All she can do is wave awkwardly, regretting it immediately. She’s never wanted Hawaii to be somewhere else more than she does in this exact moment. She silently waits for their conversation to end, each passing second feeling more excruciating than the last.
Finally, she sees Hawaii’s head bob up and down, then Rosaline turns away from him and approaches the deck. She walks up the stairs, and into the house, stopping just beyond the doorway. Both women share the same uncomfortable demeanor, each of them fidgeting in place, a deafening silence resting between them. Rosaline brushes hair from her forehead and speaks softly.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Sweetie says in return, lacking the vibrancy she’s known for.
Another long quiet moment hangs in the air, before Rosaline breaks it again.
“So-”
“I wan-”
Sweetie’s face scrunches, Rosaline’s hand grips her own arm. A strained chuckle emits from the tiny fighter.
“Sorry.”
“No nena, I’m-I’m sorry.”
Rosaline’s brow raises, curiosity mixing with her sadness.
“Did you want-”
“Yeah.” Sweetie responds, interrupting her, “Sorry, again, can we, um, can we go somewhere to talk?”
Rosaline’s head inclines, uncertainty orbiting around her.
“Okay?”
“The barn?”
“Sure.”
Sweetie follows Rosaline out of the house, closing the door behind her, turns left off the deck, then across the grass filled patch between the house and barn. Rosaline pulls the large barn doors open, allows Sweetie to enter before her, follows her in, then closes the doors.
Away from the prying ears of others, Sweetie doesn’t let the moment linger as before. Wasting no time, her words race from her before Rosaline has even finished closing the door.
“Nena, I-I don’t really know how to say what I wanna say, so Imma just say it, okay?”
Rosaline’s lips purse to the side.
“Okay.”
Her chest quivering, Sweetie takes a deep breath.
“I’m sorry about the other night. I was scared, and not even just cause of you, cause of-of myself, cause of how I feel. I haven’t known too many good things in life, you know? I mean, I got my brother, and The Family, and the farm, but those aren’t mine, they’re not just for me. What I feel for you, that-that’s mine, that’s for me, and I don’t know what to do with that, or what I should do with that.”
The hazel haired woman’s thoughts come to an abrupt stop, her gaze searches the floor for a moment, then her attention returns to Rosaline.
“I’m scared to give into this, to give into you, and not because you’re different, I like that, I mean you saved me today, saved my life. I’m not worried that you’ll hurt me or any of us, I’m worried that you’ll get hurt, and I’ll be left missing another person. Or, I don’t know, we-we stop liking each other, and that-”
A lump erupts into her throat, her chest fills in an instant, then flutters.
“That would be worse. I-I really like you, I mean really like you, and today has reminded me that life is short, and it could end any second. I don’t wanna waste time fighting my feelings, but I’m scared nena, I’m scared of-”
Suddenly, without warning, Rosaline closes the gap between them. Her hands gently grip the Latina’s face, and their lips press together tenderly. Taken back by the unexpected event, Sweetie’s brow raises, but her eyes close as soon as Rosaline’s hands touch her cheeks. It takes a second for her to register what’s happening, but once she does she basks in it.
Sweetie grabs Rosaline’s waist, pulling their bodies into each other. A synchronized connection forms between them, and they breath in deep together, as though their bodies have become one. Their tender kiss holds for a long while, neither of them wanting the bliss of this first to pass them by. Sweetie feels Rosaline pull away, her eyes open to see a beaming smile in front of her.
“That-that was bold nena.”
“I figure I’m bold at everything else I do, why not this too?”
“I wasn’t complainin’.”
Rosaline takes a half step back as their hands find each other, clasping together.
“I’m scared too, but I want this, I want you, and it could be a mistake, but I’m willing to take that risk, if you are.”
Sweetie’s lips curve up higher, and broader, than they ever have.
“Kiss me again.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Karo holds his hand up to Jack, signaling for him to stop. They’ve reached the edge of the thick brush. Karo kneels down. Jack watches, silently, as Karo’s head scans over the bushes. Roughly thirty minutes ago the sun began to set, dimming their surroundings.
The two men fled the abandoned buildings at a full sprint, never slowing their pace until this moment. Jack waits a considerable amount of time before kneeling down next to Karo.
“What’s the plan here?” Jack whispers.
Karo’s gaze continues to bounce from tree to tree.
“Listening, making sure we weren’t followed.”
Another long moment passes before Karo speaks again.
“Our smartest move would be to double back around the brush, then take the long way back to the others.”
“It’ll be dark soon.”
“That’s what gives me pause.”
“If we are being followed, are they smart enough to stop when we stop, to wait it out and see where we’re going?”
“I’ve never known them to do that, usually they’ll attack as soon as you slow down.”
“I don’t want to worry the others, we’ve been stopped for a while now, about an hour I’d say.”
Karo rises back to his full height.
“Doubling back is our best move.”
“It’ll be long after dark before we return, and it’ll be hard to see anything out here.”
“You’re right about that.”
“What if Norman or Daisy come looking for us?”
“Would they do that?”
Jack’s head shakes, a worried anxiousness creeping into him.
“I don’t know. We told them to wait, but Norman worries and he’s stubborn.”
“We’ll go back then, slowly.”
Jack hastily nods, eager
