Dark Ocean

Part 16

Valentina stops in the doorway of her bedroom and flashes Juliana a smile over her shoulder, a nervous shudder running through her. The thought of having Juliana in her room makes her heart race and she closes her eyes for a second, wiping her clammy hands on her jeans. Her legs are extremely wobbly and her stomach won't stop fluttering.

She can sense the girl's presence close behind her and Valentina slowly turns to face her, her cheeks warming all over again. She wonders if she'll always feel like this in Juliana's presence, the constant tingling sensation low in her belly, spreading warmth all the way out to her extremities. She bites her lip nervously and glances down at her feet, willing herself to cool, before she gathers enough courage to look up into those striking brown eyes.

"So," she manages with a soft clearing of her throat, clasping her hands behind her back to keep them still. "This is my bedroom."

Juliana swallows visibly before her lips curl into a wide, toothy smile, craning her neck to see over Valentina's shoulder.

"Ah, I've been wondering about..." Her words trail off as her gaze returns to Valentina's face and her cheeks turn a pretty pink hue, as if the words were more than she intended to say.

Valentina can only gape at the girl, her imagination running wild, causing her breath to catch. Juliana had been wondering about her room? What exactly had she been wondering? If the blush on the girl's cheeks is any indication, she's sure her own cheeks are five different shades of red.

She bites her lip and toys with a lock of her hair. "You did?" she asks in a quiet voice, realization making her tone go breathy around the edges.

Juliana fiddles with the hem of her shirt as she looks at Valentina from under her long lashes. "Yeah, what it would look like.." she softly clarifies.

There's a smile on her face that Valentina knows is supposed to be casual, but she can see right through it, and she reaches up to put a hand over her mouth to hide the smirk that threatens to break out across her lips.

Juliana's eyes follow the movement of her hand before her gaze locks with Valentina's again. She can pinpoint the exact moment Juliana realizes her train of thought- the slight widening of her eyes, the deepening shade of pink on her cheeks- and the girl reaches out to smack Valentina's arm.

"No, not like that!" Juliana exclaims, rolling her eyes and smiling widely at her.

"No?" Valentina challenges with a teasing quirk of her lip.

"No," Juliana denies and her smile seems to grow impossibly wider. She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers fluttering nervously near her slender throat.

Valentina bites her lip on a smile and scrunches her nose slightly as she leans a little closer. "Are you sure?"

Juliana releases a breathy laugh and shakes her head, glancing down almost bashfully. "Val.." she smiles, drawing her name out slowly.

Valentina silently stares at her for a second, enamored by her rosy cheeks, before she sees something change in the girl's expression. And when Juliana slowly raises her head again, it is almost as if Juliana has disappeared and another girl has taken her place. This girl is a whole lot more confident than she was just moments ago.

She sucks in a shaky breath as Juliana's dark eyes slowly roam her face and there's something about the way she looks at her that glues Valentina to the floor. Her gaze is so intense that it seems to heat up her skin, and the very air around them seems charged, ready to crackle at the slightest movement from either of them.

The tip of Valentina's tongue darts out to moisten her suddenly dry lips and she hears Juliana's breathing deepen, watches her dark eyes drop to her mouth, to follow the tiny, unconsciously provocative movement with an intensity that makes her heart jerk against her chest.