Work Text:
The soulmate mark.
It was all anyone ever talked about. As a senior in high school, Toni knew a good handful of people who had already found their soulmate, as well as a huge chunk who were obsessing over the thought of finding their own every waking second.
Toni would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t think about it often. Truth be told, she thought about it all the time. Just knowing her soulmate was out there, waiting to leave their mark behind on Toni, was enough to drive her crazy.
So she took up basketball, losing herself in the sport and discovering she had a true knack for it. After joining the team her freshman year, she was unsurprisingly appointed captain by her final year of high school ball. The school went wild for her, and it helped take her mind off of who her soulmate could possibly be.
If Toni could bet money on it, it likely wasn’t anyone in Texas.
And if she could bet her life on it, it sure as hell wasn’t Shelby Goodkind.
Shelby was, in simple terms, her arch nemesis. They’ve hated each other for years now. Ever since the one Christian school in their town closed down and all the church kids were forced to attend school with the normal folk. Shelby was very clear on her beliefs, and those beliefs went against Toni and everything she was.
Truth be told, Toni never felt any shame for being gay. The people at school stopped giving her crap about it once she started taking their basketball team to the playoffs, and her foster family was never around enough to ask questions. Toni’s teammates were cool with it, and she’d even had her fair share of gay encounters with the girls at school.
But Shelby was the one person in Toni’s life who made her think twice about her actions. Toni hated the fact that a hardcore Christian girl like Shelby was the captain of the cheerleading squad, but fair was fair when it came to flexibility. The annoying part was seeing her at all the games, even the away ones.
Every time she was out on the court, she could feel Shelby’s eyes on her, judging every step she took. Luckily, it only made her play better, if only to shut the girl up. In a way, playing basketball was about more than just winning the games, it was also about proving to Shelby that she could be gay and extremely talented at the same time.
Take that night, for example.
They were nearing the end of the fourth quarter, leading by six. Their opposing team was damn good, but Toni wasn’t about to let them have the win. She was on fire that night, with twenty three points already under her belt. If they could make it through the next four minutes without losing their lead, they were good as gold.
Rachel, Toni’s teammate and one of her best friends, passed her the ball from across the court. Toni ran with it, surging towards the net with everything she had. As one of the shortest players on the team, she had to be aggressive if she was going to score.
And for a fleeting moment, Toni pictured Shelby out on the sidelines, shaking her pom poms and probably praying Toni misses the shot, just to be cruel. That was her motivation, and that, she could partially attribute to the way she dodged the blocking of one of her opponents and tossed the ball towards the basket.
It went in, and Toni made that shit look effortless. No surprise there. The crowd went wild, screaming Toni’s name and chanting her jersey number. They were winning the game tonight, and everybody knew it.
And when Toni got cocky, she made sure everyone knew it as well.
“Nice defense,” she told the player who had tried to guard her but had failed miserably. The back of her jersey said Howard. “How much you wanna bet I can score on you like that again before the clock runs out?”
Howard shot her a glare, running up the court as Toni followed. Howard got passed the ball and went in for a layup, but the ball rolled out along the rim and into Toni’s hands. Toni quickly tossed the ball to one of her teammates and jogged up the court.
Their team scored another two points, and by the time they had only a minute left on the clock, Toni was gloating more than she ever had before. Even Rachel was rolling her eyes at her every time she overheard some of her remarks.
Toni got passed the ball again and Howards was on her ass, stepping persistently between her and the basket. Toni frowned, trying to get around Howard before passing the ball to Rachel and running towards the net, catching the ball Rachel threw back her way and landing it in.
The crowd went wild again, and Toni felt the rush of adrenaline and pride running through her veins. Howard stood in place, watching Toni with anger written across her face. Toni grinned, making her way over.
“Told ya so.”
Then Howard did the unthinkable: she shoved Toni. And Toni fell backwards, sliding across the court on her ass. It knocked the wind out of her, and she could hear the whistles blowing as the room fell silent.
Before she could react and bounce back on her feet, a hand was extended to her. She took it, pulling herself back up and glaring at Howard who was being escorted off the court.
“You okay?”
Toni turned and saw Shelby standing there, an anxious look on her face. She realized Shelby had been the one to help her up, and that threw her off more than the shove had. She swallowed, nodding her head.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Then a ref was in her face, asking her if she was good. Toni told him she was and went back out there to wrap up the final seconds of the game. They won, of course, but Toni couldn’t shake what had happened. It was embarrassing, getting pushed around on her court like that. And she hadn’t even had the opportunity to defend herself.
When the game ended, she slapped hands with the other players on the team. It was good sportsmanship, but Toni didn’t actually care about being the bigger person. She kept an eye out for Howard, but didn’t spot her again that night.
As the crowd dispersed, many people came up to Toni to congratulate her on her playing that night. Some people were from town who never got over the fact that they attended school there a million years ago. Mostly it was people from school, including a brief interaction with Regan, the girl Toni had been crushing on for a while now. The praise from her alone was enough to put Toni on cloud nine, even if she hadn’t already won the game.
But the point was, Toni had touched hands with a lot of people. And that’s why when she finally made it to the locker room and was getting her things together, she had no idea what to think when Rachel pointed out the mark on her hand.
“Yo, what the hell is that?” Rachel said, pointing at the palm of Toni’s hand.
Toni glanced down, feeling her throat close up as it registered to her just what that mark meant. She thought back to all the people who had touched her hand that night, and felt like crying. There was no way she could possibly narrow it down to just one.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she said, biting down on her lip.
Rachel stared at her. “What’s the problem? I thought you wanted to get your mark.”
“Yeah, when I knew who was going to give it to me! I have no idea who it was that left this behind. It could have been anyone.”
“Damn.” Rachel scrunched her face at her. “Even that chick who pushed you?”
Toni rolled her eyes. “Thanks for somehow making it worse.”
“Look, it isn’t so bad,” Rachel said. “I mean, at least you know it’s someone who was at the game tonight. Which means they’ll probably be at the next one.”
“I guess so,” she grumbled.
But Toni was screwed, because knowing her soulmate was nearby was more tortuous than the thought of them not being out there in the first place.
-----
By Monday morning, the whole school was talking. People whispered behind their hands when Toni walked into a room, and when she was in class, her peers were very obvious in their attempts to get her to show them her hand so that they could see the mark for themselves.
She confronted Rachel about it in her third period.
“Did you tell everyone about it?” she asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance.
Rachel shook her head. “No, I swear. I only told Fatin.”
And then that made perfect sense. Secrets didn’t stay with Fatin long. Especially not juicy ones like Toni’s soulmate touching her after the big win Friday night.
Rachel kicked her shoe. “Hey, at least people are talking about it. Maybe word will get around to your soulmate and they’ll step forward.”
“Girls have been coming up to me all day, claiming to be my soulmate,” Toni told her, scribbling nonsense onto her notebook. “None of them are her.”
“Still sounds like it could be fun for you, you know.” Rachel grinned cheekily at her. “You should go with it. See how far they’ll go to prove they’re the one for you.”
There was a choking sound from behind them, and they both turned around to see Shelby staring back at them. She had clearly been eavesdropping on their conversation, which was annoying for several reasons. Most of all, the idea of her knowing anything personal about Toni.
“What’s your problem, Shelby? Surprised there’s actually someone in this world meant to be with me?”
Shelby averted her eyes. “Something like that.”
Toni scoffed, sharing a look with Rachel. They were both over her obvious and unwarranted disdain towards Toni. There was no excuse for it. Plenty of the other Christian students stopped giving Toni a hard time for being gay a long time ago.
“I bet she’s just jealous you found your soulmate before she found hers,” Rachel said, smirking at the blonde.
Shelby didn’t say anything, so Toni considered that a victory. She turned back around in her seat, bouncing her knee up and down as she stared at the mark on her hand.
It was a light pink color, shaped almost like the imprint of a palm against her own with lines akin to fingers on the back of her hand. Toni wore that mark with pride, but she was too scared to admit it.
“So, what are you gonna do about it?” Rachel asked.
Toni shrugged. “I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if she’ll come to me.”
-----
And then Regan came along with this theory about it possibly being her. Apparently she had received her mark a few months ago and also hadn’t been able to pinpoint the person who had given it to her, but she was certain she had interacted with Toni that day. Regan was attractive and nice, and Toni truly believed the odds of them being each other’s soulmate were great. They started dating instantly, announcing to the school that they had found each other. Finally.
Everyone was happy for them. The girls backed off of Toni, and she even started to let some of her anger towards Shelby go. Now that she had found her soulmate, Toni started to sympathize more with those who hadn’t.
Still, something felt off about the whole thing. It was mostly in the little moments, when the two of them were alone. Regan would make a comment about something that wouldn’t sit right with Toni. Or she’d go on about one of her interests that made Toni feel bored despite the fact that she really wanted to care.
There was also the kissing. It was great, but still left something to be desired. Toni couldn’t doubt the universe’s matchmaking system, though. Regan was her soulmate, and that was that.
Only, Toni couldn’t just leave it at that.
“You ever think the universe makes mistakes when it comes to the whole soulmate thing?” Toni asked Rachel during practice one day.
Rachel glanced at her, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that sometimes… when I’m with Regan… well, something just feels off.”
“But you gave her the mark, right?”
“Yeah, but…” Toni trailed off, deciding that maybe it was time to come clean about the truth of her situation with Regan. “I mean, I think so.”
“You think so? You said it was a sure thing,” Rachel reminded her, referring to the conversation she and Toni had had where Toni proclaimed Regan was the one. “How could you not know for sure?”
“Well Regan couldn’t figure out who she got hers from and I wasn’t sure about who I got mine from, so we just kinda figured that since we were already attracted to one another, we were probably each other’s soulmate.”
“That’s crazy,” Rachel stated, shaking her head. “I mean, that is a different kind of crazy to just accept that. Your real soulmate could be out there right now, thinking she’s never going to find her own.”
“You’re completely dismissing the chance of it being Regan. She was at the game that night. She high-fived me on my way into the locker room. There were several eyewitnesses.”
“You’re right. But also, maybe a part of you wants to believe it’s her so bad so that way you won’t have to think about the possibility of never finding out who they are.” Rachel placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “If you’re already feeling like something is off, trust that.”
Toni sighed. “Well what am I supposed to do? I can’t just break up with her.”
“But you can.”
Toni threw her head in her hands, feeling like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Why couldn’t it ever just be easy for her?
-----
As the basketball season neared its end, time seemed to move faster. People started hearing back from colleges they’d applied to, and once someone got in, a faculty member pinned a picture of the student next to the college they’d be attending on the bulletin board that stretched across the main hallway.
Toni was a little bitter about the whole thing for a while, because it was just another reminder of all the people who knew what they were going to be doing for the next four years of their life while she still hadn’t heard anything back from her schools.
Then Texas State University sent her a letter in the mail informing her that she’d gotten in on a basketball scholarship, and everything was good again. She proudly presented the letter of acceptance to the administration and waited to walk down that hallway and finally see her face up there.
The downside was that Regan was going to a school a few hundred miles away, and seeing each other often with next to no money between the two of them was impossible. Toni was upset about it, but Regan only assured her that as soulmates, things would work themselves out.
It hadn’t gotten any easier to be around Regan without wondering if they were truly soulmates. Rachel pestered her often about putting an end to things, but Toni couldn’t bring herself to do it. Even if Regan wasn’t her soulmate, they matched pretty well together. Toni didn’t have a lot of good things going for her, and she wasn’t ready to lose Regan over her own doubts.
Toni grabbed the rest of what she needed from her locker and started to make her way down the hallway, eyes glued to the wall. Rachel purposely bumped into her and started walking alongside her.
“What’s up?” she asked.
Toni glanced at her. “I’m looking for my picture. I got into TSU.”
Rachel beamed. “Damn, Shalifoe. You deserve it. You’ll fit right in on that team. They’re one of the best college women’s basketball teams in the country!”
Rachel’s excitement meant more to Toni than she would ever know. Toni didn’t have too many people in her life to be impressed by her achievements. She was also grateful for Regan, who had baked her a cherry pie to celebrate.
They walked side by side until Toni finally spotted herself and ran over to see. It looked even better up there on the wall, and she already had people coming up to her and congratulating her. She felt like she was on top of the world, much like she did on game nights.
That was, until Rachel said, “Ugh, look who’s going to be keeping you company.”
And Toni followed where her finger was pointing and saw that just off to the side of her own photo was one of Shelby, announcing her acceptance into TSU as well. The universe hated her, apparently.
“No way,” Toni muttered.
“Hey, it’s a big school. You’ll probably never even see each other.”
“With my luck…”
Toni could hear the sound of a laugh she recognized and turned around, scowling as Shelby walked by with one of her friends from the cheerleading squad. They locked eyes and Shelby pressed her lips together, only maintaining a couple seconds of heated eye contact before glancing away.
Toni groaned. “I can’t escape her. Isn’t it bad enough we have to go to the same high school and have classes together and be at all the games together?”
Rachel grimaced. “Kinda sucks that your ‘soulmate’ is going to be across the state from you and your enemy is going to be right down the hall.”
Rachel had taken to using quotations around the word soulmate when referring to Regan now. Toni told her to knock it off after the first couple of times, but she clearly wasn’t going to so Toni gave up.
“Thanks for pointing that out, Rachel. I needed that,” Toni sarcastically replied.
Rachel shrugged. “So things are better with Regan, then? No more doubts about her being the one?”
Truthfully, Toni thought about that every day since she first brought it up to Rachel a week ago. She kept it to herself, because she knew people would think she was crazy or ungrateful. Finding your soulmate was a gift, and she was risking throwing it away by confronting the legitimacy of it.
“We’re good,” Toni told her. “Everything is all good.”
-----
“Regan, I have to talk to you.”
Regan looked up from her notebook, smiling at Toni. “What’s up?”
Toni stared at her, and suddenly, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She’d been sitting on the conspiracy of Regan not actually being her soulmate for several weeks now, and was only growing more certain of it with each passing day.
Things were off. The initial butterflies of dating someone new were fading and Toni was nearly sick to her stomach some nights, wondering if she was doing the right thing. Regan was so good to her, and never seemed to suspect there was something wrong. Toni was at her breaking point and needed to address it.
But now that she was faced with confronting her, she couldn’t do it.
“After the game,” Toni decided. “I’ll tell you after the game.”
She smiled at her. “Okay.”
Regan seemed so calm. It was clear she had no idea what was coming. And that confused Toni even more. The fact that Regan seemed so blissfully at ease. It just didn’t make any sense to her.
She decided not to tell Rachel about her planned confrontation with Regan. Rachel would only add her own two cents in and Toni didn’t need the drama, not with the game looming over her head.
They were playing a very talented team, and their reputation was well earned. Toni was totally exhausted by the end of the first quarter, and they were down by two. The crowd was adding pressure to her, and it didn’t help that Regan was out in the stands, cheering her on.
Nor did it help to see Shelby on the sidelines, waving her pom poms around like she actually cared how well Toni played. Toni hoped she had no plans of joining the cheerleading team at TSU. She wouldn’t be able to handle the distraction on a much larger scale.
Toni thankfully caught her second wind in the fourth quarter and their team was up by three points with only thirty seconds on the clock. The point guard on the opposing team got handed the ball and made a three pointer, tying them up with only ten seconds left.
The crowd was anticipating overtime, but Toni knew she didn’t have it in her to play any extra time. If they didn’t win it now, they were losing that game.
Rachel passed the ball to Toni and the clock started. She weaved through her opponents, running up the court with the last of her energy. She could feel each second as it ticked down, moving with a momentum she rarely tapped into.
They were double teaming her, and it was impossible for her to get to the basket. There wasn’t time left to pass it to someone and still make it. So Toni held her breath and threw the ball towards the net with hardly any confidence it would go in.
She could feel the anticipation in the air as the ball soared towards the basket. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Toni bit down on her lip, begging the shot to be good.
And it was.
Toni let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, falling to her knees in disbelief. Everyone surged towards her, cheering. It was deafening.
Regan reached her after a couple minutes, hugging her tightly. It was hard not to be happy after a win like that, so Toni hugged her back.
Rachel came bounding over to her, bouncing on her feet in that giddy way she only got after a win.
“Hey, after party at Fatin’s tonight. Spread the word. We gotta celebrate that win,” Rachel said, grinning at Toni like she was a hero. “Awesome shot, Toni. Seriously.”
“Thanks.” Toni smiled at her, turning her attention to Regan. “Wanna meet back up at the party? I gotta go take a shower. Wash off the sweet smell of victory.”
Regan laughed. “Sure. I’ll find you later.”
They kissed goodbye, and Toni started making her way towards the locker room. On the way over, she locked eyes with Shelby who was hanging back by the bleachers and looked like she had something she wanted to say. Toni found herself curious, even though she didn’t know why.
“Nice shot,” Shelby said, looking down at the court.
Toni stared at her. “Thanks. Wasn’t expecting a compliment from you.”
“Yeah, well… I’ve been meaning to talk to you, actually.”
“About what?” Toni asked, and it came out a lot harsher than she’d intended it to.
Did it always have to be that way with them? Everything always so intense? It was like she couldn’t help herself.
Shelby paused, seeming to think better of whatever she’d wanted to say. “Um, just forget it, actually. Have a good night.”
She hurried away, leaving Toni a little stunned. Whatever Shelby had wanted to tell her sat heavy on her mind long past her shower in the locker room, and even once she’d arrived at the party.
But after a couple shots of shitty tequila and Regan finally finding her in the crowd, she had other things on her mind. They went outside, stepping away from the rest of the party so that they could talk in private. Regan still had that oblivious grin on her face, and Toni was already starting to itch with guilt.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Regan asked.
Toni swallowed, willing herself to just spit it out. “I’ve just been starting to think about the whole soulmate thing. And… Regan, do you ever doubt that we gave each other these marks?”
Regan stared at her, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. “No… But it sounds like you do.”
Toni felt her stomach tighten and stared at the ground. “I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to accept it until we know for sure.”
“So what are you trying to say? That you don’t want to be with me?”
“I don’t- Look, I don’t know, okay? This has just been bugging me for a while now.” Toni took another deep breath. “Regan, I know there’s a chance that it’s you. And that makes me so happy because you’re an amazing person and I never in a million years would have thought I’d deserve someone as caring as you.”
Regan was crying now. It was mostly contained, just a few tears sliding down her cheeks. Toni didn’t realize how difficult that conversation was going to be, but there was no backing down now.
“But the fact of the matter is that there’s a good chance we aren’t soulmates. Actually, statistically speaking, it’s a pretty damn good one. We’re graduating soon. I don’t want to risk not finding out who my true soulmate is if it isn’t you.”
Regan wiped at her cheeks until all the heartache was gone from her appearance. “And if it is me?”
Toni stepped closer to her, taking her hand and looking deep into her eyes so that she knew she meant every word of what she would say next. “And if it is you, then we’ll find our way back to each other because that’s what soulmates do.”
Regan nodded, maintaining her composure. “You’re a good person, Toni. And I had the best time dating you. I’d secretly had a crush on you for a while. Honestly, that’s probably why I was so quick to believe you were my soulmate. I truly never had any doubts.”
Toni felt a pit in her stomach and wished she could have had the same confidence in their relationship. “That’s funny, because I was secretly into you, too.” They smiled softly at each other. “If we’re not soulmates, I really hope you find yours soon.”
“Thanks, Toni. Good luck.”
Then Regan leaned in and gave her one last kiss on the cheek before wandering back into the house. There was nothing else to be said. Toni watched her go, feeling both relieved and disheartened. She was back to square one with not the slightest clue in the world as to who her soulmate could be.
She went back into the house and made herself a drink. A strong one. After milling around for another half an hour or so, she spotted Shelby sitting by herself on the back stairs of the house. Toni approached her, telling herself it was the alcohol driving her there. She could find no other reason to explain the pull she felt.
Shelby looked up when she was near enough, the color draining from her face. Toni could tell she was drunk. It was weird seeing her like that. It was weird enough seeing her out so late in general.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Toni said, stopping right in front of her.
Shelby swished her drink around in her cup. “I needed this.”
“Oh, yeah? Trouble in paradise?”
She pressed her lips together, frowning. “Toni, I saw the mark.”
“What?”
“The mark. On Regan. I asked her to show it to me a while back.”
Toni stared at her, waiting for more clarification that never came. “Why?”
“Because I needed to see it to believe it.” Shelby took another drink.
Toni swallowed thickly. “It wasn’t me who gave her the mark. I mean, I don’t think so. Neither of us know for sure. We just… We broke up, actually.”
She had no idea why she just admitted that to her. Out of all the people to be the first to know of their breakup, Shelby wasn’t even on the list. But it felt good to admit her doubt out loud to someone other than Rachel.
Shelby looked up at her, surprise written across her face. And maybe even a little bit of relief, but Toni was sure she’d made that part up in her head.
“Oh.”
Toni sighed, taking a seat next to Shelby on the stairs. “Yeah. It sucks. I feel so lost. I never felt this way before I got the mark. It’s like finding out who gave it to me has consumed my every thought. I even dream about it at night.”
“So do I,” Shelby murmured.
Toni could have figured somebody as traditional as Shelby would spend all her time thinking about who her perfect match could be, but in the moment, having something in common with the devout Christian felt almost comforting.
“Yeah?” Toni glanced at her. “I bet you have lots of people in your family who have the mark.”
Shelby got a faraway look in her eyes and shook her head. “Not really. They don’t believe in the thing. They think God gives us enough love for anybody. Soulmate marks are just a test to see who limits themselves.”
Toni felt like she needed another drink to unload that one. “Uh… that sucks,” she said, at a loss for anything heartfelt in her current state. “But you believe in it?”
“I didn’t used to.” Shelby lifted a shoulder. “Now that's all I can think about.”
Toni wanted to ask her what had changed. She was curious about Shelby and the way she thought so much at that moment, and she had no explanation for why.
But before she could say anything, Shelby turned to her and asked, “Who do you want it to be?”
Toni laughed, even though the question wasn’t funny. “It doesn’t matter who I want it to be. They’re my soulmate. I’m going to love them no matter what.”
“You sure about that?”
Toni avoided the question. “You know, I’ve gone through it in my head a thousand times. Just trying to force myself to remember every face of every person who could have touched me that night. I still have no idea who it could be.”
“I have an idea,” Shelby whispered, almost too quiet for Toni to hear.
But Toni did hear, and she was more curious than ever. Shelby was there the whole time - standing right on the sidelines - and she could have easily seen who it was. Toni was almost annoyed with herself for not thinking of asking sooner.
“Who?”
Shelby stared down, seeming to be contemplating something deeply. Toni wondered if she was holding onto the information just to torture her. Because why would Shelby ever want to see her happy?
“Toni, do you hate me?”
She wasn’t expecting that.
“What?”
Shelby shook her head. “It’s stupid, but… I don’t hate you. I know it may seem that way sometimes, but it just isn’t true.”
“I don’t hate you, Shelby,” Toni admitted, and it was the truth. “We just don’t mesh well together. Not everybody is going to get along with everyone. It’s not anybody’s fault.”
And for the second time that night, Toni was having a conversation with a girl who was visibly upset. Shelby was biting down hard on her lip, her eyes watering. Toni was floored. She had no idea what was causing a reaction like that.
“What is it?” she asked, concerned.
Shelby let out a shaky breath. “Nothing. It’s just… I don’t want you to be disappointed.”
“Disappointed about what?” Toni asked, as tears started to fall down Shelby’s face. “Hey, it’s okay.”
Toni reached out to brush a tear off Shelby’s cheek, certainly spurred on by the alcohol. Shelby caught her breath, gripping the cup in her hand tightly and forcing the liquid inside to rise back up to the top. Toni pulled her hand away, feeling her stomach drop at the light pink mark left behind on Shelby’s skin.
“What-”
“It’s there, isn’t it?” Shelby interrupted, sniffling.
Toni blinked at her, shocked. “How did- Shelby…”
“After that player knocked you down, I helped you back up. I noticed the mark on your hand while the ref was talking to you. Its been eating me up inside ever since.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Shelby lifted her shoulders in response. “I wasn’t sure I wanted it to be true. I mean, I know how much we can't stand each other. And then you started dating Regan and claiming she was your soulmate, and I got worried I’d made the whole thing up in my mind.”
“You still should have told me,” Toni said, her voice wavering. “I didn’t even think- I didn’t even know you liked girls.”
“I was never really in a position to admit that I did out loud to anybody,” Shelby said, which was something that was occurring to Toni for the first time.
“Oh, shit. What will your parents think?”
Shelby shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’m leaving for college soon and they’re going up against the universe. I don’t think they really have a say in the matter.”
Toni laughed softly. “Oh yeah. We’ll both be TSU in the fall. They put our pictures right next to each other on the wall.”
“I always liked that photo of you. From the yearbook,” Shelby admitted, staring down at her shoes.
Toni felt her breath catch as her palms dampened. Being around Shelby had never made her feel this way before. It was completely foreign and absolutely terrifying. The alcohol wasn’t doing anything to help.
It was quiet for a moment before Shelby seemed to become a lot more vulnerable and whispered, “So, are you disappointed? That it’s me?”
Toni sucked in a breath, as the answer hit her like a truck. “No, Shelby. God, no. I’m- I’m not-”
“You’re not…?” Shelby interrupted, biting down on her bottom lip anxiously.
Toni stared down at where her teeth were digging into the soft flesh and barely managed to let out a, “you’re so beautiful,” before she lost it.
Toni leaned in to kiss her before her brain could catch up with her heart, and it only took a moment for her to acknowledge that that was what a kiss was supposed to feel like. Shelby kissed her back, wrapping her arms around the back on Toni’s neck, pulling her in closely.
Adrenaline was coursing through Toni’s veins, surging her into Shelby’s arms as their lips met in a clash of desire. They kissed like they’d been waiting years to do it. And what stumped Toni the most, was that they had.
They stayed like that for a few minutes before Toni pulled away, a huge grin on her face that she couldn’t even attempt to contain. Shelby’s cheeks were flushed, and it was almost impossible to spot her soulmate mark. But Toni could still see it.
“Are you disappointed?” Toni asked her, even though she felt she had no reason to.
Shelby shook her head. “No. I’ve actually had a bit of a crush on you for a while now. It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“What?”
“I’m serious.” Shelby laughed. “That’s practically why I joined the cheerleading team. I needed an excuse to see more of you. Even though that kinda backfired on me when I saw how well you play. All that trash-talking really does something to me.”
Toni chuckled, trying to hide her blush. “Then why were you always so mean to me?”
“I didn’t want you catching on. I mean, I never thought in a million years that I’d be your soulmate.” Shelby leaned in and kissed her again. “Guess it was inevitable. You and me.”
Toni smiled at her, leaning in for another kiss. “Guess so.”