At First Glance- A Marina Love Story

Chapter 13

The lingering effects of the kiss still weighed heavily on Carina's lips and heart. She definitely didn't anticipate for Maya to take charge like she had. God, that was sexy, Carina thought to herself. She pulled herself out of her trance and focused on creating the sauce for the pasta.

In the meantime, Maya put together the ingredients for a salad. She tossed the salad with her hands and thought back to Carina's hands on hers as they kneaded the pasta dough. Was she feeling the same way?  Maya silently questioned. She had to, right? 

The two women worked quietly around one another as they waited on the dough to rise. Carina meandered to the shelves in Maya's dining room and browsed the photos that were positioned next to some books and trinkets. Her chestnut eyes glued to one particular photo and her mouth dropped. She grabbed the picture and turned it to Maya.

"Um, bambina, when you were planning on telling me that you were an Olympic gold medalist?

Maya whipped her head around and looked at the Italian who was admiring the image. "It just didn't come up," Maya smirked.

"My fault. I guess I will start asking all of my dates about their pasts as Olympians," Carina joked. "Tell me all about it, bella," she said as she took a seat at the table.

"Uh, well, I don't talk about it too much, but it was London 2012. I ran in the 1500 meter race on a sprained ankle. I will always feel the effects from the physical and emotional toll it took on me," Maya said as she looked down at the ground. "It should have been the best day of my life, and in some ways it was, but there is a lot of darkness surrounding it, too."

Carina looked at her with understanding eyes. Maya noticed. Maya was unsure how the Italian could understand something so painful, but her eyes and body language told her she did. The Italian raised herself out of the chair and placed the photo back where it belonged. She slowly walked over to Maya and took her in for a long and tender hug. The smaller woman quickly reciprocated and nuzzled her head up into Carina's neck. They stood there for a moment in silence and just held on to each other until the timer went off signaling that the dough was ready.

Maya slowly let go of Carina and sauntered towards the kitchen. Carina instructed Maya on how to cut the dough into strands. She was impressed with how quickly Maya got the hang of it. Once everything was prepared, Maya began to set the table.

"No, no, bambina, we aren't eating here," Carina said from the kitchen sink where she was cleaning up their mess.

Maya looked at her confused. "Then where are we eating?"

"You'll see," Carina smiled.

Maya looked over at the far counter in her kitchen and noticed the bouquet of flowers she purchased in the park earlier. She had completely forgotten about them. "Well, before we leave, I wanted to give you these," Maya said bashfully as she handed the fall bouquet to the gorgeous woman in front of her.

Carina blushed and leaned in for a soft kiss before she said, "They're beautiful, bella. Thank you."

--

Carina led Maya to her black Porsche SUV that was parked about half a block down from the blonde's apartment complex. Everything this evening had gone better than she could have anticipated, especially the kiss. She hoped that everything would continue to be perfect. 

Carina opened the door for Maya and made her way to the driver's side. Soft Italian music started to play throughout the car. As she pulled out of her spot and onto the main road, Carina grabbed Maya's left thigh and squeezed it. Maya's eyes were glued to the tan hand that drew soft circles on her thigh. A heat raised throughout Maya's body starting between her legs. She squeezed her thighs to relieve some of the pressure. Carina looked down at her as Maya wiggled in her seat and gave a soft chuckle.

"Flustered," Carina chuckled barely loud enough for Maya to hear.

"Shut it," Maya said jokingly.

--

Carina pulled into the visitor's lot of the hospital. Maya was more confused than ever and Carina noticed. "Just trust me, bambina."

The two women exited the car and Carina took Maya's hand into her own. She grabbed the bag of food and led the blonde towards a grassy area near the now-closed coffee stand. As they got closer Maya noticed a blanket sprawled out with a bouquet of roses in the center and a small cooler that had a bottle of red wine with two glasses next to it. Maya's eyes began to water. No one had ever done anything like this for her before. It was just a first date, and the amount of effort Carina had put into it meant the world to her.

The Italian guided Maya to the blanket and took two small candles from her bag and lit them. The sun was just setting and the candles added to the romantic ambiance. Maya began to softly speak, "Carina, this is too much. No one has ever done something so meaningful for me."

"It's not too much, bambina. You deserve this and more," Carina added as she gave Maya a short kiss. "Let's eat before we sit here and kiss all night and ruin our meal."

Carina poured the two women a glass of wine as Maya handed Carina her salad and pasta. The aroma from the sauce was overwhelming. Maya skipped the salad and went straight for the pasta and melted as it hit her mouth. "Oh. My. God," she said. "I REALLY promise that I will never eat boxed pasta again."

That made the Italian laugh. "I told you, bella. You will never go back." The two women talked over their meal until it was too dark, even with candles, to see anything.

As they began to clean up after themselves Maya asked, "Carina, can I ask why you brought me here?"

"I was wondering when that would come up. Well, you mentioned the coffee cart this morning and we discussed how we could sometimes meet here. I thought that I would officially claim this little area as our 'spot.' I will keep a blanket in my office for the mornings I know we are going to meet," Carina was a little embarrassed by how cheesy it all sounded. Apparently Maya disagreed because she turned to Carina and pressed her lips against hers in a deep kiss. Carina fell back onto the blanket and Maya positioned herself on her side next to her. The Italian took her hands and grabbed Maya by the waist and rolled the smaller woman on top of her. Maya straddled her waist and began pressing wet kisses into Carina's neck. Maya's left hand slithered under the shirt of the older woman and ran circles across her toned abdomen. Carina's hands gripped the back of Maya's shirt as she struggled to control the moans coming from her mouth.

"Bambina, I think we need to stop," Carina said suddenly.

"No way," Maya chuckled.

Carina moaned a little louder and looked around, "Bella, please."

"You really want me to stop doing this?" Maya asked as she placed her hand softly around Carina's neck and nibbled on her ear.

"Maya, as much as I want to keep going, security is headed our way," Carina chuckled. Carina had noticed the security car making laps in the parking lot before they finally pulled over and exited their car.

"Oh, shit," Maya said as she quickly sat back on her heels and made her way off of Carina. "We better get going," she laughed.

"I really don't want this night to be over, Maya," Carina whispered as she folded up the blanket.

"Me either, but we both have to work early tomorrow and have long shifts ahead of us," Maya stated as they made their way hand in hand back to the Porsche. As the women were walking they awkwardly waved at the security guard who just shook his head.

"Well, if we are pressed for time, bambina, I have an idea," Carina said.

"Enlighten me," Maya responded.

"Well, it involves you, me, and my brand new office that has a lock on the door."