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Meet me in the bath house after dark.
-Penny
That’s all the letter had said.
Now April braved the chilly autumn night air, quickly making her way up the mountain path. It was just that time of year where she could start to see the fog of her breath, but in her haste she’d forgotten a proper coat. All she wore was a hoodie that was all too light and her still-dirty working jeans, over a swimsuit that she may or may not have been wearing since that morning, after she first read Penny’s letter. What? It didn’t hurt to be prepared.
And maybe she was a little anxious. It wasn’t hard for April to overthink something so vague. The letter was certainly in Penny’s cursive script, so there was no chance of this being some sort of cruel prank. Was this a date? They hadn’t been on a real date yet. At least, not one that April had considered a date. Oh god, had they been going on dates already and she was too oblivious to notice? Sure, they’d been hanging out, and she knew for sure that she liked Penny, but did Penny really like her? Did Penny even like girls in that way? Maybe she just wanted to invite her somewhere nice, so that she could let her down easy…
The sight of the bath house brought her thoughts to a sudden halt. Right. There was no point in worrying when she’d see Penny in just a minute or two. As she pushed open the entrance, she was immediately greeted with the muggy, damp air of the locker rooms, a welcome change from the chilly outdoors. No sign of Penny yet. April shrugged off her hoodie and jeans before tossing them haphazardly into an empty locker. They landed on the floor in a heap, but they needed to be washed anyway. She shut the locker quietly, tied her hair up, and took a deep breath. It’s going to be fine . But even still, as she carefully tiptoed over the tile floor, her racing heart betrayed her attempts to stay calm. It’s going to be fine!!!
As she exited the locker room, a red shock of hair immediately caught her eye near the close edge of the steaming hot water. Penny was shoulder-deep, facing away from her, slowly wading around as she waited. Not wanting to startle her, April let her footsteps pick up in volume until she reached the edge of the pool. As April sat down on the edge, Penny finally turned around to see her. God, she was beautiful. The lighting in the bath house was dim at night, but the moon from the skylight cast a gentle blue glow across her flushed face. She smiled warmly and watched close as April lowered herself into the water.
“There you are… You actually came,” Penny breathed, looking relieved. The pool was heated perfectly, just enough to make her toes tingle as she adjusted from being outside. She let herself be submerged up to her chest, grateful for the warmth.
“Of course I did,” April said, returning her soft smile. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”
Penny looked away, but started drifting a little closer to her. “I admit I was a little worried you might not show up. But I’m really glad you’re here.”
April’s heart skipped a beat. “Yeah. Me too,” was all she could muster. A silence fell between them.
“The water feels nice, doesn’t it? After being out in the cold?” Penny offered after a moment. April nodded in agreement, unable to come up with any small talk in return.
“So, do you know why I invited you here tonight?” Penny asked. She was barely looking at April, instead twiddling with a strand of hair that had come free from the loose knots at the back of her neck. April could think of a lot of reasons why she might have been invited here. She had gone through each of them in her head about a hundred times on the walk over, unable to eliminate a single possibility in her overthinking. But she kept her cool.
“You wanted to see me in my swimsuit?” she joked. Penny looked mortified.
“No! Oh my gosh, no—I would never!” She was waving her hands in front of her, clearly flustered by even the suggestion.
April shook her head, laughing. “I’m only kidding, I promise! I imagine you had something to tell me?” Penny sighed, composing herself again, but the flush in her face remained.
“Yes, that’s right…” She said, still not making eye contact. “Um… How do I say this?”
April moved closer this time, leaving them only about a foot apart now, not quite facing one another.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now…” she continued, “about how I feel.”
April’s head was swimming. Now it was her turn to flush red. Penny continued hurriedly before she could reply.
“I-I can’t stop thinking about you… I’ve never—” Penny cut herself off before taking a steadying breath, reaching towards April. She gently grasped her hands under the water, lifting them up towards the surface. She was trembling. Finally, she met April’s eyes, brows furrowed with worry. April leaned towards her a little more. There was no doubt in April’s mind now. The heat was starting to make her dizzy, but she was certain that she was about to confess…right?
“Is this really okay?” Was all Penny said, softly. April tilted her head to one side, confused about what she meant. Shit, anything Penny did was more than okay in her book.
“Holding my hands, you mean?” She raised their hands pointedly.
“No— this . All of this… April, I think I really like you. But, at the same time, I’m scared.”
“Scared of what?” She shifted a little closer, hoping to be of more comfort.
“I just don’t know what to do. I’ve had crushes on people here and there, but I’ve never felt this way, especially not about another girl —am I really allowed to like you? As more than just a friend?”
April separated their hands, placing one on Penny’s cheek, and the other on her shoulder. Penny’s emerald green eyes reflected the blue light from the pool as she gazed back at her, filled with swishing waves of teal and turquoise. “Do you want to? Does it feel good, to like me?”
Penny sighed, leaning into her hand with a pleading expression. “Yes. God, yes. Better than anything I’ve ever felt.”
“Then who cares?” April hesitated before finally closing the gap between them, letting her eyes flutter closed as she felt her lips press against Penny’s. Penny reciprocated immediately, leaning into her with a soft gasp. All the nerves in April’s body quieted themselves at that moment, washed away by the soft skin of Penny’s face and the way her lips moved clumsily around her own. Penny was the first to pull away, already breathless, but she quickly recovered and kissed her again, this time with more confidence. April let the side of the pool press against her back and pulled her closer. Penny’s hands drifted to her sides, hovering them just shy of holding her.
“You can touch me,” April whispered against her lips. Penny, with an embarrassed hitch in her breath, hid her face against April’s shoulder, but finally settled her hands at her waist. April kissed the top of her head and around her ear, brushing her own hands along Penny’s shoulders and arms, letting her take her time feeling up and down April’s hips and stomach.
“You’re so pretty,” Penny muttered shyly. April planted a solid kiss against her cheek. “And strong, and confident, and I’ve thought about this for so long now…I just didn’t know how to tell you. I wanted you to like me too, more than anything.”
“Me too,” April sighed. “You’re beautiful, you know.”
“...Really?” She sounded sincere.
“ God , yes, you’ve been driving me wild since I first moved here.” April kissed around her jaw now, just shy of her neck. “I couldn’t believe someone like you would even look my way. You’re just too sweet.”
Penny laughed. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Absolutely not.” She crashed her lips into Penny’s again, hungry for as much as she was willing to give her. Months of pining and “maybes” and “almosts” washed away with the rippling of the water around them.
“Come home with me?” April offered, pulling away just far enough to get the words out. “I’ll make tea, get a fire going…” Penny closed the gap again, not letting her finish. She took that as a yes.