THAT GIRL IS A REAL CROWD PLEASER

she smiles coyly as she looks around the room, but the moment she hears marina join her, her attention is hooked. oli sinks into the heated kiss without hesitation, letting out soft sounds against her lips at the sensation of her hands on exposed skin. she reaches for the back of marina's neck and pulls her impossibly closer before she presses their foreheads together and grins at her. "took your time." she teases in a breathy voice as she guides marina's top over her head and tosses it away. she bites her lip as the grin widens, and her eyes meet marina's.

the electrician's deep eyes widen at the sound of the buzzer, but they soften instantly as lips find her forehead. her heart pounds, and for a moment, she just feels everything that's happened and the absence of marina all at once. without thinking, she stands as her friend reappears in the doorway. her eyes fall to the bag of food then flicker up to marina's. without words, she reaches behind her own back and undoes the clasp of her bra and tosses it onto the sofa.

its been a long time since marina had kissed someone like this. a long time since she had kissed anybody full stop. even longer since she had stripped down in front of another person, and she was maybe feeling a little nervous about it. not because of oli. never because of oli. oli who had been patient and kind and respectful the entire time they had tried dating, oli who was still patient and kind and respectful even though marina was straddling her with her tongue in her mouth.

the kisses are setting her soul on fire. wherever oli was touching her, a trail of heat was left in her wake. she notices how oli gasps and groans into her mouth, and it just spurs her on, sending a shiver straight down her spine and between her thighs and marina was wondering why it had taken her so long to finally cross this line, when it was clearly something that they both wanted.

if marina had ever made a move in the early days of their friendship and conveniently-timed dates (or inconveniently-timed depending on how you looked at it), oli wouldn't have shot her down. she'd been open and honest about her interest and how she could be flexible with marina's busy schedule, but there was a little relief years later. nothing grand or haunting or deep. just a small gratitude that they'd never crossed that line. a line that might have made it harder for oli to push her crush aside to form a different type of connection. but now... she knew what she would have missed. could still miss, and they'd barely stepped a toe over the line at all.

oli's expression softens as marina cups her warm cheeks, and there's no shyness or hesitation as she looks up at her openly. her deep brown eyes are steady and focused on nothing else. a laugh slips from her lips, but she doesn't have the chance to speak as warm lips meet hers again and again and again. oli settles into the ease of it, running her hands up and down marina's side, quietly exploring but respectful with her touch. she's not sure how far marina wants to take this. whether she just wants to kiss her or strip her bare or...

she smiles as oli pulls away to move their wine glasses. the last thing she needed right now was for the moment to be ruined by some smashed glass and a wine stain on her floor. the entire time they had been friends, marina had worried that crossing this line would be a disservice to oli, because of how disasterous their attempt at dating had been. or, how disasterous her attempt at dating had been. oli had always been there, been flexible, working around marina's shifts. she had been so accomodating that marina had convinced herself she didn't deserve her, that oli shouldn't have to deal with all the peculiarities that came with dating her.

oli had grown up with a deep care for other people. her parents had always insisted how important it was for their children to show up for others. not out of obligation or guilt, but because it was the right thing to do. the good thing. oli's crush on marina had grown strong pretty fast when they first attempted dating. and sure, marina had saved her life (oli was confident she would never forget that for as long as she lived), but oli also just thought the other woman was great. she was kind and funny and intelligent, and she had a whole bunch of quirks that oli wanted to know more about.

oli's heart rate starts to thunder as they kiss again. it's more than okay. the sound of marina's whisper is beautiful and soft enough to make her gasp into her mouth. but it's a low groan that falls from her lips as marina adjusts and shifts into her lap. her touch isn't shy, just careful, as she slides her hands up her thighs and guides them to her lower back. part of her wonders why the change of heart, but she also knows why it didn't work out before... and it wasn't because of how they felt about one another.

to braxton the answer is simple. she went to bed at a decent time so she could be up early the next morning. she wasn't some early bird always after the worm, but she did love the serenity of waking up earlier. combined with her desire to work hard, obviously. "well that's your thing to figure out." the ranch hand grunts with a small roll of her eyes, but they widen drastically as tansy asks her a very pointed question. "well, no, but well..." she stammers quickly and feels heat settle in her cheeks. she definitely hadn't thought about that. no. not at all.

marina honestly didn't think she would ever have the courage to do this, to kiss oli. she wasn't usually shy, but they had been just friends for a while now, and they had been so good at not crossing that line. but having oli here on her sofa, drinking wine, laughing about silly things, talking about how they had met, how could marina not kiss her? when oli was all the things she wanted. someone nice, dependable, someone she knows likes her for all her quirks. not to mention very easy on the eyes.

it's not some giddy elation or bewilderment that fills oli's chest as marina kisses her. it's not shock or surprise that seizes her. it's something much steadier. something unexpected yet anticipated all at once. something so closely intertwined in the relationship they'd acknowledged they couldn't have while building a connection together anew as just friends. and even if oli's feelings had always lingered, through dates with strangers and limited availability and messages on random evenings about things that needed fixing, she had never done anything for any other reason than caring about marina.

some people had called her dramatic when she'd told them her paramedic had saved her, but they hadn't been there. they hadn't been in oli's position, delirious and scared and only able to focus on two things through the haze of pain and blood and fear. marina's hand and her name. the same name that falls in an affectionate whisper from oli's tongue against her lips as fingers thread into her hair.

she kisses marina tenderly as she shifts even closer, but pulls away a few moments later. "here." oli breathes as she gently picks up her own wine glass and takes marina's from her hand. she sets the glasses carefully on the coffee table then slips back into marina's space. her touch is delicate yet deliberate as she lays her hand along her jaw and strokes her cheek dotingly.

finley wished it felt more like relief, but she couldn't pretend that she didn't still feel unease, that her gut wasn't swirling with discomfort not just at the way she'd spiralled out of control today but at opening up to callie for the first time. her callie, the person she'd loved in the deepest, most painfully intense way from probably far too early on into the relationship. the girl who'd given her a second chance that it probably always would feel like she didn't deserve.

and still, despite that, she'd done it, she'd given her a glimpse into the muddled, painful mess of her brain, she'd opened up and taken another step towards being someone worthy of her. no matter how much her mind continued to be cruel to her, no one could take that away from her.

her green eyes grew glassy, tears threatening to spill over as she looked at callie, the desperation to reach out and beg for affection making her throat tighten. naturally, she granted her request, because her kindness was an overwhelming, overflowing fucking ocean that finn wanted to drown in. as the other came close, perching herself in her lap in an instant, she hardly settled, but she felt something in her still. perhaps the rapid beat of her heart, slowing to a safe pace, the panic slowly beginning to empty out of her. she was still tired, so tired to the bone that her whole body was heavy.

slowly, slowly, she felt herself relax as callie wrapped her arms firmly around her, their bodies slotting together so naturally once more. her cheek pressed into her shoulder and cautiously, she let her own arms wrap back around her, blinking as she did her best to hold back the tears still threatening to spill. the other held onto her so firmly and she did the same right back, grasping for her like a lifeline. the soft, teasing words almost prompted a smile as she shut her eyes for a moment, taking a slow breath.

when finley opened her eyes again and looked at callie, the dam gave way pretty immediately. she ducked her head and sucked in a breath and then another, until she'd begun to hyperventilate and then the tears came. "i'm sorry." she choked out, a habit that she feared her therapist would never be able to help her break despite all her effort. "i just — i—" the blonde crumbled in the other girl's embrace, attempting to hide her face against her instead as her arms wrapped much tighter around her. she let herself cry, even though it was embarrassing, even though it was ugly. they were hot, heavy tears that spilled down her cheeks, that made a wet spot against callie's shirt as she fought to get her emotions under control.

it just kept coming, no matter how hard she tried to fight it off, all the emotion she'd been holding onto with an iron grip coming loose the moment she had the other woman in her arms. so she gave in, she rode the wave, struggling with taking slow deep breaths in between bouts of breathing way too fast. it was cathartic, she knew that, but it scared her to feel so much. it scared her to be seen like this. when she finally felt herself slowing down, her heavy breaths shaky from how hard she'd cried, she was reaching up to wipe away at her own cheeks. her face felt hot and her eyes sore from the salty tears irritating them, but maybe she did feel... better.

better enough to speak softly, as the heel of her hand rubbed against her eye. "and now you probably understand why i never wanted to do that in front of you." she said, her voice weak but a hint of humour to the way she said it, a self-depreciating joke to try and bridge the gap between how she'd felt and the calmness she was slowly entering into. "i knew you'd get too turned on by me being all snotty and red." and there was her apparent zinger, a wistful, stupid statement as she finished wiping at her face and offered a hopeful smile. she had no clue what she looked like, honestly, but she could only imagine.

finley sniffled and licked her lips, surprised by how dry they'd felt. she didn't know where her chapstick was, she'd ruined three of them in the dryer in the last month so there was probably her best guess. "...do you really think i've gotten that buff?" she asked and this time her amusement wasn't a slow attempt to let the sadness dry up but rather paired with a genuine smug little grin. of course she'd noticed the difference to a degree, but as hard as she liked to go in the gym, she was hardly ever going to be the type to pose in the mirror or take progress pictures.

callie wasn't entirely sure if she simply imagined the way that finley's body softened beneath her. in the growing moment of vulnerability, she didn't pay much mind to how long it had been since they'd shared space this close, but she subconsciously noted every point of contact between them as finley slowly, slowly relaxed against her. she barely even processed the way she was holding her own breath in her lungs. trying to be still. be steady. be just what finley needed in the middle of a storm. in a world where finley thought she was an ocean that she wanted to drown in, callie would never settle for being any less than a lighthouse or a lifeboat.

there was a long moment where callie didn't let her mind race. where she just processed how finn's strong arms felt around her. a slow breath. the retreating of the tide before the wave crashed on the shore. the very moment their eyes met, finn's final restraint snapped. callie's heart tightened in her chest, and she felt an instant flash of heat burn in her eyes as she pulled finley into her body. sweet finley. her sweet finn.

i'm sorry.

a choked apology between the ragged breaths. seven letters, and every single one hit callie right in the lump thickening in her throat. her lips parted and closed again as finn cried against her. she could feel every touch point of her grip. the pressure of it. she had never seen finley like this before. all of it was new, but how she felt about finley was engrained in her very being. she had never stopped caring, and she never would. not about her sweet finley. rain or shine. "i've got you." she whispered and cradled the back of her head gently as she fell apart.

callie didn't rush her. she didn't try and tell her the quieten down. never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined telling finley to pull it together. if finley wanted to cry, no needed to cry, then callie would hold her until every tear had fallen. callie wasn't going anywhere. she'd felt that awareness start to settle at the wedding, and it had only grown since. the texts. the dates. the walks in the park and the talks. but this... this was more than all of that put together. this was vulnerability and honesty.

her eyes closed as she listened to the harsh breaths and body-wrenching sobs. the sounds of despair and everything finley was sorry for. the weight of all of the feelings that would never leave her. callie didn't know how long passed until finley's breathing started to slow, and callie's fingers slowed their soft motion at the back of her neck.

there was no rushing to fill the space between them. no need to rush and discuss what had just happened. callie just watched her affectionately as finley wiped at her cheeks and eyes. it was clear how hard she had been crying, and callie spotted the damp patch on her shirt where finley's thick tears had fallen.

and now you probably understand why i never wanted to do that in front of you. callie's mouth opened to insist that it was absolutely fine, but she stopped as she took in the layers of finley's tone. when she followed it up with a mention of her snotty nose, callie laughed. "oh that's the reason, is it? the level of self control i'm using right now." she whispered as she brushed the backs of her fingers against finley's red cheeks.

callie's dark eyes stayed on finley's face as she worked through the aftermath of her emotional offload. her gaze flickered to her lips before they shot right back up to finn's eyes at her question. "so here's the thing..." she said slowly as she dropped her hand to finley's chest just beneath her collar bone, rubbing slowly at the area over the fabric of her shirt. and she would have loved to have been coy. would have loved to say something like i can't tell you that, but she had no resolve. nothing less subtle to say than walking into a door. "yes, finn. and it's..." she tapped her fingers against finley's chest, tugging lightly at the fabric. "you look strong and buff and great."

her cheeks warmed up as the words fell from her lips, and she was more than glad for the jump to a different train of thought. because callie had seen those photos that finley had sent from the gym. truthfully, she'd done things looking at them that she felt a little shameless thinking about in that moment. unplanned, obviously, but they just... okay, food. "i am actually." she remarked, pushing some of finn's hair away from her face. her eyes dropped to her lips again, and without fully leaving finley's lap she leant over to fumble through her bag next to the couch.

her eyes lit up as she pulled out her chapstick and recorrected herself in finley's lap. "and before we go down the rabbit hole and back and forth of ordering food..." because callie was making the assumption finley was low on ingredients they could cook. she popped the cap off the chapstick and softly took finn's chin between her thumb and forefinger. callie kept her eyes on finley's as she slowly smoothed the balm across her lips, lifting it to run across her own when she was done. "my only request is a big portion of sweet potato fries. so if there's a food that you need right now..."

this was significant. it had to be, right? all of joss's other attempts at trying to talk to riley had been such awkward, clipped interactions that made her reconsider childhood thoughts of whether she was even human considering how incapable she felt.

when luce spoke up again, her head whipped around, turning to shoot a confused frown in her direction. was she trying to save face or something? it was a pretty clear lie, considering how she'd just been begging to be tutored. there wasn't time to focus on it, because she was wasting precious moments to make a good impression with riley so there was some opportunity for this whole her wandering up of her own accord to occur again.

she'd been about to open her mouth, though to say what she hadn't exactly figured out. hell, maybe she could have offered to tutor her. or maybe not, since she'd indicated that she'd done poorly on a paper she'd completely aced. still, there had to be something... except then suddenly luce was talking again and there was genuine alarm in her widening eyes as she once again cut her gaze to luce. something between a scoff and laughter fell from her and she cleared her throat. "um..."

would it look more or less weird if she told riley that luce was crazy and they totally didn't need to get any time in together? she wondered in that split second. joss had always been the quiet type, but the whole scene seemed to be unfolding in front of her out of her control and her mouth couldn't find the right words. luce was implying they were a thing. and the weirdest part of it all? the way that riley seemed so... focused on her, giving her a kind of smile she'd never seen before.

luce was pleased when joss seemed to compose her shit at least a little when riley focused on her, because damn, wasn't joss smart enough to know she was working on some master plan here? obviously and logically not, because luce had only put the plan into action a few seconds ago of her own bold accord. but it had barely even taken a moment for it to show signs of working.

"yeah. bye." luce grunted as she lifted her hand in a half-assed wave. almost glad to see the back of her. it didn't take long for it to become apparent how different her relief was to joss's horrified awe, but luce just waited. she sat completely calmly with her hands still threaded behind her head, just waiting to see what the other would have to say. she certainly hadn't exactly been forming words when riley had been at the table, and luce was far from a social idiot. which was also ridiculous, because joss had been talking to her just fine, and she was ten times hotter than riley.

"firstly, joss. this is a library, so be respectful of people working and don't raise your voice at me." she had no real right to be taunting the other or smiling so smugly, but it didn't stop her as she ran her tongue across her lower lip. "secondly..." her eyes flickered to the side before she reached across the table and lay her hand palm up on the table in front of her. "what i think you meant to say was 'thank you'. did riley even know your name before i said it? be honest."

luce wiggled her fingers. "and would she ever have looked back at you, because she just did. don't look back. focus on me." she sighed and put on her best brilliant smile again. "and i mean this kindly, but you have got to get your shit together. she's a nerd... but she also..." luce paused and shook her head. she knew a lot about riley. she knew how she treated women. she knew her preference for wanting what she didn't have. a preference luce despised, but this could benefit her.

"it would be a really wild guess if you went straight to marina" she chuckles, noticing how oli had turned so they were even closer now, practically in touching distance as her gaze drops. the moment you told me your name, thats all i focused on. marina thinks her heart skips a beat. obviously she knew that it had meant a lot to oli, here they were still friends, still in contact a couple of years later- but to hear it from her like that, it made marina's heart ache.

they hadn't worked the first time around. her schedule had been so gruelling and her hours weird, there were only so many lunch or breakfast dates you could do before you had to call it quits. but it wasn't lunch now, and it certainly wasn't breakfast. and she didn't even have work in the morning.... "you didn't have to thank me. its my job" she says softly, her gaze dropping down to oli's lips, and then back up to her eyes, and before she can even think, before she can talk herself out of it, marina's closing the distance between them, pressing their lips together in a sweet, almost gentle kiss.

her soft eyes slip upwards as marina talks, and she feels the corner of her lip tug into a fond smile. marina's voice is so soft and sweet, and oli knows what she means, but it means something entirely different to the electrician. something deeper than she'll ever be able to convey through words in any language. before she can even talk at all, marina shifts closer, and oli can feel her head tilting in anticipation. the woman's lips are as soft as she has ever imagined, and she leans forward to reciprocate the sweet contact.

she tucks the stem of her wine glass carefully between her thighs and lifts her hand to brush her knuckles softly across marina's cheek. the contact of her lips is almost dizzying, but oli feels like she's been ready for it since... well... since years ago. there's barely an inch between their lips as she pulls back. "i know it's your job. i knew you were just doing your job, but if it hadn't been you then..." she brushes her thumb across marina's cheekbone. "and i will always be thankful it was you. not anyone else. you." she whispers before leaning in to kiss marina again.

"shoot port? god i remember in uni, one of my housemates was on the hockey team and they made all of them drink a whole bottle of port on the bus ride home before the night out. she spent the entire evening throwing up in the bathroom and i think the toilet was stained red" she chuckles, taking another sip of her wine, grinning at the possibility of coming to one of the mitchell's almost infamous parties. "really? i'd love to come, it sounds fun"

oli grimaces exaggeratedly at marina's story about one of her housemates from university. she knows it's not a particularly deep story, and she laughs along easily with her friend, but without really noticing oli tucks away the anecdote. a little extra something about marina's background that they've never really spent much time on. information that oli lets marina bring to her, whether consciously or not. "that's so gross." she grins over the rim of her glass and nods enthusiastically. "but yeah, of course, really."

the electrician had been caught up in many conversations with her friends and family about being with someone. she'd even questioned whether she was trying to fulfil something she didn't have. a gap in her life she felt compelled to fill, but truthfully, she just knew it would be a lovely 'extra'. she had her business. she had close friends and strong family bonds. she just wanted someone to listen to at the end of the day. someone to takes walks with on spring mornings or curl up on the couch beside. someone she could bring cups of tea to and buy flowers just because.

oli nods in agreement, knowing first-hand just how wild her mum's parties have been in the past. "i actually think there's penalties for having your phone out at mum's parties. like you have to shot port or something. maybe you could be my plus one some time. if you think you can handle my sister giving live theatre performances and my cousins showing off pictures from their latest trips to some fucking mountain range." her body relaxes more into the couch as she pushes her hair away from her face and nods. "you got it. i'll have to do some estimates. balance out how many people i want to bring in versus could i just work a bunch of hours, do it mostly myself and take a bigger cut."

for all joss' intention to get out of there as quickly as she could and forget the whole interaction, it didn't seem that luce was giving up quite that easily. she blinked, stunned momentarily by the tone the other took as she tried to insist. her brows furrowed as she considered her reasoning. she didn't want people to know she was failing a class? did it really matter that much? she supposed she knew that athletes had to maintain their grades, but still.

joss had been about to respond, but her mouth snapped shut at 'two doesn't matter'. mostly because, honestly, luce seemed to be genuinely uncomfortable about it and she was hardly the type to push. "okay." was all she managed to say for the moment.

of course, then luce went in harder and her green eyes widened in surprise as she offered... well, one thing she'd be interested in (money) and two things she couldn't imagine she'd want all that badly. "i don't drive..." despite how stunned she was about this whole interaction, joss was beginning to realise she needed to be firm about it. "look, i'm really sorry. i don't really get why you want me to tutor you so badly, but, um..." it was at that moment, of course, that the one person who could distract her in the world happened to be walking apparently in her direction. immediately, joss's tongue seemed to turn to jelly in her mouth. alarm flashed in her eyes as she looked back at luce before slapping on a smile. "hey, riley."

luce wasn't even sure she had the right reasoning to say why she wanted joss to tutor her, so when the other trailed off, it felt a bit like a clutch save. like maybe there would be less talking and more agreeing on her classmate's part. like maybe joss was going to realize how awesome of an opportunity this actually was and change her mind. but that wasn't the case. oh no, that wasn't the case at all.

her eyebrows rose curiously as joss's gaze went elsewhere, and she was only a second away from turning around to see what the fuck was more interesting than her when alarm flashed in joss's green eyes. alarm followed by a disarmingly pretty smile and... hey, riley. the actual fuck?

luce's eyes lifted slowly from the table and settled on the familiar face. why was she here? since when had riley just strolled over and got into luce's shit?

she didn't want to talk about the fucking paper either. especially not in a class she was at a risk of failing and... wait. the mildly annoyed expression on her face was wiped away as she looked at joss. was she... giggling? at riley? firstly, what the fuck? joss hadn't giggled at her and luce had actually said at least three funny things and secondly... she leant back in her chair and smirked. the same damn arrogant smirk she'd wandered over with in the first place.

luce wasn't the sharpest skate on the rink, but she had people smarts. women smarts. "nah, i crushed." she announced as she lifted her arms high above her head and looked up at riley. she hadn't. she definitely hadn't, and she knew joss probably had crushed. riley probably had too. she had a real habit of saying stupid shit in luce's 'humble' opinion. a habit of making shit up too.

the hockey player's eyes slid to joss, and for a second, she just paused. bingo.