Chances

Chapter 30

Carina doesn't say anything. Instead she just pulls herself back up, climbs up on Lily's lap with her legs wrapped around her waist, and kisses her so deeply and so passionately that neither of them were ever going to forget this moment.

The corners of Carina's lips tug up as the overwhelming swarm of butterflies invades her stomach the way it always does when she kisses Lily. The way that it does when she kisses the girl she loves.

The way it does when she kisses her girlfriend.

-

"Geez. What are you so damn smiley about?" Naomi asks Carina with a suggestive smirk on her face. Desi and Amanda are also walking with them while Lily is still in bed, opting to sleep in seeing as she doesn't have any class today.

"Yeah, Carina, you practically have a smile stitched on your face," Desi laughs in agreement, hooking her arm around Naomi's shoulders loosely.

That only makes the seemingly permanent smile on Carina's face stretch even wider. She has only officially been Lily's girlfriend about 24 hours ago, but she's already happier than she's been in a while.

It's not like much has changed between them nor will much change between them, but just knowing that they are finally able to say that they are together gives Carina this warm and fuzzy feeling inside of her. They've both wanted this for so long now and they've managed to overcome the obstacles that were placed in their way.

Well, not all of them.

Carina wants to shout it from the rooftops and write it on the skylines that Lily is her girlfriend, but the only thing standing in the way of that is herself and it's beyond frustrating. She knows that she'll eventually be comfortable with herself to come out, but there's no telling when and that worries her. What if Lily can't wait for her for that long?

She internally shakes herself out of that thought. Thinking of worst possible scenarios are a bad habit of hers and she can't seem to break it. She needs to focus on the fact that she has Lily now and that they're both happy.

Carina realizes that she still hasn't answered Naomi's question and all three of the girls are looking at her expectantly. She scopes the area around them in search of anyone who would be able to hear and when she sees that they're relatively alone, she whispers, with a grin on her face, "Lily is my girlfriend." Her heart flutters as soon as those words leave her mouth. She still can't believe it.

Naomi, Desi, and Amanda's reactions are all the same. Their eyes widened and their jaw dropped as a gasp escaped them before attacking her with a huge congratulatory hug. The girls know all too well how much Carina and Lily have wanted this and now that they have, the ecstatic excitement is infectious. It means the world to Carina to have been able to find such amazing friends who support and accept her wholeheartedly. She never thought she ever be able to say that before college began.

"Oh my god, Carina," Amanda says softly as soon as they all pull away from the hug, her eyes genuine and bright. "I can't even begin to imagine how happy you guys must feel right now."

Carina beams as she nods her head enthusiastically. "Can you blame me? She's perfect."

Desi begins to repeatedly poke Carina's ribs with her index finger, making her swat her hands away while giggling. "How disgustingly adorable," Desi teases.

Carina narrows her eyes at her. "You cannot be talking because Lily and I say the exact same thing about you two," she says, pointing at both Desi and Naomi. "We literally refer to you guys as the Golden Couple."

Naomi grins proudly while Desi blushes bashfully as she stands behind Naomi with her arms wrapped around her shoulders, resting her chin on top of her head. Naomi reaches up and lightly caresses Desi's forearms with her fingertips as she leans back and nuzzles herself against her girlfriend.