“I don’t want you to feel like ... like you’re a rebound. Or like I jumped into this with you to replace Brooke.” Valeria’s eyes finally meet Camila’s. “I like you.”
Something in her expression softens at that. Camila exhales slowly, probably sorting through a dozen thoughts and choosing which ones are safe to say out loud.
“Okay,” she says at last, the word gentle, thoughtful. “That makes sense.” Her lips curve as she exhales. “But no matter how slowly we move, Val, I will always take you and what you say seriously.” Her gaze stays on Valeria’s, steady and warm. “I told you once, and I’ll keep saying it for as long as you need to hear it. I trust you to know your own heart. If you tell me you like me, that you want to be with me, that you’re ready ... I believe you. I take it exactly as you offer it.” Her voice softens. “I’m not looking for reasons to doubt you. I’m choosing to trust you. If at any point you realize you don’t want this, I trust we’ll talk about it. Like we have so far, about everything.”
Adrenaline shoots through Valeria’s body, and her need to hold Camila swells. She wriggles free of her blanket cocoon and, without hesitation, throws herself into Camila’s lap. Her arms slide around Camila’s neck, her legs naturallystraddling Camila’s thighs, fitting there as if she’s always belonged.
“Thank you,” Valeria murmurs into Camila’s neck. The words are barely louder than a breath.
Camila’s arms come up around Valeria, pulling her closer. The contact sends a warm, dizzying rush through Valeria; the feel of their bodies pressed together is euphoric, and it sends a current through her chest, a feeling too full for words to ever explain. Valeria lets out a soft sigh, melting into the embrace, her cheek resting against Camila’s shoulder, wrapped in a feeling she hadn’t known she’d been craving—safe, seen, and cherished.
Camila’s hold tightens a little.
Slowly, Valeria lifts her head, their faces close enough that she can feel Camila’s breath brush her lips. One of Camila’s hands rests at Valeria’s waist, anchoring her there, and the other brushes gently along Valeria’s jaw, a touch so reverent, so gentle it makes Valeria’s chest ache.
Valeria’s heart beats wildly, wings against her ribs, as she leans in closer.
“Is this okay?” Valeria asks, inching closer still.
“Yes,” Camila breathes, the corner of her mouth curved into the smallest smile.
Their foreheads meet, and the space between them feels charged and tender all at once. Valeria doesn’t close the distance; she just breathes Camila in.
Neither of them leans in at once. It happens slowly, so slowly, Valeria barely feels the movement.
Camila closes her eyes first, and Valeria closes the barely there distance.
Their lips meet in a soft, slow kiss, as if Camila wants to memorize the feeling just as much as her. However, Valeria doubts she could ever forget a kiss like this.She eases Camila’s lips open so she can savor her fully, deepening the kiss, not with urgency, but with desire. Camila smiles into the kiss, and Valeria’s heart flutters, her entire body relaxed and alive at once.
Camila pulls Valeria closer, one hand spreading at her back, the other threading into her hair. Valeria melts into the sensation of Camila’s arm around her and the slight pull of her hair. A tingling pleasure floods her body, and their kiss grows feverish, making it almost impossible for Valeria to pull back, but she does, because if they don’t stop now, she will have no willpower left later.
When they part, Camila presses a gentle kiss to Valeria’s forehead before placing one on her temple. Wrapped together, they stayed like that—laughing softly, foreheads touching, the world reduced to longing and closeness.
Valeria faintly wonders how she’ll be able to resist Camila’s lips, which beckon her closer at every opportunity.
Turns out, she can’t.
Now that Valeria’s had a taste, she can’t seem to keep herself in check, can’t will herself to stop kissing Camila, and Camila seems to struggle with the same.
They’re kissing so intensely that Valeria doesn’t realize she’s lying on top of Camila. Not until Valeria lightly grinds into her, and Camila lets out a soft moan against her lips. The sound makes Valeria want to go further. To prove how much she likes her. That thought alone helps keep the fire from consuming her. Her relationship with Brooke was just that, giving herself over to prove she loved, to prove she cared, and she doesn’t want that again.
Valeria doesn’t want to lose this feeling between them that makes her lightheaded. She wants Camila, wants her more than anything, but not because she feels she needs to prove her feelings. She wants to give herself over because itfeels good to touch her and be touched by her, not because of some fucked-up residual from Brooke.
And that is what allows Valeria to unglue herself from Camila’s lips. Because that “switch” she thought of earlier makes sense. From the moment she told Camila she liked her—without realizing it—she’d slipped back into old instincts. Translating feelings into proof and trying to prove her interest with touch.
“I want you,” Valeria says into Camila’s mouth.
“You can have me,” Camila answers, kissing Valeria, biting her bottom lip before running her tongue over it. Valeria almost forgets what she was about to say, briefly wanting to lose herself in the moment.
“I can’t,” Valeria groans.
Camila pulls back then. Eyes wide. “Did I do something?” she asks, her face turning pale.
“No, no, you’re perfect.” Valeria peppers Camila’s face with kisses.
This is the part that’s tough to talk about without sounding ... broken.
“It’s just that ... my relationship with Brooke was ... extremely physical, but not in a good way. Sex was the way we made sure things were okay. If we were fighting, or something felt off, or if Brooke felt insecure, we’d hook up.” Valeria shakes her head. “I don’t want that again. And right now, as much as I want to do just about everything with you, there’s a tiny voice in my head telling me I need to prove how much I like you by giving myself over. Not because of anything you’re doing,” Valeria adds quickly, stroking Camila’s cheek.
