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“Yeah, I’m feeling a connection, I think I’m gonna shoot my shot with him,” Dorcas said, giving Marlene a little smile. “You have to admit he’s pretty cute.”
Marlene looked at her, chewing on her bottom lip, forcing a smile.
“Yeah, yeah, he is,” she said, looking down, looking up, looking anywhere but Dor’s eyes... and then something inside her just snapped.
“Actually, no,” Marlene said.
Dorcas gave her a confused look.
“What?”
“No,” Marlene said again. “No. I can’t do this anymore.”
A well pooled up in Dorcas’s chest.
“Excuse me?”
“I can’t just pretend anymore.”
“Pretend? Pretend what, Marls?”
“That...” she trailed off, looking away again.
There was silence, and then Marlene turned to look at her again.
“I love you, Dorcas.”
Dorcas blinked.
“Well, yeah, I know that, we’re best friends. I love you too.”
Marlene bit her lip and shook her head.
“No. No, that’s not what I mean, Dorrie.”
Dorcas’s brow furrowed. She tilted her head. She wouldn’t- she couldn’t hope for more. She’d given up on that. Even when Marlene told her that she liked girls too, the idea was too good to be true. To Marlene, Dorcas thought, the two of them were like sisters.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean...” Marlene trailed off again, her eyes sparkling with tears. She twirled a piece of her long blonde hair with her finger.
“I mean, what I mean is...”
She took a deep breath. She looked her in the eyes.
“What I mean is that I’m in love with you.”
Silence.
Dorcas stared at her, her mind spinning, but no words able to come out.
“And I know- I know you don’t feel the same way,” Marlene continued. “We’re... we’re like sisters to you. But I just can’t pretend anymore. I can’t pretend that I don’t want to be more than friends with you anymore.”
Dorcas shook her head mutely.
“No,” she said softly. “Marls, I...”
“You don’t have to say it,” Marlene snapped. “I know it’s just friendship. And that’s fine. I accepted it a long time ago, I just had to-“
Her words were cut short as Dorcas leaned forward and suddenly pressed her lips to Marlene’s. Her eyes went wide, and then she closed them, leaning into the frantic kiss, the build up of so many years spent snuggled together and pretending that things were merely platonic between them.
The two girls blushed profusely as they pulled apart.
“You were saying?” Dorcas quipped, raising an eyebrow at Marlene.
Marlene looked back at her, speechless. Dorcas leaned in for another kiss.
“I love you too, Marls. I always have.”