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“I’m going to miss you so much.”
“It’s only for a week, Jonas.”
“Yeah, but...”
“I’ll call you everyday, I promise.”
Noora watched as the couple kissed goodbye. Eva placed her hands on his face and he wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked down at her luggage and was growing more and more impatient.
“We have a plane to catch, you know.” Noora said. That broke the couple apart; it was like they had forgotten Noora’s existence until that moment.
Jonas slightly glared at the blonde before kissing Eva’s cheek. She laughed and Noora rolled her eyes. She wouldn’t feel this way if she was in Jonas’ place right now.
Eva said one last goodbye and she let go of his hands. She turned to Noora and smiled. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Whenever I’m ready?” Noora smiled, pointing at herself dramatically. “I’ve been ready for fifteen hours.”
Eva laughed and she grabbed the handle of her suitcase. “Alright, Noora, lead the way.”
They walked to the parked car, the impatient driver peering out of the window. They got in, and settled, Eva sitting by the window. She waved at Jonas and Noora fought the urge to roll her eyes and tell Eva to get over it; they’d be back in a few days and she’d run back to him, like she’s done so many times in the past. Even though Noora thought she was making it very clear that she was in love with her.
Noora has been crushing on Eva for a while now. When she first saw Eva at the party, she couldn’t help herself, so she walked over to the brunette and introduced herself. She fell for her as she got to knew her; her personality and her looks and her intelligence and her humor just charmed Noora, she couldn’t really ask for much more in a girl.
But she wasn’t even sure if Eva liked girls. She knew of the few times Eva made out with their friend Vilde, but that had only happened when she was drunk. Noora didn’t know of any past relationships with girls, just her current relationship with a guy.
And Noora knew she had no right to be jealous, but every time Eva came to her apartment and vented about another fight between her and Jonas, Noora couldn’t help but feel like she was getting a bit closer to what she really wanted most.
So, when Eva’s birthday rolled around—actually, a couple months before—Noora suggested they go on a trip. No boys, no relationships, just them two. It had been a while since it was just them, not them and Jonas or them and the rest of their friends.
Eva was ecstatic and started packing right away, and what made Noora feel even more “accomplished” is the fact that Jonas constantly begged Eva to stay. He wanted her to spend her birthday with him, but she denied, claiming they needed some girl time. Noora knew he was staring daggers at her yesterday morning when she came by to give Eva all of the necessary information for the trip. She liked the way he wasn’t even trying to be subtle with his jealousy; it was gushing from everywhere. The edge in his voice when he spoke indirectly to Noora was a dead giveaway.
Noora liked to think of herself as a better fit for Eva. She knew she would treat her right, and she knew Eva wouldn’t complain about Noora half as much as she complained about Jonas. So why weren’t they together by now?
Noora pondered this for longer than she would have liked to admit, but soon they were at the airport and awaiting their flight.
Eva was almost squirming in her seat and that made Noora smile. “Excited?” Noora asked. Eva nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah, of course. Just so ready to get away from everything for a weekend,” Eva leaned back in her seat and sighed. “It’s been a lot. Jonas has been acting different lately and it’s been getting on my nerves.”
No surprise there , Noora thought, although a little selfishly. She knew she shouldn’t be happy about her friend’s relationship issues, but she was starting to believe that she was in love with Eva. That was no excuse, of course, but for once, she’d like for her feelings for someone be reciprocated.
“And also,” Eva nudged Noora’s shoulder with her own, “I get to spend time with my favorite girl.”
“Your favorite girl?” Noora blushed.
“Yeah, you’re like my best friend. Of course you’re my favorite.”
“I’m your best friend?” Eva nodded. Noora felt her heart sink. “You’re mine too.”
— — —
The flight was interesting. Eva fell asleep about an hour into it, and just had to rest her head on Noora’s shoulder. She was panicking, to say the least; she wanted to move so she could feel her heart slow down to the normal rate but she didn’t want to wake Eva up, either. So she stayed statue still until she eventually woke up, and Noora has never felt so relieved in her entire life.
They were lugging their suitcases behind them when they entered the hotel. It was beautiful, and Eva expressed her amazement of it.
“Holy shit!” Eva said quite loudly, alerting a few guests. She covered her mouth and looked back at Noora, who was suppressing a laugh. “How much did this cost?”
“Not important,” Noora shook her head. It actually did cost quite a bit, but she wasn’t going to tell Eva that. Eva would’ve settled for a crummy motel, but her girl only deserved the best. “Let’s check-in?”
They walked to the receptionist counter and stood behind two men who were already up front. The slightly shorter one was talking to the woman while the other had his hand on the guy’s back.
“I made a reservation last week, I swear!” The shorter one said, not even trying to hide his frustration.
“I just need the confirmation code, sir, and I’ll be able to look it up on the system. Until then, I’m afraid I can’t find your room,” The receptionist was unbelievably calm, but the guy just scoffed.
“The person I spoke to didn’t give me a code. He said all he needed was a name, and I already gave you that name, Valtersen.”
The receptionist sighed and the girls assumed she typed in the name, but she shook her head and looked back at the man. “There’s no Valtersen room in the system, I’m sorry, sir.”
The Valtersen guy was about to say something else when his friend turned to him. “Honey, check your email. Maybe they did send you a code.” He smiled at his friend—boyfriend? husband?—but Valtersen just gave him a look and pulled out his phone.
The taller one looked back at the receptionist. “Sorry, we’re just a bit on edge today. We almost missed our flight and it’s messed up our schedule a little.”
“That’s fine, sir, I understand,” she smiled at him.
“Oh, wait,” Valtersen tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “Yeah, never mind, there is a code.”
He slid his phone across the desk and she just gave him a look. She typed in the code, told them the room number, gave them a key, and said, “Enjoy your stay, Mr. Valtersen.”
“Actually, it’s Mr. Valtersen-Næsheim,” The taller one said and they turned to leave. Once they were facing the girls, Noora saw the blush on Valtersen’s face.
They walked past them with a smile and they smiled back. The girls walked up to the desk and their check-in was easy, unlike the one they just witnessed.
They took the elevator up and once they were in their room, Eva flopped on her bed. She let out a loud sigh and turned to Noora, who had sat on her own bed.
The room had two queen-sized beds in the middle, a flat screen TV against the opposite wall from the beds. There was a bathroom by the back of the room, and then a wide open window facing the rest of the city. There was a snack bar at the side of the room, along with a menu and a phone for room service.
“This is so nice, Noora,” She propped her head up so she could look at the blonde.
Noora shrugged. “You deserve it. It’s your birthday, you have to enjoy it.”
Eva smiled and laid down on her back, looking up at the ceiling.
“I saw a pool downstairs. Do you want to go there first or go eat lunch?” Noora asked.
Eva looked over at Noora and smiled. “Where do you have in mind?”
— — —
At night, Noora assumed, was when the parties started, because as they were approaching their hotel, lights flashed from where the pool was. Music was booming and she was sure she heard would be able to hear it from miles away.
Eva, who was excited by just the idea of a pool party, begged Noora to go. She brought up the excuse of it being her birthday multiple times, and that plus Eva’s pleading eyes was enough to make her get dressed in a bathing suit and go down with her.
Noora was currently sitting in a lounge chair, watching Eva splash around the pool with some other people. Eva looked drunk, and she probably was; Noora wasn’t trying to keep count, but she was sure that was her sixth martini of the night.
She noticed the guys from earlier standing near the corner, swaying way too slowly for the music that was being played, and she could tell she was wrong about assuming they were just friends. Valtersen had his arms wrapped around the taller one’s neck and their foreheads were pressed together as they danced.
Her attention was taken away from them when Eva sat down next to her, a little too close for Noora’s liking. Well, she really liked it, but she knew she shouldn’t, and that’s what made her not like it.
“Do you see anyone you like?” Eva’s slurred speech was a dead giveaway; Eva was drunk as hell.
Noora shrugged and tried to move away, but Eva was leaning on her shoulder and looking up at her. “Not really.”
“Seriously? There’s tons of hot girls here and there’s not one you like?”
Noora was about to panic at Eva saying ‘girls’ instead of ‘boys,’ but then she remembered she came out as a lesbian a couple months back. Eva took it pretty well, but there was still no sign of Eva herself liking girls.
“No,” Noora looked down at the confused Eva, and sighed, “Do you want to go back to the room?”
Eva almost protested, but Noora didn’t give her time to convince Noora to stay, because Noora was grabbing Eva by the wrist and bringing her back up to the room. Eva was drunk out of her mind, so who knows what she is capable of at the moment.
Once they were back in the hotel, Eva collapsed on the bed. Noora laughed and sat on her own bed.
“You need to drink some water,” Noora said, and got up to get her a bottle.
Eva groaned and sat up when she gave her the bottle. Her eyelids drooped as she sipped the water.
“Do you want to take a shower first or do you want me to go?” Eva waved her hand towards the bathroom as her answer.
Noora took a quick shower so that Eva could get in, get out, and go to bed. She was drunk, and she already knew she would be hungover the next morning.
But when Noora got out of the bathroom, dressed for bed, Eva was passed out on her bed.
— — —
Later that night, Noora could not close her eyes. She wanted to watch a movie to pass the time, but she didn’t want to wake up Eva.
Noora was staring up at the ceiling when she heard Eva shuffle in her sleep.
“Noora?” Eva whispered. Her voice was faintly laced with exhaustion, but Noora could tell she’s been awake for at least ten minutes.
“Yeah?” She whispered back. She turned her to the side but couldn’t see Eva through the dark.
“Are you awake?” Eva asked.
“Yeah,” Noora laid on her side to look in Eva’s general direction. “I thought you were asleep?”
“I was, but I woke up. I can’t go back to sleep.”
Noora hummed in response. It was quiet for a few minutes, just the sound of cars driving outside of the building, until Eva spoke up again. “Noora?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you come lay with me?”
Noora’s heart skipped a beat at Eva’s request. “Why?”
“I never sleep alone. Jonas is usually next to me but he’s not here so... can you come over here?” Eva asked.
Noora tried to find Eva’s face in the darkness. She wasn’t successful.
“I don’t know. I don’t to, like, invade your space,” Noora said.
“You won’t, I swear.” Eva sighed. “You can just lay here until I fall asleep, okay? Please?”
Noora contemplated what Eva was asking. It wouldn’t be a big deal, of course, but if she got any closer to Eva, she was sure her heart would combust. Laying next to her in bed would be dangerous territory, but, Eva was her friend, and she was going to do anything for her friend.
She grabbed her pillow and walked until the bed pressed against her knees and she laid down, feeling around for Eva so she wouldn’t lay too close. She found Eva’s bare arm and used that as a reference point to maneuver herself to the edge of the bed.
“Come closer,” Eva said in a hushed voice.
Noora blushed and did what she said, moving close enough where she could make out a few of Eva’s features. She noticed her eyes first, then her nose, and then her lips, those lips that looked so soft and inviting.
She covered herself with the blanket that Eva was also under as a distraction from her thoughts, mainly consisting of those lips and what they could do.
Eva lifted her hand up to touch Noora’s cheek. “You’re so pretty, Noora.”
Noora smiled and moved away from her touch. “So are you.”
“No, but, like, you’re beautiful . Your hair, and your face, and you...” Eva trailed off and wrapped a strand of Noora’s hair around her finger.
“I think you’re still drunk,” Noora grinned.
“You are so much prettier than Jonas.”
Noora ignored the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach and said, “You think Jonas is pretty?”
“You know what I mean.”
Noora’s smile fell when she realized Eva was being serious. Her voice wasn’t sleepy nor slurred, it was steady and genuine.
Noora gulped and asked, “What do you mean?”
Eva moved her hand back to Noora’s face. “I think I like you.”
Noora smiled. “I like you, too, Eva. We’re friends.”
“No, like, like you like you.”
“What are we, in primary school?” Noora laughed, trying to divert Eva’s mind from the subject.
Eva’s lips did curl at the ends, but Noora knew she hadn’t left the topic because Eva was starting to rub her thumb over her cheek.
“Noora,” Eva moved her face closer to Noora’s, “can I kiss you?”
She didn’t say anything in response. She was sure Eva was still somewhat drunk, something in her mindset wasn’t right. There was no way Eva liked Noora. She didn’t even know if Eva liked girls. What if, since Vilde wasn’t around, Noora was just her replacement? Her female make out buddy?
But when she looked into her eyes, something told her Eva was being sincere. Eva had feelings for her.
Noora had so many questions, like why was she still with Jonas? If Eva really did like her, why would she still be with someone else?
Those questions evaporated, though, when Eva started to lean in.
Their lips pressed together, and one thousand sparks lit up in her body. She felt electrified, but in a perfectly good way.
They pulled away, only to push back together, relishing in the way their lips move together. Noora really underestimated the softness of Eva’s lips; they felt so good to kiss, after waiting so long for this moment.
They just laid there, kissing but not pushing past that, still not knowing what the other was feeling.
Eva leaned away and she had the biggest smile on her face. She cuddled closer into Noora, throwing an arm over Noora’s side under the shared blanket.
Eva fell asleep just a few minutes later. Noora’s heart felt so full in that moment, just by looking at the girl sleeping next to her.
Noora never left where she laid, and instead moved closer to Eva, falling asleep with the image of the girl of her dreams behind her eyelids.