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Tally wasn’t sure what woke her up. The sun on her face shining through the small crack between the curtains or the fingers running along her naked back. Both made her smile so it didn’t matter much to her. She rolled onto her side and blinked her eyes open. “Morning,” she said with a smile as Sarah's face came into focus.
Sarah lifted herself up on her elbow and leaned over to kiss Tally’s shoulder. “Morning,” she mumbled against Tally’s chilled skin as she kissed her way from her shoulder up to Tally's neck.
Tally moaned. Oh how she loved when Sarah kissed her neck like that. But then her moan turned into a squeal when Sarah’s fingers trailed up her side in a very ticklish way, and Tally knew it hadn’t been an accident when Sarah started laughing. She could feel the vibrations against her skin before she gently pushed Sarah back. “Very funny,” Tally said when they were face to face again. “And what a way to kill the mood.”
Sarah laughed and then placed a quick kiss on the tip of Tally’s nose. “We both know that would not have killed the mood.”
“Maybe not,” Tally said, wrinkling her nose while trying to suppress a smile.
“And besides, we don’t have time for that because you have classes soon.”
Tally lifted her eyebrows suggestively. “We could be quick…?”
“Do you want it quick?” Sarah asked with a chuckle as she leaned over to yet again kiss Tally’s bare shoulder.
Tally shook her head. “No, I just want this,” she said and snuggled into the crook of Sarah’s neck. “I just wanna lay here with my girlfriend and be happy.”
Tally felt Sarah freeze and for a moment she regretted her words. Weren’t they there yet? Tally had been so certain that they were. Maybe she had been wrong. Doubt creeped up her spine, but before she could word her insecurity then Sarah wrapped her arm around Tally and pulled her close.
“Am I your girlfriend?” Sarah whispered against Tally’s hair.
Tally pulled back a little so she could see Sarah’s blue eyes that always held such bravery and honesty but rarely much happiness. That was different now. All worry was gone from them and all she saw was hope, and in that instant any doubt she had had before disappeared. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Tally asked with a bright smile.
Sarah leaned forward and kissed Tally’s lips. “I do,” she said and then she kissed her again and again.
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Tally was late for class. She had actually missed all of Mothertongue and now had to run to make it to War History on time. She knew Abigail and Raelle would have some hilarious - according to themselves - comments for her when they learned why she had missed the morning class. With her heart beating wild in her chest Tally made it through the door just as the lecture was about to begin. Luckily she was able to slide into her seat without anyone seeming to notice or care that she was late; well anyone but her sisters. Abigail was sending her a dirty look while Raelle was failing in her attempt at hiding a grin behind her hand.
“Sorry,” Tally whispered in Abigail’s direction as she pulled her notebook and pencil case from her bag.
“Where the hell have you been?!” Abigail hissed out, but Tally ignored her and kept her eyes on their professor.
“Tally?” Raelle asked.
Tally sighed and looked at her sister sitting on her right side. The grin that had been on her lips before was now replaced by a look of concern. She leaned over and placed her hand on Raelle’s arm to reinsure her. “It’s something that can wait till after class,” Tally said with a smile before turning her attention back toward their professor.
But keeping her attention there proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated. Tally actually didn’t take in a single word that was said and she would have been completely screwed if it wasn’t for Abigail and her perfect notes.
“Thank you so much!!” Tally said as she finished copying the last line and handed Abigail her notebook back. “I don’t know what I would do without you!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Abigail took the notebook and while she placed it back in her backpack Tally quickly stole a carrot stick off her plate. “Hey! Go get your own food!”
She started to stand up but Abigail and Raelle each grabbed one of her arms and dragged her back into her seat. “But not until you tell us why you missed class this morning.”
“I have a girlfriend,” Tally blurted out and the look on Raelle’s face told her that her sister was clearly thinking ‘yeah we know’ so Tally quickly elaborated. “I asked Sarah to be my girlfriend.”
Raelle’s eyes got big and Abigail asked with excitement in her voice, “How did you ask?”
“What do you mean?” Tally asked, confused.
“How did you pop the question?”
“Pop the question,” Tally said with a laugh. “I asked her to be my girlfriend, not my wife.”
“Nowadays it’s basically the same thing so you gotta do it right,” Raelle said, popping one of her own carrot sticks into Tally’s mouth.
“How did you ask Scylla?” Tally asked around the carrot before taking a bite of it.
Raelle smiled. “I took her for a picnic under the stars, so nothing big or fancy.”
‘Nothing big and fancy!!’ Tally wanted to scream. If that wasn’t something big and fancy then what was?!
“Yeah it just has to be special and romantic,” Abigail said with a dreamy expression on her face. She was clearly thinking back to the moment Adil had asked her to be his girlfriend, but Tally already knew that story involved sex - and a lot of it - so she didn’t need another recap of the tale. Especially not now when she was already beginning to freak out.
“But you should just do it your own way,” Raelle said and Abigail nodded encouragingly.
‘I thought I already had,’ Tally thought as she paled and started fidgeting with her fingers. She had never considered the possibility that something like this could be done wrong. She had always just thought that if you were in love then that was it; that would be what made it right. Was she wrong? It wasn’t like she had ever tried asking someone to be her girlfriend before. Panic rose in her body, but as Tally bluntly stood from the table an idea was starting to take form in her head, and as she walked from the dining hall Tally already had a plan for how she was going to make it right - make it special and romantic.
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It was Valentine’s Day and Sarah had expected to spend the evening with Tally. Not that Sarah cared for the day herself but she had thought it would be one of those American holiday things that Tally would enjoy - like Christmas - and the more Sarah had thought about it the more excited she had been. But Tally had barely been around the last few days and when Sarah had seen her then there hadn’t been any mentions of Valentine’s Day or if Tally wished to spend the day dedicated to celebrating love with her girlfriend.
Girlfriend…
Tally was her girlfriend and even though Sarah had thought of her as such for quite some time now then it still made her happy to know that Tally also wanted her to be her girlfriend.
Or maybe she didn’t. Maybe Tally had changed her mind and that was why she hadn’t spent the night at Sarah’s small cottage since that morning. It wasn’t that they usually spend every night together, and with midterms coming up soon then Sarah hadn’t given it much thought that Tally had seemed preoccupied and busy. Seeing as Sarah was now simply a general and not THE general then she was slowly becoming used to being the less stressed one of the two. Because while Tally stressed over papers and training in the evening, Sarah got to cook for her - her new favorite thing to do, and she had hoped to do it tonight as well. She had hoped to cook Tally her favorite meal and then snuggle up together on the couch reading or watching one of Tally’s movies.
But really Sarah didn’t care what they did; she just wanted to be with Tally, but maybe Tally didn’t want to be with her.
She knew it wasn’t possible but Sarah felt her heart sink. And as she stamped the snow off her shoes on the front step Sarah considered turning around and walking back to her office to fill out reports. She still missed her old office, but Tally had helped make the new one special - in more ways than one. The thought only made the knot in her chest worsen.
It was like Tally was everywhere so it wouldn’t matter where Sarah went because Tally was there, and Tally was in her heart.
Sarah let out a sigh as she opened the door and walked into the hallway, but as she was about to push the door closed with her foot she noticed a flickering light coming from her living room. The door slammed shut and Sarah let her bag drop to the floor as she took quick steps toward the room, but stopped short when she reached the threshold.
Because in her living room stood Tally in a beautiful white dress surrounded by candlelight and flowers, and in her hands she held a red rose.
“Hi Sarah,” Tally said, sounding nervous.
But why would she be nervous? Sarah was the one who only seconds ago had thought she had been broken up with before she had even gotten the chance to be her girlfriend. But Tally didn’t know that Sarah had had those thoughts… So what was all this?
“Hi,” Sarah said as she walked closer to Tally and took off her jacket and draped it over the back of the couch. She noticed how Tally held the rose so tightly in her hands that her knuckles had turned white. She was definitely nervous, but why? “What is all this?”
Tally walked up to her and held out the rose. “Will you be my girlfriend?”
Now Sarah felt oddly confused. “I thought I already was…” she said as she took the rose.
Tally nodded and began fidgeting with her now empty hands. “I know, but I thought I should do it right. That I should ask you properly.”
Sarah quickly reached out and put her hand on Tally’s to quiet their movement. “Not that this isn’t lovely and I have to say you look absolutely stunning, but what was wrong with how you did it two days ago?”
“I don’t know,” Tally said, letting out a nervous breath.
Sarah narrowed her eyes. “Did your sisters get into your head?”
“No,” Tally said, biting the inside of her cheek. Sarah narrowed her eyes at Tally further until it made her throw up her hands in surrender. “Okay, maybe a little bit, but they didn’t mean to. I just started overthinking it and now here we are.”
When Tally let out a deep sigh, Sarah chuckled lightly and placed the rose on top of her jacket before turning back to Tally and kissing her softly on her forehead.
“I love you.”
“You do?” Tally pulled back and looked into her eyes like she was searching for something important. “You have never told me that before.”
“I love you with my whole heart and every inch of my being,” Sarah said as she stroked Tally’s cheek. “And I don’t just love you. You are my love, my heart, my whole reason for returning.”
“Oh wow,” Tally said, swallowing hard. “I… wow. You really love me a lot.”
Sarah let out a small laugh. “Yes, I really love you a lot and I really want to be your girlfriend.”
And with that Sarah moved her hand from Tally’s cheek to her chin and with a bright smile she pulled Tally into a loving kiss.