Embraces soften the Strongest
Embraces soften the Strongest
She didn’t quite know how she ended up there. Standing in front of the apartment building she knew all too well. But without her key.
The cement below her feet was welcoming, but she was scared that the building wouldn’t be as welcoming as the cement when she had to be buzzed in.
But still, she walked over to the doorbell and pressed the one saying ‘’Helbig & Hart’’.
There was no answer and Hannah wondered if she should just walk away. If she should spare Grace the pain of having her in her life.
But then the intercom had a voice in it.
‘’Who is it?’’
Hannah froze for a second before replying.
‘’Hannah’’
‘’Where’s you key?’’ Grace asked seriously.
Great. First day of having a key to their apartment, and she lost it.
‘’Umh… I’m not sure. I may have left it upstairs’’ she muttered into the intercom.
The door in front of her buzzed open and Hannah rested her hand on the door handle.
Should I do this, or should I just walk away while I still can?
She pressed down the door handle and went inside. She walked up the stairs, slowly, and kept walking until she reached apartment 12.
The door was open.
Hannah walked over the threshold and was met with a girl dressed in sweatpants and a tank top. Her hair was sat up in a messy bun, and her hands were frying bacon. It smelled fantastic, and when Grace turned around to meet Hannah’s gazing eyes she smiled.
The smile gave Hannah little butterflies in her stomach.
Stop it! Don’t do that, why are you doing that?
Somehow Grace always managed to make Hannah feel like one of those teenagers that went singing to the moon about how great their lives were. Only that Hannah’s life wasn’t all that great. At least not before Grace rushed into it.
‘’Hey, I’m making egg and bacon. You want some?’’
Hannah sniffed in the smell once more as she grinned to her friend.
‘’Oh, do I! It smells like happiness’’
They both smiled of Hannah’s cheesiness.
She always managed to say awkward things in Grace’s presence, but she didn’t oppose to it. Because as it seemed; Grace enjoyed it.
Hannah sat down on the chair beside the sink and watched as Grace ran back and forth to fry the food and do the dishes at the same time.
‘’Do you want anything to drink? Water, iced tea, beer-’’
Hannah smiled at the flailing limbs in the kitchen as Grace slipped and fell on her rear.
‘’Just water, please’’ she muttered under her laugh when she helped Grace off of the floor.
‘’You know you can get a beer, right? I’m not mad. Okay, maybe I’m a little mad‘’ Grace murmured while putting her slim arms around Hannah’s waist.
‘’What are you doing?’’
‘’I forgot to say hi to you’’ she smiled as she drew Hannah in for a tight hug.
‘’Hi’’ she muttered against Hannah’s neck.
‘’Hi’’ Hannah whispered back.
It felt nice to have someone embrace her like that. No one had done it before Grace, and she must have felt somewhat of a hesitation from Hannah once again, because she pulled her in even closer.
Hannah could feel every curve of Grace’s body against her own, and it made her dizzy. Why did it make her dizzy? Why did she want to… No, she couldn’t. She couldn’t do that! This was her best friend and-
‘’What are you thinking about?’’
Grace wasn’t laughing anymore. Maybe she noticed Hannah’s minor panic attack, or maybe she remembered the scars in Hannah’s skin and her curse. She didn’t know.
‘’Nothing’’ Hannah whispered into brown locks.
But it wasn’t nothing. It was far from nothing. It was things that Hannah had never known before. Things she had never felt.
Just the touch from Grace’s hands elicited sparks within Hannah.
‘’And you know I’m not actually mad at you, right?’’ Grace murmured into Hannah’s ear.
‘’You sure?’’ Hannah laughed into brown locks.
‘’Because you seem very mad’’ she grinned as Grace leaned back.
‘’Eat me’’ Grace laughed as she gave Hannah’s shoulder a nudge.
Hannah opened her mouth to come with a totally inappropriate, totally cheesy joke, but all she could think about was the butterflies that appeared with Grace’s words.
Why are you doing that? Stop doing that.
‘’Jeez, buy a girl a drink first’’ she finally managed to muster out. Grace grinned and nudged her shoulder again.
They always did that. The flirting part, but lately it had elicited feelings that Hannah didn’t even know she had. Like the dizziness and the butterflies and just everything.
‘’And oh… Here’s your key’’ Grace smiled as she grabbed them from on top of the microwave.
‘’You forgot it this morning’’ she added when Hannah mustered out ‘’thank God’’.
‘’Hey’’ Grace shouted in mock shock.
‘’Do not thank the Gods. Thank me. If I hadn’t seen them, they would still be in the freezer’’ she laughed.
‘’The freezer? Again?’’ Hannah laughed. She had always managed to put Grace’s keys in there as well, but she really thought she had managed to stop doing it.
‘’Yeah’’ Grace grinned as she returned to her previous administrations.
‘’Bacon extra fried and crispy, right?’’ she shouted from over her shoulder.
Hannah walked up to her and put her arms around her waist.
‘’Yes, please’’ she smiled as she put her chin on Grace’s shoulder.
Grace put her free hand on top of Hannah’s and smiled.
‘’You know, our neighbor told me today that we look like a married couple. He asked me where my wife was when I took out the trash’’ Grace grinned, tracing small patterns on Hannah’s hand.
‘’Oh yeah? And what did you say?’’ Hannah smirked while looking down at the bacon.
‘’That we weren’t married’’ she laughed.
‘’Really? So now the neighbors think we are a lesbian couple?’’ Hannah sighed contently.
‘’Well, yes’’ Grace huffed out, laughing uncontrollably.
Hannah thought about it for a moment. They were always flirting and touching. They behaved like a couple, so why wouldn’t people believe they were?
‘’Well, maybe we are’’ Hannah said thoughtful.
Grace slid her fingers in between Hannah’s and rested them there.
‘’What do you mean?’’ she asked, a smile still painting her lips.
‘’Maybe we are’’ Hannah repeated, smiling shyly.
‘’Oh yeah?’’ Grace laughed.
‘’Yeah’’ Hannah whispered back.
‘’Except we don’t kiss’’ Grace smirked while removing the bacon from the pan.
‘’Yeah’’ Hannah smiled as she turned Grace around.
‘’Yet’’ she grinned as she leaned in closer, feeling Grace’s breath mingle with her own.
She didn’t know who leaned in all the way, who kissed who first, but they did. They kissed and then… Nothing. Hannah felt nothing. Saw nothing. Thought nothing. Nothing.
‘’Hannah’’
The voice was distant, coming from somewhere she couldn’t reach. And it was dark around her. So dark.
‘’Hey, Hannah’’
She opened her eyes to see a flustered Grace hovering above her.
‘’Are you okay?’’
Hannah tried to sit up, but everything hurt. It hurt so much.
She brought one of her hands to brush through her hair, and winced at the contact.
‘’What happened?’’ she muttered tiredly.
‘’One minute you kissed me, and the next you just… fell’’ Grace said, worry seeping out with her words.
‘’Fuck’’ Hannah mumbled as she sat up. Her body ached and screamed when she moved, but the floor was so uncomfortable.
‘’What was that?’’ Grace asked.
‘’Nothing. It just happens from time to time’’ Hannah said as she closed her eyes.
Grace took a deep breath before speaking.
‘’No, I meant the kiss’’
Hannah opened her eyes, panic sweeping through her bones. Oh. The kiss. Right.
‘’Oh’’
‘’But that too’’ Grace said after a moment.
‘’If I remember correctly; you kissed me back’’ Hannah smiled as she looked up into Grace’s eyes.
Grace laughed and looked away. She bit her lower lip nervously and looked back into Hannah’s blue eyes.
‘’Well… Yes’’ she smiled.
‘’And…’’
‘’What?’’ Hannah asked when Grace looked away again.
‘’It’s ridiculous. Never mind’’ she laughed and leaned her back against the stove.
‘’No, what?’’ Hannah smiled, lying in Grace’s lap with Grace’s fingers stroking her arms.
‘’And I kinda wanna do it again’’ she mumbled when she looked back at Hannah.
‘’The kissing part I mean’’ she added when Hannah just grinned at her.
‘’Not the ‘you falling in my arms and then on the floor’ part’’
Hannah sat up and whispered:
‘’Come here’’
Lips met lips again, and Hannah shifted her body so she was now straddling the other woman. She threw her arm around Grace’s neck and kissed her deeper.