Lily never expected tonight to go the way that it did. It was never her intention to get Carina to have sex with her, but she's more than happy that it happened. The thought of someone else touching her pure body for the first time disgusts her, but Carina trusted her enough and loved her enough to allow her to be her first. That's something Lily will always cherish.
"Hey, Lily?" Carina asks softly as she soothingly rubs her girlfriend's warm, bare back.
"Hm?"
Lily hears the smile in Carina's voice when she whispers lovingly, "happy anniversary."
--
Carina's been awake for a while now. She woke up about an hour ago when the birds started noisily chirping in the trees surrounding them. Lily, however, is still dead asleep with soft and rhythmic snores coming from her resting body. Some people hate snorers because they're sometimes loud and annoying, but Carina likes them. It makes her feel safer knowing that she has someone in the room with her. It makes her feel happy knowing Lily is right beside her.
Lily is lying flat on her stomach with the blanket up to her waist. All of the features on her lovely face are peaceful and serene. There's no trace of worry or stress present whatsoever. Carina has noticed that life can sometimes be a little overwhelming for Lily sometimes.
She'll sometimes stay up late studying or doing homework and wake up the next morning a bit irritated or someone will annoy or piss her off at school or she'll simply just be having a bad day. It happens to everyone, but it tends to happen more often with Lily.
She's the type of person who needs her own time to just be in solitude with herself during some of those off days. It's not because she's trying to shut anyone out, but because she feels like she can handle it better on her own. And Carina respects that completely. She would never pressure or bother Lily into making her talk about her feelings because she knows if she wanted to talk, she would. And Carina makes sure she's always there when she does.
But now as she's calmly sleeping with the cool, soft sheets wrapped around her curvaceous waist, Lily isn't worrying about anything. She's drifted off somewhere else.
Carina sits up, cross-legged, the blanket falling off of her shoulders and exposing her naked body to the chilly temperature. She shivers slightly as she slips on her shorts and takes Lily's big sweatshirt from the corner of the tent and throws it over herself, warmth and comfort immediately washing over her as the soft material touches her bare skin. She smiles to herself. Lily's scent still lingers on it.
Glancing over at her dozing girlfriend, butterflies stir in her stomach and her cheeks warm up when her eyes lock on the couple of hickies on her neck that Carina placed on her during last night's... events. Whoever says your first time isn't all that great is lying through their teeth because never has Carina felt closer and more in love with Lily than last night. She made her wild-both emotionally and physically. And Lily was so gentle and caring with her, while at the same time giving her exactly what she needed. She always made sure that she was okay but it was also like the only thing that was on her mind was pleasuring Carina. And boy, was she pleasured.
Carina's, well, everything was on fire. She was breathing erratically and her heart was thumping so hard against her chest that she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. Her skin was so warm and there was a thin layer of sweat on her naked body, shivers running up her spine against the disparity of the cool night air. She lost all control over her words and actions and the only thing she was running off of was pure reflex and animalistic desire and craving for more of Lily. Carina just could not get enough of the feeling of Lily's fingers so deliciously deep inside of her and her tongue skillfully working against her clit like there was nothing else she would rather be doing. Fuck , it was amazing.
Okay. Calm down. Deep breaths. It is a little bit too early to be thinking about this right now.
Carina notices Lily just barely trembling in her sleep and goosebumps rise on her arms. Frowning, Carina grabs an extra blanket near her feet and gently lays it on top of Lily. She giggles to herself when she sees her drooling a bit from the corner of her mouth, but that's okay because it's Lily and she loves everything about her.
Carina ever so lightly kisses her cheek and rubs her thumb across her eyebrow soothingly. They're easily one of Lily's most distinguishable features. Along with her eyes. And her widow's peak. And her husky voice. And her ass.
Oh my god. She is so lucky to have her.
It's crazy to think that not even a few months ago, they had no idea who each other were. Sure, Carina has noticed Lily many times at school because how could you not? She's a walking angel in disguise. But it wasn't like Lily ever noticed her. Carina wouldn't say that she's like some nerd or loser because those few people who did give her the light of day were always nice and friendly to her. It's just she never put herself out there to really make lasting friends. She only ever really had Amanda, but she was okay with that because they have been friends for so long and she knew that she wasn't going anywhere. Besides, you meet a lot of temporary people during high school so she thought what's the point?
But Lily has helped her realize it's okay to take chances and go after what she wants because what she wanted was Lily herself. If Carina still had that mindset of "everyone always leaves," she never would have had the pure blessing of falling in love with Lily and having Lily fall in love with her. None of the passionate kisses exchanged between them would have happened and last night never would have happened either if she never took that risk. She allowed herself to fall for Lily, even with a guarded heart, and it was the best thing she's ever done.
And throughout the course of their friendship and eventual relationship, Lily has helped Carina creep on out of her shell a bit. She's not just the quiet, cute girl in class anymore. She has more confidence in herself because Lily never fails to make her feel so loved and so beautiful all the time. Carina's getting better at looking people in the eyes while she speaks to them and she's getting better with holding her head and shoulders up high when she walks around the hallways at school and in public. That's the important thing about relationships. It's not the physical aspect of it, but it's more so bringing out the best in each other.
Lily stirs a bit in her sleep and Carina freezes her hand in hopes of not waking her up. She had a tiring day yesterday and she needed all the rest she could get. She put so much effort into doing all of this for Carina and she did it by herself too. What a romantic little sap. And to think that Carina ever found her incredibly intimidating.
Carina gently moves her hand down on the nap of Lily's neck and uses her thumb to caress her skin. She can feel the thin baby hairs present. She smiles as her mind goes back to one of their many late-night phone calls when Lily was talking to her about wanting a dragonfly tattoo right at this exact spot where Carina is touching in dedication to her grandma that passed away a few years ago. Her name was Grace.
Lily's green eyes sluggishly flutter open, her eyebrows knitted in response to the bright light hitting her sensitive eyes. Carina giggles softly. Lily always looks so confused and dazed as soon as she wakes up. Her squinted eyes look around and her bedhead is absolutely atrocious.
Carina couldn't love it or her more.
"What year is it?" Lily's low and sultry sleeping voice asks.
"3000," Carina laughs, ruffling her already messy hair.
"Not much has changed but they lived underwater," Lily groggily chimes in with a lazy and happy smile on her face. As long as she still knows song references. That's all that matters.
Lily takes Carina's hand that was resting on the back of her neck and brings it up to her lips, kissing it. "Hi, Cara," she mumbles, resting her cheek on top of her fingers. Carina raises an eyebrow at the new nickname, but she thinks it's endearing. Although that might just be because it came from Lily. If somebody else ever were to call her that, she might internally cringe. "Did you sleep well?" Lily asks sweetly in the midst of a bug yawn.
Carina takes her free hand as she wipes away a tear that managed to escape from Lily's eye. They always get a bit watery when she yawns and she finds it's adorable the way she rapidly blinks it away afterwards. But then again she finds everything Lily does cute. Hell, she could be running around with a hair net and a trash bag on and Carina would still think she's the most beautiful person in the world.
"I slept perfectly," Carina smiles sincerely. "And again, thank you so much for all of this," she gestures around the cozy tent with her hand. "You're seriously so perfect, what the fuck?"
"Aw, you're so welcome, darling," Lily giggles as she moves to rest the side of her head on the inside of Carina's thigh. "But no need to thank me. It was worth it seeing your reaction."
Shivers run up Carina's spine when Lily begins to repeatedly plants light kisses on the inside of her thigh, partially because it tickles but more so because she's so close to her center again. Can't blame her for the sudden breath hitching in the back of her throat. It's just that her girlfriend's head is between her legs. No big deal.
Carina looks down at Lily's upper, bare back. Her shoulder blades are just barely visible as they jut out of the pale, smooth skin and her black hair sprawls across all over it, the contrast strong yet so perfect. She struggles to hold back a small moan when Lily's lips move an inch upwards, her heart rate spiking up.
Being the smug and playful thing Lily is, she pulls away with a laugh and Carina lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Not going to lie, she's slightly disappointed at the sudden removal of her lips.
"You little tease," Carina mutters under her breath.
Lily rolls over and looks up at Carina's face. The blanket is loosely clung around her chest, but her perfect collarbones are exposed in all of its glory. "But you love me anyways," she says with a proud grin on her face.
Carina laughs lightheartedly, tapping the end of her nose with her finger. "I do love you. I love you so much."
Lily's green eyes go soft, as well as the rest of her facial expressions. She reaches a hand up and caresses the side of Carina's face. "I love you, too," she whispers gently. "And I am dying to kiss you right now but I am not a fan of morning breath."
Carina chuckles, agreeing completely. "Ditto. Afterwards, okay?"
Lily excitedly nods her head with a happy grin on her face. It was the exact same reaction as when Carina asked if she wanted to get ice cream after school one time. What a dork.
Lily holds up her pinky and Carina wastes no time in interlocking them, shaking her head in adoration. Pinky promises are kind of their thing. Carina doesn't think she could ever do them with anyone else other than Lily.
"Baby, do you mind handing my tank top that's behind you?" Lily asks politely as she lifts her head up, holding the blanket up to cover herself up. But come on. There's no need for her to feel the need to hide anything.
Carina obeys and twists around to grab the black material before handing it to Lily. Carina watches fondly when Lily pushes the blanket away from her, revealing her perfect and endlessly lovely body. Lily smirks at her right before she throws the tank top over herself and covering herself up, forcing Carina to snap out of her momentary daze.
"Eyes up here, princess," Lily jokes with a giggle as she taps her own cheekbone.
Carina's cheeks warm and she laughs nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry, I, uh, well-sorry," she fumbles idiotically. Oh god. Lily probably thinks she's some horny pervert now after just one night. One incredible and unforgettable night, that is.
But instead, Lily just crawls into Carina's lap, wrapping her legs around her waist and hugs her around her neck tightly, engulfing the younger girl with her scent, warmth, and affection. She then kisses the spot right above Carina's ear and a small, sweet and euphonious laugh comes out. "Don't be sorry because that was exactly me with you last night. I could not stop staring at you."
Carina face gets even redder, but because of their positions, Lily isn't able to see. So instead, she just smiles to herself with her lips on Lily's collarbones and happily returns the embrace.
But then Carina's eyes widen and she tenses up when she makes out a large, 8-legged creature crawling towards them on top of the blanket. There's a fucking spider about a foot away from them and it's closing in. Fast.
"OH FUCK. OH NAH, WE GOTTA GO," she screams in complete distress as she scrambles to get on her feet with Lily's legs still wrapped around her. Carina manages to unzip the tent with one hand while the other is placed on Lily's back, who is clinging on for dear life and confused as can be.
Carina lets out large sigh of relief as soon as she makes it out into the bright and spider-free world. Well, technically there are million of those nasty little spawns of Satan on this earth but as long as Carina was not confined to a small area with one of them, she'll live.
Lily pulls her head back to give Carina an incredibly puzzled look. One of her eyebrows is raised up and she narrows her eyes down at her.
"May I ask what the hell just happened in the last 10 seconds?"
If Lily wasn't in her lap at the time she made eye contact with the horrifying creature, she just might have ran away without her. She definitely in the running for the award for the most heroic and selfless girlfriend in the world, huh?
"Oh my god. Lily, there was the biggest fucking spider I've ever seen in my entire life crawling towards us at supersonic speed so I had to yeet out of there before it ate us," Carina explains breathlessly, feeling her heart rate finally begin to slow down now that they're out of danger's way. "It was literally about the size of my entire hand."
Lily opens her mouth to say something, but instead she cups a hand over her mouth and stifles a laugh instead. Carina frowns deeply at her girlfriend finding amusement in Carina's horrified state. "Stop laughing at me," she pouts her lip out as she sets Lily's feet back down on the ground carefully. "You wouldn't be laughing if you saw it!"
Lily places her hands on her hips and gives her a confident look. "Oh really?" she challenges defiantly. "You don't think so? Are you forgetting how many little bugs your ass has made me capture and set free?"
"I know so," Carina smirks. Lily has no idea what's coming. She probably expected Carina to be exaggerating about the size of it. But honey, she has a big storm coming.
Carina holds open the tent entrance open for Lily, using her free hand to gesture for her to head on in. Holding her head up high, Lily strolls on in coolly. Carina waits patiently in front of the tent and plays with a loose thread coming off the hem of the sweater.
Not even 30 seconds later, Carina hears a small squeal and out sprints a very terrified and ashen Lily, who practically jumps back up into Carina's arms once again in fear. The younger girl stumbles back a bit as she regains her balance, all the while laughing her head off. The tables have turned and now it's Lily who's the koala in this relationship.
"STOP GIGGLING, JERK," Lily whines, her eyebrows furrowed adorably with her arms around Carina's neck. "You could have told me it was the size of a fucking baseball!"
Carina forces herself to calm down, cheeks and sides hurting from laughing so hard. She looks up at Lily's scowling face and she could not be any cuter. Carina loves playfully teasing and making fun of her because she knows that that exact face always makes an appearance.
"You're my favorite person in the world," Carina grins brightly up at her. "You know that?"
"This is no time for kissing up," Lily mutters under her breath, but Carina catches the edge of her mouth just barely twitching up as she fights against the urge to smile.
-
Lily had to show Carina the proper way to brush their teeth out in the great outdoors. Clearly it's not good for the environment or the animals living in it if they just decided to spit out a glob of their foamy toothpaste out on the ground. So Lily led Carina up over the edge of a small hill and explained to her that she had to spew her spit over as wide of an area as she could so that it could dissipate and diffuse before settling. Although Carina looked a bit disgusted at the thought of doing so, she did it anyways. Lily made sure to give her a pat on the back. Her happy little camper.
About an hour later after scarfing down a small breakfast which consisted of very sugary foods such as leftover marshmallows, chocolate, and cookies, Lily and Carina decide to walk it off by taking a trek down to the spot where their relationship hit its first greatest milestone at: the rock overlooking the lake where they shared their first kiss. It is their one-month anniversary after all. It only seemed fitting to travel down memory lane.
This morning, Carina is in a rather playful and hyper mood. Normally they would walk together calmly hand in hand, but today she's practically bouncing off the walls. Or trees.
"Okay, love, this is the last time we ever have sugar for breakfast," Lily laughs amusingly to herself as she watches Carina karate kick the air, almost losing her footing. Lily reflexively places her hands on her waist to balance her.
"Wouldn't you love to learn how to fight? Learn how to box or fight karate or martial arts or something?" She pretends to strike a branch of the tree near her, even making sounds like she's in some dramatic Kung-Fu movie.
"I don't believe in violence," Lily replies casually, smiling at how tired Carina looks now. Her cheeks are red and her hair is a bit disheveled and her breathing is heavier than usual. She just completely wore herself out by imaginary fighting thin air. Lily can't tell if she's dating a 17-year-old or a child.
Carina halts her movements and tilts her head at Lily cutely like a confused puppy. "Really?" she asks curiously. "No exceptions?"
Lily can't help herself before she throws an arm around her shoulders and kisses the side of her head affectionately. Carina responds by happily placing her hand on the curve of Lily's waist as they continue to head down the trail. "Well, I mean, in certain situations I think violence is justifiable because, obviously, self-defense or defense of others. Like if anyone ever tried to physically harm you in any way, I would step in without hesitation to protect you. But violence as a first resort in reaction to any conflict or just for the hell of it? No. I don't really like that. Wars also are so contradicting to me as well. Like you know how World War I was said to be the 'war to end all wars'? It's weird because you want to maintain peace and sort things out and in order to try to achieve that peace, you fight and blow each other up while killing tens of thousands of people in the process. It doesn't really make much sense to me but then again what really does ever make sense?"
Carina hums in response after a moment, bringing her other hand and interlacing her fingers with Lily's hand that's dangling over her shoulder. "You're just too undeniably precious for this messed up world, Joelle. I hear you though."
Lily can see the calm, blue water from where she is and she smiles. "Yeah?" she squeezes her hand. "I can say the exact same thing for you, Cabero."
Lily and Carina carefully and slowly navigate their way across the stones, knowing just how easy it is to lose footing in the little spaces between each rock. One time, Lily slipped and got her ankle stuck in between a small gap and she seriously hurt herself for a few days. She doesn't want the same thing to happen to Carina, especially since she already got a major cut on her leg the last time they were here.
The days leading up to that one were definitely not fun. It was the first day they spoke after heir huge blowout at Carina's house when Lily confessed to being her writing buddy. She never knew how attached she was to Carina before their fight and she hopes it never happens again.
Now they're sitting comfortably beside each other, taking in the warmth of the sun and the calming atmosphere around them and Lily impulsively gazes over at Carina's leg. There's a scar still present from her injury. Lily reaches over and runs her finger lightly over the small imperfection. It wasn't fun to see her limp for the rest of the week.
"You're thinking about the last time we were here, aren't you?" Carina suddenly asks, watching Lily's actions.
Lily nods in response before turning to look into Carina's relaxed, soft eyes. "Does it still hurt or anything?"
"Nah," she answers her honestly. "I mean I can still feel the second the rock seeped into my leg, but it doesn't hurt."
Lily inwardly cringes at the thought. Hell, she can even feel that. She then leans down and plants a gentle kiss on Carina's scar before smoothly placing her hand over it. "All better?" Lily asks, adopting a cute baby voice.
Carina giggles, overlapping their hands. "All better," she reiterates with a grin.
Lily sits herself up and pats her lap. "Come here," she mumbles softly. "Let me hold you for a moment."
Without a second later, Carina immediately crawls over and scrambles into Lily's lap, placing an arm around her shoulders and mushing their cheeks together tightly. Lily laughs when Carina turns her head and gives her a messy, wet kiss on her cheek.
Lily encircles her arms around Carina's petite waist, holding her tightly. "What a perfect day," she sighs out contently, eyes catching sight of a baby deer taking a drink of water off in the distance.
Carina nods slowly in agreement, her cheek rubbing against Lily's with every movement. "With the perfect person."
-
Lily's always been one of those types of people who don't like to obey traffic rules. She speeds, never stops completely, makes sharp turns, and hardly ever checks all of her mirrors and blind spots before switching lanes. But with Carina in the car sitting in the passenger seat beside her, she suddenly transforms into world's best and safest driver.
She barely drives faster than the legal limit, she always makes sure to stop completely at red lights and stop signs, and she always checks all of her mirrors and blind spots whenever Carina is with her. It's just instinct to always make sure she's safe and protected.
Now Lily is not so speeding down the highway with her girlfriend singing along to the music that was hooked up to her phone on this full moon night. They've spent all day together, even though it mainly consisted of them hauling the camping gear back and forth in their cars with their muscles aching and beads of sweat on their foreheads. But Carina never complained once and neither did Lily because it gave them an excuse to be together for just a little while longer. Neither was ready to say goodbye just yet.
Earlier after they finished dropping everything off at Lily's house, Lily followed Carina to her house where she gave her parents the car back before the younger girl hopped right in beside her. Salvia and Antonio wanted to head out on this Sunday evening to get their groove on or whatever it is parents do for fun.
Now Lily and Carina are driving on this fairly vacant road with no set destination in mind. Lily was just going wherever she wanted and anywhere was okay as long as she had the girl she loved right beside her.
Lily has one hand grabbing Carina's inner thigh, occasionally drawing little circles on her soft skin. She knew how much Carina loved it, but then again, what girl doesn't? Lily doesn't want to say its an act of possession because she doesn't like the thought of her "owning" Carina per se because humans are not property, but it does give off the vibe of "she's my girlfriend."
Lily was happily humming along to "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" by John Mayer when Carina abruptly reaches over and turns the volume all the way down. Lily raises an eyebrow and glances over at her curiously for a moment. "What's up, babe?"
Carina's staring straight at Lily's face and although she can't exactly reciprocate because her eyes need to be transfixed on the road, she can still see her with her peripheral vision and Lily can see a big grin begin to slowly occupy her face. "You know what just popped into my head?"
Oh no. If Lily had a dollar for every single time she heard Carina say that and some ridiculous theory or random fact or disgusting would-you-rather came out of her mouth, she would be filthy rich.
"Do I even want to know?" Lily asks cautiously, bracing herself for the endless possibilities that live up in that crazy little mind of hers.
Carina reaches over and playfully slaps her arm. "Oh, shut up, asshole," she rolls her eyes. "I promise you that it's nothing traumatizing or anything. Not this time at least. But it's actually an idea that involves you, me, Amanda, Desi, and Naomi."
"I'm scared."
Carina laughs lightheartedly, a smile automatically appearing on Lily's face as soon as that sound enters her ears. It's easily one of the best sounds she's ever heard aside from her singing voice. Actually let's be real. Lily is in love with everything about Carina.
"Don't be scared," Carina reassures, resting her hand on top of Lily's. "I was thinking that maybe we should all take a road trip down to the beach? We have a long weekend this week so why not spend it there? All 5 of us?"
Lily only has to contemplate on the idea for a few seconds before her mind is made up. That's a pretty damn good idea. She looks at Carina from the corner of her eyes and winks at her. "Well, what do you know? You finally said something that makes sense and that I agree with for once!" she teases. "But no, I really think that's a great idea. I'm totally down for road trip with you and the girls. There literally would not be a single boring moment."
Carina sits up straighter, her enthusiasm and excitement levels rising. She even begins to bounce in her seat a bit in anticipation. "Do you think they'll be up for it? I mean I don't want to get my hopes up or anything but my hopes are already up."
Lily chuckles as she pats her thigh. "I know Desi and Naomi would definitely be up for it. They can't turn down a good road trip."
"And Amanda practically lives on the beach. You have to drag her away kicking and screaming when it's time to leave," Carina states matter-of-factly.
Now it's Lily who's slightly bouncing in her seat with rising enthusiasm and excitement. The thought of all of her best friends and girlfriend together without parental supervision all being trapped in one constricted car for hours only to have to stay in one small and sketchy hotel room sounds, oddly enough, like the best thing ever.
Lily, Desi, and Naomi have always taken little mini vacations with each other whether it is to beach or an amusement park to just to some random city. It's always a joy to be with them so she can only imagine how much better it would be with Amanda and Carina included. Sure it's going to be a little tight and cramped, but they've learned to squeeze. With 5 girls together all the time, you kind of have to learn how to deal with it.
Great. Now it's Lily who has her hopes up to.
"But if anything," Carina adds, "it can always just be me and you by ourselves if they can't go."
"You mean I have to be stuck with you all alone?" Lily groans playfully, loving the look of offense of Carina's face in response. It's not a normal day until they fake insult each other.
"You didn't seem to mind us being alone last night," Carina mumbles under her breath, thinking Lily wouldn't be able to hear.
But she did. And she's blushing like crazy.
-
After about another half hour of mindless driving, they stop at local burger joint when Lily hears Carina's tummy growling. There's hardly ever a time when it isn't, but she still has an obligation to feed her always-hungry girlfriend. Besides, a full Carina is a happy Carina.
Lily chivalrously opens the front door for her as she walks in, thanking her with her eyes when passes by. It's a relatively nice and casual place and considering it's about 8 o'clock at night on a Sunday night, it's pretty packed. There's low commotion of various conversations and laughter and the aroma of burgers and fries fill their noses. Lily wasn't all that hungry before, but she can't say that now.
A bright-eyed female waiter with short, blonde hair guides Carina and Lily towards a booth alone the edge of the diner and politely hands then their menus before scurrying off to tend to someone else's needs.
Lily watches Carina with an involuntary smile as her brown eyes excitedly scan the menu in front of her. Her mouth is practically watering.
"Cara, you can pick anything and everything you want," Lily offers happily. "My treat."
Carina's eyes glance up and over the top of the menu, locking them with Lily's. "Are you sure? I can pay for myself no problem."
Lily waves away her comment with her hand. "I got you," she smiles kindly. "You paid for me last time we went out to eat so it's my turn."
Lily was always raised to give what she receives. From a young age, her parents instilled in her that if she ever were to have someone do or buy something for her out of the goodness of their hearts, it's only right to return the favor in some way. She would never want anyone to feel like she's taking advantage of them or to feel like they're not appreciated. And her mindset works out perfectly with Carina. She feels the same way.
Carina scrunches her nose up cutely. Her way of silently saying thank you.
After they place in their orders and their food arrives astonishingly quick, Lily barely has time to pick up her burger before Carina practically dives in and takes a huge bite out of hers. Lily watches her in partial awe and partial puzzlement, wondering how the hell she does it.
Lily chuckles and fondly shakes her head to herself before taking a bite out of her own burger. For a split-second, she had an urge to run into the kitchen and kiss the cook because, holy crap, its so good. Or maybe because she was starving and she didn't even know it. Either way, definite props.
But Carina was distracting Lily the entire time. She would make these odd and dramatic facial expressions and her eyes would roll back whenever she's eating something she really enjoys. It was giving her slightly inappropriate thoughts. Particularly about last night.
She catches Lily smirking at her and she raises an eyebrow in question. "What are you smiling about?"
Lily's smirk changes into a wide grin. "It's official," she begins, slapping her hand down on the table, "you and your orgasmic faces have made its way to the top of my list of favorite things about you."
-
Correction: a full Carina is a tired Carina and a tired Carina is a happy Carina.
One hand on the wheel and one hand interlaced with Carina's, Lily repeatedly grazes her thumb across the outer part of her dozing girlfriend's forefinger. Food coma hit her and it hit her hard. Mix that with the exhaustion that today brought. Lily is actually surprised she didn't fall asleep sooner.
Lily was in the middle of discussing the plans for their unofficial trip down to the beach this weekend when suddenly Carina stopped replying. Lily curiously looked over to find her head leaning against the window, blissfully sleeping. She simply smiled to herself as she brought their hands up to her lips and kissed it gently.
It was a quiet drive the rest of the way back to Carina's house, but that was okay. She didn't need to actually talk to enjoy her company. Her presence alone was more than good enough.
Once they made it to the front of the familiar house that Lily's spent tons of time at, she smoothly brings the car to a full stop and puts it in park. The car is in the driveway, meaning Salvia and Antonio are home. Lily pries her fingers away from Carina's and steps out of her seat before making her way around to the passenger side. She opens the door and unbuckles Carina's seatbelt, careful not to wake her.
Lily slides her arms under her knees and around her waist, gently lifting her up and out of the car. Carina's head lazily lulls against Lily's shoulder and her arm dangles. Lily has lost count of how many times she has had carry Carina up to her room whether it's because she fell asleep in the car or on the couch or even in the middle of the floor. That girl can fall asleep literally anywhere.
Lily presses on the doorbell with her shoulder and waits patiently for a moment before Antonio greets her. He's about to open his mouth to say hi but as soon as he spots his sleeping daughter in Lily's arms, he simply smiles silently and gestures for her to make her way up to Carina's room.
Walking up the stairs and through doors is kind of difficult when she's holding Carina. She kind of has to awkwardly stand sideways to avoid accidentally bumping Carina's head or feet against anything. That happened once already. Carina was knocked out like a light so she didn't feel it, but Lily's just going to keep that little fact to herself. She doesn't need to know.
Lily enters into the dark and cold bedroom. She carefully lays Carina's down on her bed and brings the blanket up to her chest before giving her a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. She looks down at Carina's calm face and takes a moment to caress her cheek softly with her thumb, admiring her gentle beautiful. She just barely has enough time to pull her hand away before Carina blindly reaches up and grabs her wrist, keeping her in place.
"Did you really think you were going to be able to leave without a proper kiss goodbye?" she mumbles groggily, her eyes struggling to open fully. "Have we not discussed this before?"
Lily giggles quietly before complying with her wishes, pressing their lips together tenderly for a few seconds. She feels the subtle curve of Carina's mouth before pulling away in a smile as well.
There's only a mere little nightlight in the corner of Carina's room as their light source, but Lily can still make out every single one of Carina's perfect facial features. If anything, she looks even more beautiful with the dim lighting against her face.
"Thank you for today," Carina whispers, her voice barely audible but sincere nevertheless. "No. Actually, thank you for everything you've ever done for me. I would list everything I'm grateful for, but I don't think you have time to stay here all night."
Lily sits down on the edge of her bed. This happens all the time. They'll get ready to leave and say goodbye and everything but they'll remain there for at least another 15 minutes just talking.
"You're so very welcome," Lily smiles. "I would love to stay here with you but we, unfortunately, have school tomorrow."
It's weird. This weekend was just like any other one in terms of duration, but it was so eventful that it felt like a long break and the dread of going back tomorrow was stronger than usual.
An exasperated scowl makes its way onto Carina's face and she groans, annoyed. "I really don't want to go back. Can a tornado spontaneously suck the school up tonight so we don't have to go?"
Lily pokes her tummy with her index finger playfully and Carina laughs and squirms under her touch. "I know, baby, I don't want to go either. Fuck school."
Carina rolls her eyes, smirking. "You say as you do all your homework and strive for A's," she teases, poking Lily's stomach in return.
Lily shrugs her shoulders, smiling. "School and the assignments they give us are tedious and annoying sometimes, but it did bring me to you. I have to be grateful for that."
"You are always so charming, aren't you?" Carina giggles before unexpectedly getting up from her bed and swinging her legs over it. Lily watches her as she saunters over to her desk and opens up one of the drawers. She fishes out a folded up piece of paper of some sort and holds it against her chest. Lily narrows her eyes curiously at her when she comes walking back, stopping right in front of Lily.
"So I didn't know that we were going to go camping last night," Carina begins to explain, her voice softer and a little bit shyer than usual, "so I didn't know to bring this to you, but I wrote you something in celebration of our one-month anniversary today. It's nothing major or extravagant unlike what you did for me, but I hope you like it nonetheless."
A corner of Carina's lips tugs up slightly as she nervously places the letter in her hands. Lily gazes down at the folded paper and twirls it around in her hand, already more than anxious to read it. This isn't like any typical letter they write to each other for the English assignment. This is totally and completely different.
Lily shifts her eyes back up to Carina to see her standing there timidly with her eyes pointing towards the ground and her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on her feet the way she does when she's feeling a bit shy. She's so precious.
Lily's heart swells with nothing but love for her girlfriend and she stands up and pulls Carina against her in one swift motion. Her arms are securely placed around the younger girl's shoulders and Carina wastes no time in reciprocating, her arms wrapped about Lily's waist.
"Oh my god. Carina, I love you," Lily mumbles softly near her ear. "I love you so much."
Lily feels her lips spreading into a smile against her shoulder and she hugs her tighter. "I love you too. Promise me that you'll read it as soon as you get home?"
Lily girl pulls away from the hug just enough to place her pinky up in front of Carina's face. She giggles as she frees a hand and interlocks their fingers.
"I pinky swear."
-
Dear Lily,
Looks like we did it, huh? We reached that one-month mark. It may seem insignificant and even dumb to those who have been together for like 30 years, but it means everything to me. It means I've had you for a month. It means you've graciously and acceptingly had me for a month.
It means you've spent the majority of the last 4-5 weeks with me and you had to listen to my loud and obnoxious laughter and my lame jokes but you still laughed anyways, even if they weren't that funny. You had to see my weird quirks and my atrocious eating habits, but you always just smiled and shook your head fondly. You had to see what I look like first thing in the morning when I wake up, but you always patted down my bedhead and told me I looked beautiful. You've had to see me on some of my bad days where I hated the world and I'm anything but pleasant, but you always made sure to remind me that you love me because you know that that's when I needed it the most.
Thank you for that. I promise to always do the same.
You've had your fair share of bad days too, Lily, and that's perfectly okay. You always apologize for it afterwards, but you really shouldn't feel the need to. It's okay to scream, to cry, to be angry and to be sad because you're only human and it happens. Hell, I'll scream with you, cry with you, be angry with you and be sad with you because I don't want you to ever feel like you're going through something alone. Just remember that sometimes we break, but that's how the light is able to get in.
And God, you're just full of light and love and grace and beauty and everything good in this world. I'm not exactly sure when I fell in love with you, but it probably just happened gradually in increments as our relationship developed further. It was inevitable to fall for you from the first time we ever spoke in class to you driving me home to you holding me safely in your arms during the storm to you bringing me out of school and taking me to your most personal spot in the woods where we shared our first kiss.
I've always been a pretty guarded person who was very particular about letting people in because I'm always afraid of them just getting up and leaving. But you tore my walls down with those enticing eyes, contagious grin, and infectious laughter and letting you in and wholeheartedly trusting you is the best thing I've ever done. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me.
Thank you for the endless laughs, the smiles, the kisses, the hugs. Thank you for always picking up your phone when I call you late at night even when you're already in bed and half-asleep. Thank you for always coming over right away when you hear the first sound of rumbling thunder because you know that I'm afraid and you make things a little bit better. Thank you for the warm hand to hold when mine are cold.
Thank you for always being a shoulder to cry on and a chest to sleep on. Thank you for always listening. Thank you for always making sure that I was heard. Thank you for always carrying me up to bed when I would fall asleep. Thank you for always giving me your sweatshirts, even your favorites. Thank you for always sharing your food with me even if you secretly wanted it for yourself. Thank you for always telling me I looked beautiful on days where I feel insecure. Thank you for never giving up on me when you were frustrated or angry with me. Thank you for always loving me as much as I love you.
You know, I've never really believed in magic all that much. That is until I met you.
I can truthfully say that you've given me some of the most amazing days of my life within this short and beautiful month and what a wondering feeling it is to know that we have so many more good days still waiting to happen.
Here's to our first month together and here's to many more months to come. I love you to pieces. Always.
Yours truly,
Carina