Alliyah

She was sitting down on her front desk at the art gallery with her phone on her hand hidden from anyone’s sight, her other hand twisting and playing with the pendant on her chest. It comforted and hurt her at the same time having something that Rayne gave her.

“Still nothing?” Blue and Ocean walked in.

She shook her head, then shrugged:

“I’ve run out of things to tell her. I’ve sent all sorts of texts and got nothing back.” She sighed. “But anyway, how have you guys been? How’s the band stuff and the… Not being a man-slut stuff?”

Ocean pretended to be offended by taking a hand to his chest and gaping his mouth. Blue just laughed.

“If you must know, I haven’t been seeing anyone. It’s… Too soon.”

She nodded, then shifted her attention to Blue.

“I’m starting slow. Looking for a drummer for now.”

“Hey, ummh, thanks again for what you’ve done for me and Little. I truly hope you have fun and have a successful career in the band.”

“I know you do.”

He reached out and took her hand in his. There was just something about his smile and eyes that conveyed such calmness and honesty.

She smiled back, but before she could talk, a voice called out:

“Alliyah?” It was Cleo’s. She walked in and made her way to the desk too. "I walked in the wrong gallery before finding this one." She chuckled.

“Wow, three visitors in one minute. Guys, this is Cleo. This is Blue and Ocean.”

“Blue and Ocean? Sounds like a 90s lame duo.” She snarked.

“The Cleo?” Ocean widened his eyes, then narrowed them. “Nice to meet you…”

“Just Cleo.”

“Pleasure, ‘Just Cleo’.” Blue extended his hand, requesting to kiss Cleo’s.

“Oh, it’s all mine.” She smiled enigmatically, allowing him to do it, with a languorous movement.

Wait, are they flirting already?! Alliyah thought. And Ocean, too, by the look of his eyes wide open.

“Alliyah, you can go.” Her boss informed, with a charming smile, from the door of her office.

The young woman nodded:

“Have a good evening, Mrs. Liao. See you tomorrow.”

She grabbed her overcoat, keys, and phone and left with the three friends following behind.

“So, how did you all meet?” Cleo asked.

“They met in San Fran.” Blue pointed at the other two. “I met them here. How did you two meet?”

“We went to high school together. I’m sure all of you know how easy it is to befriend Alliyah. Actually, in my case, it might’ve been even easier. We both lost our mothers to cancer and dads to alcoholism.”

“Both of your parents died?” Blue frowned.

“No, my dad simply became an alcoholic. Might as well have died.”

The guys seemed perturbed, while Alliyah just sighed, memories of their past flooding her head.

“Where do you guys usually hang out?” Cleo inquired on a lighter tone.

“There’s the skate-park, but after work, I don’t feel like it at all. There’s a few diners and bars, but today I just wanna go home and be with Little.”

“Oh. So we came all this way to be with you, and you discard us?”

Blue pretended to be hurt but didn’t get a smile from Alliyah. She knew all too well what it felt like to be discarded.

“You three go ahead and get to know each other. Have a good night”

They just shrugged and wished her a good night as well.

And with that, Alliyah slumped her way… To Rayne’s doorstep.

She sat there without even ringing the doorbell, just watching the new yorkers go on about their lives, birds flying high, and the night settling in on the big city. Unlike what she told her friends, she had sent Lamar to Miss Heather’s house.

She had reached the conclusion that Rayne wasn't just not talking to her. She was gone.

“I guess our time just isn’t right. Maybe we should’ve grown up together. Or met when we were older and healed.”

She talked out loud to herself as she saw couples walk by.

They look happy and in love. I wish that was us right now… It used to be us. It was us just two weeks ago.

Her heart tightened in her chest at the thought.

“Are we still even dating?” She pouted and sighed, resting her head on her knuckles.

“Yes, if you’ll have me.”

Alliyah jumped and stood up, hearing Rayne’s voice. She was there, right there! But… Now that she was there, Alliyah didn’t know what to say. Her mouth was dry, and her palms were clam.

“I owe you a huge apology.” Rayne started. “I went to Japan because I got a call that my brother was in the hospital. I should have told you, but I panicked because I was scared for my brother and… Us. I’m so sorry I did this.”

Alliyah blinked and shook her head.

So much information in ten seconds!

“Why us? Why nervous about us? I thought we were doing so well.”

She stepped forward while Rayne removed her backpack, plausibly guessing that they would be there for a while.

“I… I think we were too. That is sort of why it was and is scary. You're great. Like, gold, and sunshine, and heaven all in one. I was thinking about how I’m going to end up not being enough for you. Or how I’m going to do something, and it is going to hurt you, and you’re going to leave me.”

She looked down at her own hands, fidgeting with her rose ring.

“Have I done just that?”

As Rayne spoke, tears slid down Alliyah’s face.

“Wait, why are you crying?”

“Because I-” Had she loved her a little less, maybe she could have said it out loud. But it was so overpowering, and so soon. All that slipped through her lips was “I care for you, Rayne. And I just want you to be happy.”

“You make me happy.”

“So why don’t you believe me when I tell you that I need you in my life? I never met anyone like you before, and I’ll never meet anyone like you again. You’re more than enough, you’re who I want.”

Rayne shook her head:

“Your heart deserves better…”

“My heart was made for you. It beats for you.”

Alliyah held her face her hands and continued:

“What we had was real, wasn’t it?” Rayne answered with a silent nod. “So just don’t leave me again. Not like that, please. I want us to be together. If you want it too, you just have to keep me in consideration. That’s all I ask, baby, just talk to me when things come up. Or there can’t be an us…”

Before she could proceed, Rayne pulled her in her by her overcoat’s folds and caught her lips with her own in a warm, soft kiss. It was followed by a few more quick pecks because they kept pulling away to look into each other’s eyes.

“We still have it. Don’t you feel it?” As Rayne whispered, her lips brushed against Alliyah’s.

Oh boy, did she feel it… She would never not feel it. When you kiss your soulmate, there’s no going back. Nobody can replace their touch, nobody can replace their warmth, nobody can replace them.

Maybe it was worth the wait, the thought made Alliyah chuckle, but she was not going to joke out loud.

She simply replied by desperately kissing her.

“I missed you so much.” Rayne murmured against her lips.

That further filled Alliyah’s passion, who gently held her girlfriend’s neck with one of her hands and kissed her, hoping that the breathtaking gesture would say more than any verbal reply ever would.

When they separated, she brought her forehead down to her lover’s, her gaze softening, as it traveled her face. There was something so magnetic about their eye contact. Maybe the hardest part about being away from her wasn’t the lack of touching her, perhaps it was not seeing her.

Rayne’s eyes darted to her lips so, noticing this, Alliyah leaned in to kiss her once more, but Rayne pulled back when she was just inches away from her!

“You little tease.”

“We’re in the middle of the street, after all.” Rayne spoke, their bodies still flushed together. "Plus, I thought I'd give you a taste of your own medicine."

“Well, then, let’s get you inside, I’ll help you unpack”

“I will be moving out tomorrow, no need.”

“Oh, really? Well, unpack was just an excuse, I wanna do other things.” She grinned. “I’m just kidding, where will you be living?”

Rayne updated her on the situation - instead of renting another apartment, she was going to buy a penthouse, where she could live however she desired, with as many pets as she wanted, and paint the walls whichever color she preferred.

Around 3 am, the young women were in Rayne’s kitchen, who was cooking blueberry pancakes for both of them.

“So, do you think they changed?” Alliyah asked, referring to her girlfriend’s parents, while she caressed the soft fur of Ms. Purple.

“Josh says they did, and he lives with them… Part of me kind of wants to believe they didn’t, so that I don’t have to get to know them…”

“I know this may mean nothing to you, but as someone who deeply misses their parents, I say grab this chance.”

Alliyah looked at Rayne as she sat down near her, on the kitchen island. She set her plate down, but then rotated it a few angles and stayed looking at it as if it might move on its own.

“He said such awful things to me. I’m never going to even say them out loud. But even before I came out, he didn’t like me. I hated the way he looked at me, almost like he was ready for me to tell him something so infuriating that he could snap and hit me. He made me cry so much I thought there was a river pouring out of me.”

Alliyah reached out and gripped Rayne's hand, maybe a tad too hard, but Rayne sighed:

“Anyway, enough about that.”

Alliyah blinked, still processing what she had just heard, but understood Rayne didn’t want to continue talking about it, so she forced on a smile:

“You know, my mouth was a bit too busy earlier. I didn’t get to tell you, I’m enjoying both of your tattoos!”

“Thanks!” Rayne beamed, as though the words from the past were way behind her. ”Just thought I’d match yours.” She winked.

“Babe, you surpassed me. Now I have to get a bigger one.”

“I wasn’t going to get two. But I was enjoying the experience, so I told her I wanted another one.” She shrugged.

“Great decision. Incredibly hot decision, baby.” Alliyah smirked.

“Shut up.” Rayne blushed.