The day was just beginning to dawn when Melissa woke up.
She looked to the side and saw that Shauna was still sleeping peacefully. Melissa smiled.
It wasn’t often that she woke up before Shauna, but she liked it when she did because she enjoyed admiring Shauna while she slept. It wasn’t weird, or at least Melissa didn’t think it was weird. She just liked watching Shauna sleep because it was the only time Shauna looked calm and at peace.
Fuck, Shauna is so pretty.
Melissa wanted to caress Shauna’s soft face and kiss her lips, but she didn’t want to risk waking her up. So, she forced herself to simply keep looking at how pretty Shauna is.
It was in moments like these that Melissa realized that, despite life being miserable out here in the wilderness, not everything was bad. She had spent so much time crushing on Shauna and admiring her from afar, but she knew that if the plane had never crashed, she would have never made a move.
Shauna stirred slightly, and the first thing Melissa thought was that she was having yet another nightmare.
It had only been a few weeks since Melissa had started living in Shauna’s hut, and every now and then, she noticed that Shauna had nightmares. Sometimes, Shauna would whisper Jackie’s name, as if she were sad or even afraid, and then Melissa would hold her. Suddenly, Shauna would be fine again, as if all she needed was a hug to make everything okay.
Melissa reached out to hug Shauna but stopped when the girl moved again. Oh, now she was waking up.
Shauna opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times, then rubbed them.
“Good morning, babe,” Melissa said. Was ‘babe’ too cheesy? Too bold? Shit, Melissa had no idea, she had no real experience with relationships.
“Were you just watching me like a fucking creep?” Shauna asked.
Melissa smiled. “Is that how you flirt?”
Shauna gave a quick, small smile but didn’t answer the question.
She was still drowsy, so she seemed calmer now compared to when she was fully awake, which made her even cuter than she already was.
Melissa couldn’t resist and placed her hand on Shauna’s soft cheek, beginning to stroke it.
Melissa was still testing the waters with Shauna, so she wasn’t sure if this was too much. Shauna looked surprised, though she didn’t push Melissa’s hand away.
“Are you okay?” Melissa asked as she continued caressing her face.
Then, Shauna placed her hand over Melissa’s and forced her to stop.
“What are you doing?” Shauna asked.
Melissa panicked. Had she messed everything up?
“I… Sorry. I’ve never been in a relationship, so I guess I just don’t know how to act,” she tried to explain. No matter how much of a loser she sounded like right now, it was better to sound like one than to ruin things with Shauna.
“It’s okay. It’s just that, like you said before, everyone is afraid of me except for you, so it’s weird how you’re not afraid to touch me.”
Well, it seemed like Melissa hadn’t ruined everything after all.
Melissa laughed. “I’ve dreamed of touching you like this since back in Wiskayok, so of course I’m not afraid,” she admitted.
“When did you start liking me?” Shauna asked, removing her hand from Melissa’s and allowing her to caress her face again.
“I started liking you the first time we talked.” She watched as Shauna looked confused. “I know you don’t remember, so it doesn’t bother me. You weren’t the first varsity to talk to me, but you were the first to be kind, so I realized there was something special about you.”
“You started liking me just because I was nice to you?” The way Shauna said it sounded like she was teasing Melissa, but the faint smile on her face suggested otherwise.
“It’s not like I fell in love with you instantly, but I started seeing you differently,” Melissa explained.
“Did you ever plan to tell me?”
“No. I mean, I wanted to, but I was sure you wouldn’t even notice me. You had so much else going on, and I was just a JV you probably didn’t even remember the name of.”
Shauna laughed. This time, it was a real laugh.
“Okay, I really didn’t remember your name, but I remembered the hat.” Shauna lifted her hand, and this time, she was the one who touched Melissa’s cheek. “You look different without your hat.”
Melissa was so nervous about Shauna’s hand on her cheek that she forgot to respond, causing a few seconds of awkward silence.
“Do you want me to stop wearing the hat?” she asked as soon as she remembered she could speak.
“No, I like the hat. It’s distinctive.”
They fell silent again for a few moments. Melissa stared at Shauna’s lips. Fuck, she wanted to feel their softness against hers again.
“Melissa, you don’t have to be shy. You can kiss me if you want,” Shauna said.
Melissa smiled. She slowly leaned in and pressed her lips to Shauna’s in a soft kiss. She wasn’t used to kissing Shauna like this—gently. Their kisses always felt desperate and hungry.
They stayed like that, exchanging lazy, soft kisses. If she could, Melissa would stay like this forever with Shauna.
She felt like she was making progress, like Shauna was finally letting her in.
Melissa let out a small, frustrated sigh when Shauna pulled away.
“You should go back to sleep. It’s still early,” Shauna said.
Well, that wasn’t what Melissa wanted, but at least Shauna wasn’t pushing her away again.
She watched as Shauna got comfortable in their makeshift bed, and once again, Melissa decided to take a bold step. She moved closer to Shauna and rested her head on the girl’s chest, wrapping her arm around her.
She immediately felt Shauna’s body tense. She could hear Shauna’s heartbeat, it was fast.
Shauna sighed. “Melissa…” She didn’t say anything else.
“Was that too much?” Melissa asked. She wanted to be affectionate, but she always let Shauna take the lead.
“You know, I think maybe you really should be more afraid to touch me,” Shauna said.
That frustrated Melissa.
“I guess that really was too much,” Melissa said with a disappointed smile.
She started to pull away, but Shauna kept her in place.
“It’s okay, it’s just… you know, it’s just strange. But not bad,” Melissa could still hear Shauna’s fast heartbeat. “It’s not something I’ll want every day, you know? I hope you understand.”
“It’s okay. I really don’t mind.”
Shauna smiled at her.
“Go back to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Melissa smiled and snuggled closer to Shauna.
Shauna was a difficult person to read, difficult to interact with, but little by little, Melissa felt like she was beginning to find her way into her heart.