" What's with the maybe crap?" asked Jodie.
" Exactly what it sounds like," responded Alex.
" There are no maybes here," said Jodie decisively. " You're going to ask her and you're going to do it soon."
" I just think I should take some time with this."
" So she can find someone else? You can't expect her to wait for you forever."
" I don't want to rush things."
" Alex, there's a difference between not rushing things and taking too long."
" I'll ask her, okay? I just want to be sure first."
" Sure of what?" asked Jodie. " Sure that she likes you too? Because anyone with eyes could tell you the answer to that. Besides, she's not the same as…
" I know," Alex cut her off, not wanting to get into that conversation right now.
" Do you?" said Jodie pointedly.
" Coop, it shouldn't be a maybe. You like her, she likes you, that maybe is out of place here."
" It's just, I don't want to rush into something again. Look how well that turned out last time."
" Alex isn't the same as the skank, you know."
" I know."
" Do you? You're not acting like it."
" I just, I don't really know Alex that well yet. I want to take a little more time."
" She'll have someone else, Coop," Summer said warningly. " It's not like she's going to be short of offers."
" You think she's hot," said Marissa teasingly.
Summer frowned slightly. " A girl can appreciate another girl's beauty without it meaning something else, Coop."
" Not if that girl's you, Sum. Besides, I know you like Jodie way more."
"Mmm," agreed Summer absentmindedly, as she got distracted.
" So, how are things with Jodie?" asked Marissa, less than subtly approaching the subject.
" Terrible," said Summer.
" Oh, now you pay attention," said Marissa.
" Huh?"
" Never mind, Sum. Why don't you try being friends with her? Look, go and sit with her now, without insulting her."
" But it's so hard. I just open my mouth, and they all just come out. It only happens around Jodie, so it must be her fault."
" It's because she makes you nervous, Sum."
" Yeah, nervous about the prospect of inappropriate touching."
" That you want to happen," said Jodie, having walked over. " But I wouldn't call it inappropriate," she grinned. " Dance with me?"
" Didn't we cover this already?"
" Can't hurt to try again," said Jodie. " So I'll just keep on trying, until you say yes."
" Can't hurt to try again, huh? I think you'll find it can hurt, a lot."
Marissa nodded. " She pulls hair," she said in a serious tone.
" I think Alex wants to talk to you about something," Jodie said to Marissa.
Marissa looked a little surprised, but walked over to Alex anyway.
" Hey," she greeted her.
" Oh, hi," said Alex, who'd been facing the opposite direction and hadn't noticed Marissa come over to her.
" Jodie said you wanted to talk to me about something…"
Alex looked confused. " No. She probably just wanted an excuse for some alone time with Summer," she said.
" Right," said Marissa, a little disappointed, not sure why she felt that way.
" Sure you don't want to learn to dance today?"
" I don't think so. I'd embarrass you. But you could dance with someone else?"
" I want to dance with you," said Marissa, looking into Alex's eyes.
Alex bit her lip nervously, before saying,
" Okay, I'll try. But don't say I didn't warn you."
Marissa held out her hand to pull Alex to her feet. They both paused briefly at the contact, feeling that there was something between them. Marissa led Alex away from the table, finding an open space on the dance floor.
She moved Alex towards her, placing her hands on Alex's hips, motioning for Alex to do the same. " Relax," she told her. She didn't realise that Alex's tenseness was due to their close proximity rather than the prospect of dancing.
" Just listen to the music," Marissa told her, beginning to move to the rhythm, guiding Alex's movements so that they were in synchrony. The space between their bodies gradually decreased as the music continued, until they were pressed up against one another, completely lost in their dancing.
Alex tilted her head to look up at Marissa, who had her eyes fixed on Alex, focusing on nothing but her. She smiled slowly at her, removing Alex's hand from where it was wrapped around her waist and intertwining her fingers with Alex's. Alex smiled back, unsure why, exactly. All she knew was Marissa always made her feel like smiling when she was around her.
Alex unconsciously leaned further into Marissa, until she could feel the other girl's breath on her lips. Marissa moved her hand up Alex's back until her arm was wound around her neck, before slowly leaning in. The gap between their lips was diminishing every second, each seeming in slow motion. Alex froze, pulling away at the last second. She extracted herself from Marissa's arms, saying, " Sorry, I have to go," before searching for the nearest exit.
Marissa closed her eyes, trying to calm her rapid breathing. She really thought that her and Alex were on the same page just then. It seemed like she'd been mistaken again, and was reading signals that just weren't there. She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated, both at herself and Alex. She wished the girl's intentions were clearer, because she was having a lot of trouble figuring her out.
Jodie and Summer had been having their own fun, in the meantime. Well, Jodie was having fun, at least. Summer was just becoming a little irritated.
" So, is Alex going to ask Marissa out now?"
" What gives you that idea?" asked Jodie.
" You just told Marissa that Alex needed to talk to her about something."
" Yeah, because I knew she'd leave. I want to talk to you."
" I don't want to talk to you," said Summer, " so you can leave now."
" Seriously, I want to talk to you."
" Fine," said Summer, in a defeated tone. She knew she wouldn't be able to escape from Jodie anyway.
" I'm sorry for calling you a fashion obsessed airhead. But not a midget, cause, you know, you are kinda short." She said all of this very quickly, as if it pained her to apologise.
" Well, I'm almost sorry for hitting you with that locker," said Summer, still looking a little stunned by the fact that Jodie had actually apologised to her.
" I want to be friends," was the next phrase to come out of Jodie's mouth. That was when Summer really started to become suspicious.
" Jodie, different tactics aren't gonna work," said Summer. " You'll never have me, because I'm straight and not interested."
" That tactic seriously isn't going to work? Damn, I thought it would have for sure. Guess I'll have to think of something new. Want to dance?"
" For the third time…"
" We'd be able to spy on Marissa and Alex," said Jodie deviously. " Don't you want to know what our friends are up to?"
" That'd be wrong," said Summer. " Let's go."
She allowed Jodie to lead her into a position where they could see Alex and Marissa, but the lighting meant that they couldn't be seen.
" Summer, act naturally," said Jodie, when she noticed Summer getting a little fidgety. " It's just dancing."
" Yeah, with you," said Summer. " I don't trust you. There's going to be inappropriate touching, I can see it now."
" So can I," said Jodie, a lecherous grin spreading across her face.
" Stop picturing it," said Summer, annoyed, when Jodie's vacant expression and grinning continued.
" Don't tell me you're not picturing it too, Summer."
Summer looked at her.
" One more comment, no dancing."
" Fine, I'll be good. What is it with you and wanting to spoil all my fun?"
" Shut up and dance with me," said Summer. " We're starting to look suspicious."
Jodie moved towards Summer.
" Not too close," said Summer.
" We're supposed to be dancing together, not miles apart," said Jodie, approaching once more and looping her arms loosely around Summer's neck. Summer hadn't moved. " Summer, it's called dancing. Not standing still."
" Right," said Summer, as she placed her arms around Jodie's waist.
They began to move to the music, just as Alex and Marissa were doing across the dance floor. Summer found herself unable to see, and spun Jodie around so she would have a better view of the others. Jodie was subtly inching closer and closer to Summer, who seemed oblivious to her actions. She slid one of her hands down her back, and then pushed Summer into her gently.
Summer was unconsciously tracing patterns across Jodie's back. Jodie was contemplating her next move, but before she had a chance to implement it, Summer broke away from her.
" What? There was no inappropriate touching, at least not on my part. You were becoming dangerously close to it several times, though."
" Go talk to Alex," said Summer.
" What? Why?"
" Just do it," said Summer. " She just left, she can't have gone too far."
Summer walked towards Marissa, who was still standing in the middle of the dance floor, looking a little lost.
" Alex?" Jodie called. She'd gone outside, but she couldn't see Alex anywhere. Looking around, she finally spotted Alex sitting on a bench a little further down the street.
" Hey, Alex. What happened with Marissa?"
" Nothing," said Alex staring at the pavement.
" Well there has to be a reason you're acting like someone killed your llama."
" The expression is cat, Jod."
" But llamas are more interesting. And that is way off-topic. Tell me what happened with Marissa. If you don't, I'll just find out from Summer anyway."
" I freaked out, as usual."
" Why?"
" I don't know," said Alex.
" I mean, what made you freak out?"
" We were about to kiss, and I don't know, I just froze."
" Alex, what have I told you about wasting great opportunities? Don't you like this girl?"
" I really, really like this girl," said Alex.
" Then you should tell her," said Jodie. " There, problem solved."
" It's not that simple."
" Yes, it is. You explain to her why you freaked out, and you tell her how much you like her. She'll be happy."
" If she ever forgives me for running out on her like that."
" You won't know unless you try," said Jodie. " I'm trying with Summer, and I think we're making progress."
" Only in your dreams, Jod."
" No, in those, there was really nowhere to progress to."
" Don't tell Summer that. You'll scare her off even faster."
" She wants me too much, now. Now go and talk to Marissa."
" So, Coop, what just happened there?"
" Don't pretend you don't know, Sum. I saw you dancing with Jodie, and I knew there must have been a reason apart from the fact that you're really attracted to her."
" Stop rambling and tell me," said Summer.
" It was exactly what it looked like. We were about to kiss, she freaked out and ran out of here."
Summer looked puzzled.
" That doesn't make any sense. She clearly wants you, why is she freaking out now?"
" I don't know, Sum. But I really hope I wasn't just getting the wrong impression from her."
" Coop, I saw you two dancing. There's no way you were reading the signals wrong."
Alex and Jodie had come back inside.
" Marissa, can I talk to you outside for a minute?"
" Yeah, sure," said Marissa, following Alex through the door. She led her down to the beach, so they could have a little privacy. Sitting in the sand, she motioned for Marissa to join her.
" First, I'm really sorry for freaking out on you in there. It was wrong of me to just leave you there like that."
" No big deal," said Marissa casually. " It's not important." To her, it was important, but she didn't want to end up losing Alex altogether so soon, so she passed the moment off as meaning something less than it actually did.
Alex saw what she was trying to do, and moved closer to her, looking her in the eye.
" It is important," she said softly. " I want to tell you that I really, really like you."
She moved her hand to Marissa's cheek, caressing it gently with her fingertips. Marissa's breath caught in her throat at Alex's gesture, and she brought her hand up to Alex's, intertwining their fingers the way she had done earlier.
" Dance with me?" asked Alex. " I won't miss a great opportunity this time," she said lightly, reassuringly.
Marissa smiled at her, the smile full of warmth. She got to her feet, holding out her hand for Alex to take once more. They moved together to their own rhythm, drifting closer to each other, until they reached their earlier position.
This time, there was no hesitation. Their lips met slowly, each of them trying to make the moment last as long as possible. One of Alex's hands ran through Marissa's hair, while the other one remained intertwined with Marissa's. They stood there, kissing, bathed in the moonlight, for what could have been a second, or an eternity. They were too lost in each other to know.
Finally breaking apart, they remained in a loose embrace, words not necessary to express their feelings. The moment they had just shared said everything. Marissa leaned her head on Alex's shoulder, whispering in her ear, " I really, really like you too." Alex smiled, the happiest she had been in a long time. She kissed Marissa lightly on the lips, at least she intended to. The kiss deepened rapidly, both of them running their hands over the other's body.
" You're beautiful," said Alex, as she pulled back to look at Marissa, who blushed and looked down shyly.
Alex lifted her chin. " I mean it," she said. " And I hate to spoil the moment, but we should probably get back."
" Yeah," said Marissa. " Let me just do this first." She leaned in towards Alex once more, running her tongue along her lower lip leisurely before pulling away and kissing her neck.
" Come on," she said, taking Alex's hand and leading her back towards the club. Marissa kept turning to Alex, almost as if she couldn't quite believe that she was standing next to her.
" So we're together now?" asked Marissa.
" How could we not be?" said Alex with a smile. " Jodie should stop pestering me now."
Marissa laughed lightly. " She's been pestering you?"
" I guess it's a good thing. She told me to talk to you tonight."
" I think I'll have to thank her, then."
Alex smiled. It was amazing how often she was smiling lately. And it was all because of this girl beside her.
When they arrived back at the club, they found Jodie and Summer engaged in what appeared to be a civilised conversation. Until they got close enough to actually hear what they were saying that is.
" I'm just saying, if something goes wrong, it'll all be your fault," Summer was saying.
She was about to continue when she saw Jodie's warning look, and turned around to see Marissa and Alex. Glancing at their joined hands, she said, " So you sorted things out then?"
The smiles on both of their faces told Summer and Jodie all they needed to know. "So you're officially a couple, huh?"
" Yep," said Marissa. " Jodie, thanks for whatever it was you told Alex."
" No problem," said Jodie with a smile.
" I'll be wanting details later, Coop. But for now, I'll leave you two alone. Jodie, you can take me home."
" No, sorry, I can't. There isn't room in the car for you."
" Jodie!"
" Summer, you didn't even have to ask. Oh, wait, you actually didn't ask. It doesn't matter, anyway, because I would love to spend some more time with you. Preferably in a bedroom, but a car will do."
" Jodie, all I'm asking for is a ride home."
" You made a mistake using the word ride there, Sum," said Marissa.
" Yes, you did," agreed Jodie. " Also, you used it in the same sentence as the words asking and for. Now that sentence has rearranged itself in my head."
" Don't tell me," said Summer. " Let's go."
Jodie and Summer headed towards Jodie's car, Summer almost walking into a lamppost because she was looking at Jodie rather than where she was going. Jodie bit her lip to keep from laughing. She really was trying to get on better with Summer.
At Summer's house, Summer removed her seat belt, turning to get out of the car, and abruptly turned back to Jodie.
" I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but I actually kind of had fun with you tonight."
She leaned over and kissed Jodie on the cheek.
" Thanks for the ride," she said softly, leaving Jodie stunned. So stunned, in fact, that she was unable to produce her standard sexual remark. Summer slid out of the car, giving Jodie a half-smile before she entered the house.
Jodie smiled to herself, surprised by the effect that Summer had had on her there. She'd only kissed her lightly on the cheek, but Jodie's breathing had quickened and she could feel butterflies in her stomach. She drove away, still smiling. Maybe things would be better between her and Summer now. Not that she didn't enjoy their bantering, but it was preventing her from getting closer to Summer like she wanted to.
Marissa and Alex were slowly wandering along the beach, hand in hand. Alex was finally beginning to open up to Marissa, and was currently about to tell her about the mysterious ex that had been mentioned a few times, but lacked any explanation.
" Her name was Charlotte. I was living in LA at the time. She was new in school, I was supposed to be showing her around."
Alex had decided to start from the very beginning. Marissa looked at her, urging her to continue.
" Anyway, she was one of those people you're just drawn to, you know?"
Marissa nodded in understanding.
" So we were friends. I wanted more, but I didn't expect her to return those feelings. Then one day, completely out of the blue, she kissed me and told me she couldn't stop thinking about me. I was so happy that day. I thought I finally had what I wanted. We were together a few months, and everything seemed great. I loved her; she said she loved me too. Only she didn't. You know what I said about her being a fan of playing games? Well I was one of those games. She always had to see how far she could push the boundaries. She told me I meant nothing to her, and I never had done."
" I'm sorry someone did that to you," said Marissa. Squeezing Alex's hand lightly, she added, " But not all girls are like her. I'd never treat you that way. You understand that, right?"
" I'm starting to," said Alex, kissing Marissa's cheek before resting her head on her shoulder.