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Cherry Jolly Ranchers.
Lottie picks several out of the shitty candy selection at Jackie’s end of junior year “go crazy” house party. Originally it was only supposed to be the Yellowjackets, but Jackie and Van had sent out extra invitations that must’ve read “Bring as many plus ones as you please.” because she’s bumped shoulders with people she can’t really recognize. She lazily unwraps the hard candies open and pours a few in her hands and chucks them in her mouth. It’s then that she looks up and effortlessly locks her sights on the boyish blonde across the room, moving with a carelessness that can only be envied, somehow sticking out in the swarm of drunk teens buzzing through the hallway and living room. She grips the remaining candies in her hold shut and swiftly makes her way through the crowd until she’s able to make out a figure in the boyish blonde’s arms. A feeling of dread creeps up her legs.
Lottie stops in her tracks, trying to process the scene that lay before her. Her mind stumbling over thoughts and all that she can properly understand: What the fuck. Who is she?
“Nat!” Lottie has to shout to even be considered heard over the hundreds of conversations that no one would find important outside of this party. The boyish blond, Natalie “Nat” Scatorccio, looks up from the bruised neck she was just buried in and slyly grins at Lottie who is staring back like a deer in headlights.
“Hey Lot.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“Who’s asking?”
“Natalie.” Lottie sharply shoots back.
Nat lets go of the girl in her grip and steps closer to Lottie until they’re toe to toe. Her stomach churns, she can’t decipher whether it’s out of enjoyment from seeing Lottie’s soft brown eyes look down at her so scolding or the amount of alcohol she’s downed on an empty stomach. She doesn’t have the stability right now to choose which she likes better. Her words slur out. Her breath hot against Lottie’s neck.
“Lootttiieee..” Nat giggles. “What’s got you so eager to talk to me?”
“I can smell the alcohol on your breath. Natalie, what the hell have you been doing?”
“Mmm..” Nat’s lips tremble and part like they’re about to spill. And spill they do. Lottie gasps as the sensation of an uncomfortable warmth soaks her jacket and hits her shoes and the floor around them. The people that surround them suddenly stagger back, a mix of laughter and shock coming from their harsh mouths. Lottie takes quick glances at them before looking down at the mess and back at Nat who is only now realizing she’d thrown up and right on Lottie’s favorite sweater.
“Shit. Lots-“ Nat stutters as she feels a wave of embarrassment and guilt trip her words.
Lottie grabs Nat’s arm and pushes through the staring eyes, being sure to keep her damp sweater out of their reach. Even in moments like this, she always makes sure to consider others before herself. She finds the bathroom and shoves her way inside, still dragging Nat behind her and locking the door.
“Seriously, how much did you drink tonight Nat?” Lottie speaks with a gentleness that confuses Nat. After all, had that been her sweater, she would have found herself swearing out anyone that intervened.
“Just a little.”
Lottie dangles her sweater over the bath tub and gives Nat a grimacing look.
“Okay, shit, I had 4 beers and some shots.” Nat winces as she says it, afraid Lottie won’t give her the same precious look she always does even when she’s angry.
Lottie sighs. “I thought I told you to keep it low. You don’t listen to my simple requests anymore?” Her jacket is now lying in the tub and Lottie’s dark hair clings to her chest and back, slightly damp with sweat from all the bodies producing too much heat outside. Nat can’t help but let her eyes linger for a second too long over Lottie’s figures and especially that neck. In the time Nat’s been mesmerized by the living beauty in front of her, Lottie has gotten a wet rag and begun wiping Nat’s chin off. She’s always been there for Nat like that. An extra step caring, maybe a little touchy compared to Jackie and Mari, for whatever reason always staring at her in the locker room after practice.
Oh?
“Earth to Nat?” Lottie chuckles as she waves her hand in front of Nat’s eyes bringing her back to reality. They both sit down and rest against the sink drawer.
“Sorry. Thank you, Lots.”
“No problem.”
Lottie reaches her hand out to Nat’s face, sprawling her fingers out at first before closing the gap and slowly running her thumb over her cheek.
Nat can feel her face getting red. She considers cracking a joke, all she needs is a laugh from Lottie to know this moment is platonic. As soon as she goes to, a cherry Jolly Rancher is pressed past her lips and the sweetness of Lotties thumb and the candy tingles on her tongue. She doesn’t contest despite her surprise. Nat closes her lips around Lottie and uses her tongue to rummage the candy around her mouth and sweep the warm new piece that’s there as well. Nat’s hands find their place on Lots waist. The blaring new wave rock-pop music seems to get quieter when they’re alone on the tile of Jackie’s bathroom. Lottie is the first to come to her senses, pulling her thumb out of Nat’s mouth and trying not to get lost in the earthy green that are searching for more behind her pupils. She feels the pang in her chest spread into a heat across her body.
Has it always been this hot in here?
Natalie comes second, not because she realized that this moment was really non-platonically intimate, but because she could no longer taste the kindness Lottie brings.
“Uh.. thanks again Lots. You really didn’t have to show me mercy, I would’ve been pissed at me if I were you.”
“No, it’s okay. That’s nothing.”
A comfortable silence rests between them as Nat shifts her hand closer to Lottie’s, slowly closing the gap until their pinkies graze.
“Why’d you look so.. angry earlier?” Nat asks unsure and raspy, not used to talking so softly.
Lottie retracts her hand by a bit. Letting out a shallow breath because suddenly the chipped paint on the wall is more interesting than the girl she gets uncontrollably giddy around being right next to her, alone. Nat notices and her heart gets a weird feeling.
“I don’t know, to be honest.” Lottie sighs.
Nat tilts her head to the side, watching their hands.
“Well, that’s okay.. Just, uh, next time you drag me away from someone willing to kiss me, make sure you’ll take their place.” Nat chuckles and slides her hand over Lottie’s, slowly clawing before interlocking their fingers. Lottie turns over to face Nat with a small grin.
“Fuck off.”
“Is that an accepting “fuck off”?”
Nat looks up from their hands to find Lottie’s big doe eyes already waiting.
Brown was never her favorite color, nor was green Lottie’s, but suddenly there had never been a color more intriguing than that of each other’s eyes. Nat slides her hand up Lottie’s wirst, then arm, tracing all the way from her collarbone to her neck that has the vague scent of musk, amber, and jasmine. You’d only be able to tell if Lottie let you that close to her. And Natalie was. Her eyes find their way down to Lottie’s lips, almost hesitating until her neediness takes over. Nat’s lips press rough against Lottie’s. It tastes entirely of cherry Jolly ranchers. Lottie softly whines as she kisses Nat back. Their bodies adjust to each other like them sharing this closeness makes perfect sense; Lottie’s hands sliding up and down Natalie’s torso before sinking into her lower waist, Nat rustling and clawing at Lots back as she straddles her lap, their teeth occasionally scraping as the suppressed pine comes to surface. Nat lifts her face away for air. Lottie tugs on her bottom lip while letting out breathy whimpers. The sting feels like everything Nat has ever craved. Lottie unclenches her teeth and kisses the side of Nat’s lips, tracing her way down her jaw and to her neck. Even earlier Lottie knew that nobody was deserving of Nat’s lips against their skin. But now, she felt like the only person who could ever be enough for Nat was herself. And she was gonna make sure Nat knew that. Rising one hand off of her waist and onto the side of her neck, Lottie ravaged at Nat, leaving bruises with every other kiss and not a care in the world how obvious it was. Nat groaned through her wide toothed grin and the disintegrating candy beneath her tongue.
A knock on the door and a shouting voice: “Hurry the fuck up!”
The pair forgot they were at a party. Nat quickly stumbled off of Lottie’s lap and giggled nonstop as she lent her hand to Lots. After a quick clean up in the mirror, Lottie unlocked the door and walked ahead of Nat. She found that she no longer had anymore Jolly Ranchers which deeply upset her. She wasn’t hungry for the sugar, she was hungry for the taste of Nat’s candy stricken mouth. Natalie eventually caught up with Lots, noticing the frown at her empty pockets.
“Cherry Jolly Ranchers, huh?” She grinned and lightly caressed Lottie’s hip.
“We’d better find some more, hm?”
“No shit.”