"So, are you... are you going to prom?" the French foreign exchange student timidly inquired. Whenever she spoke, her voice remained soft and tender in tone and volume. Her hazel eyes gazed inquisitively into her lab partner's. She and her lab partner had finished the lab early and they now sat at the tables with nothing to do.
"Who, me?" Cosima asked in reply to the blonde's question as she adjusted her glasses. She mentally slapped herself. Of course the girl had been talking to her, who else would she be talking to? "Nah, that sort of stuff... Not really my style."
"Oh? So what is your style?"
You.
Cosima had been crushing on this girl ever since the first day. The girl stood about three inches taller and had incredibly volumized blonde hair. The way its waves cascaded down from her head completely entranced the dreadlocked brunette. Delphine also had an unintentionally sexy habit of biting her lip and it made Cosima's legs grow weak and she would physically back up a bit to keep from looking too creepy. She hoped the Frenchie hadn't noticed that she had been drooling over her since day one. Her eyes fell on the blonde's soft-looking lips.
"Cosima?"
Delphine's slight French accent made her name into two syllables, the stress being on the 'M' rather than three syllables with the stress being put on the first, but Cosima didn't mind. If anything, she found it endearing. The adorable accent could read out of a telephone book and Cosima wouldn't mind, the way it overstressed some sounds and only touched lightly on others. At this point, the blonde's inquisitiveness changed to confusion and her perfectly-plucked eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Cosima with her large eyes. Had she asked a question? Cosima shook herself back to the present and threw her a dazzling, heart-stopping toothy smile.
"Yeah, sorry... Zoned out a bit there," Cosima apologized, gesticulating frantically as if it would express her apology more and trying not to lose her focus again when Delphine's perfectly pink lips stretched into a shy smile. "I don't really have a style... I don't know why I said that. Kinda just... go with the flow."
More hand gestures; Cosima pushing the backs of her hands toward the French girl. She shot her another award-winning smile before adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose once again. Delphine nodded, her curls moving ever so slightly with the movement of her head. She dropped her gaze to the floor for a few seconds, leaving time for Cosima to admire her closely in secret before looking back up and causing Cosima to look away in order to be inconspicuous.
"Even though prom is not your style, I was wondering..." Delphine faded off, biting her bottom lip out of nervous habit. Cosima's eyes flick to the impressions the girl's teeth left on her lip before it returned to cover them. "Could you do my hair and makeup for me? S'il te plaît?"
It was as if Delphine knew exactly what to do to seal the deal and seduce the myopic girl into doing what she wanted; the lip-biting, the French, the smiling... The blonde had the American wrapped around her fingers. Cosima looked down and chuckled before replying, "What makes you think I know how to do any of that kinda stuff?"
"May I?" Delphine asked, pointing to Cosima's glasses. Cosima's eyes dart to see if anyone was really paying attention; no one was. She nodded once and allowed a small smile to cross her face. Delphine stepped closer and gently removed Cosima's glasses from her face and set them on the lab table. She then leaned in and bent forward a bit so that her eyes would be level with her lab partner's as she gazed at them. Cosima could feel her light breath on her face as she spoke. "Your eyeliner is..."
The French girl paused, trying to find the right word, but it failed to come to her. Her thinking face was absolutely adorable and it had Cosima channeling all the willpower she had to not kiss her. The way her eyebrows drew together and her lips pouted drove Cosima crazy.
"Murderous," Delphine finished, smiling slightly because she was proud she'd eventually gotten the word as her eyebrows returned to a neutral position. Cosima opened her mouth to speak, squinting ever so slightly, half because she couldn't see half because Delphine's chosen word confused her.
"Murderous?" Cosima asked, picking her glasses up off the table and putting them on. She paused to think a moment before jumping back into animation. "Oh—killer! You mean 'killer'—my eyeliner is killer."
"Yes!" Delphine nodded vigorously, her curls bouncing with her motion and her eyes widening. Cosima chuckled as she added, "It is always so... on point."
God she is adorable.
"What is funny?" she asked.
"Ah, nothing..." Cosima stifled another chuckle and tilted her head. She let her gaze linger on the blonde's face before involuntarily moving flick to her lips. Cosima forced her gaze back up to the girl's stunning eyes and answered with a smirk, "Sure. I'll do it."
"Merci beaucoup, Cosima!" Delphine exclaimed with a pleased, radiant smile on her face. Before Cosima could reply, the bell rang and notified everyone that class had ended.
. . .
"So I was thinking... Maybe I could come early on Saturday?" Delphine suggested as she and Cosima walked out of school. "In the morning, perhaps?"
"Sure, I mean whatever time's good for you," Cosima smiled. She stopped walking and turned to look at the French girl. "Is there anything specific you wanted, or...?"
"I will be happy with whatever you think looks good," Delphine told her with a confident smile.
"That's gonna be tough..." Cosima responded, raising her eyebrows and smirking. "You look good in everything."
I hope I'm not being too forward...
Delphine had a delayed reaction and stood there for a second or two before breaking out into a smile and shaking her head as her eyes dropped to the ground.
"You are cheeky," she replies, pointing a slender finger at Cosima. "Do not lie to me like that."
"No need to lie. It's the truth."
Cosima somehow managed to shut her usual rambling self up before she got too flirty with Delphine. She readjusted the books in her arms before daring to look back up at the Frenchie.
"Alright. Saturday it is. Is ten good?"
"Ten is... awesome," Cosima nodded with a smile.
"Fantastique. Ten it is," the blonde confirmed with a pleasant tone. She leaned into with lips that looked ready for a kiss and Cosima suddenly went rigid.
What is happening?
The French girl kissed Cosima on one side of her face, then promptly on the other, all the while Cosima held her breath. Cosima only loosened up after the blonde had returned to her own personal space and she let out a nervous "Heh," before smiling.
Right. She's French.
"I will... see you then," Delphine told her in an airy voice. Cosima could only manage to nod a reply. She thought about those luscious lips for the rest of the week.
. . .
"Bonjour, Cosima!" Delphine greeted her. "My um, house sœur is out for the day. She is going to all the um, salons..."
"And to think you chose me," Cosima grinned widely as she set her things down on the end table near the couch. She hadn't brought much; she figured someone as stunning as Delphine wouldn't have much to conceal.
"I trust you," Delphine giggled before continuing, "to not overdo it and make me look like one of those girls in one of those concours de beauté."
"I didn't quite catch that... Something about a booty?" Cosima asked, cocking her head to one side with an amused smile. Delphine chuckled lightly in response.
"Non, non! Beauté is... 'beauty,'" Delphine explained.
"Right..." Cosima feigned disbelief as she shot her another smirk. She unzipped her bag and leaned forward to look at Delphine, who'd taken a seat on the couch, and studied her face. Her skin looked soft and clear, something that should be in a commercial. Her hair too. Her everything. Cosima couldn't find anything wrong with her. She seemed perfect in every way...
"Cosima?"
"Yeah?" Cosima stopped abruptly and realized she'd been ogling. In a flash, she straightened herself up to a normal standing stance. This entire process would be a struggle, she could already tell. She opened the palms of her hands as she raised them, as if in surrender, and added, "Sorry, I was just..."
What, Cosima? What? What is it that you were doing? Cosima scolded herself.
"Just..." Cosima struggled to think of anything—an excuse or something—but her usually quick brain was failing her. "Checking to see if you were tweezed."
"Tweezed?"
"Uh, yeah. Um... your eyebrows. And also to see if you came with a clean face..." Cosima chuckled nervously. "You did. Both. Kudos!"
Cosima turned away to face her bag and scowl at herself. She usually had an appropriate amount of confidence—sometimes even too much—but this girl had completely derailed her. As she whirled back around, she plastered a brilliant grin on her face.
"Ku-dos?" Delphine repeated softly, trying the word out.
"Uh—yeah. It's Greek for... Well, 'praise,' but it's said in English to mean something like, 'Good for you!' Anyway, I personally like your hair down... It-It's like these cascading curls that fall just the right way, you know? They're captivating! They move whenever you move, they're... perfect. I mean, so many girls would kill for hair like yours!" Cosima was gesticulating wildly now, on a tangent about Delphine's hair without meaning to over do it. She'd gotten started and now she couldn't stop gushing. She had to bring it to an end before went too far. "My point is... Why would you want to restrain all that?"
"I... always wear my hair down..." Delphine pointed out.
"Yeah? And?" Cosima asked, wondering why the blonde would ever want to put it up. If she had hair like that, she'd probably always wear it down too. Hell, she might even let people touch it.
"I just... wanted something different... But if you say it looks good, then..." Delphine trailed off. She met eyes with Cosima and bit her lip nervously. The brunette clenched her jaw shut and swallowed, trying not to stare. "I am okay with that."
"Okay! So I'm thinking maybe just some eye makeup and lipstick... Maybe a hint of blush? Your face is pretty much gorgeous already, so um..." Cosima trailed off and used her hands to talk as she finished her thought. "Why would we want to cover that up, right?"
"You are too kind," Delphine smiled shyly. Cosima let out a silent sigh before picking up her liquid eyeliner. She opened it and checked it before bringing it close to Delphine's face. After a few moments of awkwardly trying to find a good position for her arm, Cosima stood back up and took off her glasses before deciding to kneel in front of Delphine. She began outlining the top lid. Delphine couldn't help but comment, "You have quite the steady hand."
Cosima's focus left her hand and the eyeliner and she instead looked into Delphine's hazel eyes, suddenly more stunning up close. She returned her gaze to the hand holding the makeup and concentrated hard on not moving it in order to talk which proved to be quite the feat.
"Uh, well... I've done this almost every day for a couple years now," Cosima murmured, somehow managing to keep her hand steady.
Delphine refrained from nodding and instead whispered, "I see."
Cosima had moved onto her lower lid and began outlining it when Delphine spoke again, keeping her head still.
"Am I bothering you?"
"Hm? No! No..." Cosima assured, finishing up one eye. She returned the thin, fine-point brush to the bottle to refresh its load before taking it out and starting on Delphine's other eye. A few moments passed before she bothered to ask, "Why?"
"You seem to be... distracted... but still focused? Frustrated?" Delphine kept throwing out words, all of which described Cosima perfectly in that moment. Cosima stopped to smile slightly and chuckle before returning to outlining.
"Nah, I'm just... really passionate about eyeliner," Cosima told the French girl, her own lying eyes darting to look at Delphine's.
"I see."
Cosima nodded once and finished Delphine's other eye. She stepped back and took a look at her job and after deciding she'd gotten it even, she screwed the eyeliner back into the bottle and put it away. She took out a pale colored lipstick, pale so as not to take away from the rest of her face, and uncapped it. She twisted it, causing the tip to emerge and poke out of its hole. She stopped and set it down, realizing something.
"I... forgot—lip liner," Cosima told her. "You wanted that, right?"
Before Delphine could really give an answer, she rummaged around and located the lip liner and prepared to use it.
"Thank you... for doing this," Delphine stated gratefully, making sure to meet her gaze.
"No prob. It's my pleasure."
That wasn't a lie, it was the truth. This whole deal gave Cosima an excuse to admire Delphine; it was a bonus that it was all up close. Her facial features proved to be even more captivating at such magnification. Cosima started with the left corner of Delphine's upper lip and began tracing the outer edge, following the subtle curve-dip-curve shape. Cosima tried not to get distracted at the thought of kissing her or the sensation of the blonde's light respirations on her skin. She moved onto the hairpin curve of the French girl's bottom lip and only realized that she'd been holding her breath again once she'd stepped back and exhaled slowly. She then gingerly took the lipstick in her hands again and began to fill in the lines on the Frenchie's lips.
Cosima inhaled sharply and swallowed hard when Delphine's lips parted to allow her to get more surface area covered. The brunette could feel her heartbeat accelerate and all she could concentrate on were the luscious, pink lips in front of her. Before Cosima even knew what was happening, her lips were pressed against Delphine's; she was kissing the lips she'd been dreaming about ever since she first saw her. They were just as tender and sweet as Cosima had imagined, maybe even more so.
She'd probably really screwed up, she knew that much, but in that moment she hadn't a care in the world. Everything melted away and it was just her and Delphine and their lips. She really couldn't help herself. She tried so hard, but Delphine was just so irresistible. Everything the blonde did seemed to beckon Cosima. The way she bit her lip, tucking the rosy skin underneath her pearly white teeth. The way she seemed to glide over to Cosima whenever she wanted to talk. Even the way she said her name. Everything. After a few seconds, Delphine leaned back a bit, turning her head to the side and softly clearing her throat.
"Oh God, Delphine... Did I make a huge mistake?" Cosima asked. She didn't know why she'd posed it as a question as the answer seemed pretty clear judging from Delphine's response.
"Ah, non! Non... Ah... I'm not— It's just that you—" Delphine stuttered before casting a look of surrender. "What I'm trying to say is... I'm— I'm not—gay."
"Ah, cool. Um, I'm— I'm not either. Well, I mean... I'm bi."
That's not fixing it.
"Bi— um... intéressant," Delphine mumbled. Cosima noted that the French had taken to avoiding eye contact and her heart sunk.
"Delphine... I'm... really sorry..." Cosima tried. Delphine stood up stiffly and nodded once to Cosima and sidestepped so that she was no longer sandwiched between the couch and Cosima as she gathered her coat. "Delphine—"
"Um, I have to go..." Delphine quietly interrupted.
"Delphine, I'm—"
"It's fine," Delphine told her quickly, but Cosima didn't believe her. "Vraiment."
"Delphine, it's clearly not fine vraiment. I mean, if anything, it's not fine vraiment," Cosima argued, not even knowing what she was saying. Delphine's features pulled into a slight scowl, only because she was trying to decode what Cosima had said. At this point Cosima had confidence in two things; one, that she had completely slaughtered the French pronunciation of vraiment, whatever the heck that meant; and two, she'd completely blown it with Delphine.
"It-It is okay," Delphine told her in that same unconfident tone. She gave a small, short nod before making her hasty exit. Cosima sighed and plopped onto the couch, trying not to focus on the fact that Delphine hadn't bid the traditional French farewell—though that one kiss was probably sufficient enough in itself.
"Idiot," she snapped quietly at herself as she clasped her hands together and rested them on her head.
. . .
After hours of pacing and chastising herself, Cosima had taken to staying on the couch, but had since then grabbed a blanket and an Eskimo pie. She mindlessly flipped through channels, never bothering to settle on anything. The way the morning went completely bummed her out and she couldn't motivate herself to do anything overly productive. Not the huge lab write-up or the calculus packet, both of which were due Monday. Not the research paper on WWII WAVES that was due Wednesday, despite having only barely started it. Nothing. She wasn't looking forward to Monday. She had planted herself right next to Delphine on the first day—which had resulted in a bunch of exasperated groans from all the guys—after which the teacher made everyone's chosen seat their assigned seat. Cosima never thought she would regret the decision until now.
She felt bad; her mother had tried to cheer her up, unaware of her situation, but it was the thought that counted. Cosima had been too embarrassed to tell her mother exactly what went down. Her mother eventually gave up after Cosima rejected her every offer and had left to go somewhere—Cosima didn't remember where she said she was going off to. Cosima hadn't meant to snap at her those few times, but she couldn't exactly take it back either. She held certain that her mother knew she didn't mean it. She hoped her mother knew. She'd have to apologize and find some way to make it up to her later.
Cosima shifted her slumped sitting position by lying down and facing the television. She began to think about Delphine and who the lucky guy was who got to take her to prom. She realized that she'd never even asked who she was going with. Cosima thought hard and, knowing Delphine as well as she secretly did, she began narrowing down the possibilities.
The person would have to be smart—that narrowed the scope down to any guy in any of Delphine's classes. But the person would also have to have a passion for science—that shrunk it down to the seven guys in the AP Biology class she and Delphine took together. Cosima also noted that Delphine liked brunettes with great smiles. While the French girl behaved pleasantly to everyone, Cosima felt certain that the blonde had an underlying radiance whenever she interacted with brunettes—unless that was just her wishful thinking. The person would also have to have the patience to explain some weird English things to her—all of which Cosima knew she had to offer—except she wasn't a guy. That made Delphine's choices between three guys. But all of them were douchebags. Who could she possibly have gone with? Not that it mattered. None of them were a certain cheeky, dreadlocked brunette.
Two raps on the backdoor awoke Cosima from her pathetic wallow and she let out a labored groan as she kicked off her dark blue blanket and experienced the room's coolness. It wasn't that the room was actually cold, she'd just built up heat underneath the blanket.
Her mother had a habit of forgetting the house key. She used to just break in with a tomato plant stake she'd stashed somewhere in the garage, but that hadn't ended well when Cosima mistook her for an intruder and clocked her. She she'd recently taken to just knocking—which is what she should've originally done, in Cosima's opinion—in order to avoid a busted lip. Cosima rolled her eyes. How hard was it to remember to grab the key that belonged to your home? Why didn't she just clip it onto the ring that held her car keys? Cosima was sure this was where she'd inherited her unorganized tendencies.
The brunette decided that she didn't like the temperature difference so she wrapped herself up in her dark blue blanket and padded out into another room to the backdoor. She unlocked it, loosely wrapped her hand around the doorknob, and weakly yanked the door open, preparing to halfheartedly greet her mother.
A windblown head of blonde curls greeted her and the French girl tucked one side of her hair behind her ear as she nervously looked down and bit her lip. She wore delicate eye makeup and a pastel colored lipstick, half of her bottom lip hidden by pearly white teeth.
"Delphine," Cosima breathed. She took in the sight of the blonde in the elegant strapless gown and caved into herself for a few seconds. She couldn't think.
"Cosima..." Delphine murmured, struggling to speak in the awkward situation. Cosima snapped out of her trance and forced herself to speak.
"Uh—prom! Prom. Why... Why aren't you at prom?" Cosima asked, making sure to keep her voice light and inquisitive rather an flat and gloomy. She hid her pain well.
"I was on my way to prom..." Delphine paused, biting her lip once again. Cosima swallowed and averted her eyes. The blonde waited for the American's eyes to come back to her before offering a shy, apologetic smile before continuing, "and I realized that... prom isn't really my style."
"Oh," Cosima nodded as she dropped her gaze to the ground, an awkward silence settling between them. Her voice sounded disappointed, but she didn't know why. Her eyes lingered on the ground before she raised her eyes to meet Delphine's and asked, "So what is your style?"
Delphine took a deep breath, locking her gaze and biting her lip nervously before uttering in the most confident tone Cosima had ever heard come out of her, "You."
A huge smile broke out on the brunette's face; she couldn't have contained it if she tried. Delphine gestured with her head toward the interior of the house, her curls swaying slightly.
"May I?"
"Oh. Yeah. Totally," Cosima nodded vigorously, feeling silly for not inviting her in. As if to further insist, she made a motion wit her hand. "Come on in."
"Merci... I was on my way to prom and something felt off—I had something stuck on my lips... But it wasn't something I could just... you know, wipe away... It was the kiss," Delphine told her, talking as quickly as her brain would allow her to without making a mistake. "I... couldn't stop thinking about it. It was... amazing."
"Yeah?" Cosima asked, another smile spreading. She motioned for Delphine to follow her to the couch.
"Yes," Delphine confirmed, sitting herself next to Cosima. Cosima eyed the French girl, thinking about what her lips had felt like and leaned in slowly, giving Delphine some warning this time.
Much to Cosima's surprise, Delphine raised one hand and placed it tenderly underneath the brunette's jaw and with her index and thumb outlining Cosima's jawline and the rest of her fingers resting lightly on her neck, she tilted the American's head to meet her lips.
Cosima closed her eyes; this gesture almost felt possessive and she loved every second of it, the way Delphine had initiated the kiss and the way their lips seemed to fit perfectly together. Cosima's head spun at the sweet taste of Delphine. She felt passion coursing through her as her heart pounded in her chest. Everything felt so right. After what seemed for like an eternity, Delphine gently pulled away and when Cosima opened her eyes, she was met with an ecstatic smile.
"Amazing," Delphine breathed. Her breaths were slightly hitched, Cosima noticed. "Like I said."
"Well, you're not so bad yourself," Cosima giggled gaily. Her eyes went to look at Delphine's lips again before she planted a quick kiss on them.
"I've never had a connection like that... With anyone," Delphine exclaimed in her soft voice. With a timid smile she added, "And I if you don't mind, I would like to keep it."
"Oh," Cosima smirked, half-chuckling as she leaned in closer for another kiss. "Trust me... I don't mind."