After adjusting to the darkness, Giselle made her way into apartment. It was her first time visiting Annie. Carefully she felt with her feet for obstacles, and found none. Familiar floor tiles were under her soles. Inside, from the kitchen, she saw a flickering glow. The closer she got, the more she could make out details around her. Despite being the same apartment as her own, it looked different. Alien even.

The living room had a dense, expensive carpet that softened her steps even more. Framed pictures on the walls reflected the glow from the kitchen back to her through the glass. A few vases, tall and ancient in appearance, decorated the wall along which she shuffled towards the light.

Annie sat cross-legged on the work area, a chocolate bar in her hand and two candles on the other side of the sink. She leaned against the tall, side-by-side fridge and had a nice view outside towards the street. When Giselle appeared in the door frame, Annie frowned and her eyes wandered from the socks up to the face.

"Care to tell me what all that was about?", the blonde woman asked. The frown still decorated the forehead. Giselle sighed, leaned against the door frame and let herself slide down. Her toes pushed against the opposite side of the frame. When turning her head, she glanced up at the apartment owner. After overcoming her hesitation, she admitted, again, "Guess I got jealous". "Jealous?", Annie gasped and shook her head, just to glance outside the window, "What the fuck, Giselle!".

Burying her face in her palms, Giselle sobbed, "What was I supposed to think! You were just there, with Ian!". The palms hid her watery eyes and she didn't dare look up. A piercing stare loomed over her, she could feel it. "Did you really think I'd make out with him and then wait for you to show up?", Annie's voice became louder and more agitated. "When you put it like that, no", the brunette replied quietly.

"Then why!", Annie demanded and when Giselle glanced up with tears in her eyes, she saw a frustrated, irritated expression. The flames danced and flickered, they gave the blonde an orange, shadowy hue, highlighting cheekbones, the nose ridge and eyebrows. Giselle just stared for a while, almost shocked. "I didn't want to share you...", finally came the answer in form of a whisper.

To her surprise, the kitchen was silent for a long time. The shallow breathing was too quiet to be heard and the neighbors didn't move an inch. Annie's face became soft. A smile played around her lips. Giselle had said too much, probably. Alarm bells inside of her screamed to run. Yet she remained with sweaty palms and a drumming pulse inside her ears.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

With a quiet thump, a pair of feet landed on the tiled floor. Then both women were next to each other. Annie cross-legged and Giselle still resting against the door frame. A whisper reached Giselle, "Tell me". It chilled her to the bone. "Tell you what?", she said softly and sought the dark shadows that were Annie's eyes. "Tell me what you want", it was barely a whisper that drove Giselle into herself. What she wanted? Did she even know?

A warm hand clutched her sweaty fingers. When she left her mind and returned into the kitchen, Annie smiled, "I don't read minds, you'll have to tell me if you want me to know".

The brunette took a deep breath and looked up to the ceiling, as if a revelation came to her with a prayer. Finally she breathed the words, "I want to be your friend. I want to be with you". Time passed, the candles danced happily and the shadows with them. Annie suddenly pulled Giselle close, into her arms. The curly hair just below the chin, ear against the chest to hear the heartbeat. "It's okay", the blonde soothed her, stroked her hair and supported her body in the awkward embrace. Giselle had fallen to the side, still sitting in the door frame, but turned to wrap her own arms around Annie's waist. Her breathing became calm, but not her pounding heart. There was something about all of this, that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Finally she glanced up at her neighbor and saw nothing but dark shadows. The hair fell down on both sides and shielded the last rays of light. Except the eyes. They sparkled like stars in the night. When she exhaled, Annie's lips pressed against hers. Her hands trembled and the unstoppable force of a million butterflies exploded in her stomach. She sunk into the kiss. It lasted but a moment. Taken aback, Giselle pushed herself up, away from the woman, out of their embrace. Before she knew it, she left. In a hurry, cursing to herself. "Shit shit shit shit..."

The doors automatically fell into their locks. Ian looked at her, confused, when she entered her own living room. "You look like you've seen a ghost!", he said and waved at the space next to himself on the couch. Giselle shook her head. "I don't feel like James Bond, I'm going to bed", she grunted with her dry throat. Ian shrugged and turned his attention back to the movie. Swiftly, with a full water bottle from the kitchen, she hid on her side of the bed, in darkness. Her fingertips brushed over her lips. Annie's scent was still there.