Carina looks down at her feet as she subtly rocks back and forth on her toes. Her head is ducked down a bit when she opens her mouth and asks shyly, "uhm... Is-Is it okay if you sleep with me tonight?"
Lily's heart flutters and she pouts her bottom lip out in response to Carina's irresistible request. She said it in the most innocent and adorable tone of voice that it would be like denying a little puppy a treat. Which, well, she is a puppy and there was no way in hell that she was going to deny her that.
"I was already planning on it," Lily grins widely.
--
As soon as Lily and Carina were both bundled up under the cool blankets with their arms and legs tangled together, they fell asleep almost instantly. Their minds were clear after they were able to talk about their feelings regarding the situation that arose on the beach and the argument that ensued afterwards. It was relieving as hell for the both of them to sleep with each other again.
The next morning, the Carina and Lily woke up to the sound of their friends practically cooing over them while they slept. It was sort of creepy waking up to see three wide, suggestive grins looking down at them while they were snuggled together, but Naomi, Desi, and Amanda looked how Lily and Carina felt. They were just as happy about making up as their friends were. Although Desi was looking like she was about to burst into tears of joy at any second.
After staying in and ordering room service for breakfast, the girls then decided to take a stroll to a nearby park/playground to work off the excessive amount of food they ate. Lily ate so much to the point where she felt like she was about to spontaneously combust. That would definitely be messy.
Now as they were walking towards the park underneath the glaring sun above them, Lily couldn't help but notice that Carina is kind of acting a little bit weird and hesitant beside her. There is a small gap between them when there usually never was. Carina would almost always be the one to initiate the handholding, but this afternoon it's like she is holding back. And Lily knows exactly why.
Carina's afraid that it might come off as "possessive", which was pretty much the cause of their argument last night. So instead, Lily is the one to take the reigns. She grazes their hands lightly, causing Carina's head to turn to look at her before she interlocks their fingers together. Carina looks down, then back up again, a smile forming across her lips.
But their handholding didn't last as long as Lily would like because as soon as the playground was within their sight, that was it. The animals were let out of the cage and Naomi, Desi, and Carina hauled ass towards the swings and never has Lily seen any of them run faster than that moment. She and Amanda continued walking at their leisurely pace like the grown ups they are, shaking their heads fondly and smiling at their friends.
But unfortunately for her, Carina tripped. Badly . Lily immediately thought that she got a mouthful of dirt when she fell and almost sprinted after her to make sure she was okay but Carina just picked herself up, dusted her shirt a little bit, then started running again. Lily didn't know whether to laugh or to be completely and totally confused at how nonchalant Carina was about it.
Amanda, on the other hand, is as cool as a cucumber beside her. She didn't even flinch when she saw Carina's little physical mishap.
"I'm so used to it," Amanda chuckles easily, as if reading Lily's mind. "After knowing her for as long as I have and seeing that girl trip and stumble and slip and fall more times than one can count, you kind of expect it. But she's always fine. She's a resilient little thing."
Lily has a little laughing fit by herself, replaying the image of Carina falling over and over and over again in her mind. At first she was scared that she hurt herself, but now she just finds it fucking hilarious.
Lily places an arm casually around Amanda's shoulders as they watch the Carina, Desi, and Naomi rock-paper-scissor it out for who gets to go on the swings first considering there are only two available.
Desi lost.
Lily and Amanda watch in horror together as Desi sticks up two middle fingers up at Naomi and Carina high in the air while simultaneously shouting obscenities at them in frustration. Then things get worse when little kids around them imitate her. There are going to be some angry and very confused mothers later.
"Desi!" Lily hisses, trying to get her attention so she could stop this inappropriate act.
She notices the younger ones beside her and immediately slaps her hands over her mouth. "Oh shit-fuck-I mean, oh my gosh, uhm, run along children!" Desi shoos them away nervously, eyes wandering around in search for anyone who might have seen her. More specially, any parents.
But it's too late. The damage is done. A random flock of 4-year-olds are currently flicking each other off and shouting curse words at the top of their lungs.
Desi hides her face in her hands in shame, her face red with embarrassment and Lily is loving every single second of it.
Carina suddenly jumps off the swings and lands not so gracefully on the mulch. Lily has to instinctively reach out and grab hold of her waist before she fell down on her ass.
"Careful, babe," Lily chuckles, straightening out her wide-eyed and energetic girlfriend. "You're going to hurt yourself."
Carina scrunches her nose up adorably and kisses the corner of Lily's mouth. "Come on! You're coming along with me on the slide over there," she says excitedly as she points up at the red swirly slide beside them. This child.
Lily immediately shakes her head in protest. Was she serious? "Carina, there is no way in hell that the two of us are going to fit in there. The girls are going to have to call the fire department and chainsaw us out of that thing."
That was not the answer Carina wanted to hear. She adopts one of the most endearing puppy-dog faces that Lily has ever seen and just stands there, staring at her like that without moving a muscle. Oh my god. This manipulative little piece of-
"Fine," Lily groans as she throws her hands up in defeat. There was no way she could say no to Carina when she does something like that. "If we get stuck, I get to give you a big, fat 'I told you so'."
"I'm okay with that!" Carina exclaims with a satisfied grin on her face, already in the process of tugging Lily by the arm towards the very tiny slide. This was not going to go as well as she thinks.
They make their way up the 5-rung ladder, then up some steps, then across a bridge, then up a few more steps until they reach the top of the slide. From this height, Lily and Carina see Desi, Amanda, and Naomi all waving and laughing at them. Lily wouldn't be caught dead going down this kind of slide voluntarily, but Carina's bright and ecstatic face is more than enough persuasion for her.
Carina settles in first and places her hands on either side of the slide to prevent herself from moving. Then, Lily comes in from behind her so Carina is nestled in between her legs. It's a bit cramped considering the width of the slide is meant to fit a toddler. Carina, however, doesn't seem to mind just one bit.
Lily wraps her arms around her girlfriend's waist and pulls her back closer to her chest. "Ready when you are," Lily sighs dramatically, resting her chin on top of Carina's shoulder. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a tad bit excited. She doesn't remember the last time she's been on a slide.
"Ready ... set ... go!"
Carina quickly removes her hands from the sides of the slide and puts her hands in the air, clearly expecting that they would suddenly start to zoom down.
They didn't. They didn't even move a fucking inch.
Lily tried so hard not bust out laughing at the expression of pure disappointment on Carina's face, but the huge grin on her face just slowly started to disappear once she realized they were stationary.
Lily's sides are starting to hurt from enjoying this all too much and she leans her forehead against the back of Carina's shoulders. She's literally crying of laughter. Carina, however, is not the least bit amused.
"You're the worst," she huffs out, crossing her arms.
They probably look like a hot mess right now. Two girls stuck in a slide with one of them laughing like an idiot and the other pouting and grumbling to herself.
After a few more moments, Lily finally is able to pull herself together all the while getting a death stare from her girlfriend. "I'm sorry, but you have to admit that that was funny as hell," Lily giggles. It was starting to get a little hot up in this slide. Not to mention uncomfortable. Her legs are being pushed completely against the sides of the slide and Lily Joelles don't bend like that.
But Carina is determined to make it down to the bottom and the only way she is able to do that is if she goes on it alone. And Lily was more than happy to oblige. She finally frees herself from that satanic contraption and gives Carina a big push down, happily squealing the entire time.
"Your turn!" Carina shouts once she reaches the bottom of the slide.
Oh, hell no.
Lily defiantly struts back down the way she came up. She was not about to get stuck in that thing again. It was funny with Carina, but she would probably die of embarrassment if it was her alone.
But as soon as her feet reaches the ground, Carina sprints by and pulls her by the arm, already forcing her against her will to their next destination: the seesaw.
--
Because it was their last full day here before they had to drive on back home in the morning, they ran around the city trying to do as much as they could with the given time allotment.
First, they went to an amusement park and promised each other that they would all go on every single ride available and no one was able to chicken out. Surprisingly, no one did. Although, some crying did occur while they were waiting in line for the biggest ride that was there. Naomi, like the badass she is, was the only one who was just straight chilling the entire time.
Next, there was an aquarium adjacent to the amusement park so they had to go there next. Lily always appreciated any type of wildlife and marine life, but she appreciated seeing Carina's reaction to them even more. Her eyes were bright and excited the entire time with her nose and hands pressed against the glass of various exhibits. She had a kind and gentle heart towards everyone and everything and Lily got a firsthand look at that today. She pretty much wasted the entire time looking at her girlfriend, but that's okay. Carina was still the most amazing sight in there.
After they all ate dinner at a local restaurant near them, it was already beginning to get kind of late. They quickly made their way over to the beach to watch the sunset about to happen. Once again, Lily couldn't keep her eyes off of Carina as the younger girl watched in complete awe at the beauty unfolding in front of her. Lily impulsively leans over and kisses her cheek sweetly, making Carina blush.
"I'm going to miss this," Amanda's small voice suddenly appears. All of the girls turn to face her as they wait expectantly for her to elaborate more. "What I mean by that is... I'm going to miss all of you guys and these impromptu vacations and just calling each other on a whim to hang out and stuff. I'm going to miss how simple things are now. We are all so familiar and comfortable with things now that once it's gone, we're going to be lost."
Lily gives her a sympathetic look. She knows where that comment suddenly came from. This is their last year of high school and things aren't going to be as easy as they are now. They're all going to be going their separate ways and some of them may even lose touch. Distance is a bitch and so is life. Both are capable of creating so many severances between relationships and friendships that, at the time, felt like would last forever. There's no way to tell if any sort of bond is going to last and Lily would be lying if she said that that doesn't scare her. These four girls sitting around her mean everything to her and she can't imagine life without them. She doesn't even want to think about it.
"I still remember the first day of high school," Naomi chimes in longingly. "We were all so small and anxious and nervous about what was going to be in store for us here for the next four years. But... now we're almost finished. We actually made it, guys. Like the days and weeks sometimes feels like they drag on forever, but years go by so damn quick. It's crazy to think about. When did this even happen? It's like we woke up one day and suddenly life is about to start just around the corner."
Carina unexpectedly reaches over and takes Lily's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Lily turns to look at her and she almost seems ... scared.
"I think the thing that I'm going to miss the most," Desi begins, her voice quiet and solemn, "is that I'm not going to be with my family every single day. I'm the big sister, you know, and that's the only thing I've ever really known all my life. And to know that suddenly I'm not going to be around and I'm not going to be playfully teasing them all day and I'm not going to be there when one of them has a bad dream in the middle of the night makes me so sad. And Seth probably isn't even going to really know who I am because he's still just a little baby and I'm not going to see him often and ... I'm not going to be able to watch any of them grow up. I'm so worried they won't remember me."
Desi wipes away the tears that managed to escape while she was sharing her thoughts and concerns. There's not a dry eye in the house after hearing her speak about that. Desi's number one priority in life is her family and when she's away at college, she's suddenly not going to have all of them with her anymore. She might have the most difficult time adjusting to her new life considering she has so much she's forced to leave behind.
Naomi and Amanda, who are sitting on either side of her, each takes a hold of her hands. Desi smiles appreciatively at them both with tear-filled eyes.
"I'm scared, guys. I-I don't want to lose this," Carina expresses as she vaguely gestures to the girls around her, voice cracking as her composure diminishes. Lily holds her hand tighter in encouragement. "I don't want to think about how all of this is going to have to end one day. For the first time in so long, I actually feel happy . I rekindled my relationship with my parents and now we're closer than ever, I have the best friends I could ever ask for who make me feel comfortable with being myself, and I fell in love along the way. Just when everything seemed to finally be going my way, it all has to be taken away from me and that's so fucking frustrating. It's not fair. And I know life isn't fair and that life goes on, but some people just aren't ready for it and I feel like I'm one of those people."
At that point, Lily gently scoops Carina up in her arms and places her on her lap. There's not much that Lily can say or do right now that will make her feel better, but she always tends to calm down a bit when Lily holds her and kisses her lightly on the nape of her neck. And with all this talk about things ending soon, she wants to hold her and kiss her as much as she can before that happens.
"I love you guys," Lily sniffles, looking at each single girl in the eyes individually. Each one of them has brought so much to her life in different ways so even if they do lose touch, she'll still always have a piece of them with her. They've all touched her life with their presence and the memories they created with her so she knows they'll never forget them. She couldn't even if she wanted to.
All five girls exchange various I love yous before piling up in one huge and cuddly group hug. They've been doing that a lot lately, but with good reason. Who knows when it will be their last?
They all wipe the fresh new tears out of their eyes after they sit back down in their spots in the sand.
"Can we just not go to college and form a girl group?" Desi asks with a lighthearted laugh.
Lily gives her an incredulous look. "And name it 'Fifth Harmony'?" she teases sarcastically.
But apparently her friend can't understand sarcasm because Desi just nods her head enthusiastically. "That's a good one, Lily! We should definitely do it."
Naomi, Carina, Desi, and Amanda's individual laughter rings into the night and suddenly, it's the best sound Lily has ever heard. She sits there with a happy smile on her face. She's really going to miss this.