Chapter 4
As soon as the song changed to a slower beat, Ashlyn’s head instantly shot towards Ali and the group she was hanging around, she let out a small smile before she turned back and excused herself from Whitney, she then began heading towards the brunette. Whitney raised an eyebrow and as soon as she saw where her best friend had headed, she instantly smirked and began to drift her gaze around the rest of the area. Her gaze finally fell on her other bestie and her eyebrows shot up when she saw Ella being pulled to the dance floor by none other than the girl, Ashlyn and herself teased her about liking. With the smirk still placed on her face, she slowly walked over to the bar and sat on one of the vacant bar stools. Looking up, Whitney smiled at the girl behind the bar before ordering a beer.
The girl smiled in return with a nod as she turned around to grab a Corona and the bottle opener.
Popping off the cap, she looked back to Whitney and slid the drink to her.
“Cheers,” Whitney let out as she held the bottle up and raised it to her lips, taking a sip before she turned on her stool and leaned back against the bar as she began to observe her surroundings.
----
Ashlyn slowly and as calmly as she possibly could made her way over to the group that Ali was chatting with, she stopped just beside the brunette and let out a soft charming grin. “Excuse me, Ladies,” she let out gently before looking to Ali. “But I was wondering if you would like to dance, Alex?” She asked with a held out hand.
Ali blushed lightly as she turned to look at Pinoe and Lori, the pair of them had a knowing smirk on their face and she just rolled her eyes before turning back to the blonde and smiled brightly. “Sure,” Ali let out softly as she took a hold of the girl’s hand and her heartbeat quickened that extra beat inside her chest as she was led towards the dance floor.
“I thought you were never going to ask,” Ali whispered through a mumble as Ashlyn pulled them as close as they possibly could be as soon as they came to a stop at their destination.
Ash chuckled lightly as a smirk found its way onto her face. “Was just waiting for the perfect song,” she winked and all Ali could do was blush. “I, uh… I also have a question to ask you.” Ali’s attention perked up at this. “Hmmm?” She hummed out curiously.
Taking in a breath, she could feel her whole body begin to beat as the nerves began to build up inside her and she stayed silent for a moment longer trying to gather her thoughts. “I… uh, well, would you… uh, would you maybe like to go to dinner with me next Friday night?” she let out slightly flustered.
Ali blushed as she bit her lip as a small chuckle moved past her lips. She continued to look at the other woman for a moment before she tilted her head. “As in a date?” She mumbled.
“Err, yeah?” Ashlyn let out nervously.
“Yes, I would love too,” she grinned brightly almost immediately as she felt her face heating up even more than before.
The blonde let out a breath of disbelief and astonishment. “Really?” She asked just to make sure she heard the girl right.
Ali shyly nodded her head slowly as she giggled. “Mmmhm, I mean who could say no to you?” “Ah, I knew you fancied me,” Ashlyn smirked as she got her composure back.
“Now come on, how could I not?” Ali’s face went a deeper shade of red and she was more than thankful for the slight darkness of the club which hid it. “I mean… you’re gorgeous and incredibly charming.”
“Well, you’re completely beautiful,” Ashlyn grinned.
Ali smiled brightly in return before her nerves hit her all at once and she lowered her gaze to the floor beside them as she mumbled something along the lines of thank you.
Ashlyn tilted her head to the side as she smiled softly, just admiring the girl for a second before she brought her right hand up to the brunette’s face and she raised Ali’s gaze until it met her own. She stared for what felt like forever and saw them shine back at her in the darkened room before she slowly began to lean in. “I mean it, Alexandra… you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met in my whole entire life and not just on the outside but on the inside as well,” she let out sincerely in a soft whisper.
Ali’s heartbeat raced through her whole body as her breath got caught in her throat, bringing her bottom lip between her teeth, she began to feel a little light headed and was thankful for the blonde’s arm around her keeping her steady. As Ashlyn spoke, Ali absently began leaning in and by the time the girl had finished talking, Ali's lips were instantly met with the blonde’s and she felt the spark almost immediately that it felt like fireworks were going off and she knew for sure, in that moment that it felt amazing and that kissing Ashlyn was something that she wanted to do for the rest of her life – that and being in the girl’s arms because it made her feel completely safe.
“Damn…” is all Ashlyn could say as they pulled away, she was speechless. Shaking her head she grinned. “I mean, damn!” She let out more confidently this time.
Ali just giggled as she wrapped her arms around the blonde and buried her head into her neck.
Ashlyn smiled softly as she wrapped her own arm tightly around Ali and closed her eyes, opening them a few second later to look around the room, her gaze falling onto a familiar figure. “No way…” she whispered out in slight amusement.
“What?” Ali asked curiously as she pulled her head back a little to look at her.
“Ella is dancing with Erin…” she smirked as she tilted her head a little in their direction.
Ali turned and strained her neck to look at the two Ashlyn was motioning towards and she smiled softly before she knotted her eyebrows in curiosity once more. “Does Ella even….?”
“I don’t know,” Ashlyn cut her off knowing exactly what she was going to say. “I don’t think she even knows.”
“Never the less, they are rather cute,” Ali mused out as she turned back to Ashlyn.
“I’ll tell her you said that.”
“No don’t!” Ali quickly let out in panic and Ashlyn just stared at her in amusement. “Ashlyn!”
She let out more sternly. “Promise me you won’t.”
“Fine, I promise I won’t.”
“Good," she mumbled out as she returned to her position from just moments before.
About another three hours, the two groups stumbled out of the bar giggling and laughing along the street, a few drunker than others as they made their way into a few cabs they had booked earlier.
They said goodbye to each other and made their way back to their apartments to end the night.
----
-tap, tap, tap-
That’s all that could be heard throughout the room for a few minutes until a groan flowed out from a very sleepy Ella. A few more taps sounded through her room and she groaned once more as she peaked open one eye, her head was pounding a little and she cursed to herself for getting drunk the night before. Raising her gaze she looked over to the clock and saw that it was only 6:25 in the morning.
“What the fuck…” she whispered out into the room as another round of taps came sounding through her room and she sighed in frustration, looking over towards her window, knowing that’s exactly where the noise was coming from. A few chirps then followed and she shook her head.
“God damn that bird!” She sighed again as she shut her eyes and brought the spare pillow over her head as she tried to shut out the noise, but she could still faintly hear it and she grumbled in annoyance. “Alright, I am up!” Ella let out in a frustrated whisper to no one in particular but more to the annoying bird at her window, it would come one day and then leave for a few days only to return and annoy her once again. Today she wished it would had stayed away.
Swinging her legs over the bed, she sat up and instantly brought her hands to her head, only a little happy that her hangover wasn’t as bad as they have been. Finally after a moment, she had enough energy to pick herself up from the bed and went straight to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and an aspirin. Once she took it, she then went straight to the bathroom to have a shower.
By the time she was showered and dressed the time was around 7:30 and the apartment was still dead, so instead of having breakfast and making a noise, she decided to head to the café.
Entering the building, she smiled softly to herself as she breathed in the instant coffee aroma that had hit her before making her way to a vacant table. A few minutes later one of the baristas came over to take her order.
---
Ella had finally finished her food and got up to pay for it – thanking the people behind the counter in the process before beginning to make her way out of the building, just as she was leaving with her gaze glued to her phone someone was entering and she only just noticed by quickly glancing up, but she didn’t look towards their face. She quickly took a step to her right, in which the other person stepped in the same direction and then she quickly stepped left and the person did the same. “Damn… sorry,” she mumbled out as she stopped her attempt in leaving for the time being as a chuckle left her mouth and she raised her gaze, her heart began to race a little quicker, like it always did when she saw Erin.
“It’s fine, Ella,” Erin smiled softly as she tilted her head to the side and stared at the girl for a moment. “You’re up early.”
“Uh, yeah… there was a damn annoying bird tapping on my window and rudely woke me up, there was no point in going back to sleep.”
“No hangover then?”
“Only a small headache, but I took an aspirin for it, so all is well,” she smiled and Erin nodded.
“How about you? Why are you up so early?”
“Couldn’t really sleep, so I didn’t bother and I didn’t really drink much last night, so there was no hangover in the morning.”
“Lucky you,” Ella mumbled out softly.
Erin chuckled lightly as she shook her head. “So, what are your plans for the day?”
“Probably just relaxing, nothing major, I mean everyone got drunk last night, so I am sure they aren’t expecting to do anything wild. I don’t really expect them to be awake until the afternoon anyway. You?”
“Same deal here,” she shrugged. “Well, I should probably let you go…” Erin quickly said and before she could take a step around the girl to allow her to leave another person pushed passed her in attempt to walk into the building and Erin stumbled forward a little towards Ella.
The younger girl’s eyes widened slightly at the closeness and she felt a sudden rush run throughout her body that she couldn’t explain. “I…uh…you… yeah, I should probably go…” she rushed out quickly. She wasn’t even sure if the other girl had understood her or not as she side stepped her and began walking out of the building only to stop just outside and turned back around. “Ahh, wait!” She let out with more confidence, which surprised her completely.
Erin couldn’t help the smile that took over her face as the other girl stumbled over her words and the fact she rushed out of the place as quickly as possible. She was about to continue walking into the café when Ella’s voice was heard once more and she turned around to her with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, yeah?” She asked in confusion.
“Friends and I are going to the beach for a bonfire tonight, just wondering if you wanted to join?” She shyly asked, praying so badly that she’d agree.
“Sounds like fun. I’m in,” Erin agreed with a grin that melted Ella’s heart that little bit more.
“Cool, bring your friends, the more the merrier,” she smiled before she turned back around and began to head off again.
Erin quickly walked out of the place. “Uh… Ella?” She quickly called out to the girl.
“Yes?”
“I think I might need some details and exactly where this beach is.”
“Oh!” Ella let out in embarrassment as her face instantly started to burn up. “Right…” She mumbled out before moving back to Erin. “We are planning on meeting from about 4 and onwards at Dockweiler Beach, so come whenever you want,” she smiled.
Erin nodded slowly as she crossed her arms against her chest as she listened. “Alright, sounds good then.”
“I can give you my number if you need any help getting there or need some more information?”
“Yeah, that would be cool,” Erin smiled as she uncrossed her arms and reached into her pocket to pull out her mobile before handing it to Ella.
“There you go,” Ella grinned as she handed the phone back to Erin. “I will see you later then.”
“Yeah, see ya later,’ Erin nodded with a smile as she watched Ella turn back around and head off, she continued to stare for a moment longer, getting lost for a brief second until she shook her head out of her trance, not fully realizing just how big her smile was and then she headed back into the café.
----
With three cups of coffee in hand, Erin made her way into her apartment and headed straight to the living room to place the coffees on the table. As she entered she found her other two roommates lounging around looking half dead and she couldn’t help the soft chuckle that escaped her at the site.
“Why don’t we look lovely,” she teased as she continued into the area.
“Ugh, shut up, dude!” Carm groaned as she wrapped her arms around her head.
Erin laughed a little louder this time, which earned her a glare from the pair of them and she quickly shut her mouth to try and stop the noise. She finally reached the table and placed the coffees down on it. “Got you girls a coffee if you feel like one. But I didn’t realize just how bad you were going to be in the morning with your hangover. UH, I’ll get you some water and an aspirin,” she let out softer this time.
“Thanks, bud,” Carm smiled and Kaylyn just hummed in agreement.
Shaking her head in slight amusement, Erin made her way into the kitchen to grab a couple bottles of water and the Advil from the cupboard before she retreated back to the living room to give them the things to help their hangover a little. She grabbed her own coffee and then sat down on the recliner chair while just staring at them for a moment as she took a sip of her drink.
“Why are you staring?” Kaylyn asked in confusion as she looked over to her after taking the Advil.
“No real reason, I am just finding this completely hilarious,” Erin laughed softly which caused Kaylyn to reach over and slap her leg.
“I am so glad you find us looking and feeling like death so amusing,” she rolled her eyes.
Erin chuckled again and nodded. “Oh, but I really do.” “Shut up!” Carm groaned.
Erin just grinned, trying to hold back from continuing to laugh any further, she turned away and closed her eyes for a brief second to get her composure back and then she reopened them and turned back to the two girls. “Oh, so we got invited to go to a bonfire tonight.”
Carm’s left eyebrow shot up quickly in confusion as she turned to look at Kaylyn and then back to Erin. “By who?”
“Ella,” Erin let out with a shrug like it was no big deal.
Both Kaylyn and Carm’s eyes glistened with amusement as they both turned to each other and smirked while Erin took another sip of her coffee. “Oh?” Carm let out with a smug look and Erin quickly pursed her lips together as she sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Seriously, don’t,” she groaned.
“That’s a bit cute,’ Kaylyn continued the teasing and Erin let out another breath as she quickly got up from her chair and began walking out of the room.
“Yeah, bye,” she let out in slight annoyance.
“Aw, come on, Buddy! We were just joking!” Carm called out to her but Erin didn’t care, she continued her way out and walked into her room, she shut the door and moved over to her bedside table placing her coffee on it before falling to the bed letting out a massive puff of air.
----
Ashlyn slowly made her way into the kitchen while still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes, Ella looked over her shoulder after pouring herself some juice as she faintly heard someone entering and chuckled lightly at her best friend. “Hey there, Sleepyhead.”
The blonde just groaned something incoherent as she made her way to the fridge and opened it grabbing a bottle of water.
“Yeah, sure, I didn’t even understand one word of that,” she laughed softly as she shook her head in amusement.
Ashlyn rolled her eyes and let out a sleepy smile while she made her way to the cupboard to grab an aspirin to take. “I said yeah, yeah, hello,” she said clearer this time.
“Ah,” Ella let out as she tilted her head backwards before lowering it back down, she reached over for her cup and quickly took a sip.
“Is Whitney not up yet?”
“No, she is awake, she’s just went to go have a shower, like about 5 minutes before you showed up.”
“Oh okay,” the blonde nodded.
“We’re leaving soon, so when Whit is out, you can go have a shower,” Ella smiled.
“Yeah, okay,” Ash nodded slowly and then turned around to make her way towards the lounge room to fall onto the couch to see what was on the television.
Ella followed closely behind, falling onto it as well. “Oh… I uh… invited Erin to this bonfire,” she softly let out after a beat of silence fell amongst them.
Ashlyn’s head instantly whipped into her direction. “Did you now?” She smirked.
“Yeah and before your mind goes anymore further, I invited her and her friends.”
“Oh, but you still invited her, she was your first choice,” Ashlyn teased. “Her friend’s came as an afterthought, did they not?”
Ella just shook her head and turned her attention back to the TV.
“Thought so,” the blonde mumbled out softly.
“Ass…” Ella grumbled quietly to herself
----
“Erin… I think we are lost,” Kaylyn laughed from the backseat as she felt like she’s been sitting there for ages.
“No, we’re not!” Erin let out in annoyance.
“Who even decided that you would be the one to drive?” Carm piped in.
“Me, when the rest of you decided you didn’t want to get ready quick enough!”
“You are the worst! Seriously, pull over and let me drive, you can read the directions to me.”
Erin huffed in annoyance, but agreed anyway. She pulled over, causing the car which had the rest of the girls behind them to pull over as well, she quickly ran to their window and told Emily that they were just changing drivers because apparently she had no sense of direction, mocking herself in the process with a tiny laugh, because to be honest, she really didn’t have a clue where she was going. After a few laughs here and there, she jogged back to her car and got into the passenger side.
“Alright, now we will probably be able to get there and hopefully while it’s still daylight,” Carm winked knowing well enough that they would get there on time or just a little after.
Erin just gave her a slight smirk as she titled her head to the side and rolled her eyes. They had managed to get there about quarter past four.
----
“Oh, look who actually showed up,” Ashlyn whispered in Ella’s direction as she brought her elbow up and nudged the shorter girl.
Ella knitted her eyebrows in confusion before following the direction in which the blonde had tilted her head in and she instantly rolled her eyes as she shook her head, but couldn’t help the faint blush that crept onto her face and the fluttering feeling inside her chest at seeing the other girl.
“Seriously… piss off.”
“You’re blushing!” Ash grinned as she raised her hand and poked the girl’s cheek.
Bringing her hand up, the brunette quickly swatted Ashlyn’s hand away as she gave her a glare.
“Stop!” She vocalized unamused.
Ashlyn was about to say something else when she felt a hand on her left arm flowered by a voice that sent a shiver down her spine.
“Ash, leave her alone,” Ali voiced softly and Ashlyn quickly turned her attention away from her best friend and to the other woman.
Ella giggled quietly to herself as she couldn’t wipe the amused look off her face at how quickly Ashlyn’s attention got taken away. “Thank you, Ali,” she muttered in complete amusement.
Ashlyn immediately turned her attention back to Ella and squinted her eyes while giving her a look of annoyance while Ali just smiled softly at her.
Ella grinned and then shook her head as she began to walk away and into the direction of Erin.
“Hey, you made it,” she smiled softly once she reached the girl.
“Haha, of course but we did get a little lost along the way,” Erin chuckled lightly.
“Thanks to your driving!” Carm called out over her shoulder and Ella could help but laugh while Erin turned around and just stared at her. Carm just shrugged and gave her a wink before turning her attention to the rest of the group.
“Er…yeah, I may have taken a few wrong turns,” she let out sheepishly.
“Well, you’re here now, so couldn’t have been that bad.” “You can thank Carm for that,” She laughed softly.
“Right okay,” Ella grinned while looking over Erin’s shoulder and seeing a familiar figure. “Kieran?!” She instantly yelled out as she rushed past the older girl and ran towards her friend, taking no time in hugging the boy. Erin followed Ella’s movement and a small frown instantly found its way onto her face as a funny feeling swirled inside of her that she wasn’t quite used too as the girl hugged him.
“Hah! Hey Els!” He replied happily as he wrapped his own arms around her.
“When did you get back?”
“Last night.”
“And how was the trip?”
“Yeah, it was pretty awesome, saw a lot of different countries and cities, was a good six months.”
“Well, awesome, I am glad you had a good time, I missed you!”
“Missed you too,” he smiled softly as she pulled her into another hug.
---
Over the next about hour, Ella continued talking to Kieran, catching up on all the things he had done on his vacation trip with his other friends, while Erin hung around her group glancing at the pair every now and then, her heart would flutter in her chest at the sight of the girl laughing, but then just seconds later it would drop abruptly at the fact that it was the boy that caused her to laugh, but that’s not the only reason why. The other causes for this funny feeling of what most people would call jealousy – only that she was content on telling herself that she was far from jealous – was the way she would look at him with the utmost attention while he spoke or the tiny touches on his forearm every now and then or that damn side hug he had given her. They were only a few of the reasons, there were plenty more but she made sure not to stare for a long period of time as to not draw attention to herself. She could only imagine the teasing she would have received from her friends.
For the first time since acknowledging the boy, Ella finally looked up and spotted Erin – she had completely forgotten about the other girl and felt a little bad for just ditching her the way she did, so quickly she excused herself, saying she’d talk to him and his friends later, she slowly made her way to the Canadian with a soft smile.
“Hey,” she softly let out which sent a chill down Erin’s spine.
“Hi,” she smiled back.
“Enjoying yourself?”
I am now… she thought to herself and had to quickly stop her eyes from widening. “Uh, yeah. The beach is beautiful,” she nodded as she looked around the place and the gorgeous sunset glistening over the water. “Do you want to go for a walk?” She instantly blurted out before she could stop herself.
“I agree,” Ella smiled at the beach comment and then just a little bigger at her question. “Sure,” she replied without missing a beat.
“Cool,” Erin grinned brightly as she turned around and began walking away, she ignored the knowing looks she was getting from her friends.
They continued to walk down along the shoreline in silence, asking a few questions here and there about each other’s personal lives as a way to distract the tension between the two, but also bring to light each other back stories and to get to know each other a little better. Finally they had come to a stop a fair distanced away from the bonfire group, that if anyone did take a glance they probably wouldn’t be able to tell it was them, unless they had followed their every move.
Ella was the first one to sit and without thinking, she pulled the Erin down as well eliciting a small chuckle from the Canadian. “Sorry…” She mumbled embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it,” Erin nodded as she turned her attention back to the sunset, the different shades of pink, orange and purple tinted clouds danced across the sky as it reflected in the water which was utterly breathtaking.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ella’s voice suddenly snapped her out of her gaze and she quickly turned her gaze to the American and just stared for a moment, getting lost in the girl’s features and how the light caste upon her face made her look just that little bit more mesmerizing.
“Yeah you are…” she whispered out quietly before her eyes widened this time and she quickly turned away and back to the scenery as her face heated up a little in embarrassment. “Ye-yeah it is!” She let out quickly with great enthusiasm that Ella couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t quite understand the whole whispered bit and only clearly caught the second part of what Erin had said.
McLeod you’re an idiot.
“I enjoy just coming out here and watching the sunset from time to time,” Ella said after an awkward silence fell upon them as she could tell that Erin was feeling embarrassed by something she had said that she didn’t have a clue about.
“Yeah, it’s peaceful,” Erin voiced a lot calmer this time as another silence fell over them. “Sorry, if
I took you away from your… friend.” “Who?” Ella let out confused.
“That guy…” she said awkwardly.
“Oh! No, it’s alright,” Ella assured as she glanced back over towards the water and then back to Erin. “He is one of my best friends, been friends for as long as I can remember – and well, at one point in high school I also had a massive crush on him, but he had a girlfriend so…I had no chance what so ever,” as soon as that came out of her mouth she quickly glanced away and shut her eyes as fast as she could. Why in the hell would she even want to know that, Ella?!? God your mouth runs some ridiculous shit when you’re nervous! Shut up, seriously.
Erin’s face fell as soon as she heard the words massive crush and couldn’t help but wonder if she still liked the guy, by the short interaction she had seen between the two, she could have sworn that she in fact did. “And what about now?”
“Huh?”
“Do you still have a crush on him?” Erin quickly asked and then cursed to herself. That is none of your damn business, Erin!
Ella looked out towards the ocean as her fingers dug into the sand beside her while she stayed silent for a moment as a small smile tugged at the sides of her lips, but she had kept it from forming completely on her face as she just shrugged, she was a little surprised by the question but tried her best not to show it. “Uh, no not really, things change over time…” she whispered before looking over towards Erin, noticing the girl herself was staring out towards the water. She lost her train of thought for a brief second as she stared at the Canadian, noticing just how truly beautiful she was in that lighting and that she could feel her heart flutter inside her chest.
Shaking her head quickly, Ella coughed as she regained her composer as Erin slowly turned her head to look at her. “I mean…. different people come into your life where there’s this instant connection from the very beginning and they begin to change your perspective on things, they begin to change the way you think about a person and you know… as each day goes by they start to steal your attention away from others and then soon… all you can think about is them. I mean it can also be really confusing and quite frankly it can completely freak you out, because it’s all so new and it’s all so different that you don’t really understand what’s happening and it races throughout your mind like it just wants to mock you, day in and day out, but…” she paused for a moment to catch her breath as she continued to look at Erin.
The other woman had no intention of looking away either as she was too entranced in what Ella was saying.
After a beat of silence Ella began to speak again. “but… to be honest you don’t want it to stop… because… because it’s a nice feeling and well, people may not really agree with the person you begin to like but in the end…” she continued as she began to lean in absently not really sure of what she was even saying anymore, the words just continued to flow out of her freely. “You can’t help the way you feel, you can’t help who you fall for and that’s the scary part, because it happens so quickly that it catches you off guard… it happens so sudden and well... you know, maybe overall... it’s for the better,” she smiled softly as she stared straight into Erin’s eyes, seeing them stare back at her with the same intensity. “To be honest, it’s not him that I have a crush on anymore, it’s you…” she mumbled the last part so quietly and quickly that Erin didn’t hear it, all she could hear – well, all both of them could really hear was the sound of their beating hearts as they inched closer and closer. Both of their gazes flickered to the other’s lips before they closed their eyes in preparation of what was about to happen. They were only inches apart from connecting their lips together when suddenly someone called out.
Carm and Kaylyn were heading back to the bonfire after their own little walk as they stared at their phones in amusement. Looking up, Carm quickly noticed Erin and Ella talking and she turned to Kaylyn while chucking. “Hey, you continue, I am just going to go show this to Erin,” she grinned.
“Hah, no worries, see ya back there,” Kaylyn smiled as she turned back to the phone and continued to watch the video that their friends from back home had sent them.
Carm nodded as she turned and she herself looked at her phone as she continued to watch and walk towards the pair sitting on the sand. “Hey Erin! You gotta check this out, Bud!” She quickly called out when she was close enough but she hadn’t raised her gaze yet.
As soon as the girl’s voice sounded, Ella quickly pulled back as her eyes widened at what was about to happen, she quickly shot up into a standing position and backed away from Erin a little.
Carm had finally turned her attention to them by this point and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Uh… did I interrupt something?”
“No!” Ella let out almost too quickly as her face felt like it was on fire, her heart was racing inside her chest and she thought that it was going to explode. She turned to look at Erin who was just staring at her with a blank expression before she turned back to Carm who had her eyebrows risen in confusion. “I- uh, no… I mean, you didn’t. I’m just, um… I’m… bye!” She stammered out as she quickly rushed away from them.
Carm turned and watched as she headed away before looking to Erin and squinting her eyes again. “Are you sure I didn’t interrupt anything?”
Erin quickly shook her head out of the trance. “Yeah, it’s cool you didn’t. What did you want to show me?”
Carm stared for a moment longer and although she didn’t quite believe her best friend, she dropped the subject and turned her attention to what she was originally going to show Erin. This had the woman cracking up in no time.
---
Ella raced back to the campfire without a second thought of stopping and returning back to Erin, her mind was racing at what had just occurred with the Canadian and she was even more confused than ever before at the feelings she had for her.
“Whoa, Els… you okay?” Ashlyn asked in concern as she noticed her best friend rushing back to them.
“Yes,” was the only thing Ella replied with.
Ashlyn raised an eyebrow. "You sure?”
“Yes, Ashlyn, I am fine!” She let out firmly as she slipped past her best friend and headed straight to get a drink.
The blonde just shrugged and let her go, she didn't want to annoy her any further. She only hoped that the girl would come talk to her when she was ready.
----
Erin tried her absolute best to talk to Ella again- not so much about what almost happened between the two of them– but more so she just wanted to talk to her about anything really, but the other girl managed to avoid her at all costs while staying as far from her as possible, so although she had worn a smile on her face to avoid any questions being asked for the rest of the night, she was wearing a frown on the inside which only grew as the time went on. She was a little relieved when Carm had suggested that they head home, but that didn’t last long because she wasn’t able to say goodbye to Ella due to her ignoring her. As soon as they got home, she said goodnight to Carm and Kaylyn and rushed straight to her room to get changed into her sleepwear and then she went straight to bed, but she didn’t go to sleep, because she was far too lost in her thoughts which only confused her completely.
Does she like me or not?