As they got onto the plane and settled in, Maya began to feel a little anxious, so, she sidled up to Carina who gladly put her arms around her. In her whole life, Maya really struggled letting people in, but, she felt so safe with Carina that she could open herself up to her more and more - she really had never felt like this with anyone else. As the stewardess went over all the in flight guidelines, they finally got ready for take off.

When they got into the air, things went smoothly, and within thirty minutes, everyone could use electronic devices. Both Maya and Carina had their laptops, and the thought did go through Maya's head to get hers out and finish some paperwork, but even she knew that Carina would kill her if she started working not one hour into their vacation.

She opted to listen to some music, and got out her iPod (Maya was one of the few people that still used one. She like having her music separate from her phone), and just put it on shuffle. As it played, about two songs in, one of her favorite songs, " '03 Bonnie and Clyde" by Jay-z and Beyonce came on, and she couldn't help but sing along.

"All I need in this life of sin….Is me and my girlfriend….." Maya sang softly. As the lyrics poured into her brain and softly out of her mouth, she felt a nudge on her shoulder. Realizing it was Carina, she took out her air pods.

"Oh god, was I embarrassing you with my singing?" Maya said through her mask.

"No, Bambina," Carina replied. "It was actually so cute, listening to you sing Beyonce…."

"Wait, you know that song?" Maya asked.

"What, do I live under a door?" Carina said, laughing. "Of course. Who doesn't know Beyonce?"

"Do you live under a rock," Maya corrected, laughing. "I don't know, I guess I just thought that since you grew up in Italy, not much mainstream American music and pop culture got over there."

"I guess you could say that's true," Carina said. "But, Beyonce? Jay-Z….? They are so famous that they definitely get to Italy. As a matter of fact, I saw Beyonce in concert for her 'Beyonce experience' tour….and I also saw her and Jay-z in concert for their second tour"

"Are you serious?" Maya said. "I can't believe that! When did you go?"

"Her solo show was in 2006, during med school," Stefania said. "And the second one was recently, 2018? I think….The first one was in Milan and the second one was in Rome. They were SO much fun!"

"All I need is this life of sin….." Maya started

"Is me and my girlfriend…." Carina finished, giving Maya a squeeze.

"Ive been thinking about that song a lot recently, actually" Maya said. "When I run and it comes on, I just get such an adrenaline rush. It just reminds me so much of you and me, and I really feel like all I need is you to succeed."

"Awwwwwwww, Bella, you're so cute," Stefania said.

Stefania then got out her phone, and swiped and showed Maya pictures. She was a little nervous because she had attended both of these concerts with exes - the first one with an Italian woman Sofia, and the second one with Arizona, and she knew Maya had a tendency to get jealous, but, she hoped she wouldn't in this case.

"Oh my god, these pictures are amazing Maya said. And seriously, how do you look no different now than you did 15 years ago?"

"Italian anti-aging juice, I guess," Carina joked.

Maya continued scrolling, and found a picture of Carina and Arizona hugging at the concert, which she didn't love seeing. Of course Maya knew that everyone has a past, and they had talked about their previous partners, but, the idea of Carina with someone else almost made her physically ill. She loved Carina so much and that love had only intensified in these months since they had been living together. She knew she had no right to be jealous - especially after what she had put her through with Jack, but, she couldn't help it sometimes. And, even though Maya was very secure, she still marveled at Carina sometimes. This woman was beyond gorgeous, somewhat exotic and genius level smart. Sometimes she had to pinch herself and say "Wow, she really chose me?"

Carina could see that Maya was a little sad, seeing pics of Carina with other women. She rubbed her girlfriend's back, and did her best to make her feel better.

"Bambina, I am sorry you saw the pictures of me and Arizona and me and Sofia," Carina said, comforting her girlfriend. "But, Sofia was a looooooooooooooonnnngggggg time ago, and she is married with kids now, so obviously she doesn't want me anymore. And Arizona and I did have something, but, she's gone now, and I love you so much….nothing will ever change that."

"I know," Maya said. "I don't know why I feel so insecure. It's just that…you've had such a life of exes and women, and men, and….I haven't had as much of that. And, when I see pictures of you and beautiful Italian women from yesteryear, I don't know, it just doesn't hit right."

"I get it, Bella…." Carina said. "Exes and stuff like that is never an easy subject. You remember how hard it was for me when you even mentioned Jack? And let alone me having to be in the same room with him sometimes."

"I have done some rotten things in my life," Maya said. "But I still can't believe I did that to you. That is by far the worst thing I've ever done."

"We don't need to go back there, Bambina," Carina said as she brushed her fingers through Maya's blonde hair. "And I trust you so much now. It was hard to get there, but, we're here."

"That does make me feel better," Maya said, her anxiety dropping slightly. "Oh, and I actually have a confession to make."

"Oh," Carina asked.

"Yeah, so, remember when we were getting coffee the other week, and that woman stopped me to say hi?"

"Oh, yeah, Dearborn, right?" Carina said.

"Yeah, so, well, she's not an ex, but, we did hook up a couple times. Nothing serious at all though."

"OK, so why are you telling me this?" Carina asked.

"Well, when I introduced you as my girlfriend - which I love saying by the way….and we chatted for a second, after that she texted me and it said, 'well, clearly someone has upgraded - Maya, seriously, that woman is one of the hottest women I've ever seen….and she's a doctor? Your mother must sleep like a log."

"Hahahahahahahaha, wow, I'm flattered," Carina said. "Did she really say that?"

Maya then pulled out her phone and scrolled back, and showed Carina the text. She really couldn't believe that she still had it, but, when she showed it to Carina, the Italian woman laughed even more.

"You laugh, but I get that a lot," Maya said, smiling. "Everyone that meets you is captivated by you, much like me."

"Well, when I tell people my girlfriend is a fire captain and an Olympic gold medalist, they are also pretty impressed, Bambina. And it's not a competition, we truly make each other better."

"We do," Maya said, lowering her mask and kissing Carina. "We really do."

And Just like that, they were in their descent, and landing in LA.