Chapter 2.
Baylee's eyes snapped open her eyes at the sharp pain penetrating her ribcage. "Ow!" she choked out. Haley was sitting on top of her with her elbow stuck into Baylee's ribcage. "What the hell, Hale?" she asked. "Sorry. Dude, it's seven! Get up!" Haley whispered harshly. "Dude, it's seven! Go back to sleep!" Baylee mocked. She threw the blankets over her head and flopped onto her stomach.
"You're so weird." she mumbled into the pillow. Haley laughed and got off of her. Baylee smirked and opened one eye to look at her best friend standing on the side of the bed. "Ugh, fine." Baylee said.
Haley smiled triumphantly and bounded out of the room. "Micky, get up." Baylee said turning to her snoring best friend. She jabbed a finger gently into Mikaela's shoulder. She grunted and stirred in the sheets. "What?" she asked sleepily.
"We're going swimming, ok?" Baylee said to her. She swung her legs out of the bed and stepped down onto the cool hardwood. Stretching, she walked over to her bag that she had brought clothes in and unzipped it. "Are you crazy? It's-" Mikaela groaned. "Seven!" she exclaimed. Baylee looked at her wristwatch. "No! It's 7:05, smart one." Mikaela laughed and reluctantly strode over to her own bag.
Baylee pulled out her bright white bikini top and bottoms. The brunette sat down on the end of the bed while she waited for her best friend. Mikaela didn't even notice her jaw drop as she saw Baylee wearing the bathing suit. As soon as she recognized that her mouth was open, she snapped it shut.
Baylee grinned and sat next to the brunette on the bed. "Just go get yours on. You'll look just as hot." she said. Mikaela was shocked. What? she thought to herself. She can read minds now? "No." Mikaela said. "I won't. I'm not sexy like you and-" She was interrupted by Baylee's mildly amused expression. "You think I'm sexy?" she asked.
Mikaela was silent. "I feel your lack of objection is your agreement." Baylee said. "On what?" Mikaela laughed. Now was Baylee's turn to be silent. She slowly closed in. When she was a mere inch from the girl's face, Haley stood in the doorway. Luckily, Baylee had good enough reflexes to move away before Haley saw anything that she didn't need to.
"Ready, Micks?" she asked, standing quickly. Mikaela shook her head. "Slomo! Get ready then!" Baylee laughed. When Mikaela was finally ready, Baylee challenged her to a race to the water.
Mikaela lost the race, but enjoyed watching Baylee's pained expression as she stuck her leg in the cold water. She stood on the concrete wall overlooking the Causway and the sunrise. The orange light spread across her pale skin as she gazed into the distance.
She was brought back to the real world by two arms wrapping around her waist and lifting her into the air. Before she knew it, she was hanging over Baylee's shoulder looking down at the sand below them. When Baylee finally put her back down, she was faced with the icy reality of the lake water.
They finally got used to it and waded deeper into the waves. Before long, they were swimming about eighteen feet away from the nearest sea wall. "Hey, mom?" Haley called out to the shore. "Yeah?" Mrs. Reardon called from her lawn chair on the grass above the water. "What time is it?" Haley called back. "About noon." she answered.
Mikaela had noticed Baylee's attention had been constantly diverted by the tan boy lounging on a sea wall that kept winking at her. She realized the lustful look on her best friends face. She grabbed her by the shoulders. "Baylee, we're sixteen, ok? Too young. Wait until, like, college or something, please." Mikaela told the blonde girl. "Ugh, why do you have to be such a space cadet? I'll be fine. I won't do anything. J-just gotta say hi." Baylee stuttered back.
Mikaela watched as her best friend approached the muscular boy. His black hair swooped down and to the left, covering his dark brown eye. He said something to Baylee and she laughed flirtatiously. Soon after that, she was running back towards the dark haired girl in the water.
"What the hell, Baylee?" she asked. "Hear me out! His name is Nikolai, he's eighteen, and he wants us to come to a bonfire tonight!" Baylee said quickly. Mikaela rolled her eyes and was about to disagree, but then saw the look on the blonde's face and reconsidered. "Fine. What time is it?" she asked. Baylee's face lit up. "When the sun goes down, right here on the beach."
"Ok, well it's like twelve. Let's do something else." Mikaela said. "Alright. I'm starving, anyway." Baylee agreed with a comical grimace. They climbed out of the water and walked back across the street to Haley's house.
Once inside, they both got dressed. Baylee wore a white jacket unzipped over her light grey undershirt and faded red shorts with a yellow and light blue plaid pattern. Mikaela just threw on a dark grey Aggies sweatshirt and a pair of Baylee's faded jeans. "Let's go to the insectarium guys!" Bethany shouted, walking into the room where the four other girls sat.
"Ok, after this race, Bethie." Baylee said from the couch. She was playing MarioKart against Mikaela, Haley, and Taylor, and so far, she was winning. Taylor yelled, "Dammit, Yoshi!" as her character spun off of the road. A few moments before, Haley had cursed her character's name, Toad, for falling from a ledge. The same thing with Mikaela's character, Princess Peach. Baylee won all of the races that they had played as Bowser. She said that he was a powerful male influence in the Mario world. And he was just 'super fucking cool'.
"Yes! Blue team wins again!" Baylee yelled as she gave Mikaela a highfive. "Ok, I'm driving." she said, reaching into Mikaela's back pocket for her keys. "Oh, hey, there's my keys." she said jokingly. Mikaela rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling.
Baylee slid into the driver's seat of her teal and white Mini Cooper parked outside of Haley's house. Taylor, Haley, and Bethany sat in the backseat and Mikaela sat in the passenger seat. "I can't believe we're going to the insectarium." Baylee said with a laugh. "We'll look like a bunch of third graders." Bethany rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, come on. Do you have to make everything less fun?" Baylee laughed. "Yes. Yes I do."
"I'm tired. Wake me up when we're there." Taylor said. As soon as her head hit Haley's shoulder, she was out like a light. "Damn." Baylee said pulling the car out of the driveway. Bethany groaned from the back seat.
By the time that they were off of the Causway, all three girls in the backseat were asleep on eachother. Mikaela sat staring out the windshield. "Hey, are you sure you're fine with going to the bonfire tonight?" Baylee asked, breaking the silence. Mikaela nodded and looked at the blonde driving the car. She slipped her hand into Mikaela's and squeezed. "Would it make it better if I told you I won't be hanging out with Nikolai?" she asked. Mikaela didn't answer, for she was entrapped in the blonde's gaze.
That soft laugh escaped from between her lips and Mikaela couldn't help but smile. Mikaela's mind was in a totally different place. She was thinking about how much she loved Dylan... but also about how much she loved the girl holding her hand. "Earth to Spock!" Baylee said, pulling Mikaela from her spacelike state. Baylee's comment was counteracted by her playful expression. "What're you thinking about?" she asked.
Mikaela was silent once again as she hugged her knees. "Or, you know, just don't tell me. That's cool." Baylee said. She sounded slightly hurt by Mikaela's silence. "No, don't be like that. It's just... I've been thinking. I never really loved Dylan." she said at last.
Baylee's eyes widened. Her eyes were still on the road as she tightened her grip a little on Mikaela's hand. "I love you. I've always loved you. Ever since you stole my cookies in the first grade." she said playfully. Baylee grinned in rememberance. A moment later, she felt the full force of Mikaela's comment. "Wait, what? You love me?" she asked with a hint of eagerness. Mikaela nodded with a not-so-eager smile. "Do you love me?" she asked the blonde.
It was silent in the car as Baylee pondered the question. Her mind didn't recognize the flavor of her answer as she verbalized it. "Yes." she admitted finally. "When you say 'I love you' do you mean you're in love with me?" Baylee asked quietly. Mikaela nodded without recognizing it.
The rest of the car ride was silent. When they got off the Causway, Mikaela balled up a piece of paper from Baylee's car and threw it in the back seat. The two girls in the front of the car laughed as Taylor shot up. "What happened?" she said sleepily. "Well, it's been atleast fifteen years and I'm pregnant with your brother's child." Baylee said sarcastically and patted her flat stomach.
"Wow. Like Georgie would ever get a chance with you, Baylee." Taylor said. "Hey!" she yelled at Bethany. She shook her shoulder and woke up Haley too. They pulled up to the insectarium and walked inside to get their tickets.
"Hey, I have to pee. Come with me, Micky." Baylee said grabbing her best friend's hand. She didn't even wait for Mikaela to answer. She just pulled her towards the women's bathroom.
When they walked in, Baylee checked in the stalls for any possible company. No one appeared to be with them, so Baylee locked the bathroom door. "Well, are you gonna go?" Mikaela asked. Instead of walking into a stall, Baylee sat on a countertop and crossed her legs at the ankles, swinging them back and forth. "What are you doing?" Mikaela asked curiously. She walked towards the blonde sitting on the bathroom counter.
When she reached her, Baylee draped her arms over Mikaela's shoulders. Before Mikaela could say anything, the blonde pulled her head close and kissed her. At first, Mikaela's eyes were wide open, staring at the girl kissing her, but then she shut them and threaded her arms around her waist. "Micky." she said against her lips. "What?" Mikaela asked. "I think I either just peed myself, or I'm sitting in water." she replied. She smiled and Mikaela pulled away from her, allowing Baylee to jump off of the counter. "Nope, we're good." she said checking the butt of her pants.
They left the bathroom and walked towards their group. "Micky, I can't believe you wanted me to do that with you, you perv!" Baylee yelled loud enough for the whole exhibit's population to hear. Mikaela's jaw dropped as she stared at her best friend in shock.
She thought to herself, How could I want to fuck and kill someone so badly? "Hey guys, go on ahead, me and Micky will catch up with you." Baylee yelled towards their posse. She pushed Mikaela gently up against the wall. Baylee kissed the dark haired girl on the cheek. "I want to fuck and kill you, too."