At First Glance- A Marina Love Story

Chapter 7

Maya took a seat at Carina's desk and looked around the office. She noticed that there were some boxes lined up against the back wall. She quickly stood up out of the office chair to look through them before she had to sit back down. All of the blood rushed to her head and she was swiftly reminded of the head injury she had suffered earlier in the evening. The blonde sat back down and closed her eyes as she rested her head on her hands that sprawled across the desk.

Maya thought back to the events that had transpired in just a few short hours. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on the office door that was slightly ajar. Maya struggled to lift her head, it felt like it weighed 100 pounds. She focused her eyes on the visitor at the door as they entered.

"Oh, sorry, I thought Carina would still be in here changing," the man from the elevator stated.

"No, she changed pretty quickly and then ran down the hallway to assist the mother," Maya responded.

"Alright, thanks," the man said as he began to leave the room. He turned around halfway through the door opening and asked, "How do you know Carina?"

Maya thought back to their brief interaction in the elevator when Carina let go of her hand as this man turned to talk to them. "I'm a firefighter at Station 19. We met earlier this evening when I brought in a patient. Then we ran into one another at Joe's at the end of our shifts." Maya was really hoping that she didn't share too much.

He shook his head like he understood. "Ah I see. I am glad my sister has made a new friend so quickly."

Sister. Now that Maya thought of it she could definitely see the resemblance between the man and Carina. Dark skin, tall, and deep brown eyes. He didn't have an Italian accent however, which she found interesting. "I'm Maya by the way," she said as he left.

"Andrea. Can you tell her I was looking for her?" he asked.

"Sure thing," Maya answered as Andrea closed the door behind him.

--

Maya checked her watch, it was officially Thursday. She had been alone in the office for a couple of hours now and decided to help Carina by unloading the boxes onto the shelves and setting up her desk.

She lowered herself onto the floor and emptied the contents of a few boxes and began to create organized stacks. Carina had a lot of medical books, most of them in Italian. She also had a lot of photos of family and friends. She didn't want to pry too much into Carina's life but one photo stood out more than the rest. It was a candid photo where a young Carina was laughing and looking at an older woman. She held onto the photo for a few moments and examined the beauty of the Italian.

"That one is my favorite," a familiar voice said from the doorway.

Maya looked up and saw Carina slowly walk in. Both of the women offered each other a soft smile.

Carina continued, "That was my mama. She passed away about five years ago. That was the last photo we took together before she moved to the U.S." Carina made her way over to Maya and grabbed the photo. She held it close to her chest. "I miss her everyday, even though we spent half of my life apart from one another."

Maya questioned, "What do you mean?"

"The man in the elevator from earlier is my younger brother, Andrea. He works here, too. When we were teenagers, my mama took Andrea and moved from Italy to Wisconsin. My papa was struggling mentally and it was not a safe environment for Andrea, so they left. I stayed in Italy and helped take care of my papa until it became so bad that I couldn't take it anymore," Carina started to tear up as she spoke the last sentence.

"Carina, you were only a teenager and you stayed to care for your father?" Maya asked.

"To me, family is everything. I never thought I would leave my papa, but one can only take so much," Carina offered her hands to Maya and pulled her to her feet.

Maya looked deeply into Carina's eyes. She so desperately wanted to kiss her, but not like this. She didn't want Carina to be teary eyed and thinking of her father when their lips finally connected.

Carina sighed and let go of Maya's hands. "Sorry I took so long, bella. The mama crashed when we were at Joe's but was stable by the time I made it to her room. We had to perform a c-section on her due to unknown causes of her internal bleeding. Luckily, all went well and mama and baby are resting."

Maya was grateful that the mother and baby would be okay. She asked, "Are you ready to leave, or do you have additional work to complete?"

"We can go, bambina. Just give me a moment to change."

"Okay, I can wait in the hallway while you get ready," Maya said as she walked towards the door.

"Don't be silly. I will be quick," Carina added. She noticed that Maya's cheeks were flush with embarrassment. "Maya, are you normally this shy?"

Maya turned around to see the brunette standing in front of her in just her bra and pink scrub bottoms. Her cheeks had never felt so hot. "Actually, no, never. I am usually a very confident person, but something about you makes me feel so-." Carina began to close the gap between them.

"Makes you feel what, bambina?" Carina asked seductively.

Maya gulped. Her stomach felt like it was in her throat. "Flustered."

"Flustered? Hm, how do you feel when I do this, bella?" Carina asked as she took her hands and traced them down the sides of Maya's body.

Maya couldn't look Carina in the eye, so Carina lifted her hands off her sides and moved one to Maya's chin to lift it. Their eyes locked.

The blonde's eyes widened and grew darker as Carina took her hand off her chin and moved it slowly down Maya's neck and across her body. Maya drank in every ounce of Carina. She noticed the beauty mark below her lips, the way her abs tensed as she moved her hands up and down her sides, and the slight suntan lines she had left from her time in Italy.

After a few moments of shallow breathing between the two, Maya softly grabbed the brunette by the waist and pulled her closer. Carina's face was so close to Maya's that she could smell the remnants of the tequila from their escapades earlier in the night. The two women moved in unison to finally close the gap that had lingered between them all evening.

Their lips finally met and their bodies slowly melted into one another. Maya reached around Carina's back and held her closer. There was officially no space to spare between them. Carina moved her hands from Maya's sides and brought them up to her face. Their lips never parted, but they didn't need to. The kiss was sensual and all-telling. Their hands continued to explore one another's bodies as their lips moved softly against the other. After a few minutes, Maya slowly pulled away from Carina and noticed the pink in her cheeks.

"Who is the flustered one now?" Maya joked.

The Italian softly chuckled. "We've only known each other for one evening. How do we have this effect on each other already?" Carina asked as she pulled Maya back towards her.

"I don't know, but it's a little scary isn't it?" Maya responded. She could feel Carina's heavy heartbeat against her chest. She was glad she wasn't the only one who was feeling this way.

"A little," Carina quietly answered as she pulled Maya back in for another kiss.