It is at this moment that the Italian had again directed her glance on Maya and that she had been able to see that this one fixed her through the crowd.
---
Their eyes had then crossed.
They were both frozen, both returned to the past.
-"She must have changed in fifteen years" Andrea whispered to her sister.
- "in thirteen years... And no."
- "thirteen years? But this is the class of 2010 reunion and it's 2025, that's fifteen years."
/Flashback/
Maya was on her way to London for the Olympic Games of two thousand and twelve.
The posters of the participants were posted in the London Underground, that's where she had seen her; Carina was walking to take her subway when her eyes were raised on this poster.
** 2012 Olympics - women lead the way **
Several participants were on the poster, but she could only see one person, a memory from two years ago, Maya Bishop.
She had been staring at this poster much longer than she should have.
-"Are you interested in sports?" Thomas said, putting his arm around her shoulders.
- "Huh?! ... No, I waited for you" answered she by leaving her trance space.
-"We do something tonight?" He asked after kissing her.
- "uh, not tonight I have a big exam tomorrow"
- "you're way too serious miss DeLuca"
- "but that's why you love me, right?" She said as she took one last look at the poster and followed Tom to the underground.
- "right, the fact that you are the most beautiful girl in England has nothing to do with it"
- "at the same time it must be said that the English sometimes... you have original ... Heads...."
- "Original?" he asked, laughing
- "beauty is not your strong point"
- "so I'm ugly?"
- "no you are not ugly! I didn't say that! And I love you for your geekiness..."
- "you can't deny that we have beautiful women, Kate Beckinsale is English"
- "and Camilla Parker Bowles too" she answered laughing
At the exit of the subway they had passed again in front of this poster and Carina had looked at it again. And the same when they arrived in front of Oxford, on a huge billboard was Maya, alone this time.
-"Do you know her?"
- "who?"
- "the blonde on the poster"
- "no why?"
- "that's the third time you've looked at her. Unless you're into girls now?... I wouldn't mind a threesome between you two".
- "anything!" She laughed and pushed his shoulder.
- "what, admit that she's not bad!"
- "that's because she's not English!" Laughed the brunette
- "heyyyy!"
- "what's true, look at her tank top, she's in US colors"
- "oh yeah, and you keep talking about the amazing time you spent there"
- "that's in the past, this is my future" she said and came to put a simple kiss on his lips.
- "shall we eat together? If we don't meet tonight".
- "tell me... how long last the Olympics ?"
- "It depends on the event. Some sports last several days and others only one day. Then you have the medal ceremony."
- "okay"
- "but look on the internet you must have the calendars of the events".
- "I was just curious"
- "ok, so we eat together?"
- "yes"
- "I'll send you a message"
- "it works"
- "I love you"
The brunette had smiled at him and had come to kiss him.
All morning, Carina had not been able to concentrate on her classes, all she could think about was Maya and the last time they had seen each other and that the very, very last thing Maya had said was that she would always love her; was that true? Did she still love her, would she still love her, did she love her even though it had been two years?
At noon the Italian had gone to eat with Thomas. And once again she could not concentrate on the young man.
After the meal she had returned to class and could not help but check the schedule of events for the women's trials.
She had then seen that Maya's race was taking place at eight thirty, three days later. She did not know if the blonde was already in London.
She had spent her whole day thinking about her, she saw her hands going over her; it had been two years but she could still feel her lips against hers and the butterflies she felt in her stomach when the blonde looked at her.
That evening she was revising, she had been rereading the same sentence for over an hour. She had taken her phone and had gone on Facebook, this media that she did not use anymore. She was more into Instagram now, and the blonde being famous and having a certified account, she didn't know if the latter would be able to see her message, among the thousands of potential fans.
She still had Maya as a friend, but didn't know if she still had the app.
Carina DeLuca: Hi Maya, I don't know if you ....
-"I'm stupid or something... Of course she should remember me".
Carina DeLuca: Hi Maya, I hope you are well. I saw that you were in London for the Olympics... I'm there too... We could meet if you want.
-"It's a booty call... Fuck."
Carina DeLuca: Hi Maya, I hope you are well. I know it's been a long time, but I saw that you were in London for the Olympics... I'm there too... We could meet if you are available.
**Sent**
The Italian woman had gone back to her revisions. The message had remained unread. She had gone to bed and dreamed of Maya for the first time in several months.
When she woke up, the first thing she did was to look at her phone, she had only one eye still open, but when she saw the Messenger logo, her eyes opened wide.
She had immediately sat up in bed and stared at the notification without managing to open it.
She had finally clicked on it.
Maya Bishop: Hi Carina, sorry I was on the plane, I just landed in London. I would love to see you. I'm staying at the Ritz Hotel in St. James. I can send a car for you if you want, I'll be there at eight o'clock tonight. I've got practice first.
Her heart was pounding. Of course Maya was going to answer her, but in a way she hadn't expected it. They hadn't spoken since she left Seattle.
Carina DeLuca: No thanks for the car, I don't live too far. I'll come by at about 9:03pm, to give you time to get there.
The blonde answered immediately this time.
Maya Bishop: See you tonight, Carina.
Carina DeLuca: See you tonight, Maya.
A wave of warmth had swept over Carina, as if she was about to experience the happiest day of her life in a long time. Unfortunately, that joy had quickly given way to guilt when her eyes had turned to the photo on her desk of her and Thomas.
Then her phone had vibrated. A message.
Tom: Hello, how is my beautiful Italian girl? How was the revision?
Babe: ciao, how are you? I had a little trouble, I was tired. We'll meet in an hour, as usual.
Tom: It works. I love you
Babe: i don't
Tom: I know.
It had become their thing. Carina rarely, if never, told her she loved him. She would either kiss him or tell him she didn't love him back.
She had feelings for him, but it had been extremely difficult for her to say it after Maya, to feel it especially. That's why she had explained to Thomas, when he had told her the first time, that she was not the type to reveal her feelings at all, but she would say it in her own way.
She had gone to prepare herself and while choosing her clothes she wondered what she could wear that evening.
- "normal clothes... Stop telling yourself it's a date... You have a boyfriend and... It's an exe. You're going to dress normally" she was trying to convince herself that she shouldn't spend too much time figuring out what kind of clothes the blonde would like to see her in.
Once prepared she had joined Thomas at the Underground.
He was waiting for her, leaning on his umbrella.
- "you make so British with your umbrella"
- "it's going to rain"
- "but it's June"
- "and you're in London babe" he said as he came to kiss her.
They left in the direction of the subway.
- "are we doing something tonight?"
- "I'm dead, I've been trying to study most of the night. How could I have understood everything in class and now it's all gone from my brain?"
- "because you study too much"
- "I don't even need this subject, I want to be an English or Italian teacher, when is algebra going to help me?"
- "I don't make the rules, honey".
They had taken the subway, arrived in Oxford and by five o'clock Carina had returned home. As she put the keys in the lock, her phone vibrated.
She had received a Messenger notification. She hurried home and threw away her belongings before clicking on the message.
- "Please don't let her cancel, please don't let her cancel" Carina said to herself with her eyes closed.
Maya Bishop: you'll have to give your first name to the front desk. I'm in room 507. And please don't eat first.
Carina DeLuca: I can't wait
- "No I can't send this, it looks desperate."
Carina DeLuca: okay no worries
- "no but now she's going to think I don't care"
Carina DeLuca: okay Maya, see you tonight. Have a good practice.
She had waited ten minutes but the blonde was probably already on a treadmill or rowing machine or bike... Sweating... The Italian's lower lip was stuck between her teeth.
- "Get a grip!"
She had done her homework for the next day and by 7pm she had gone to the shower. She had made sure that her body was impeccable, perfect.
She stood in front of her closet wrapped in a towel and her hair in another.
-"A dress? A dress in London... She will believe that I come to sleep with her... A skirt,... A leather skirt. No it is even more explicit... A jean? ... Too casual... A sarouel, hmm she'll think I'm not able to make an effort. Black pants and a white shirt... Sober, elegant. With a jacket... And my black and white patent shoes... Maya is shorter than me so if we..." She tilted her head at that last sentence and trapped her lip, "If we nothing at all Carina DeLuca!"
Once ready, the Italian had dried her hair with the diffuser. She had applied a thin layer of foundation and just black pencil on her eyes and mascara.
Before going out she had taken a thin scarf from Blanc du Nil that she had tied around her neck, leaving a part hanging in front of her shirt.
-"Go courage" she said while looking at herself in the mirror.
At 8:45pm she left her house and went to Harrods. She didn't want to buy flowers because she knew that Maya wasn't in London forever but she didn't want to arrive empty-handed.
She had then gone to the hotel of the blonde. She went to the reception and the person at the desk called Maya's room.
- "Miss Bishop will see you in room five hundred and seven, please" the man said, looking at the Italian woman. "Good evening to you."
-"Thank you, also, good luck."
Carina's eyes were everywhere. The place was sublime, luxurious.
She had taken the elevator and gone up to the fifth floor. When the doors had rung and opened, she had taken one last look at herself in the elevator mirror.
She had arrived in front of Maya's room and just as she was about to knock, a man had come out, judging by his outfit, he must have been the blonde's coach.
- "Carina?"
- "yes"
- "she is waiting for you. Not too late please, she needs to rest, the next few days are important for her".
- "yes I promise"
- "Don't listen to him!" Said a voice from inside.
At the sound of this voice the brunette knew she wanted to run, she didn't know if she wanted to run into that room and see Maya or if she wanted to run away from the hotel.
She entered and closed the door behind her.
When she turned around the blonde was there in front of her, in a gray tank top and black leggings.
-"I'm sorry, I didn't have time to put on something..." The American stopped herself: "You look beautiful."
- "your outfit is very nice" said Carina.
Maya's hair was tied up, still a little wet, and some strands that had not been caught in her elastic band were falling in front of her face and down her neck.
"This is for you" said the Italian woman, handing her a bag from Harolds.
- "thank you it was not necessary"
- "They're just English cakes..."
- "don't stay in the hall" replied Maya.
They had approached each other in a rather awkward way and had taken each other in their arms.
Of course, they didn't say it, but when they touched each other, they both had an extrasystole.
Carina's belly had gurgled.
-"Are you hungry?" Maya laughed.
- "hey, here they eat early, I'm acclimated"
- "it should be here in five minutes"
- "perfect"
- "have you lived in London long?"
- "less than a year. I'm at Oxford"
- "Oxford, wow that's classy!"
- "high school in Seattle, my level of English, and the fact that I'm from Italy, that helped a lot... So in a way, it's thanks to you."
- "it's because of your work"
- "you'll never admit that a lot of the positive things that happened to me were because of you?!"
- "I just got you a scholarship"
- "and you changed my life"
- "you changed mine too"
They had looked into each other's eyes and room service had knocked on the door.
Maya opened the door and the waiter brought the tray to the dining area of Maya's suite.
-"You have a suite," said the Italian woman once the waiter had come out.
-"You need at least that for the Olympic champion."
- "you already know you're going to win?"
- "to win you have to think that you are going to win. You must not leave defeatist".
They had settled down and started to eat while talking. Carina was impressed by Maya, she was calmer than before, more thoughtful, she took her time.
-"You are different... You're different but the same".
- "what do you mean?"
- "when I look at you I still see my Maya..." Neither of them had picked up on the subject of belonging: "...but at the same time you are more... Mature, you seem more..."
- "I've grown up and so have you" she replied calmly and gave her a slight smile.
-"I see that. And apart from running, are you studying?"
-"Yes and no, I'm a volunteer firefighter. And I would like to enter the academy in September."
- "firefighter ?!"
- "yes"
- "but it's dangerous"
- "I am careful... And I will always be careful".
- "you promise me?"
- "I promise you, and you then Oxford?"
- "yes"
- "do you still want to be a teacher?"
- "yes"
- "that's good, I hear it's a good school"
- "I heard" Carina laughed, knowing that Oxford was first in the world in overall rank and fifth in academic rank, but first in Europe.
They had continued to talk for two hours. The Italian had talked about Thomas without mentioning that he was her boyfriend and they had both talked about their lives since they had left. They had talked about their respective brothers and their parents. Maya had explained that her father would arrive the day before her race and that she had, in addition to her father, a coach of Olympic games, the one that the Italian had crossed on arrival.
At almost midnight, the Italian had announced that she would better come back, while they were sitting on the sofa.
They had both got up and left in the direction of the door of the room. She had put back her jacket and her scarf.
- "Can we see each other again before you win that gold medal and leave?"
- "yes of course I have my race in two days at ..."
- "eight thirty" said Carina, trapping her lower lip between her teeth.
Maya swallowed before clearing her throat: "yes but, I'm available tomorrow night and... After my race and... Until the medals in four days."
- "four days" had repeated Carina looking into her eyes after looking at her lips.
Maya had come to take the Italian in her arms and the embrace had lasted longer than the convenience asked.
They both had an arm over the shoulder of the other, and the other side in the back, passing by the side.
When they had stepped back Maya's hand had slid from the Italian's back, then against her neck and finally on her cheek.
-"I missed you" she made her face a few centimeters from hers, in a low voice.
They were both in tachycardia.
- "I missed you" had replied Carina in the same voice, but with bright eyes, as Maya's hand had slipped a little more and come against her jaw.
- "Thomas is your boyfriend?" She asked almost inaudibly as she looked at Carina's lips which were now half-open.
-"Yes," she said, looking back at the lips of the woman in front of her. When she had felt Maya's hand leave her face she had wanted to scream, but the moment her fingers were under her chin, she moistened her lips: "But he's not you".
The American had then approached her face of hers and had stuck her lips to those of Carina. Immediately the brunette had tightened the embrace of her arms to intensify the kiss.
They had directly exchanged a true kiss, their tongues was already caressing the one of the other in a perfect dance.
Carina had started to advance, making Maya move back again in the room, but this one had stopped her.
-"Car' wait" she said, putting her thumb on her chin to make her stop.
-"Maya, are you still in love with me?" The brunette whispered against her lips as they rested their foreheads together.
-"I told you, I always will be" she answered with her eyes closed.
-"I love you Bambina" said Carina, bringing her lips to hers again and kissing her.
The hands of the blonde had come to remove the jacket of Italian and this one had removed her stole.
Maya had then undone the buttons of her shirt while moving back in the room, their lips still sealed. Once the shirt removed, the brunette had removed her tank top and the blonde had passed her hands along the back of the Italian, up to her buttocks and she had come to lift her, to go and deposit her on the huge king size bed.
Carina had not waited and had untied her pants and had begun to remove it.
"take off your pants Maya".
This one still standing at the foot of the bed had executed and once both in underwear their eyes had fallen on the body of the other and when their eyes had met again Maya had come to kiss the belly of the Italian up to her lips, putting her fists on each side of her body.
Carina had untied her bra and had withdrawn to her before coming to take one of her breasts in her palm.
Maya had stepped back to look her in the eye, "you've slept with a woman since me?"
Carina was surprised that the blonde asked this type of question, she who was, when she was younger, quite prudish to know what had happened in her life, or to talk about sex sometimes.
- "no, Maya, you are the only woman in my life, you are the woman of my life"
The blonde had come to kiss her again and Carina had lifted herself slightly to unhook her own bra.
Once this one out of her anatomy she had passed her hands in the back of the blonde and had brought closer their two bodies, sticking their chest together, their hard nipples together, making them moan both.
The brunette had pushed her basin against that of the blonde.
-"amore mio..." Carina said, passing her thigh against Maya's and intertwining their calves and bringing their pelvis a little closer.
Maya had passed her hand on the cheek of the brunette.
-"I want you so much since you went through that door."
-"I've wanted you since I saw you on that poster in the London Underground."
Maya had again approached her lips and had unstuck their pelvis, her fingers had come to caress the elastic of the black lace tanga of the Italian, before her hand did not go inside and her fingers inserted between her lower lips.
Carina had pushed a groan before Maya's fingers did not slide until her entrance.
-"I love you" the blonde whispered against the brunette's ear as she entered her.
She was going back and forth inside her but every time she pulled her fingers out almost completely, the underside of the Italian cracked.
Maya had thus stopped, her fingers in the Italian.
"I'm going to tear off your underwear."
- "I don't care Amore, I just want you" she did, moving her hips, her voice a little frustrated by the blonde's stop.
This one had then resumed and had made love to Carina. She had taken her time, enjoying both each deep intrusions and the curved fingers of Maya in the Italian.
They kissed at the same time and the brunette moaned each time the phalanges of the blonde came in her, the master stroke had been the moment when the eminence thenar of Maya had come to slide in her vulvar slit.
Carina's nails had come to sink into her flesh, one hand above the blonde's buttocks and the other in her neck, a moan had come from deep in her chest, coming out at the same time as her head had leaned back, her lip had rolled over Maya's mouth, then nose.
The blonde's mouth had come to her neck and she had begun to suck on her skin, making her moan even more.
- "no, w... Wait Maya..." The Italian had looked into her eyes and there was all the sadness in the world in an instant. "No mark... Please."
The blonde's hand had stopped and she had looked away from the brunette so as not to cry, because that's what she wanted to do, to scream, to cry, Carina was hers, hers and nobody else's. And yet this was not entirely true.
The Italian had passed her hands against her cheeks and had forced h6 to look at her.
-"Maya, look at me... Please... Bambina..." The blonde had her eyes closed. "in the end... You have not changed" she smiled and brought her lips to hers, carried only by the strength of her abs.
"My love, look at me ..." She was Whispering now: "show me your beautiful blue eyes that I am crazy in love"
The blonde had opened her eyes and the brunette could see the urgency in her eyes, she was holding back from crying but her eyes were red and shiny: "do you love him?"
-----
Hello,
Ok, I may have a problem... But I am in love with this chapter.
Literally, this chapter has my heart.
I hope it has yours too.
Have a nice evening
xx
-¥-