Reality of Yearning (GxG)

42. Whatever it took.

Being back home was both a relief and a tragedy for Sasha. On the one hand, she was glad to be away from the people who'd been trying to harm her relationship with Cameron. On the other hand, Sasha was feeling upset and disappointed in herself for not having convinced Cameron's family of her honesty.

Perhaps she hadn't tried hard enough. She'd put her timidity aside to interact with Cameron's family, but in the end she could only spend time with her mother, whom she'd previously met. No one else would spare her a glance, let alone engage with her. Maybe she should have had taken action, initiated conversations with Cameron's dad, greeted Carter more politely.

"Babe, your phone!", Cameron shouted from the living room.

"Who is it?", Sasha asked without moving from her spot. She could not stop stirring, it was the most delicate part of her recipe.

"Unknown number", her voice sounded closer so Sasha glanced left and watched Cameron enter the kitchen.

"Wait for the message", Sasha instructed and thought best to slightly lower the intensity of the gas.

After two minutes of kissing and giggling, Cameron finally made herself useful and put Sasha's phone on speaker to let them hear the message. Sasha wasn't that interested in listening at first, thinking it was certainly another insurance company calling her to inform her about their incredible deal. But after a couple of seconds, Sasha literally thought smashing her phone against the wall.

"Hello? Oh, hum... Sorry. Good evening, Sasha. It's Jules here, your father's fiancée. I truly hope I have the right number otherwise I'll certainly think William is hiding another woman behind your contact name. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you'd received the invitation we sent you. It would mean a lot if you accepted to attend our wedding. I personally cannot wait to meet you and for Parker to finally know his big sister. Would you please get back at me at this number whenever you can? There's no rush though, you can take all the time you need to think it through. I know it's a lot to take in but you're a part of this family, our family. I'll be waiting for your answer. Thank you."

"Is that a joke?", Sasha asked in disbelief.

"Are you going to call her back?"

"For what? I don't have anything to say to that woman, I don't even know her", Sasha said in outrage.

"You should think about it though", Cameron said in a kind tone.

"No", Sasha immediately answered.

"Maybe it would do you good", the brunette insisted.

"Are you seriously trying to convince me to give them a chance? Do you really think I would ever want to be a part of their little happy family? Those people are not my family, my mother is."

"I just want you to feel at peace, Sasha."

"I'm better off on my own, just like they're better off without me", Sasha said in a firm tone and grabbed two plates to serve dinner.

"I'm just saying-"

"Please, don't", Sasha instantly interrupted her and brought the plates to the table. "I know you only try to help me but the only thing I want is to forget about them and move on with my life."

"Would this help?", Cameron asked before setting a tiny box on the table.

"What's that?", Sasha asked in confusion as the brunette moved the box forward.

Without a word, Cameron pushed the box in Sasha's direction, urging her to open it. Not really up for mysteries, Sasha grabbed it and removed the lid, allowing her to discover a key. It was shiny, as if barely made. Sasha's heart dropped for an instant. She couldn't believe it.

"I know you're scared, Sasha. About many things. I know you can be scared about this relationship as well. But you need to remember that... I want to be your home. I want to be your family. And I want you to always have a safe place to come to whenever you need it."

"This is huge", Sasha warned in a trembling voice.

"It's all I can offer for now", Cameron shrugged apologetically, as if her gift was nothing. "But I have all these projects in my head where we both go to college, or you go to college and I work, or we both work, and we actually have a place of our own with a big soft bed for you to sleep in. I even thought of adopting a turtle, it would be super cute in our future living room."

"Tell me more", Sasha raised an eyebrow in surprise, completely taken aback by her girlfriend's confessions.

"I've looked into it and I think an apartment like yours would be perfect to begin with. We don't need a palace, just a nice cozy love nest with fluffy pillows and too many scented candles", Cameron excitedly reeled off. "Also, I'm getting tattooed tomorrow afternoon. I just got the confirmation."

"So you're serious about this. Please tell me you're not turning into a badass lesbian and getting sleeves done."

"Have you seen me?", Cameron chuckled. "I'm getting two tattoos, it's all I'm telling you."

"You're scaring me, you know."

"Good", the brunette winked teasingly.

As planned, Cameron did leave the next afternoon to get her first tattoos and forbade Sasha to come along. She didn't understand though, she only wanted to support her girlfriend. Instead she was forced to contact Ryan and Lorenzo to organize their New Year's Eve celebration, which ended up in Lorenzo inviting them to his bar-club. At least the venue would be nice and Lorenzo promised to book them a VIP booth.

The second Cameron came back, Sasha told her the great news and explained in details her conversation with the boys to make sure Cameron wouldn't complain about their plans. After receiving the brunette's approval, Sasha was only dying to see the result. She wanted to see what designs Cameron had added to her beautiful body.

"Close your eyes", Cameron instructed chuckling as she guided Sasha's hands up. Once plunged in darkness, Cameron grabbed her hand, closed it, and only took out her forefinger. "Try to guess what part of my body it is", the brunette said before Sasha's finger touched her skin.

"There's a little bone", Sasha deducted and moved her finger around to feel her girlfriend's skin. "It's your hand. On the side. The side of your thumb."

"Good job. Now to the other part."

"I can hear you removing some clothes. Is this some kind of kinky game?", Sasha said in a light voice.

"You wish", Cameron laughed before guiding Sasha's hand lower.

"Given the height it should be your hip or you waist."

"Open now."

As expected, Sasha's finger was against the brunette's waistline. Not believing what she was seeing, Sasha knelt down on the floor and pulled down Cameron's jeans a bit more to analyze the drawing. A thin continuous line, going up and down in a tiny perimiter, forming the most elegant curls and loops, until revealing the discreet shape of a monkey.

"Cam, that's... This is crazy. Why did you... This is me."

"Reason why I did it", Cameron laughed before helping Sasha up. "It's so small it's barely visible. The other one should go unnoticed as well."

When Sasha discovered the three dots engraved on Cameron's soft hand, she couldn't help but shed a tear and hug her girlfriend with all her might. This gesture had certainly been impulsive and reckless, but Sasha realized at the sight of these tattoos that pleasing Cameron's family or fighting against their strict beliefs didn't matter. Fussing over a voicemail was stupid, and a tremendous waste of time and energy.

What truly mattered was Cameron, the future they could build together, step by step, hand in hand, without rushing it. Her personal ambition was also important, reason why Sasha was determined to submit her application to hopefully start a college degree. Moving out of her apartment was also one of her priorities, meaning she'd be able to live with Cameron.

Sasha was in for real. She was committed. She would do whatever it took to achieve her objectives and share a happy quiet life with Cameron, just the two of them and their turtle. Whatever it took.