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The First First Kiss
Josie was nervous. Even more nervous than the day she first asked Hope to go on a date, which means she’s very nervous to say the least. She checked her breathing and untensed her shoulders as Hope returned to the small table outside the cafe with their drinks.
“So, you wanted to talk about something?” Hope would never let on that she was afraid, but Josie could see the anxiety in the way she apprehensively looked at her, probably thinking she was being dumped.
“Ok, I’m not breaking up with you, let’s just start there.”
“Oh thank God. If you were I’d make you pay for your coffee before I left.”
Josie smiled as the tension lifted away, sipping said coffee lightly. “Thank you for that, by the way. You know you don’t always have to pay when we go out.”
Hope shrugged stirring some milk and sugar into her own drink, “I know, but I like to. Treating you to nice things makes me as happy as the free coffee makes you.”
Josie laughed, “If you say so.”
“So, what is you wanted to talk about, if not to break my heart?”
Josie tensed right back up, the nerves resurfacing. “Well, you see, we’re not exclusive, and you know I’ve been on dates with other people while we’ve been together…”
Hope nodded, brow furrowed. “You sure you’re not breaking up with me?”
Josie smiled hopefully, “I promise, it’s just that, I really, really like you, and I’d love to be in an actual, real relationship with you…”
“But…? I’m sensing a ‘but’ here, Josie”
“But I feel the same way about Penelope. I’ve thought about what to do all week, and I just can’t force myself to choose one of you. I mean, if we became exclusive, I’d still have feelings for Penelope, and that’s like, emotionally cheating. And like, there’s no way I could choose one of you, because I don’t like one of you more than the other. I know this is a lot-”
Hope grabbed Josie’s hands as they gestured and fidgeted in front of her. “Josie, just say what you’re trying to get at here, there’s no need to worry.”
Josie nodded, steeling herself with a deep breath, “I want to pursue a serious relationship… with both of you… at the same time.”
Hope took it all in for a moment. “So… you’re asking if I’ll be your girlfriend, but if Penelope could also be your girlfriend.”
Josie smiled hesitantly, “Yes?”
Hope drummed her fingers across the table as she thought.
“Yes.”
“‘Yes’?”
“Yes, I’ll be one of your girlfriends. If you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you, and if you like Penelope as much as you say you do, who am I to say you can’t be with her too. It’s worked well enough for us so far, so… Yes.”
Josie couldn’t contain her joy. The brightest smile took over her face, and a happy squeal even escaped as she pulled Hope forward by her cheeks and kissed her.
When she pulled away she was still smiling just as brightly, and Hope looked like she just came down from the clouds, and perhaps Josie was an angel.
The Second First Kiss
Penelope couldn’t believe this was her life. She had never shared anything in her life. Not her toys as a child, not the answers from her homework, not her dorm room. Penelope didn’t know how to share. She knew how to take care of herself.
But, the only thing she valued above herself at the moment was making Josie happy. Which put her at a bit of an impasse, to say the least. When Josie came to her with the proposition of being one of two girlfriends, she almost wanted to laugh as ask her if she was crazy. But then she saw the hope and fear in her eyes and realized that she had to seriously consider this. She didn’t want to lose Josie, she could see herself falling for her if things kept going the way they were. But that meant she had to share her.
So she went to meet the other girlfriend. Hope wasn’t exactly expecting her at her door just after dinner, but she let her in nonetheless, having an idea of what she might want to discuss.
“So I’m guessing Josie talked to you today.”
“Then I’m guessing she’s already asked you the same thing.”
“And I said yes. She brought it up yesterday and I agreed, though I have a feeling it’s not so easy for you to decide as it was for me.”
Penelope narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms at being read so easily. “Ok, but can you blame me. Look, I know she’s been seeing both of us casually, which is fine, whatever, but dating us both? Like, exclusively?”
Hope shrugged, “Yes. Penelope, I really like her. And I know she likes me or else she wouldn’t have asked for this, she would have just chosen you. But she didn’t. And that doesn’t just mean that she likes me , it means that she really likes you too, or she would have done the opposite. Think about it, for her. I know she doesn’t want to lose you, because, like I said, she would have just chosen me, but… here we are.”
Penelope left soon after that, wondering the halls as she thought about what to do. She would never consider anything like this, but, come on, this is Josie we’re talking about. She’d never forgive herself for letting her go like that.
As that thought struck, she knew. Josie Saltzman would not be the one that got away, even if it meant being one of two girlfriends. One of two certainly beat being the sad ex left behind, that’s for sure.
So she turned on her heal and made her way toward the Saltzman’s dorm. Josie wasn’t expecting her any more than Hope was, but joined her in the hallway anyway. Penelope could see Lizzie laying on her bed through the cracked open door, and figured it was probably best that they weren’t having this conversation in front of her.
When she looked back to Josie she had her arms hugged around herself, biting her lip anxiously. “So? Have you thought about it?”
Penelope softened at the nerves in her voice, smiling comfortingly at her as she responded. “Yeah, a lot. I even went and talked to Hope, and she kind of helped me make up my mind. She, uh… she really cares about you.”
Josie smiled at the mentioning of the other girl, breathing back her response. “Yeah, but so do you.”
“You’re right, I really, really do. It’s kind of embarrassing how much I like you. So, it’d be stupid of me to let you go.”
Josie’s melted, standing up straighter. “Really? You’ll do it?”
Penelope gently cradled Josie’s face as she stepped into her space. “Yes, I will, anything for my girlfriend .”
They were smiling too big to kiss for long, and they were just standing in Josie’s doorway. Probably not the most private or romantic spot, but Penelope just couldn’t help herself. She was dating Josie Saltzman.
The Last First Kiss
Okay, so maybe Josie wasn’t the only one known to fall asleep during movies. She was usually just the first to go apparently. Hope blinked back to life, their second movie of the night playing on the screen in front of her. Penelope was still asleep against her shoulder, and with a look around the room she found Josie curled up in her bed, snoring softly.
A loud bang from the movie made her jump, waking Penelope up in the same instant. The both gasped, sputtering for breath after the unexpected scare. They met eyes and laughed at themselves for a moment. Then it was quite again. And Hope wasn’t sure if it was the way Penelope was looking at her, or if it was the quiet moment in the dark room lit only by the long forgotten movie, or maybe it was the way she’d snuggled into her side as the night went on and sleep crept closer…
Whatever it was, it was strong enough for her to bring the arm slung across the back of the cough around to the side of Penelope’s neck to draw her in for a kiss. Penelope wishes she could say she was surprised, but she thinks she knew this was coming, sooner or later.
She melted into the couch, letting Hope lay her down beneath her. And yeah, it was a lumpy couch, and Josie was still snoring, but in the moment, they were crashing down a waterfall, not knowing that they were on the edge until they were plummeting.
They’d been skirting around each other since their whole arrangement started, always sitting a few inches apart, not seeing each other outside of things regarding school or Josie. But in those few moments they went from driving at the speed limit to going eighty miles per hour down a straightaway with the windows down.
And that felt like hands around Hope’s shoulders and pulling all her hair the the back of her neck, and surprisingly rough fingers sneaking under Penelope’s shirt, her other hand pulling Penelope’s knee up around her hip to keep them both from rolling off the couch.
Then a loud bang from the small speakers broke them apart, gasping for air, from both the kiss and the slight scare. It also woke Josie up, but they only knew that because she teased them about each other not-so-subtly for the entire week that followed.