A/N: I'm really pumped up! I outlined the rest of the story, down to the chapter, and I can't wait to bring our characters into the third act!

This past week was rough, once getting over my Internet problems I was immediately met with some good old melancholy. I had no desire to write despite the opportunities that life gave me. It sucked! But I've got my second wind and I'm ready to jump in and do this!

Mia laid down on the bed, scratching her stomach with a yawn. Another day swimming in the pool and hanging out. This was a really fun time but she did earnestly miss her friends back home. And yes, Ryan was sorely missed as well. They talked nearly daily, Mia understanding that he worked and stuff. The last thing she wanted to do was be clingy. Let the boy breathe!

But he hadn't called all day and they only talked yesterday morning. The tall girl gnawed on her finger, deciding to try real quick to reach Ryan, hoping he might still be awake even with the timeline in consideration.

She dialed him and it rang three times before connecting.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello, Ryan?"

"Um, hi?" came a female voice.

That made Mia sit up with a jolt. She wasn't familiar at all, but sounded around their age.

"Who's this?" asked the mysterious girl.

The tan girl scowled as she cleared her throat. She wanted her words to be loud and clear.

"This is Mia...Ryan's girlfriend?"

(That's who the fuck I am! Who the fuck are YOU?)

No response.

"Is he ar..."

"No, I'm sorry. He can't come to phone right now!"

"Wait!"

Then the call ended. Mia just stared at the phone, dumbfounded.

"What the fuck was that?" she asked out loud.

Alice was sitting on her bed reading when a knock on the open door made her look up. Standing in the doorway was Mia, holding her phone. She was looking pretty rattled.

"What's up?" asked Alice, concerned.

She bookmarked her page and threw it onto the nightstand in a flash while the older girl sat on the bed.

"I tried calling Ryan and...this...girl just answered."

"Who was it?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Mia shouted, making Alice jump in surprise. She caught herself and sighed. "Sorry...I don't know who it was. I didn't recognize her and she didn't say her name."

Alice bit her lip and hummed.

"Didn't you mention Ryan was hanging with some childhood friends? Maybe that was her."

"And she just answered his phone?" Mia asked with a raised eyebrow. "Ryan's a big boy, he can answer his own phone!"

Alice shrugged, "Maybe he left it behind?" The petite girl snapped her fingers. "Maybe he lost his phone, some random girl found it, and is playing detective to find its owner! Now that she knows his name, she can make posters and say, anybody named Ryan lose a phone?"

Mia looked back at her friend, slack-jawed.

"Bit of a leap, don't you think?"

"Look," Alice yawned. "I'm really tired and that's the best I got right now."

She was upset but couldn't get mad at Alice's strange logic. The girl had a clever brain, but sometimes her naivete would shine though. Mia collapsed down on the bed with an exaggerated huff.

"I know exactly what happened," Mia sighed. "He hung out with his buddies from the block, a girl he hadn't seen in years confesses her feelings for him, and now they're making out. I mean...our moms were friends long ago, too...right?"

Alice reached out, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Mia, don't say that! This is Ryan we're talking about. He wouldn't cheat on you!"

"Come on, Alice! He's answered his phone, he was busy, but no girl ever answered his phone before!" Mia was cursing herself, putting her faith in him. She was trying to be the understanding and patient girlfriend. All the green-eyed monster needed was the shadow of a doubt to gain strength. And being many miles away, Mia can't pull the hair of some tart. Instead, she set missiles at herself. "It's my fault. I drove him away; just got fed up with my shit. He was a prince for hanging on as long as he did."

The older teen started to cry when Alice hugged her, denying the Mia's attempted suicide of her character.

"Give Ryan credit!" Alice insisted. "I don't know what it's like to have that kind of temptation but WE don't know his willpower. How can a guy be honorable if he's not given a chance?"

"But..."

Alice grumbled impatiently and covered her big sister's yapper.

"But nothing! Don't say or do anything you're gonna regret, Mia. You'll hate yourself for it. Next week, we're back home. That's plenty of time for Ryan and you to talk. And if he doesn't mention anything about tonight, then the first time you see him face to face, ask!"

Mia mumbled something incoherent, so Alice took away her hands.

"Say that again?"

"You want me to just ask him about her when we get back?"

"If something's on his conscience, give him a few days to come clean. But I think when we return, that should be enough time."

The tan girl let out a mild chuckle.

"I thought you told me to trust him."

"Oh I did," nodded Alice. "But some girl answering his phone is a fair question! That's not being jealous, that's just not being a dummy."

Mia put her arm around her, leaning heads together.

"Besides...I need you two if we're gonna have that double date still happen!"

"Oh, yeah?"

Alice was blindsided by a pillow but when she went down, she grabbed one and retaliated. The two went at it for a couple of minutes before dissolving into laughing messes. Mia needed that levity. That girl's knack for taking the bad vibes out of the room was incredible. And infectious. She was surprised that their mothers didn't come in, wondering what all of the commotion was about.

That can mean only one thing. They were more worried about being heard themselves and Mia quickly suppressed that thought before visuals came to mind.

(This is it!)

Jade paced back and forth in the bedroom, seeing to every conceivable detail to make tonight everything Tori deserved. She was lucky to have her and would be damned if she ever took the woman for granted.

It seemed like forever ago that they were only discussing sex. When Tori made love to Jade for the first time, they finally reached that plateau. And man, was that tan goddess worth waiting for! But it was her turn to be adored. Tonight was Tori's night.

And why not? She's always been good to her.

[FLASHBACK]

"Jade, listen to me!"

Tori pulled the former goth into an embrace, leaning her head on her warm chest.

"We were both in the same boat once upon a time. We both thought we found our true love. I used to believe that was a thing. I cherished Sam and I cherish you, too. True love, soulmates, destiny; it's all a myth."

Tori kissed her head.

"I've learned that love comes in many forms. Some are unexpected, some pretty inexplicable."

"Sounds like we're a bit of both," Jade sniffed.

"The point is, believing in true love is false, because nothing lasts forever. You hope with all your heart that you have that special someone for all of the days! Like I told you before, West, twenty-something me had her heart healed by a good man. Now that I'm approaching middle age, who knew a good woman would heal my heart all over again?"

Jade glanced up at her.

"I'm not a good woman," she protested.

Tori smiled and lifted her chin.

"You're not good. You're amazing!"

The Latina re-positioned herself, so she was sitting across from Jade now.

"We can postpone this to another night since today was a lot. If you still need to cry, I will hold you for however long it takes."

Jade wiped her face.

"Really?"

"If you promise to do the same when I need arms to hold me."

Jade leaned in for a kiss.

"Just say when and where, Vega. I'll be there."

Tori looked at her love glassy-eyed and held out her hands.

"Now come over here, give Tori a squeeze."

Jade shook her head and scooted next to her. She was surprised when Tori brought her in tighter, so that she was with her knees to her chest. Tori held fetal position Jade in her lap for a while. The sobs got softer and softer the more Jade let her body relax and take in her woman's scent. There was something so sexy about how she could allow herself to be vulnerable around her.

She wanted to please Tori so much. Especially after she had shown time and again that she would give so much in return.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Jade fluffed the pillows on the bed and ran to grab the lighter for the candles. It was a little cheesy, but she knew Tori responded to romance. All attention would be on her this time and Jade wanted everything to be perfect. She even got one of those classical CDs from Barnes and Noble, the kind that are curated for specific themes. This was allegedly meant for romantic evenings. It had the likes of Rachmaninoff, Debussy and Handel; plenty of baroque and baroque-inspired pieces. Right now, Jade pushed play and Serenade for Strings in E (Temp Di Valse) by Dvorak began.

She adjusted her cleavage in the dark purple negligee she picked out for tonight before sitting seductively on the edge of the bed.

"I'm ready!"

The door to the bathroom opened and Tori's eyes twinkled in delight.

"What's all this?" she chuckled.

"Something special for someone special," Jade smiled back with an arched brow. The swelling strings accompanying her face amid the soft lighting was like a dream.

Tori smiled as she sashayed over to her girlfriend, who welcomed an eager kissing of the neck. She had wanted to get Jade naked, but this was still wonderful for the Latina to behold. How can everything be ravaging on this woman?

She pinned down Jade, heavily making out. Jade took her being distracted and used her legs to grab Tori and flip her over so that she was on top now. A breathless Tori's pupils dilated, never enjoyed being caught more. This whole thing was a surprise, so Tori was still in her pajamas. That meant Jade would have to undress her.

(I'm okay with that, hehehe!)

The next track started on the CD player and while the previous piece was rapturous and light; this new one was thunderous and at a faster pace. It sounded less like lovemaking music and more like the Austrian calvary was about to break down the door.

"What the fuck!" Jade muttered, motioning for Tori to shift so she could get up. The woman rushed over to shut off the music and huffed in frustration. "Sorry about that."

Tori rolled over onto the bed and gave her the sweetest of looks. Jade's heart was aflutter.

"It's okay, really. It was nice...at first," she shrugged with a grin to break the tension.

Jade was less amused but decided to soldier on, approaching the bed to begin caressing Tori's leg with her fingertips. That caused the Latina to hum contentedly.

"What else can those magic fingers do, I wonder?" mused Tori with batted eyes.

A smirk came across Jade's lips and her hand traced down Tori's stomach, further and further down to her warm center. The author breathed deeply as she made her way inside, startling Tori at first.

"Oh!" escaped from the Latina's mouth. "Careful, gorgeous."

Jade blushed, realizing that she entered a little too eagerly. This had to be slow and methodical. Jade proceeded to attempt to finger a laying Tori while on her knees. From an outsider's perspective, it looked like Jade was assisting a birth. She looked less like she was trying to get Tori off and more like she was trying to turn the baby around. Tori grunted from the rather excessive effort on Jade's part.

"Babe..." she whispered. "Babe?"

The former goth bit her lip, trying to stay focused until her fingers went as far as they could go without severing them from her hand. But that made Tori further uncomfortable. More sounds came from Tori, and they didn't sound pleasurable.

(Come on, come on, why isn't this working?!)

"JADE!"

Her eyes locked with Tori, whose hands were holding onto her wrist.

"Just...stop, please. It's starting to hurt."

She swiftly withdrew her digits but that also made Tori squirm some. Jade was being too fast, too aggressive. It also didn't help that there was no intimacy involved; Jade perched as far as you could be from a woman while trying to finger her. Tori by contrast held her close, making sure she felt loved whilst working her magic.

"Maybe...we should take a break?" Tori suggested.

Feeling defeated, she grabbed a robe and covered up after standing. Jade shook her head as she walked briskly across the bedroom.

"Jade, where are you going? Jade, no, don't leave!"

The former goth took a deep breath, unable to look her in the eye.

"I love you, Jade!" Tori's voice nearly cracked.

"I love you, too" she sighed. "Don't worry, I'll be on the couch."

The Latina's heart ached as her retreating lover opened the door.

"Please don't do this, please! Stay...we...we can figure this out!"

"Sorry, but I'm not up for...I...uh...I just need to be alone tonight. I'm sorry."

Tori stayed on the bed, tears rolling down her cheeks as her girlfriend closed the door.

A/N: We hit some roadblocks, poor Mia and poor Jade. Those two really are kindred spirits, aren't they? They put on tough exteriors but are susceptible to self-doubt.

But you know me; the story doesn't end here! Not to worry, I plan to have the next chapter in a day or two.