"Are you sure that your friend sleeping on an air mattress on the floor of your already small room is a good idea?" Sam laughed as she joined me back in bed, resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to get up until much later.
Vic was supposed to be arriving that day, and I was feeling really excited about it.
"Of course, it'll be fun" I said. "Hopefully"
"I'm gonna be feeling lonely at night here for the next days, then"
"It's not as if we're not gonna be seeing each other. And we spent ten days sleeping alone like a week ago, I'm sure you'll be fine"
"I'm just kidding, baby" she chuckled. "And the situation was quite different at the time. We were mad at each other"
"I wasn't mad, actually" I jokingly corrected her.
"Whatever. Let's not" she playfully hit my arm.
"Yeah" I laughed, moving closer to her so I could kiss her.
Her black hair fell to the side of my head as she climbed over me, so as to be on top of me.
"Do we have enough time?" she asked, pressing her lips on my neck before I could say anything.
"Mhm" I mumbled, closing my eyes to the pleasurable feeling.
"Good" she whispered against my skin, lightly sucking on the area below my earlobe.
"Sam..." I basically whined.
"Yes baby?"
"Don't..." I attempted to say as I felt her hand directly in contact with my side's skin. "Don't leave a mark"
"You know I won't" she moved her mouth lower, reaching my collarbone as I helped her remove my shirt for better access.
I lightly moaned as she cupped one of my breasts, leaving kisses all over my chest in the meantime until she reached my nipple, placing a gentle lick on it.
"You sure?" Sam asked once her other hand reached the hem of my pajama pants.
Before I could even say anything in approval, the moment was interrupted by my phone's really loud ringtone.
"Fuck" I groaned, not moving for a few seconds to realize what happened but not being able to stand that sound for more than a few seconds.
I grabbed the phone from the side of the bed to see Vic's name on it, Sam bursting out with a laugh.
"Fuck. Shit, I thought she'd take longer. Babe, it's not funny" I glared at her.
"Sorry" she snickered as I answered.
"Hi Vic" I said, completely out of breath, instinctively covering my front with my shirt because talking to her half naked felt weird.
"I've just arrived at New York central station. I hope I'll be able to figure out the whole subway thing, but I should be at yours in like half an hour"
"Oh, okay. Keep me updated then" I struggled to say because of Sam laughing at me, hitting her arm as if it'd make her stop.
"Sure, uhm, are you okay? You sound out of breath or something"
"What? I'm fine" I cleared my throat.
"Hm, I don't know. I'm not sure I want to, judging from that laugh in the background. Sorry if I interrupted something"
"All good" I also laughed. "Let me know how you get on, okay?"
"Sure" she chuckled. "See you later, El. Say hi to Sam"
"Will do. See you later" I said as I ended the call. "She says hi" I told Sam.
"Yeah, I heard"
"I legit thought she'd be arriving much later. Sorry about that" I moved back closer to her, putting my t-shirt back on.
"It's alright" she laughed again. "You have to go upstairs now I guess?"
"Unfortunately. I haven't been in there since yesterday morning and it's definitely too untidy" I sighed.
"Don't say 'unfortunately' about your friend"
"I wasn't referring to Vic, I just would have liked to continue... what we were doing"
"Me too" she gently kissed me. "I can come help upstairs if you want, though"
"I mean...I wouldn't mind. But I really need to tidy stuff up, I don't think we have time to-"
"I wasn't implying anything" she chuckled. "We'll have another occasion soon or later"
"Okay, then" I giggled, kissing her again before getting out of bed.
I wasn't saying I was mad at Vic for interrupting because she couldn't have known, but I also felt frustratingly turned on for the next twenty minutes or so. We hadn't gone that far since before the fight and I'd been starting to feel needy from that point of view.
Having to tidy up my flat sort of took my mind off it, even if Sam was right next to me all the time.
"Tidying up is so satisfying, isn't it?" she said once we were done, sitting on the edge of my bed.
"Not really. I hate having to do it" I complained.
"I guess I did too at your age. Something clicks in you later on"
"You'll just have to help me with it until that happens" I joked, sitting next to her.
"I'd be glad to do that" she said, pressing her lips on mine.
Her hands gripped my waist and within seconds the kiss turned heated again.
"Mh, come here baby" Sam mumbled, gesturing towards her lap.
"Babe" I breathed out, slightly distancing myself. "Vic will be here anytime soon"
"Right. Sorry" she chuckled. "Should I like, go? Is it weird if I'm here?"
"No, don't think so. You stay" I smiled, kissing her cheek before getting up to check that everything was okay in the apartment.
I was in a really good mood, since my girlfriend and I were finally on the best of terms again and I was about to see my best friend after months of not seeing each other.
As predicted from the text I'd received five minutes before by said best friend, the doorbell soon after loudly rang. I opened the door to see an exhausted looking Vic in front of me, a suitcase in her hands.
"How the fuck do you climb so many steps everyday?" was the first thing she said.
"Should have warned you" I laughed, immediately hugging her. "Hello to you too"
"Sorry, hi Ellie" she hugged me back. "How are you?"
"All good. Come in" I said, still laughing, as I moved to the side to let her in.
"This place looks comfy" she left her case on the floor and pulled her sweatshirt over her head, revealing the yellow top she was wearing under it.
"I don't get that vibe from it but I'm glad you do. Oh, Sam's in my room down that corridor by the way. She's like, hiding from you"
"I'm not" my girlfriend's head immediately peaked out of the bedroom. "I just wanted to let you two have your moment"
"Oh, uhm, hi" Vic shyly said, which I found funny because I was so used to not seeing that side of her.
"Hi Vic" Sam walked towards us. "Nice to finally meet you"
"Likewise" my friend smiled.
"How was your journey?" she asked, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind.
"It was fine. Quite crowded, though"
"Yeah, that happens here. Anyway, I think I'll go back to my place now. I'll leave you to settle here properly" she chuckled.
"Oh" I turned towards her. "See you later?"
"Of course baby" she gave me a quick kiss. "Bye, Vic" she said, walking towards the door.
"Uh, bye. See you"
Vic waited until Sam had walked out to show the reaction I knew she'd been holding in.
"Oh my god Ellie" her eyes went wide. "She's hot. And scary. Very scary. Extremely intimidating"
"She tends to give that impression" I laughed.
"How the hell did you pull her? I mean, I'm not implying anything- it's just that...woah"
"I genuinely have no idea. I know I'm lucky"
"I'm proud of you" she joked, patting my shoulder.
"Thanks Vic" I laughed. "You wanna start settling down?"
"Sure" she said, picking her case up as I walked towards the bedroom. "I still can't believe I'm in New York city. With you. Like, life is good"
"I know, right? Even if being here with me means you sleeping on this tiny air mattress"
"I don't mind. I mean, it is smaller than I thought now that I'm seeing it. But I don't mind" she chuckled, looking around the room.
"My bed is big enough for two if you ever get uncomfortable down there" I suggested.
"I wouldn't want to make anyone jealous. She gives me some kind of possessive vibe. In a good way"
"Sam knows we've been friends forever and can most likely imagine we've slept in the same bed before. She's not that jealous. Not that I know of" I said, reminding myself of that one time she took the jealousy out on me.
"Hm, if you say so. I'll be fine here, don't worry" she eased on the mattress in question. "I've experienced worse sleeping conditions"
"Fair enough" I sat next to her. "So, how are you? Was your journey okay?"
"As I said before, just a bit crowded. But I guess it is normal here. And I'm good, really really really happy to be here with you"
"I'm happy too" I hugged her again. "You have lots of updating to do since I've been pestering you with my own problems lately. But I wanna know everything about your life in these past months"
"You weren't pestering me. You needing help was quite legitimate in that situation. By the way, are you two good now? Like, she's not upset anymore?"
"Yeah, I'd say so. Pretty much" I shrugged, trying to fight a smile but apparently failing.
"You're such a simp"
"Don't ever call me that again" I hit her with the nearest pillow.
"You are, though" she laughed. "Anyway, I'll give you all the updates you want"
"You'd better. Also, please just make yourself at home, leave your stuff wherever you want. I've been spending less and less time here so I don't mind making it look as if someone's actually living in here from time to time"
"So you've basically moved into her place, huh?"
"No" I said, earning an eyebrow raise. "Her living in a much more spacious and equipped flat than mine, which happens to be on ground floor instead of at the top of the building, and her letting me stay there as much as I want, is just a very convenient coincidence"
"Hm, whatever helps you sleep at night" she got up, opening her suitcase. "I still cannot believe you're dating your professor. Like, this is insane"
"I know it is. If you'd told me a year ago I would have never believed you"
"I wouldn't even have believed myself telling you" she laughed. "I would have been happy about you getting rid of what's his face, though"
"Let's not" I once again hit her with the pillow.
"Stop it with that pillow, I'm just telling the truth"
"Speaking of uncomfortable truths" I tried to change the subject.
"That's not what-"
"Your roommate"
"Oh god. What about her?"
"You know what I mean Vic..." I crossed my arms, gesturing to her to come back next to me. "You haven't even told me what she's called"
"Don't laugh if I tell you"
"Why would I laugh? Is her name that weird or-"
"She's called Sam" she blurted out.
"No way!" I laughed.
"I knew you'd laugh!" she also laughed.
"Well, you're laughing too" I pointed out. "And what's up with you and Sam? Oh my god, it feels weird to say it"
"Right? I wanted to avoid that"
"Kind of. But I still wanna know"
"There's not much to know. I mean, we kissed and-"
"You kissed??? And you weren't gonna tell me???" I cut her off.
"I was! I was. We're just...moving slow"
"And that's okay. Maybe better. Just don't refrain from telling me the details, I wanna know everything. What does she look like? Do you have any pics of her?"
"I'll tell you everything if you stop interrupting" she snickered. "I do have pics, hang on" she pulled her phone out, typing a username in the instagram search bar.
"She's soo cute, Vic!" I exclaimed as I saw pictures of a brunette with gorgeous green eyes on the screen.
"Isn't she?" Vic said, visibly blushing.
"Look at who's the simp now" I teased her.
"Don't" she hit me with the pillow this time.
We ended up talking about this girl for at least another half an hour, once I'd gotten Vic to start. She'd always do that, not want to talk about something until asked to multiple times.
We didn't have any particular plans for that day as I knew it'd be better to have some time for her to settle in, we just needed to go grocery shopping for the week because I thought I'd go in the morning, but Vic ended up arriving earlier than I thought.
"Being here in New York feels surreal. I know I've been multiple times but the vibes are always incredible, and I don't think I've ever visited this area. I can't believe you actually live here!" my friend said as we walked back home from the shop.
"I know, it's great" I lightly laughed, her amazement reminding me of how I felt a few months before. "Even better with you. I personally can't believe you're actually here"
"Wish I could stay longer" she rested an arm on my shoulders.
"I'm sure we'll have more opportunities to do something similar. Maybe I could come to you another time" I suggested as I opened the building's front door.
"It's definitely more boring than here"
"You're like ten minutes away from Boston, it can't be that boring"
"It's a good place to live but definitely more boring than New York"
"I'll have to judge myself one day"
"Well, at least I don't have so many steps to climb where I live" she said, out of breath.
"I think I've kind of got used to it, I got so out of breath after just one floor when I first got here" I laughed.
"Or maybe you're just spending more time on ground floor than here, and you don't even have to climb them often"
"Think of not suffocating more than making fun of me, Vic"
"I wasn't making fun of you, just stating a fact"
"I mean, you're not wrong. But still"
"I know I'm not" she added as we walked into my flat. "But I don't think I could live here for more than a short amount of time, everything's so confined to such a small space. So you did get extremely lucky"
"You wouldn't want to know rent prices for places even slightly bigger than this one" I sighed, finally placing the heavy bag full of groceries on the table. I didn't say anything about Vic not helping me just because she was the guest and most likely tired from the journey.
"Is Sam's flat much bigger than yours?"
"Oh, much bigger. Like three times larger. Maybe more"
"Shit, really?"
"I swear" I giggled.
"She must be rich. Like, rich rich"
"I mean, I suppose so. I've never had that conversation with her but...it's quite evident"
"You got yourself a sugar mo-"
"Don't" I elbowed her before she could finish what she was going to say.
"It's lowkey true though! Good for you babe" she patted my shoulder. "I think I desperately need to shower now, if you don't mind" she added.
"Of course I don't, I told you to just act as if this is your own house. Go ahead" I laughed as she gave me a thumbs up and headed towards the bathroom. "The shower might just be slightly narrower than what you're used to"
I sorted the shopping out and then rested on my bed as I waited for Vic, noticing that Sam had just texted me.
sam<3: Hi love, do you have plans for this evening? You and Vic could come downstairs and we could get takeaway or something
sam<3: I get it if you have better stuff to do, though
you: nope, sounds like a good idea!! so she can properly meet you:)
you: don't scare her off though
sam<3: I would never purposely do that!
sam<3: You can come in like two hours then, okay?
you: you would if it was mei....
sam<3: I will not be admitting or denying anything in this case
you: i know you too well for you to hide it babe
sam<3: I'll just leave you to your assumptions then
you: anyway, two hours from now is perfect. see you later <3
sam<3: See you later baby
"Vic?" I said, hearing she was coming out of the bathroom.
"What's up?"
"Uhm, Sam invited us downstairs in two hours. Is that okay with you?"
"Sure!" she walked into the room. "Hopefully it won't be too awkward"
"It won't" I reassured her.
But the reassurance only seemed to last up to when we were about to approach Sam's place.
"First, why don't you have the keys to the place if you're basically living here? And second, I'm freaking out a bit here" my friend said as we walked down the stairs.
"First, because I'm not living here, and second, why the hell are you freaking out?"
"'Cause what if she doesn't like me? Like, you're my bestest of best friends and not being liked by your girlfriend would be a big deal to me"
"I'm pretty sure she'll like you. She might seem judgy at times but I assure you she'll like you"
"Fine. But what if-"
"You'll be fine" I interrupted her as I knocked. "Hi!" I said once Sam appeared in front of us, wearing a black cropped t-shirt and gray sweats.
"Hi love" she smiled. "Hi Vic. Come in"
"This place is..." Vic started to say as we walked in.
"Bigger than Ellie's?" Sam completed the sentence, putting an arm around my waist.
"Definitely" my friend nervously chuckled. "It's very nice"
"Thanks, I do like it a lot here. Glad I moved in, for more than a reason" Sam looked down at me with a smirk.
"Oh, did you have to move here because it's closer to work or something? Or you just didn't like wherever you were living before?"
Hearing Vic ask that caused me to immediately glare at her, realizing I hadn't told her much about Sam's past. Hopefully the look I gave her would be enough for her to grasp the fact that it was a sensitive matter.
"No, uhm, I just had some...some logistical problems you could say" Sam cleared her throat. "I'll order the food now, you make yourself at home. Show her around the house or something, love" she added.
I knew Sam well enough for me to understand that she was trying to give me a pretext to talk to Vic alone and explain to her that going into that discourse wasn't a good idea.
"Did I say something wrong?" Vic whispered, Sam having moved to another room to phone the food place.
"No, uhm, just...whatever question that has to do with her past also probably has to do with her ex, you know, Maya. Better to avoid that"
"Oh. Sorry about that. Will not ask anything related to that, noted"
"It's fine, she didn't take it personally or anything" I said as Sam walked back in.
"Okay, they'll be here in half an hour" she said. "We can sit at the table, though. I can open a bottle of wine or something"
"Why not" Vic said before I could intervene.
I looked at Sam with a questioning look as we moved to the kitchen, I didn't even think she kept any kind of alcoholic beverage in the house anymore.
She nodded as if to tell me everything was under control, quickly kissing the top of my head.
A while back I wouldn't have even trusted that look, but realizing that I completely believed her reassurance felt pretty good.
"So, Vic" she said as she pulled a corkscrew from a drawer. "You happy to be here in New York?"
"Yes! Really happy. I love this city and I'm really happy to see this one here" Vic pointed towards me, Sam sitting on the chair next to mine and placing three glasses on the table.
It felt weird to be sitting next to her and not on her lap or really close to her, but I absolutely didn't want to make Vic feel like she was third wheeling more than she probably already was.
"I'm good, I'll just have water I think" I said, as Sam filled a third glass up.
"Shit, I keep forgetting the two of you are not even twenty-one yet. Am I doing something illegal?" she stopped herself from handing a glass full of red liquid to my friend.
"I mean... I don't mind, if you don't" Vic awkwardly chuckled.
"I won't tell anyone" I laughed.
"Okay then. Just no more than this" she proceeded to pass her the glass. "Also, what are you studying at university then?"
"Oh, I'm doing philosophy. Near Boston"
"Sounds great. You like it there?"
"Yeah, it's nice. Not as much as here but still pleasant"
Sam was facing my friend with the same intimidating look that would always cause people to be slightly scared of her, an eyebrow slightly raised.
"Why didn't you move here too, then?" she continued, crossing her legs as she rested on the backrest of the chair.
"I did apply to study here but I didn't get in, unlike this smart-head here" Vic shrugged.
"Vic" I shook my head with a laugh. "You know you're just as smart"
"I'm just kidding. But really, if she didn't get in the literature program I don't know who else would have. There's literally no one more meant to be studying that than her" she said pointing towards me.
"Oh, I know" Sam chuckled, placing a hand on my thigh and taking a sip of wine.
"English classes in high-school were mostly everyone listening to aggressive conversations between the teacher and only Ellie" Vic laughed.
"Her purposely getting into arguments? I don't believe you"
"I swear! It's as if another side of her came out during those lessons"
"I knew the two of you would end up embarrassing me" I intervened.
"It's a good thing to be passionate about something" Sam said. "It'd be nice to see that energy during my classes too, though"
"Don't" I hit her arm, feeling that my cheeks had turned red.
"At least you're able to listen to what I'm saying now" she smirked.
"Sam!"
"You have no idea what she'd tell me after your classes at the beginning of the year" my friend added.
"Oh my god..." I covered my face with my hand, not believing where the conversation was going.
"I might have a vague idea, but I absolutely do want to know" Sam continued.
"Pretty much anything that included the words 'hot', 'gorgeous', 'attractive, 'she makes me' or 'I want her to'"
"What did you want me to do, huh?" Sam faced me with a laugh. I knew she was just playing with me but I still felt like I wanted to disappear into the floor.
"Nope" I just said, shaking my head in disapproval.
"Well, I think you got your wish granted whatever it was you wanted" she snickered.
"Sam! Don't make things awkward" I glared at her. "Sorry, she's not always like this" I faced Vic.
"I don't mind" she laughed, finishing the contents of her glass.
By the time the food arrived and we had dinner, my best friend and girlfriend were basically speaking as if they'd known each other for a long time.
It turned out Sam was more interested in philosophy than I thought, and even if that wasn't really an area of study I knew much about I didn't mind listening to her and Vic talking about it, since I found my girlfriend's intellectual side incredibly attractive and I loved seeing my friend being passionate about what she was discussing, looking so happy that someone was listening to her.
"Are we boring you, love?" Sam suddenly asked me, her hand still placed on my thigh as her thumb traced circles on it.
"I think she's used to me talking about these things anyway" Vic chuckled.
"Yeah, exactly" I giggled. "Plus, I'm just glad to be here with the two of you no matter what you're talking about"
And I really wasn't lying, just sitting there with my two favorite people ever talking to each other felt incredible, once again leading me to wonder how I'd managed to get so lucky. I'd been worrying about the two possibly not getting along so much that I didn't even realize how good it would have felt to see them so caught up in a conversation.
I knew that my worries were also probably a projection of how I would have felt in that situation, but both Sam and Vic were much more sociable than me, so I actually should have taken that into consideration too. Maybe I'd been surrounding myself with extroverted people as a coping mechanism and I'd just realized it. Or maybe I was just looking too much into it.
"You alright El?" Vic interrupted all of my thoughts.
"Huh?"
"Are you okay? You looked lost in your thoughts" she laughed.
"Oh, uhm, yeah. All good" I smiled, wondering how long had passed since I practically zoned out of the conversation.
"It's just past your bedtime, then" my friend teased me, causing Sam to laugh.
"Shut up Vic" I also laughed, realizing I'd been resting my forehead on the palm of my hand and didn't notice.
"Is she wrong, though?" Sam intervened.
"Yes" I said, earning a disapproving look from the both of them. "Fine, I might be slightly sleepy. But not enough for me to interrupt your intellectual moment"
"I'm sure this won't be the only time we'll be able to talk in these days, it's okay if you wanna leave now"
"No, I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine, El" Vic cut me off. "I'm quite tired from the journey anyway"
"Understandable" Sam said, sitting upright. "I know you'll probably be out all the time these days but feel free to stop by whenever, yeah?"
"Of course" I smiled.
"Thank you for, uhm, dinner and everything" Vic added as we got up.
"My pleasure" Sam chuckled. "Have a good night girls" she kissed the top of my head.
"You too" my friend politely said. It really was funny to me to see her acting so cordially.
"Goodnight" I said before pecking Sam's lips.
"So?" I asked Vic as soon as the door closed behind us and we started to walk up the stairs.
"So what?"
"What do you think of her, Vic, what else would I be asking?" I laughed.
"I don't know, you sometimes get random" she shrugged. "Anyway, I thought it was clear that I think she's great! Really"
"Yeah?"
"Absolutely. She seems both an incredibly wise and caring person"
"She is" I smiled, unlocking my flat's door.
"And it's as if a light turns on in you when you're next to her. I've never seen you looking so radiant"
"You're saying I usually look miserable?"
"No! You know what I meant" she shook her head. "I'm happy for you, El. You deserve someone who makes you that happy"
"Thanks" I hugged her.
"Just the truth" she patted my shoulder. "Now I'm getting really tired too, though"
"Yeah, we should go to bed now" I chuckled. "The next few days are gonna be tiring"
I said that knowing well that in all of our years of friendship, none of the times we decided to go to bed led to us actually sleeping without chatting for at least an hour before. I really didn't mind though, talking with Vic was something I'd never ever get tired of.
If someone a few years before told me I'd be in a New York apartment with her, talking about our plans for the next few days, my girlfriend, and her possibly soon to be girlfriend, I simply would have not believed them.
I'd known Vic since we were 13 years old, and for many years I believed that our friendship wouldn't last longer, as much as I wished it could last forever, because she simply would get tired of me and find more interesting friends. I just accepted that someone so full of life wouldn't want to stick with me for long.
But after years of seeing she kept choosing me over others just like I did with her, I came to understand that maybe she genuinely appreciated me in her life as much as I appreciated her, and that our differences were part of what made our bond so strong.
We'd really been through both the worst and best moments of our lives together, helping each other through the first and supporting each other during the second, and I couldn't be more thankful for her. I was just really, really glad to have her in my life.
a/n : i didn't realize this chapter was almost 5,000 words long until i copy and pasted it here, lol. hope you enjoyed it!!
i'll try my best to update at least once a week in the next month, i have exams coming up and i'm quite stressed out about them so idk how much time i'll have :')