“Well, if you must know, my birthday is July ninth. The Cancer sign, baby.” She winked at me as the last line left her mouth.
“Oh, July? I wish I knew much about zodiac signs. Then I would have blasted you just like you did to me. But look,” I said, grinning, “our birthdays are close. May and July, which means we are practically siblings.”
“Siblings?” she scoffed. “Siblings don’t fuck each other.”
“Jesus, I forget how blunt you are sometimes,” I groaned even as my stomach flipped traitorously. The way I reacted to Marley’s dirty words should one day be made into research.
“You love it, K,” she said quietly. “My bluntness.”
I swallowed imaginary saliva as her eyes locked onto mine.
A weird, quiet understanding settled between us then in the silence. She was looking at me intensely, and I felt my breath catch.
“Come here,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
I didn’t hesitate one bit as I moved closer until I was practically in her lap, my legs still draped across her thighs. Her hands came up to cup my face, thumbs brushing across my cheekbones.
“You’re so beautiful,” she murmured, and before I could respond, she was kissing me.
It started gently, as if she were asking permission. But when I melted into her, when I made that small sound in the back of my throat, she deepened the kiss. Her tongue traced my bottom lip, and I opened for her, tasting the lingering sweetness of Carmen’s cupcakes on her breath.
My hands fisted in her sweater, pulling her closer. She tasted like comfort and desire all at once, and I wanted to drown in the feeling. I wanted to crawl inside the warmth of her.
When we finally broke apart, both of us breathing hard, she rested her forehead against mine.
“God, Kelechi,” she breathed, her hands still cradling my face.
We stayed like that for a moment, just breathing each other in. The living room felt intimate with just the soft lamp light and the sound of snow tapping against the windows.
“Can I ask you something?” I said quietly, my voice still a little breathless.
“Shoot.”
“Do you ever think about settling down one day? Like… having a wife and kids and all that?”
Marley’s hands stilled on my feet. She was quiet for a long moment, staring down at her lap, and I could see her jaw working like she was chewing on her words.
“I… maybe. I’ve never really thought about it seriously,” she said finally.
Something sank in my chest at how noncommittal she sounded.
“But you could see it? Someday?”
She looked up at me then, and there was something vulnerable in her expression.
“I guess I always figured I wasn’t the type, you know? The whole domestic thing, settling down… I’ve never been good at staying in one place for too long.”
“What do you mean you’re not the type?” I asked, genuinely curious.
She shrugged, but I could tell it wasn’t as casual as she was trying to make it seem.
“I don’t know. I’m not… soft, I guess. I’m not the kind of person people picture in a white dress or planning baby showers or whatever.”
I frowned. “Marley, that’s ridiculous. You’re one of the most caring people I know.”
“Caring isn’t the same as… domestic,” she said, and there was something almost bitter in her tone. “I’m better at fixing things than nurturing them.”
“Says who?”
