Her Touch

35

WE WERE IN the living room. Ava was on her computer and I was finishing up some homework, "what are you doing, Miss Reese?"
Looking at how her glasses were perched on her nose was so sexy, "none of your business, just teacher stuff."
"Is that the way you talk to your girlfriend?" She looked at me and sighed.
"It's a test, okay?" I nodded and walked over to her.
"When is it for?"
"I can't tell you that," I frowned.
"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm looking at the questions."
"Then why are you so close to me?" I crossed my arms over my chest, offended.
"I'm no cheater."
"I'm not saying that, just go back to what you were doing," she brushed me off and continued her work.
"You're being mean," she groaned and looked back at me.
"I don't mean to be," her voice softened, "I'm just trying to get this done, be a good girl and do your homework," I rolled my eyes.
"Fine," I walked back over to where I was sitting and picked up my notebook.
"Don't give me attitude, young lady," I arched my brow and huffed.
"So you're my mother now?" I grumbled.
"Only in the bedroom, baby," she winked at me and I scrunched up my nose.
"I rather stick to the normal names, if you don't mind. I will never in a million years refer to you as my mother in the bedroom."
"You say so now, wait till you're screaming mommy on top of your lungs."
"Oh, fuck you," she chuckled and went quiet for a few minutes.
"I was just fucking with you, baby."
"Yeah, right," I muttered, as I closed my notebook and placed it into my backpack.
"What happened to your satchel?" She questioned.
"Remember Emily stomped all over it."
"Oh, yeah, that bitch is going to make me break her limbs," she threatened.
"It's okay, girls like her always learn that karma's a bitch."
"I won't tolerate anyone bullying you, it makes my blood boil."
"It's hot when you get all feisty for me."
"I've been through my own Emily back in high school, and you don't deserve that," she placed her laptop down on the couch and rubbed her temples with the pads of her fingers.
"Don't stress yourself over it, babe, it doesn't affect me, so don't let it affect you," she didn't respond, so I walked over and knelt down in front of her, "soon I'll be out of there anyway," she frowned and looked at me.
"And you'll go off to college," she muttered, making my heart clench inside of my chest.
"We still haven't discussed how we're going to make that work, have we?" She shook her head, the uneasiness between us evident, "then let's talk about it," she bit down on her upper lip and slipped off of the couch to sit next to me.
"We have weekends, I could visit you sometimes and you can visit me too."
"Is that enough?" She shrugged.
"It will have to be," I pressed my lips together, knowing that I had to tell her about Oxford.
"I got accepted into Oxford," guilt pooled inside of my stomach for some reason.
"Oh yeah?" She gave me a genuine smile, "that's great, baby, are you going to go?" She asked, her smile faltering.
"No, it's too far away," I mumbled.
"But it's what you wanted."
"Yeah, but I always knew I could never, plus tuition will be so expensive. I rather just stay in the States with you."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, I knew a long time ago that I wouldn't, so don't think I'm giving it up because of you."
She sighed, "if that's your choice, then okay," I knew that she was relieved, but tried not to show it, "I should get back to setting the test," she hopped onto the couch.
"Where's Midnight?" She picked up her laptop and placed it onto her lap.
"Cats sleep most of their lives, he's probably in a corner taking a nap," I sighed, not knowing what to do with myself. I would have taken a run, but I was just not in the mood lately.
Taking out my scrapbook from my bag, I turned to a blank page. I took out a pencil, before I began to write something random.
* * *
"HEY BABY, WHAT are you doing?" I didn't respond and just kept on writing, "I see you're busy," she took a seat next to me, trying to look at what I was writing.
After a few minutes of her just reading along, as I wrote, I looked at her and saw a big smile on her lips, "what do you think?" She leaned closer and pecked me on my lips.
"It's beautiful, just like you."
"As if," I scoffed.
"Your words make me want to..."
"No need to finish that sentence," I interrupted her.
"Awe why? I had something naughty in mind."
"Yeah, I predicted that."
"Are you psychic now?" I gave her a goofy smile and she gave me a smirk in return.
"Does it have to do with us being naked?" She placed her hand over her mouth in amazement.
"You really are psychic," I chuckled and shoved her arm, making her slip off of the couch and onto the floor. I rolled off of the couch and onto the floor next to her, my elbow nudging her in the stomach, making her yelp.
We both bursted into fits of laughter. As we turned onto our sides to look at each other, our laughter subsided.
Looking into her stunning, grey eyes, that very moment I knew for sure, that I couldn't see myself without her. She had taken a place in my heart, one that would never fade away with time, and her intense reciprocation of our locked eyes, made me realize that she felt the same way.
I intertwined our fingers and we continued to just absorb the moment, drinking in the love and understanding that we found in each other.
"I love you," she broke the silence, her soft features expressing sincerity and compassion.
"I love you too," she smiled, as the words slipped through my lips, my chest filling with a warm, tingling sensation, making my body need her soothing embrace.
Slipping my arm over her body, I rested my head onto her chest, and my legs draped over hers. She kissed my forehead, the happiness enveloping both of us in a blissful moment, where I didn't even think about letting her go.
* * *
I REFILLED MIDNIGHT'S bowls, while Ava and Grandpa prepared dinner, my task being much less difficult, "hey, Meme, did you have a good nap?" I cooed, as he sauntered into the kitchen and over to his bowl of water. He meowed, not even looking at me.
I took a seat at a kitchen stool, as I looked at the two work their way around the kitchen, "I wonder where Marie stored the waffle maker. I've been looking for it since this morning," my grandfather muttered, making me realize that I hadn't seen the housekeeper in a few days.
"What happened to her?" I became curious.
"I gave her some time off, her daughter just had a baby, and she wants to spend some time with her family."
"She's such a sweet woman," Ava grabbed a few ingredients from the fridge.
"Kay, can you take out the trash, please?" My grandfather asked and I pressed my lips together. I nodded and hopped off of my seat. Walking over to the garbage bin, I pressed my foot onto the lever to open the lid and lifted the bag, before making one swift knot, "make sure it's tied properly, I don't want garbage falling out," he insisted, making me second guess my actions. I examined the knot and it was perfectly secured.
Walking out of the kitchen and the front door, I threw the bag into the dumpster outside of the house. I then took a moment to look at the yard and indulge in the cool afternoon breeze.
I really did miss my grandmother at those moments, when I would look at the things that she loved and could almost imagine her being there right next to me.
"Babe?" I heard Ava's voice and turned to see her leaning against the door frame.
"Hey," I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.
"You okay?" I slowly nodded, making her walk over to me, "the yard's beautiful, isn't it?" She smiled and stood next to me, "it always lifts my mood in the morning, the beauty of it all," she looked at me, as though she wasn't talking about the yard anymore.
"I miss her," I whispered and kicked the air in front of me.
"I miss her too," she brushed her arm against mine and sighed.
"You two were close?" I asked, biting down on the inside of my cheek.
"Yeah, she was like the grandmother I never had," I inhaled deeply, wanting to touch her and kiss her, but we were outside.
"Think she would have guessed that we would end up together?" She shrugged and stuck the tips of her fingers into her back pockets.
"She thought I was straight," Ava inhaled deeply, her black hair gently flaring in the air, because of the wind.
"I was never secretive about my sexuality," we looked up at the fading blue sky.
"That's one thing that I admire about you."
"At first everyone thought it was a phase, but with time they accepted it."
"You think my mom will come around like yours did?" I pressed my lips together and tilted my head to the side.
"Does Kylie love Ava?" She looked at me, her distinct, grey pools watering onto the shores of her delicate cheeks.
"You know how to cheer me up, don't you?" A small smile spread across her lips, as she wiped away a tear from each side of her face with the tips of her fingers.
"She'll come around, I mean she did experiment in the past."
She chuckled, her chest lightly heaving, "your mom thought that mine is bisexual," she shook her head.
"She probably is, but she's faithful to your dad," Ava nudged my shoulder.
"She can't be if she has a problem with me being gay," she let out a deep breath and moved her hair from blowing against her face.
"I don't know, only she can explain her reasons," I grazed my hand against hers, "let's go inside, don't think about that too much," she forced a smile and nodded.