really my kind of scene," Carina says before she looks at Lily, waiting for her answer.
"Are you sure you don't want to go, baby girl?"
Carina smiles at the new nickname. One of her favorite things about Lily is her constant use of terms of endearment with her. It's cute and charming to her. Everyone calls her Carina, but Lily is the only one who will refer to her as that and she's the only one Lily will refer to that as. It just makes their relationship all the more real.
"I'm completely sure," Carina answers positively. "But don't let me prevent you from going with Naomi if you want to."
After pondering on it for a moment, Lily decides to go. "I have to keep an eye on this crazy one," she laughs, pointing at Naomi.
"My ass," Naomi scoffs as she rolls her eyes. "You're by far the worst one out of all of us. It's always you that has to be carried out because you're get too fucked up to even know your own name."
Carina face suddenly drops and she frowns. She knew Lily had a wild streak in her, but did it seriously always get to that point? The thought of Lily passed out somewhere makes her protective instincts start to go off but then again, it is her job to worry excessively about the person who means most to her.
Everyone exchanges their goodbyes and hop into their separate cars while Carina heads into Lily's back to Lily's house. They were already planning on hanging out today but it'll have to be cut short because of the random and last minute invitation.
Lily has one hand placed Carina's inner thigh while the other maneuvers the wheel. She's humming quietly to the song that's playing from her phone and Carina recognizes it as 'Come On Get Higher' by Matt Nathanson.
The concerns and curiosity over Malia and Lily's wild partying have been eating at the back of Carina's mind the entire time and she opened her mouth to try to talk about it, but her hesitation stems from the fact that she doesn't want to seem like some weird and possessive girlfriend.
At a stoplight, Lily glances over at Carina and gives her thigh a squeeze, asking for her attention. "What's wrong?" she asks, worry present on her face when Carina looks at her. "You're abnormally quiet right now."
Well she can't exactly shrug it off now anymore and Lily asked so maybe Carina should speak up. Besides, Lily's always encouraged her to always be open and talk to her about anything and everything that's on her mind. And since they are dating, there's a lot more that weighs on their relationship now than when they were just friends. Communication is key, as cliche as that sounds.
"Uhm, well," Carina begins, nervously playing around with Lily's fingers that's on her leg. "I was kind of wondering was there anything that happened between you and Malia?"
Lily's quiet for a moment and once the light turns green again, she slowly begins to accelerate the car. "Well," she begins after what seemed like a horribly long silence, "yes, we did have some history between us a couple of years ago."
A flicker of jealousy dashes across Carina, but she forces herself to disregard it. The key words were "a couple of years ago" meaning that all of this happened before she probably even knew that Carina existed. She can't be jealous over that because she has no reason to be. "Oh, okay, I was just wondering."
"And that's okay," Lily smiles reassuringly at her, loosening up Carina's hesitations. "I'm glad you asked. Is there anything else that's on your mind?"
Well since she asked so politely.
"I'm not going to lie and say I'm not worried about you tonight," Carina expresses honestly. "When Naomi said that you get wasted and pass out all the time, that kind of scares me considering I won't be there to watch after you."
Carina sees the corner of Lily's lips rise in a small smile. "Aw," she says softly, eyes on the road in the front of her, "that's really sweet of you to care so much, but I will be okay. I haven't drunk in a long time or anything and I don't really care much for it anymore so I'll be okay. There are always designated drivers and sober people to take care of the others. And Naomi will also be there to watch over me like a hawk, too."
Carina purses her lips in a straight line. It still doesn't sit well with her, but it's not like she doesn't want Lily to go and enjoy herself. She hasn't gone out in a while and she deserves a night out and Carina wasn't going to be one of those people who holds their girlfriend or boyfriend on a tight leash and tell them what they can and can't do. Couples like that always irked her.
Probably detecting Carina's uncertainness, she suggests, "how about I text you every now and then? Like every hour or so and then I can also tell you when I'm about to leave just to give you some peace of mind about how I am? Does that sound okay?"
That would definitely help relax Carina a bit tonight when she's over there. The main thing is that she just wants to know that Lily will be okay, is all.
"I think that sounds more than okay," Carina replies shooting Lily a big smile.
Lily reaches yet another red light but this time instead of just gazing over at Carina, she leans over and captures her lips with hers, using her thumb to caress her jawline. Carina chuckles against the unexpected kiss, interlacing her fingers in the dark mane at the side of Lily's head.
The car behind them honks loudly when the light turns green again and Lily pulls away quickly, regaining her position in the driver's seat with both hands on the wheel. Her face is flustered and her hair is messed up from where Carina's hands were pulling at it and she couldn't find it any more cuter than when one of the most confident people she's ever known gets embarrassed and blushes. It's so fucking cute.
Carina smirks to herself as she takes it upon herself to rest her own hand on Lily's inner thigh comfortably this time, making Lily's face even redder.
-
Once the clock hit 7, Lily started to get ready for the party tonight at 9 while Carina lied down on her stomach on her large and comfortable bed, absentmindedly scrolling through Tumblr while singing along to the music that's playing from Lily's speakers from the corner of the room.
Lily is currently sitting on the floor in front of her mirror doing her hair and makeup. Sometimes, Carina would look into her eyes through the reflection of the mirror and one of them would break into a funny face, causing the other to laugh. Their relationship has always been playful, even before they were dating. Laughing, joking around, and teasing were always common. Needless to say that Lily brings a lot of joy and happiness into Carina's life.
After about an hour, Carina catches Lily constantly trying to perfect the finishing touches of her makeup. But how do you perfect something that's already perfect?
"Lily," Carina calls out to her and she watches as Lily stops moving and connects those enticing green eyes with hers through the mirror. "You look beautiful. Just like you always do."
And it's true. Lily curled her hair into soft, even waves that cascade down the length of her back and shoulders. She has a dark and smoky eye shadow surrounding her green eyes, making them pop out more than usual in contrast with her dark makeup. She tops it off with red lipstick that compliments her dark hair and skin perfectly. It blows Carina's mind how Lily even chose her. She feels so inadequate compared to her.
Lily blushes as she ducks her head bashfully before blowing her a kiss, grinning widely. "Thanks, babe. You're cute."
Carina smiles and winks before averting her attention down at her phone. A quote pops up on her dashboard that says, "You dress in all black, but you have the most colorful mind" and immediately she thinks of her girlfriend in front of her. Lily puts up this mysterious and dark kind of front that inevitably would allure anyone, but the more Carina's gotten to know her, the more she realizes just how mesmerizing she is, especially her mind. She's listened to Lily talk about things like books, art, music, words, and feminism on the phone in the wee hours of the night and she's so fiercely passionate about everything. She cares about world and she thinks the simplest things are beautiful and she has so much depth to her. It's amazing the kind of person she is, really.
"I just need to get changed into my dress and then I'll drop you off back home before I head over to the party, yeah?" Lily says, snapping Carina out of her thought of, well, her.
Carina nods and watches as Lily slowly begins to walk towards her before crawling on the bed and Carina holds her breath when she watches Lily hover over her on all fours, staring deep into her eyes. Carina's always been rather intimidated by her looks, but tonight she just has so much intensity in her eyes and appearance overall that she's almost the exact polar opposite of how Carina's appearance right now.
She's wearing pink and white and light make up while Lily is wearing black jeans and a black and white t-shirt with dark and heavy make up. Carina's heart is racing in her chest as she watches Lily stare down at her, her face expressionless. She's simply looking at Carina silently and that makes her incredibly nervous. Carina swallows deeply and releases a shaky breath.
Lily kinks an eyebrow in question as she throws all of her hair over her left shoulder, the ends just barely tickling the younger girl's face beneath her. "Are you nervous about something?"
"Uhm, of course I am," Carina answers without hesitation. "Have you seen yourself?"
Then the tough façade of her face breaks into a smile, which immediately calms Carina down. When Lily smiles, its like that first ray of light that breaks through the dark clouds after a large storm. It tears down her daunting demeanor and she reverts back to her puppy-looking self.
"Don't be nervous," Lily whispers before leaning down and kissing her sweetly. Carina can just barely taste the lipstick when her tongue grazes Lily's luscious lips.
Lily pulls away much too soon for Carina's liking and she whines a bit in protest. "Lily, you can't do that to me," she pouts.
Lily smirks as she uses her thumb to wipe some excess lipstick that transferred over to Carina's lipsticks. "Then stop being so damn kissable all the time," she answers simply.
"I literally was lying down on Tumblr," Carina laughs as she sits herself up. "How was that me being kissable?"
"That's just it," Lily smiles at her. "You don't even try and you still drive me crazy."
Carina pushes her off the bed, knowing that the more they were going to be sweet talking each other, the more she wasn't going to want Lily to go to the party. "Get out of here and get your ass dressed before I actually handcuff you to your bed and not let you go tonight."
Carina's eyes widen and her cheeks get warm as soon as she realizes the sexual nature of what she just said. She doesn't even have time to save herself when one of Lily's eyebrows kink up suggestively. "Kinky, huh?"
Carina throws her face down on the bed in embarrassment. "That's not what I meant," she mumbles on top of the blanket.
Lily laughs happily to herself, clearly enjoying seeing Carina embarrassed beyond belief. "It's always the quiet and innocent ones," she says. Carina can hear the smirk present across her precious face.
-
It's 11:30 and Carina's watching, of course, Easy A in the comfort of her own room. Lily's made it a thing to text her every hour or so to update her on how she's doing and Carina's happy to know that she's having a great time. She may or may not be sober right now, but she continuously is keeping up with her promise and that's something, right?
But then Carina's phone suddenly starts to ring and Lily's name lights up. She didn't say anything about calling so she is slightly confused, but she pauses the movie and she picks up the phone nevertheless. "Hello?"
"HI, GIRLFRIEND," Lily practically screams into the speaker, making Carina wince as she holds the phone away from the ear a bit. Her words are slurring so that answers her question earlier about whether or not she was drunk.
"Ouch, okay. I think you just burst my eardrum," Carina groans, eyes shut tightly to try to subdue the pain. "But I take it you're enjoying yourself?"
"I'm having a grand time," Lily laughs and Carina can hear the loud background noise of music and other teenagers screaming and shouting and talking loudly around her. "A little dizzy but I miss you and I wish you were here."
"Nah, I would be killing your buzz the whole night," Carina chuckles. "Hey, be sure to drink water tonight okay?"
"Hold on, princess, I can't really hear you. Let me go upstairs!"
Carina waits patiently on the other line, and apparently Lily accidentally bumped into someone because she can hear her apologizing while laughing, making Carina shake her head to herself. Then a door closes and the background nose suddenly stops and the only thing that she can hear is the sound of Lily's quick and rather heavy breathing.
"Phew! Those stairs were a doozy," Lily giggles excessively. "I am soooo out of breath but I'm upstairs in a guest room right now. But now my head kind of hurts."
Carina purses her lips. "Are you okay? What did you drink and how much did you have?"
"Little bit of this, little.. bit of that," Lily mumbles, barely coherent. "Or should I... say a lot of this and a lot of that." More giggling.
Carina lets out a small sigh. She was hoping this wouldn't happen. There comes a point where she should have stopped herself and the fact that she hasn't drunk in so long probably lowered her tolerance. "Lily, you should've started slow."
"I know, but... shots and... yeah."
"Did you at least make your own drinks?" Carina knows about how dangerous roofies are. She hopes to god that Lily knew exactly what was in the drinks before she consumed them.
"Yes, I did. Of course... I did," Lily replies and now Carina can barely understand her. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't really worried right now.
"Lily, listen to me," she begins sternly. "Where is Naomi?"
"She's.. down.."
Carina waits for her to finish but she doesn't hear anything, only the sound of what could only be the phone dropping on the ground. "Lily?"
She waits for a couple of seconds before calling her name again. "Lily!"
When she doesn't get any sort of reply or indication of her state, she quickly hangs up the phone and dials Naomi's number instead with shaking hands. She taps her fingers against her leg impatiently and anxiously. If Lily is unconscious, she has to be lying on her side, not her back. Her worst fear right now is if she threw up while unconscious and she chokes. She feels tears burning in her eyes as she waits for Naomi to pick up.
She doesn't.
"Fuck!" She screams in frustration. Her hands are still shaking and her heart is beating loudly in her ears as she dials Desi's number instead and almost cries in relief when she hears her pick up.
"Hi, Ca-"
"-Desi, please, for the love of god tell me that you know where Malia's house is," Carina begs, voice coming out in a panicked sob.
"Woah, wait, Car-"
"-Desi, please just fucking tell me! I think Lily is seriously in trouble and she's alone and Naomi isn't picking up and-"
"-Okay, okay, okay, get in the car right now and I will text you the address," Desi answers frantically, concern also present in her voice. "Hurry, please."
Carina immediately hangs up the phone before she hops out of her bed and runs down the stairs as fast as her legs can carry her. She snatches the key off of the kitchen counter and opens the door hastily, slamming the door shut behind her. She hops into her parents' cars and can barely insert the key into the ignition because her hands are trembling so violently.
Her phone goes off and she sees that Desi sent her an address. She quickly inserts it into the Navigation app and the travel time is almost 20 minutes.
But she doesn't have that fucking time.
Tears are blurring her vision now as she forcefully shifts the car into reverse and backs out of her driveway before speeding off, tires squealing loudly as she hopes and prays she can make it there in time before anything happens to the girl she's grown to love.