What a Girl Wants

Chapter Twenty-One

One afternoon right before finals, Mandy found herself in bed feeling so content. Her relationship was perfect. Scotty was good, healthy and having a girl! Everything still wasn't back to normal with her folks, she'd apologized and they'd accepted. They were nearly back to the point where she had to avoid any questions that seemed like they might lead to a confession. Mandy knew that if she were to reveal to her parents what she had with Gabby, it had to be face to face. A long, deep breath from Gabby broke into her thoughts. She looked up at her suspiciously. "What's with the sigh, babe?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying, Gabrielle." She watched her woman blush under the light of the lamp sitting on the desk. They knew each other well—every look, sigh, touch, moan... "Talk."

"You're going to want to kill me."

"Just say it. Let me be the judge," she whispered against Gabby's brown skin.

The women kissed, their tongues becoming entangled. Mandy's heart raced waiting for Gabby to speak. "I'm transferring schools."

A tense body was her reaction. "What?" Mandy asked through a clamped jaw. Gabby'd been right. She did want to kill her. Wanted to wrap her fingers around her neck in a way much different than when she usually did it.

"I'm transferring. To NJIT. They have a great engineering program and I've been accepted."

"Y... you can't."

"I am."

Mandy got up and grabbed her pajama pants, shoving her legs into them. "When did you know?"

"Frosh."

"When... did... you... know?" She asked tugging on a t-shirt—one that had once been Gabby's.

"I found out a few weeks ago." Tears were starting to flood her eyes. Mandy wiped them away and sat in her computer chair. She hated that she was crying. "Mandy, wait... listen," she said getting up and putting on her own pants. They hung just below her waist. "I wanted to tell you. Of course, I wanted to tell you."

"So, why am I just finding out?"

"Because I was scared that you'd convince me to stay."

A headache started to form behind her eyes. "I'm not that selfish, Gabrielle. I wouldn't have done that or said anything to... to.... to deter your future."

"You wouldn't have had to." Gabby put on her sports bra and walked over to Mandy. "I would just look at those big, brown eyes," she said touching Mandy's chin, "and reject my scholarship just to be with you." Mandy pulled her face away and moved to her bed, crawling into it, draping the covers around her shoulders. Gabby came and stood in front of her, bending down. "I'm sorry, Miranda."

"It's... okay. I'm fine. I'm h-happy for you, Gabby," she told her honestly. However, she couldn't look at her—not yet anyway. This is what she got for falling in love. The bed moved as her girlfriend got behind her, holding her tightly; it almost hurt, but she didn't say anything.

Gabby pushed her face into Mandy's back, sighing again. When the freshman heard the sophomore snoring lightly, she stuck her feet into her shoes, grabbed a jacket and went for short walk. If anyone knew that she was outside alone at three in the morning, she'd get chastised from here to eternity. But she had to get out of there. It was going to be tough enough not seeing her much during the summer with her internship that would be taking her back and forth to Washington, DC, but now...

A piece of her was locked in on reality. Was a long-distance relationship something they could keep up with in the fall? On top of school? On top of everything? Did she want to have to keep explaining to people why she wasn't interested in going out or dating? Did she really want to come back to the campus where she'd fallen in love for the first time and not see the beautiful woman she'd fallen for?

The other part of her was unusually optimistic. They could do it. Plenty of people did it. There would be phone calls and they could write one another and visits. New Jersey wasn't that far away from Boston. Despite how mad she was, she had faith in them. Neither had looked at another person since becoming a couple. It was all Gabrielle Hightower for Miranda Bailey. It could work. Hopefully, she thought as she walked back into her building, chilly.

Mandy kicked off her shoes and took off her jacket as quietly as she could. "Where ya been?" Gabby asked sitting up.

Mandy jumped. "Oh, you scared me." Gabby ran a hand over her face. "I had to clear my head."

"You good?"

"Yes," she answered slipping into bed. Their legs touching was the extent of their physical connection.

Gabby began talking in the darkness. "I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out, but how was I supposed to tell you that?" Biting her tongue, Mandy didn't respond. "But just know that it has nothing to do with you. I want to be engineer and this is how I do that. You can understand that, right?"

Of course she could. Medicine was in her heart and nothing could stop her from it. "Yes," she exhaled. Mandy truly felt like whining, begging her to change her mind. Instead she said, "I thought your mom wasn't big on you doing engineering."

Gabby smiled. "My dad forced her hand a little. And my grades are good. Plus with the scholarship... she's coming around to it."

Finally looking at her woman, she said: "I am so proud of you."

"Thank you, frosh."

Mandy licked her lips. "I'm almost a sophomore, you know."

"So, I can't call you 'frosh' anymore?" Gabby asked reaching for her hand.

Her mouth lifted into a smile as she squeezed. "I didn't say that."

"Okay, soph." They looked at one another before bursting into a fit of laughter. "I do not like that."

"Me either." Mandy kissed Gabby's fingers. "Keep calling me 'frosh'."

"Of course... frosh."

There was more silence for a long time—both of them lost in their own thoughts. Feeling herself about to drift off to asleep, Mandy spoke: "Can you make me a promise?"

"Anything, baby."

Her stomach flipped as she tried to formulate her next question. "Can we just try as hard as we can to keep this going?" She gestured between them with her free hand.

"Yes."

"Okay."

Gabby swallowed. "You have my word, Miranda. You're so important to me." Needing that confirmation, Mandy was satisfied. "Ahem."

She grinned slyly. "Yes?"

"Are you making the same promise?"

"Do you want me to?" Mandy inquired in an amused tone. Gabby tickled her, digging her fingers into Mandy's stomach gently. "Fine!" The freshman squealed. "Yes! Yes! I promise, babe. I'll do my very best to make sure we stay together." The young couple preserved their promises enthusiastically for several minutes that led to heavy kissing and light touching before they fell asleep.