The Smile (GirlxGirl)

Chapter 2

Claire must have felt my shoulders slump so she gave my arm a tug. "What's wrong Jessie?"

I could feel the vibrations of the bass and sighed heavily. "You bought me to a club of all places. You know this isn't me. It's what you and your friends do but I just..." I trailed off.

She raised our entwined fingers and kissed the back of my hand before she looked up at me (I wasn't crazy tall but it seemed that way next to her 5'3 frame) "Ok listen Jess; you've never actually been to a club before. I know you love just staying in and reading or whatever you and your little friends do, but when you're with me you try new things. Remember when we got drunk? You never did that with your old friends."

I looked away from her brown eyes and swallowed hard. She always insulted my friends that were younger than her, it was like she thought they were going to steal me away or something. Sure I liked to read but it wasn't like it was the only thing I did. When I was with my friends we'd shop and hang out like Jess and I did. I turned back to her. Suck it up Jess. "Just promise me something ok?"

"Anything," she said with a step towards me.

"Just...make sure you hold my hair back when I start puking." I shrugged and she smiled before she pulled me towards the door. I got in without a problem but Claire was asked for ID, her cute little baby face was great for getting guys but not so great when it came to getting passed burly door guard.

After she was done proving she was her age she followed us into the club and I was immediately hit with unnecessarily loud bass with seemed to penetrate me right to my bones. Claire took my hand after I was blocked by dancers and lead me towards the bar where she ordered us all a shot of vodka.

After my fourth shot I started to loosen up. Claire and I were on the dance floor but we weren't dancing together. Jess was chatting up some guy who she just met, and was clearly just playing with, whereas I was having a fun little dance with Chloe, the nicest of Claire's friends. I looked around every now and again to make sure I didn't lose Claire and when I did I turned away angrily. She was basically grinding with him and before I knew it he had turned her around and was making out with herm right in the middle of the dance floor, although they weren't the only ones.

Chloe turned to me and rested a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Jess...hey what's wrong. You look like you're about to cry or something."

I couldn't answer her; afraid my hidden tears would be given away by my voice. I made a beeline for the toilets, learning quickly that the only way to get through the thick masses of people was to shove them out of the way, which wasn't hard when you were 5'7. I stood by the sink and begged with everything I had to not cry. Why did this bother me so much? I got over her...or at least that's what I told myself. Sure I still found her attractive but she was straight and that was it.

I leaned on the wall next to the hand dryer and just thought about my breathing until I heard the door open and Claire stood there with a sorry look on her face. She walked over and wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me, resting her head on my chest. "Chloe told me you were upset."

Understatement, I thought to myself. "Nah I think the drinks are getting to me. Don't worry about it." I hugged her back.

She pulled away from me and look up into my eyes, which made me feel both uncomfortable and entranced. I could never hold anyone's eye contact for my than a couple of seconds but she was forcing me to look at her and at the feelings from when I was younger came flooding back. I remembered how I loved her chubby cheeks and rounded chin, her almond shaped eyes and her faded freckles. "You like me," she said suddenly.

I shook my head. Totally unsure what she meant but I decided to just play dumb. "Of course I like you. You're my best friend. I wouldn't be here if I didn't like you. Why do you even have to say that? I just..." I noticed I was rambling so I stopped suddenly which only made her small smile wider. She unwrapped her hands from around my waist and rested them on my hips.

"Jessie, you like me. Like, like me like me. I know you do." She said it in such a matter of fact way that I couldn't argue with so I turned my head to the side, looking into the mirror and I saw what we looked like. A couple. I smiled at the reflection but that smile left as soon as I felt Claire's gentle kisses up my neck.