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Sunlight was just starting to make its way into Britta’s apartment when Frankie woke up, blinking groggily. It was likely around 6 A.M; Frankie’s internal clock was immaculate, and she almost always woke up at the same time every day.
She turned around in the bed and was met with Britta, still fast asleep. Frankie smiled. Last night had been nice.
After watching Britta snore for a moment, Frankie got out of bed. She had a very specific morning routine that she obviously couldn’t follow now since she was at Britta’s place and not her own, but she was damn well going to try.
As quietly as she could, she put on her clothes from last night and tip-toed out of Britta’s room. Then she spent five minutes looking through Britta’s kitchen for anything edible and settled on a bowl of cereal.
Frankie sat down on Britta’s couch, pulled out her phone, and started working. It was less efficient to work on her phone than on her laptop, but this was what she had available right now, so she would have to make do.
A few hours later, Britta stepped out of her room, her hair endearingly messy.
“Good morning?” Britta said, almost like a question.
“Good morning,” Frankie agreed.
“How long have you been awake?”
“Four hours.”
Britta stared at her blankly for a full minute. “I don’t understand how someone like you can even be real.”
“Thank you?”
Britta shrugged and made her way over to her kitchen, also making herself a bowl of cereal. Then she sat down on the couch beside Frankie, placing the bowl on the table in front of them.
“So…” Britta said.
“Hm?”
“Last night was …” Britta blushed, and Frankie couldn’t help but smile a little.
“Yes, it was.”
Britta shifted on the couch, pulling one of her legs underneath her, so she could look at Frankie better. “Okay, so I have to know … Are you a lesbian? Bisexual? Pansexual? Something else-sexual?”
Frankie rolled her eyes. “Really? What, did you do all this just so you could settle your bet with the others?”
“Oh God, no!” Britta said immediately, holding up her hands. “No, absolutely not! I- I’m just curious, that’s all. I won’t even tell the others if you don’t want me to.”
Frankie sighed, considering this. She would’ve liked to say that it was none of Britta’s business, but that maybe wasn’t entirely true anymore.
“Fine,” Frankie said. “I’m a lesbian.”
Britta nodded seriously, and Frankie could tell it was taking her a considerable amount of effort to not react to this information.
“I’m also,” Frankie continued, “asexual.”
At this, Britta’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline and her jaw dropped. “What? But– But we just… Last night, we… What?!”
Frankie had anticipated this, but it still made her slightly uncomfortable. She didn’t particularly enjoy talking about her sexuality, and she especially didn’t enjoy having to explain and justify it. But she supposed she could do it for Britta.
“Asexuals can still have sex,” Frankie explained. “Most don’t, but some do. For various different reasons. I do it every now and then because … Simply put, I find it enjoyable sometimes. Even if I’m not sexually attracted to the person I’m sleeping with, I can still enjoy the act of it.”
Frankie glared at her own hands, feeling an embarrassing blush fill her cheeks. Oh, this was really not a topic she was very comfortable with.
“Oh … okay…” Britta said slowly, taking it in. “Huh, I never knew that.”
“Most people don’t. Those who have even heard about asexuality only know its narrowest definition.”
“Damn, that sounds like it sucks.”
Frankie shrugged. They sat in silence for a moment.
Britta leaned closer to Frankie, settling her head on Frankie’s shoulder. “Thank you for telling me.”
Frankie smiled a little. “Don’t tell the others.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Good.” Frankie closed her eyes and leaned her head on Britta’s.
“So …” Britta said. “D’you wanna do this again sometime?”
Frankie chuckled. “Maybe. I won’t make any promises.”
Britta laughed a little too. “All right, I’ll take it.”
Frankie let out a small, content sigh. It was nice to sit quietly with someone who understood and accepted this part of her, this part that she’d barely told anyone about.
It felt good.