Strawberry Milkshake

Chapter 14

Cheryl's POV

I'm standing beside my motorcycle, staring at Toni. I don't understand why she's here. Why she won't leave me alone. I was fine with a kiss for the game. But she made it longer than she needed. That what hurts.

Toni looks up at me and sighs. In can tell she's been crying. She stands up and looks down. "please let me explain..?" She looks back up at me.  I've never seen her this vulnerable. I nod.

"Here come sit.." She walks back to the blanket she has laid out. I reluctantly walk over and sit down across from her. I look at her. 

"explain," I say weakly. I look into her eyes and all I see is pain. I quickly look back down. Maybe she didn't mean it...

Toni bites her lip. "I didn't want the long kiss. She forced it. It felt terrible... you're the only person I want to kiss Cheryl... You're the only one... you always have been. I've known you since we were five. Even when we were supposed to hate each other, I wanted you... You don't need to believe me. I know how it looked. But I hate that I hurt you... if you want to break up with me over this I understand... I'll miss you so much though... the past few months have been amazing... my life has been terrible. My parents were awful people... then they died when I was 5. Left me and my brother alone... even when we weren't friends I looked forward to seeing you... because seeing you was an escape... I know it sounds like I'm just making excuses... I hope we can still be friends..." She looks into my eyes, tears threatening to escape.

I look at her, tears forming in my eyes. I realize that she didn't mean it. That she didn't want it. That she loves me... I hug her tightly. "I love you Toni Topaz... more than you'll ever know... I didn't realize how much I mean to you... you mean so much to me too..." I hold her close.

Never in my life have I felt as vulnerable as I feel now. But being with Toni just means so much to me. I never want to be without her. I didn't realize how important she was until today. "you might be the most important person in my life..." I mumble. "I'd be lost without you." I look up at her. 

Toni looks back at me. "I love you too..." She says, finally responding. "And you're the most important person in my life too. trust me when I say the kiss meant absolutely nothing. All it did was show me how much I need you in my life..." She says, holding me close. 

I nod. "I know baby." I hug her again. "it's still pretty early in the day... my dad is out of town. Do you want to come to my trailer? We can just lay there and hold each other?" I say, causing Toni to quickly nod. I smile a little bit and stand up.

I look around. "Oh. You have your car and I have my motorcycle... You can just follow me..?" Toni bites her lip and nod.

"Yeah..." She smiles and kisses my cheek. I smile softly and get on my motorcycle. We head off towards my house. Once we get there we walk to my room and lay down.

I grab my softest blanket and pull it over us. I cuddle close to Toni. "I love you so much..." I say, laying my head on her chest.

She smiles softly. "I love you too Red." She kisses the top of my head and holds me close.

Hey. I'm sorry for the angst. It's all I could really write based on my mood right now. I'm so angry with the world. As a white person, I will never experience the racial issues that my BIPOC readers will experience. But know I stand with you, and I will always help fight for your rights.