Thank you to my lovely beta, AJasperForMe, and my beautiful prereader, Frankielynn, for making sure this was all pretty for you.
I own nothing.
Leah and I met when I transferred schools my sophomore year of college.
When my father, Charlie, was shot in a robbery attempt at the local supermarket, I decided to go to Peninsula College in Forks so I could stay home with him. When he was finally back on his feet, I decided to find an apartment closer to campus. I looked all over the message boards and posted in all the chat rooms, looking for a roommate to live in the two bedroom apartment I rented.
I was starting to lose hope of finding anyone, when I got a call from a woman named Leah. She was a junior, getting her Bachelors in Art. She was two years older and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was tall, almost six feet with long black hair, dark brown eyes, with coffee-colored skin, showing her Native American heritage.
I was sitting in the large overstuffed chair in the corner, sipping my caramel mocha, when she walked in. I had always been attracted to both men and women, never thinking about gender when I liked their personality.
Leah and I had spoken over the phone a few times, and I had looked her up in the school's system to know what she looked like. But when I saw her in person for the first time, I knew she would be different.
As she ordered her coffee, I stood, walking over to her.
"Leah?" I said, holding out my hand to her.
"Bella? Nice to meet you."
She held my hand a moment longer than necessary before smiling and following me to the chairs in the corner.
"So you need a new place to live? What happened with your old place?" I asked her, trying to be subtle, while learning as much as I could about her.
"Well so far, I've been living in the dorms, but my roommate this year is pretty ... conservative. She didn't like the fact I like girls. I hope that's not a problem for you."
"No, not at all actually." We smiled at each other knowingly before sitting back and drinking our coffee.
We ended up sitting in the coffee shop for hours, talking about everything.
She moved in with me the next day.
It took longer than everyone, including ourselves, expected for Leah and I to get together.
It was the end of the school year, and we were both packing up our things to head to our parents' homes for a weeks vacation before heading back to our apartment and work. We decided to drive together, knowing we lived only 30 minutes away from each other.
We loaded up the car and started the four hour drive.
When we made it Port Angeles, our growling stomachs made us stop for dinner. We got out together and walked toward the little Italian restaurant.
After taking our orders, the waitress left us in the almost empty dining room.
"Are you gonna go see your mom at all this summer?" Leah asked.
"I don't know. I guess it depends on how much time I can get off work. If I do, it will probably be next month or early August."
"Oh, ok."
"Do you have any plans this summer? Any big vacations planned?"
"No. Just gonna work and hang out at the apartment."
"Ok."
Things were getting awkward. We both knew it, but neither of us did anything about it. We hadn't been able admit to each other how we felt.
I bit the bullet, so to say, and looked up at her quickly. "How long are we going to do this?"
"Do what?"
"Orbit around each other pretending we don't feel anything for each other when it is obvious to everyone around us."
She looked up at me, staring into my eyes. "Why are we doing this?"
"I honestly don't know, because I am completely in love with you, and I don't know why I can't tell you." I looked down, trying to hide the tears collecting in my eyes.
I watched from the corner of my eye as Leah stood up, walked around the table and kneeled in front of me. "Are you really in love with me?"
Keeping my head lowered, I avoided her eyes, until she grabbed my chin and pulled my face up. I couldn't speak. Putting my hands on either side of her face, I inched closer to her, pressing my lips to hers.
"I love you too."
"Babe, where are you?" I heard Leah call from the front of the house.
"In the bedroom."
I laid there, eyes closed, feeling the bed dip slightly as she climbed up beside me.
"What are you two doing?"
I opened my eyes, looking over at her then down at the flailing little girl resting on my stomach.
"Well, we went to the park today, then we went and saw Grandpa Charlie. So mommy is very tired, and we were gonna take a nap, but little Miss Chloe was too excited."
"You two had a big day then, huh?" Leah said as she pulled Chloe on to her stomach. I turned to my side, curling up into my heart, my life, my love.
She looked over at me, holding my eyes as she leaned forward. I pressed my lips to hers, fitting my body, my lips, my everything tightly to Leah. We heard the coo of our daughter, making us both smile against each others' lips. Pulling back from the kiss, I rested my forehead against hers, once again looking deeply into her eyes. I could see the love and peace in them, mirroring my own.
This is where we were both meant to be. Here, with each other. We fit together, perfectly.