“Have what?” Harlow asked.
“That schedule.”
“You do?” Murphy asked, looking over at her girlfriend, surprised.
“Yeah, in one of my notebooks from that year. The one for trig.”
“We had trig together.”
“Because you’re a math smarty,” Della stated proudly. “She was a year ahead in math,” she explained to Larissa and Harlow. “We sat next to each other and wrote notes to one another in our notebooks. I still have mine.”
“I have mine, too,” Murphy shared. “I didn’t know you kept yours.”
Della nodded and replied, “Of course, I did. They were our first notes.”
“So, what happens next?” Harlow asked.
“In our story?” Della asked back. “Um… Well, we’ve been together ever since. I told my parents about a week later that they had a choice.”
“She was very brave,” Murphy told them.
“It was either they accepted Murphy as my girlfriend, or they didn’t, but if they didn’t, things would be very hard for us. I couldn’t exactly support myself without them, but I told them that I could. My mom talked to my dad, and he’s still not happy about it, but Murphy is allowed in the house whenever I’m home.”
“And I’m going to the same school,” Murphy shared. “When I graduate. She ended up going to the one nearby, so we see each other a few times a week. My parents are a little more relaxed, so I’ve been able to stay over at her dorm, too. We’re talking about getting a dorm room together next year since we can’t afford an apartment yet, but we’d be living together in our own room, at least.”
“That’s a pretty big commitment,” Larissa noted.
“Yeah, well… We love each other,” Murphy reminded her. “And we can both get roommates next year, or we can just room together.”
“What if you break up?” Larissa asked.
“Why would we do that?” Murphy asked back as if that was the most ridiculous question in the world.
“You’re right,” Larissa said and nodded. “Can we maybe dive into the feelings a little more?”
“What do you mean?” Della asked.
“Specifically, what do you remember feeling when Murphy handed you that schedule you dropped?”
“Oh.” Della smiled again. “I know now that I felt butterflies, but back then, I just thought it was someone doing something nice for me. I guess I thought she was cute, too.”
“Gee, thanks, babe,” Murphy said.
“No, I mean, I’vealwaysthought you were cute. I just didn’t know that I was thinking that because I was into you.”
“Butterflies?” Larissa asked.
“Yeah, like flying around in my stomach.”
“You know what’s interesting about butterflies?” Larissa began. “There’s really no distinction to getting them when you have a crush or like someone new compared to when you are aroused sexually; not when it comes to the brain anyway. It’s a sign of sexual passion and arousal and is just a response to that.”
“Hold on. You wanted to have sex with me that day?” Murphy asked Della.
“That’s not exactly what Larissa here meant,” Harlow explained. “She gets a little too sciency sometimes.”
“That’s still not a word,” Larissa replied. “And what I said is the truth.”
“Babe, you wanted to sleep with me the day we met?” Murphy teased.
