His Sister

Us

 A few hours later, I find myself sitting on the counter in the kitchen of Ellie's apartment. I hold my third bottle of Corona between my thumb and index finger while I ramble on and on about school, watching as Ellie scavenges the fridge. She drops a bottle of mustard on the ground and mutters a curse word. I giggle to myself and take another drink. Ellie yanks another box of beers out of the back of the refrigerator. I look at her for a moment, gathering my thoughts.

"You know, you're actually really easy to get along with." I admit to her, wiping at the corners of my mouth with my sleeve.

"Oh, now you think so?" Ellie laughs as she removes the cap from a new bottle.

I take another sip from my bottle, trying to ignore the fact that it kind of tastes like piss to me. Apparently when Ellie moved in, her grandma offered to help her stock her fridge and cabinets. She told her that she could get whatever she wanted. When Ellie jokingly asked for alcohol, her grandmother had no problem complying. I could hardly believe the story when Ellie told me. Her grandma told her that she trusts her to be responsible since she lives on her own now. I'm kind of glad it all worked out the way it did for her.

"Yeah," I nod a bit and look at the stove, suddenly registering how hungry I am, "We should make quesadillas!"

Ellie grins, "That's funny, I could've sworn that just a few weeks ago you were all peeved about how bothersome I am."

Ellie starts drinking from a bottle of beer and manages to swallow at least half of it. I'm impressed, since I've never been much of a drinker. In fact, I'm actually a total lightweight. I'm still trying to learn my own limits, but it's kind of hard when you're not of the legal age. Ellie leans against the counter across from me and smacks her lips. She waits for my response as I take another drink.

"I just get confused sometimes," I laugh, tracing my finger around the lip of the bottle, "But, I know what I really want sometimes."

"What do you mean?" Ellie wants to know.

"Well, like—How I'm confused on what to do about Jay, even though I know that I'm a lesbian." I confess without hesitation, causing Ellie to spit a mouthful of beer all over the floor.

She begins to laugh wildly, sort of like a hyena, "You're a lesbian?"

"Yeah! I am! And I've slept with, like, three different girls." I snort and start laughing with her.

Ellie crosses over to the counter I'm sitting on and leans against it, "Okay, can I tell you something now?"

"Yeah, go ahead." I take a swig from her drink and hop off of the counter.

"Alright... I'm still a virgin." Ellie admits, which actually causes her to blush.

I walk into the living room, which is illuminated only by the dim light that comes in from the kitchen. I plop onto the couch and Ellie follows with the box of beer in her hand. She sets it on the table and turns on the TV, turning the volume down low. Ellie clutches a pillow to her chest and looks out the window behind me. Her cheeks are light red.

"You're a virgin?" I snicker.

"Don't make fun of me!" She counters, throwing a pillow at me.

I grab the pillow and toss it on the ground, "I'm not! It just blows my mind that you went to a private school with your own dorm and you never snuck anyone back there with you."

"It's not that easy." Ellie informs me, folding her arms.

"Oh? Scared to get in trouble?" I raise a brow at her.

She scoffs, "Where is all of this sass coming from?"

"It's the alcohol talking, not me." I admit, reaching for another drink, "But, anyway, I thought you're not afraid of getting in trouble. I saw the way you talked to your parents."

Ellie shrugs, "I'm not afraid, I just... I dunno... I never found the right person, I guess."

"The right person?"

"It was slim pickings." Ellie tells me, her brow furrowing as if she's consumed in thought.

I take a sip of my drink and let out a sigh of content. This feels a lot easier than I imagined it would be. I'm actually having a good time. It's always new and exciting to get to know someone, but getting to know Ellie is entirely different. I can't explain why. There's just something about her that's so exciting and bold. She's actually so nice to be around when she isn't trying to drive me insane.

"Can I tell you something else?" She speaks up again.

I sit up and nod, "Mhm. Confession hour."

"I'm, ah... I'm a lesbian too." She slurs, laughing nervously.

"No way," I gawk, "We're like... A lesbian team!"

Ellie burps, "I'm completely serious."

"We're a team! We're like the A Team, but... The Gay Team!" I declare, laughing loudly.

"Us? The Gay Team? Me and you. Us." She trails off and that familiar thoughtful expression finds its way back to her face.

I set my bottle on the coffee table, "What?"

"I—Just—Nothing." She shakes her head as she dismisses it.

"What? You can tell me. We're cool now. Remember?" I tell her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Us. Kind of sounds good, doesn't it?" She murmurs as she looks back at me.

"Y—"

Before I have time to react, Ellie is getting up and moving to straddle me. She holds herself above me and looks directly at me. My blurred vision becomes much more prominent as I try to make out the look in her eyes. I focus hard, but to no avail. Chills rush through me and my hands involuntarily clench into fists. My entire body follows suit, tensing up and becoming still. My head is swimming and my heart is pounding.

"Tara, I know you're attracted to me. And you know I'm attracted to you. So, why haven't we done anything about it?" Her voice is low and hungry.

I can't even form a coherent response. I feel like I'm paralyzed. At this point, I can't even tell which reactions are being caused by the alcohol and which are being caused by pure shock. I'm shaking a bit now and Ellie lowers her head toward mine. Our lips are just inches apart. I can feel her warm breath on my lips and I find myself aching for her to close the distance between us. I take a deep inhale through my nose and I'm finally able to put together some words.

"Then why don't we do something?" I whisper.

"Gladly," She purrs, brushing my hair behind my ear.

She moves her face in closer to mine at a painstakingly slow pace. When our lips finally meet, I feel like I'm going to pass out. An explosion of electricity seems to shoot through my chest and my lips. My body is tingling all over. I place a hand on the back of Ellie's head and twine my fingers through her hair. I pull her closer and she moans slightly into my mouth. I sit up and she leans back, parting our lips. Our foreheads are pressed together as we breathlessly break the kiss. After a deep breath, her lips crash against mine and the heat is on once more. This is completely unreal. It can't be real. What will Jay say? Will she tell him?

I hardly notice I'm losing vision as my thoughts are consuming all of my attention. And before I know it, I'm unconscious.