First Date

"Hi," the curly haired woman says with a kind smile as she walks up to Stef outside of Laurel, her favorite lesbian bar in San Diego. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon, casting an orange glow over the city.

"Hi," Stef replies nervously, taking in Lena's appearance, her mouth suddenly dry. The caramel skinned woman was wearing a flowy, black blouse and a dark blue pair of jeans that hugged her hips perfectly. Her gorgeous hair was surrounding her head like a heavenly halo.

"Shall we?" Lena asks, gesturing towards the door of the club.

"Oh, yes!" Stef replies, pulled out of her daze. Lena smiles as she leads Stef inside Laurel, her heart fluttering at how cute Stef was acting. She never imagined that the cop that pulled her over Monday morning would be so nervous tonight.

Inside Laurel, with the music blasting from the dance floor, Lena leads Stef over to the bar, where the two grab some stools and wait for the bartender to get to them. Stef holds her hands nervously in her lap, eyes staring absently at the bar in front of them.

Lena studies the blonde woman for a moment. She was in dark blue jeans and a gray button down blouse. It was completely different from the police officer uniform Lena had seen her in on Monday - not that she had really expected to see Stef in that uniform again tonight. But she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't hoping to see Stef in that uniform again sometime soon. Her light skin and blonde hair was accentuating her hazel green eyes. Lena could tell that Stef's body was lean but muscular, no doubt from all the physical activity required to keep the streets of San Diego safe.

"Do you like being a police officer?" Lena asks Stef as the bartender hands them their drinks.

"It's what I've wanted to do my whole life." Stef replies. "My father was a cop, and his father." It doesn't get passed Lena that Stef didn't actually answer the question. "What about you? Did you always want to be a vice principal?"

"When I was in college, I knew I wanted to teach." Lena tells Stef. "I started at Anchor Beach a few years ago, and then got my Master's degree in education administration. When the position for vice principal opened up last year, I threw my hat in the ring."

"That's very exciting," Stef replies, shooting Lena a nervous smile.

"I'm sure being a vice principal at a charter school is not nearly as exciting as being a police officer." Lena smiles back at Stef as the blonde woman sips at her vodka martini.

"I don't know, we're both trying to keep delinquents in line." Stef jokes.

"That's very true," Lena agrees. An awkward silence settles over the two women as their eyes meet. Lena can tell that Stef wants to say something, but the blonde woman seems unsure of herself.

"Lena, can I-" Stef stammers, looking away from Lena's gaze. "I need to tell you something."

"Okay." Lena says, her heart rate increasing as she continues to study the other woman.

"This is kind of my first date with another woman," Stef admits, still avoiding Lena's chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh," Lena replies.

"You are so out of my league." Stef begins, standing up from her barstool. "I should have never-"

"Stef," Lena places a hand on the blonde's arm, urging her to sit back down. "First of all, I am not out of your league." Lena says once Stef sits down. "And second of all, we all have to start somewhere."

"I just recently . . . accepted my sexuality." Stef tells Lena. "You're the first woman I've ever asked out." It was hard still for Stef to admit sometimes. She was so terrified of not being accepted.

"Technically," Lena smirks. "I asked you out." A smile pulls at the corners of Stef's lips.

"I just wanted to be up front with you from the beginning." Stef says. "In case you don't want to. . ."

"Date a first time lesbian?" Lena supplies as Stef trails off.

"Yeah," Stef agrees, biting her bottom lip nervously. The sight sends goosebumps across Lena's caramel skin. Here was this tough woman, being so vulnerable in front of her. Without thinking, the curly haired woman leans into Stef, closing the gap between them, and presses her full lips to Stef's.

Stef's heart goes still in her chest. The world around her goes still. The music fades away. Nothing else matters except for Lena's lips on hers.

"Wow," Stef breathes as Lena pulls away - much too soon as far as Stef was concerned.

"Stephanie Foster, I don't care that you've never dated a woman before. That doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is what's in your heart." Lena tells the blonde woman before her - her own heart thudding beneath her ribcage, already missing the feeling of Stef's lips against her own. "And from what I can already tell, you have a wonderful heart."

"Does that mean you want to do this again sometime?" Stef asks hesitantly, hazel green eyes trained on Lena's chocolate ones.

"Who said this date was over?" Lena asks with a cock of her head. "We haven't even danced yet." Mouth slightly agape, Stef let's the slim, darker skinned woman drag her by the hand onto the dance floor.

Lena begins moving to the music that surrounds them, and any doubt that Stef had about being a lesbian goes right out the window. The way Lena moves to the beat of the music makes her heart leap into her throat. The slightly taller woman skims her fingertips along Stef's arms, beckoning the shy woman to dance with her.

With a nervous smile, Stef lets herself move in synchrony with Lena, gently resting her hands on Lena's swaying hips. Lena rests her forehead against Stef's and smiles. Already, she feels so comfortable in this woman's embrace, this woman whom she's only just met. Lena wraps her arms around Stef's shoulders, noting the strong muscles she feels beneath her blouse. The two women continue to move to the music, lost in their own little world, together.