Pt 3
Saturday
You awoke to the sun shining in from the curtains, almost blinding you in the process. You were alone, Larissa's conference must have already started. You opened the doors to the balcony, the fresh smell of the plants hit you and made you feel really awake. You figured you'd venture to the gym and grab a quick shower. You got ready to go out to the second garden, you were excited to see if you could find any other interesting plants. Grabbing a coffee and a cinnamon bun, you sat on a bench amongst the trees. You looked up at some balcony's across the river. There was a large balcony, it looked like it could be a restaurant. You spotted someone who was very tall, pale, and dressed so elegantly. Ah, must be the stately sequoia tree herself. You smiled, she looked so content. She was talking to a woman while having a bite to eat. You were glad she got away from Nevermore, even if just for a few days. You couldn't believe she liked women. She was just so put together, and feminine, and proper, and honestly, if you didn’t know her, from afar she kind of looked like she would be against it. You laughed, what stupid stereotypes. Okay, maybe she should know that you like women too. Would that make her more comfortable or more uncomfortable around you? You didn't know. You will tell her when you feel it is right. You thought about the events of last night. Somehow, you had almost forgotten what had happened. How could you forget something so crazy, so traumatizing, so sad. You didn't want Larissa to be sad any longer, she didn't deserve that. Every minute you thought about erasing that memory for her, you convinced yourself a little bit more. You spent the day studying more plants, and planned a relaxing evening for you and Larissa, hoping she would be up for it.
Her conference was done a bit earlier than yesterday. She came in and plopped down on her bed, the same as the day before. She was wearing her grey dress with the belt that cinched her waist perfectly. God damn, you tried not to stare, again. "Are you tired Larissa?" She took a minute to sit up, but she lit up when she looked at you. "Well I am a bit, but we're on vacation. Did you have something in mind?" Truthfully, you had lots of things in mind that you wanted to do with Larissa, but you thought one thing would be particularly relaxing. Well, a couple things would, but one was a safter option. Sitting up quickly and turning to her, you were obviously drunk. You had a few drinks again waiting for her, what else were you to do alone? She laughed at your expression, your face lit up with excitement. "Do you want to go...to the waterpark?" Her expression softened, that's not what she was expecting you to ask. "They have a pool, a floaty river, and a hot tub with a bar!" You looked so excited, how could she say no. "I would love to Peyton, but I didn’t bring a swim suit" she said, trailing off when admitting her mistake. You frowned instantly. You thought for a minute, then had a fabulous idea. "Let's go buy you one!" you beamed at her, giddy from thinking about her in a bathing suit. Calm down, you told yourself, don't act too intrigued. She pondered for a minute, but the look on her face told you she had already made up her mind. "Okay, let's go" she said quickly, getting up and grabbing your hand.
At the mall, there were so many stores to choose a bathing suit from. You both ended up in a really fancy store that looked like you could never afford anything in there. As Larissa went to the bathing suits, you scanned your eyes over a price tag. You gasped when you saw the price of a skirt, and you quickly looked around hoping nobody heard and knew how broke you were. Larissa heard, and she walked over to you, laughing. She laid a gentle hand on your back, "Don't worry darling, if you want anything I can get it for you." Jeeze, she wasn't your sugar mommy, but if she wanted to be…just joking. You followed her to the swim suits, and she picked out a two piece white one, a two piece light blue one, and a one piece nude coloured one. You thought they would all look stunning on her, but you secretly wished she would get the white one. "I'm going to try them on" she hollered over to you. "Okay, let me know which you choose." "Why don’t you help me pick one out?" she cooed at you, and your eyes widened as you ran to her, following to the dressing room.
Of course you were right, they were all stunning on her. As she tried them on and presented them to you, it took everything in you to keep your mouth from dropping open or from getting giddy. Every time she would show you one, you grinned wide and blushed, trying to hide it by looking away or fiddling with your hands or tucking your hair behind your ear. You didn't realize until now how tall Larissa really was, how long her legs were, how flawless her pale skin was, the freckles on her arms. She noticed you blushing each time she came out of the dressing room, but she just thought it was adorable that you found her pretty. When she came out in the white suit, you weren't sitting outside of the room anymore. You were over looking at clothes, trying to distract yourself from her. Why did you think swimming would be a good idea? You didn't think you would get so flustered just from seeing her in a swim suit, what is wrong with you Peyton! "Peyton, do you want to see this one?" she called from the changing rooms. Honestly you did, but at the same time you didn't. You walked back to the change rooms and this time you couldn't stop your jaw from actually dropping. She was wearing the white suit, top coming to tie around her neck showing her cleavage, and high wasted bottoms with a belt. The metal parts were gold and it came with a long white cover up. This was definitely a Larissa outfit. You caught yourself and slammed your hand over your mouth, looking to her face and quickly mumbling a sorry. She laughed loudly, a genuine Larissa laugh. Well, at least she found your doting over her amusing and not creepy. "So I take it you like this one?" You took your hand from your mouth and put on a straight face, "Larissa I- this suit was definitely made for you, and only you, holy-." She giggled and walked over to you, grabbing your hands and leaning in to whisper, "How are we going to go swimming if you can't keep your composure over seeing me in a swim suit?" You were frozen from her proximity, and so embarrassed, even though you knew she had noticed your fluster. "I didn't think of that when I suggested it" you mumbled to her, a lie. She took your face in her hands and gave you a cute smile with a scrunch of her nose, turned, and went to get changed.
Back at the hotel room, you were putting on your swim suit. Black, the opposite of hers, like a Ying yang, but different. Stepping out in to the room, Larissa handed you a glass of wine from her bed and paused to stare at you in your swim suit. She giggled, took your hand, and twirled you around, looking you over. You knew she was doing this because you were admiring her earlier, so you laughed. "Oh Peyton, this swimsuit looks divine on you darling." Divine, that's a new one you thought. Blushing, you sat next to her on her bed. She was watching some fashion show, so you watched with her. You looked at her, her hair all done up, makeup still perfect. "How are you going to swim with your hair done up and makeup on?" She looked down at you with a straight face. "I just won't get wet, only my body goes in the water." This sent you into a fit of laughter, you didn't know why, probably just the way she said it. You were lying on the bed laughing, trying not to spill your wine. She started laughing at you, "Peyton what's so funny?" she chirped. You composed yourself and sat up, "Larissa it's not as fun if you don't go all in, you have to at least take your hair out." The truth was Larissa didn't let people see her with no makeup often. Her hair wasn't that big of a deal, but she only felt sophisticated and pretty when she was done up. She looked at you, a slight frown on her face. "What's wrong? Do you not want people seeing you not done up?" She smiled a bit at this, as if you read her mind. She pondered for a minute. You were so gentle and kind to her. Really, you both didn’t know each other well, but she felt like you would never judge her. "Will you take the pins out of my hair?" she said in such a low tone you almost didn't know what she said. You smiled and turned to look her in the eyes, "Of course, if that's what you actually want, you don't have to Larissa." She looked back at you, and gave a quiet "Please." You moved your hands up to her hair and found the pins, removing them slowly. It must feel so much better to have her hair down after it being up so long. You watched as her hair fell, wavy and reaching past her shoulders. It was longer than you thought it would be, and softer, like silk. You put a hand under her hair and ran your fingers through the back of her head, giving her light scratches. She smiled and leaned into it, sipping her wine. You took her in, so casually just sitting here watching tv, but she looked ethereal, she always did. You were so caught up in her beauty that you only half realized when you slipped a "Larissa, you're absolutely beautiful." You took your hand away from her hair and went wide eyed. She definitely thought you were too much now. You didn't want her to think you were trying to pick her up, you were just in awe over her. She looked you in the eyes and tilted her head to the side. As you went to mumble a 'sorry, I didn't mean to say that aloud', she spoke questioningly, "Really?" Of course she was, everyone who laid their eyes on her must have thought that. Maybe they thought it, but never had the guts to say it. You barley had the guts to tell her, you did by accident. You felt sad by the way she questioned you, but took this as an opportunity to make her believe it as true. "Yes, of course I do, one hundred percent yes. You must know that you are, people must tell you all the time" you said with a hopeful smile. "No, not really" she looked down at the wine in her lap. "Well, maybe nobody ever tells you because you can be intimidating" you let out a giggle and put your finger under her chin, turning her face to you "but I know everyone thinks it, and I'm telling you that you are stunning, with your hair done and without, with makeup on and without." She was smiling now, you hoped it was sincere, you hoped she at least half believed you. She drank the rest of her wine and put the glass down. She turned toward you and wrapped her arms around you, pulling you in to rest her head in your neck. You felt so comfortable, so content, so at peace, and you couldn't wipe the smile off of your face if someone tried. She let you go after a minute and you were immediately cold. She looked at you with glistening eyes and cupped your face with her hand. "Thank you Peyton, for making me feel comfortable with you." This made your heart swell, all you wanted was for her to have a friend that she could be herself around. "Of course pretty girl. Do you want to go to the waterpark now?" you gave her a genuine smile. She shook her head excitedly and you were on your way.
You were floating down the lazy river behind her. She looked so relaxed, and you were having so much fun. You had never been on a lazy river before. As you floated, you looked at the scenery. There were plants polluting the water park like the rest of the hotel, but there were also a lot of kids. You swam closer to her, trying to float faster to reach her. You caught up to her and looked at her, laughing as you said "beep, beep" and rushed past her. As you floated in front of her now, you turned around to admire her, your head resting on your hands. She laughed at you, admiring you back. You gave her a smirk and batted your eyelashes, and she winked at you. You blushed and turned away from her, trying to float faster away, what a flirt.
As Larissa settled in the pool, you went to the bar to order your drinks. You got in with her and started swimming around. There were only two other girls in the pool, so you almost had it to yourselves. Out of nowhere, Larissa splashed you. You couldn't believe she had been so bold. You looked at her, drenched, and walked up to her slowly as she backed away. "NO, not my hair" she stated while backing away from you. "Ah, ah, that's not fair, you started it." You were right, she did start it. You felt bad ruining her makeup or getting her hair wet, but she let you take it down, so she was comfortable, right? You splashed her, but not as much as she had splashed you. She let out a squeal, and you instantly swam away. You knew she would get her revenge. "Drinks are ready" the bartender hollered, setting them on the counter. You got out to get them and brought them back to the pool. "Don't splash me now, you'll ruin the drinks" you warned, and she listened. As soon as you put your drink down at the side of the pool, Larissa caught you off guard and splashed you again. You let out a squeal this time and lunged yourself at her. You wrapped your arms around her waist and knocked her over, ducking her whole head under the water by accident. You helped her resurface and then froze, you were so scared. That's not what you meant to do, but she would never believe you. "OH shit, I'm so sorry Larissa, I actually didn't mean to do that" you pleaded, hoping she wouldn’t drown you. She grabbed your face and you were scared for your life, but she started laughing, like she was having a blast. Her mascara was running a bit now, but her lipstick was still perfect. She was so gorgeous like this, having fun and not caring about her appearance. You wiped the mascara from under her eyes, and scrunched your nose up to give her a cute face. As you did this, you got closer to her. While she was laughing, you caught a distant but snarky "What are they, girlfriends?" from one of the other girls in the pool. You ignored it, so focused on Larissa. "Ew, I hope not, she is way too old for her anyway." Yep, you heard what you thought you did, and this time, Larissa heard it too. She glared at them, still holding your face in her hands. You couldn't turn to look at them because of this, so you just stared at her. "Excuse me, are you talking about us?" she sneered at them, you got nervous. One of them started with her. "Yea, we were talking about you, what are you anyway, gay?" You became increasingly more angry and moved away from Larissa's grip. What the hell is wrong with them, it's 2023. Larissa slowly moved closer to them, "I'll have you know that I am gay in fact, and I'd appreciate it if you would leave me alone." You were about to back her up when you remembered that you weren't out to Larissa yet. You opened your mouth but closed it quickly. "What's wrong with your little girlfriend there, she can't speak for herself?" Not wanting to drag you into this, Larissa started "They shouldn't have to speak to immature bigots like you, and anyway, they're not my-." "Baby, it's okay, let's just enjoy ourselves" you walked over to her, grabbing her arm and trying to force her away from them. "Yea, listen to what your little girl says" one of them stated and both of them snickered. You would let them make fun of you, but you'd kill them for taking digs at Larissa and her age. "You know, I bet you both that I can steal your drinks from behind you there without coming withing 10 feet of you. If I can't, we will leave. If I can, you have to watch me kiss my girlfriend." You said this with the most bold tone you think you have ever used. You stared them down, then looked up at Larissa when she grabbed your hand. She was wide eyed and tilted her head in question, she didn't know why you were trying to defend her by pretending to be her girlfriend. "You don't have to do this" she whispered in your ear. "Do you mind kissing me?" you whispered back. She shook her head no as a blush crept up on her cheeks. "Bet" one of the girls said. You smiled and took Larissa to the far end of the pool, away from the girls. You put your right hand out and concentrated hard. You didn't use your telekinesis a lot, maybe you should practice it more. One of the girls drinks started levitating and then slowly moving toward you. It landed in your hand and you downed the whole thing. You put the glass on the side of the pool and turned to the girls. They were both in shock. One was trying to form some words, and the other couldn't do more than blink. You winked at them and turned to Larissa, cupping her face with one hand. "Come here Riss" you whispered as you went up on your toes to reach her level. You kissed her softly, just like you always wanted to. She grabbed your head and pulled you closer. You didn't kiss for too long, but you almost forgot that the girls were there. You pulled away, turning back to them. "Not only are we gay, were also outcasts. Get a load of that, bitches." And with that, you took Larissa's hand and lead her out of the pool.
As soon as you got back to the room, Larissa started laughing all giddy. Seeing her like this made you do the same. You laid down on your bed together, laughing. After a few minutes, she turned to you. "Peyton, you didn't have to do that for me, but thank you" she sounded really appreciative and sincere. "Well honestly Larissa, it pissed me off when they started about your age. But, I have something to tell you." You paused, wondering if she caught on. "You like women, don't you" she said, her smile so wide her white teeth were showing. "Yes" you laughed, "When did you figure it out?" "Well, when you wanted to kiss me. But I had a hunch when you couldn't contain yourself as I was trying on swim suits today." You rolled away from her groaning, burying your head in your hands, a blush forming on your face again. "Sorry about that" you muttered. She sat up and pulled your hands away from your face. "Peyton it's okay, we both like women, we have something in common" she said sweetly.
Coming out of the bathroom with your pajamas on, you found Larissa asleep on her bed, still in her swim suit. She looked adorable lying there. You didn't want to disturb her rest, but she still had makeup on and she couldn't sleep in that. "Rissa, wake up pretty, you have to get changed" you whispered in her ear. You saw her smile before her eyes opened, maybe she wasn't really asleep. She got up and went to the bathroom, saying nothing to you. You laid in your bed ready to fall asleep, it was a long day. A few minutes later she came out sans makeup, and sat on the edge of her bed. You looked at her, she was just sitting there looking at the ground. You thought this might be a repeat of last night, but then she looked up at you. She had a needy expression on her face, like she wanted something from you. You pushed the covers off of yourself and opened your arms, inviting her in. Despite her height, she laid down and put her head on your chest. You hugged her tight and stroked her silky hair, moving some out of her face. You kissed her forehead and mumbled "Sweet dreams Rissa."