go with u

Day Five

"I have an idea."

Valentina looked up just as a yellow blur was barreling towards her face. She squealed as, by instinct, her hand reached out and she caught it just before it was about to smack her in the face.

"Hey, good catch." Juliana cheered and Valentina glared at her.

"You seem surprised." Valentina said wryly as she looked at the strange fabric banana in her hand.

"Well, I wouldn't say you're the most coordinated person I know." Juliana quipped as she filled up her glass with more water.

"So you threw this thing at my face with the expectation that I wouldn't catch it?"

Juliana laughed and approached the dining table. Valentina had been working on the puzzle for the past few hours, and it was finally starting to take some shape. Juliana tried to help every now and then, but her impatience would get the better of her and she'd have to go off and do something else for a while. She'd just spent the past twenty minutes unloading the fridge, cleaning it, and reloading it again.

"But you proved me wrong so go you!"

Valentina dropped the fabric banana on the table and rolled her eyes at her friend. Juliana watched her as she tipped back another mouthful of water.

"You're back to your usual pain in the ass self today, I notice. I take it you're feeling much better?" Valentina jested.

Juliana winked and sat down at a chair at the other end of the table. Light music from Valentina's Apple Music playlist filled the living room as early afternoon sunshine streamed in through the windows. Juliana was wearing the same black sweatshirt she'd worn on and off since their isolation period began, this time paired with gray sweats.

"Much better. You?"

Valentina picked up a puzzle piece and nodded her head.

"Yeah. I feel mostly back to normal today."

Valentina focused on a certain patch of flowers on the puzzle, rotating the pieces in different ways to get them to fit. She hummed along and bopped her head to the tune.

Things had been a little weird yesterday afternoon after their sex talk. They were both a little awkward as they bumped into one another in the kitchen as they made their pizza, and then ate on the couch in silence as an episode of The Witcher played on the TV screen. After their bellies were full and their plates discarded on the wooden coffee table, it didn't take long for Juliana to shuffle her way over to Valentina. She rearranged their bodies so they could both lie down comfortably, and suddenly, things were back to exactly where they should be.

"Val." Valentina looked up from her puzzle. Juliana was smiling at her. "Come and play Bananagrams with me."

Valentina looked at Juliana with mild amusement.

"You beat me at that game every time. Why would I play with you?"

"I'll go easy on you."

"Then what's the point in playing?" Valentina argued. Truth was, she hated losing, and Juliana loved to gloat.

Juliana licked her lips and placed her glass on the table.

"I have something that I think would be really fun to do together. But you can only be a part of it if you beat me."

Valentina snorted and sat back in her chair. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her best friend.

"I'm not interested."