CHAPTER 3: Confrontation

“What is wrong with you?”

This time, Tiffany could not pretend she couldn’t hear her. But she still pretended to be ignorant.

“What are you talking about?”

Elaine placed her hands on her shoulders and sat her back down. 

“You’ve been ignoring me for a week! If this is about the kiss, I know it was horrible. We were both drunk. It doesn’t count. Can’t we just forget about it?” 

Elaine pursed her lips. Her mouth had fired off nonsense in the heat of the moment. She wanted to share her pent-up thoughts before Tiffany closed her off again.

There was a pause. Tiffany’s face distorted in a flash before her expression drained of any emotions.

Her words came out slowly as if she was struggling to subdue her rage. 

“Let go of me.” 

Elaine’s grip loosened. The chill from the breeze seeped into her skin, and the surroundings felt increasingly icy. 

She had never seen Tiffany this mad before.

“Wait wait wait!” When the woman began to walk away, Elaine snapped back and grabbed her arm again.

“What is your problem? Did you hate that I kissed you? I’m sorry, okay! Whatever I did, I’m sorry.” Elaine’s heartbeat accelerated. There was no way she could let go of this hand now. She had a nagging hunch Tiffany would completely shut her out of her life if she did.

Tiffany’s tense shoulders relaxed. Elaine sighed in relief, thinking she finally calmed down. But when Tiffany turned around to face her, her eyes were clouded with tears.

Elaine’s throat constricted, making her words come out in a whisper. 

“I won’t know what’s hurting you if you don’t tell me…” Elaine hurriedly wiped off the tears from Tiffany’s cheeks. 

“You’re a fucking dumbass.” 

Her words were a slap on the face. Did Elaine hear that right? 

Tiffany gripped her shoulders and jerked her closer. Close enough that Elaine could almost feel her warm breath against her cold face. Elaine’s eyes blurred and she didn’t know where to look.

“Did you hate it?” Tiffany asked. 

“Hate what?”

“The kiss! Oh my God.” Tiffany angrily wiped her face with one hand before pressing against Elaine’s shoulders again. 

“No…” In fact, Elaine really liked it. But there’s no way she’s going to share that.

“I didn’t either. I think you’re a good kisser.” Tiffany’s eyes focused intently on Elaine’s as if she was waiting for her to solve a puzzle.

“Then why did you keep ignoring me…” Elaine averted her gaze. She didn’t understand. Why the hell would Tiffany avoid her for a week if it wasn’t because of the kiss?

From Elaine’s periphery, Tiffany’s eyes squinted as if she was trying to determine whether Elaine was telling the truth or not. Then, she took a step back. One hand remained pressed against Elaine’s shoulder.

“It’s either you’re actually cruel or just really stupid. I don’t know which one I’m more terrified of.”

Elaine’s mouth dropped, her eyes gazing back into Tiffany’s. “Lay it off with the insults, damn.”

Tiffany sighed in frustration. “I like girls and guys.”

“… okay?” Elaine didn’t understand how that was relevant to the conversation.

“You don’t find it icky that I like girls?”

“I was sucking your face off. Are you kidding me?” Elaine’s eyebrows knitted. Tiffany didn’t respond.

After a long while searching, she had finally stumbled upon a key to solve this puzzling situation. 

Is this what this was about?

“Where did you get the idea that I’m a homophobe?”

“Uh…” Tiffany’s eyes darted away. She took another step back. The tension in her face loosened along with her grip on Elaine’s shoulders. “You always pretend to not notice when I flirt with you.”

“Because I don’t. Like you said, I’m stupid, so if you don’t spell it out for me, I won’t know.”

Tiffany lightly stomped her foot against the rock underneath her. “You didn’t talk to me for a week after that happened…” 

Elaine flicked Tiffany’s flushed cheek. “Who told me she needed space to think after an argument? I gave you space and waited for your message since you seemed really upset.”

“You laughed at my ringtone, stupid!” Tiffany stomped her foot again, her voice cracking at the end of her sentence.

Elaine didn’t know if she should laugh, “do I have to explain this too..?”

“No!” Tiffany exhaled to release her anger. “I don’t need you to tell me 10 times. I know you didn’t laugh out of malice now. Okay?”

The conversation fizzled out. 

Elaine and Tiffany stared at each other in silence. The earlier chill from the breeze gradually felt warmer, and their breaths synced in a relaxed rhythm.

Tiffany let out a self-deprecating laugh. Her forehead nestled against Elaine’s shoulder. “This is so stupid.”

“Are we good?” 

Elaine started combing her fingers through Tiffany’s ponytail. Her other hand slid along Tiffany’s back and she pulled her closer until their bodies touched. Elaine could see her ears flush from the contact. 

“So you were flirting with me?” Elaine whispered. Her fingers traveled from Tiffany’s ponytail to her scalp. Their heartbeats accelerated. Tiffany wrapped her arms around Elaine and relaxed against her soft chest.

“Hey, do you like me?” Elaine probed.

“What do you think?” Tiffany’s hair tickled Elaine’s neck when she buried her face into it.

“I think you do, but I want to hear it from you. Go on, say it.”

Tiffany’s hand moved up to grab Elaine’s short hair before pulling it downwards. “Ouch! Why are you being so aggressive today?!”

“I like you.” It was a fleeting moment. Tiffany’s hot breath tickled Elaine’s ear, causing her whole face to feel like it was burning. She shut up instantly.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Tiffany shot another arrow down through her heart. Elaine didn’t know if she would ever be able to recover.

“Of course I do.”

~~~

Back at the camping area.

Elaine zipped up the tent while Tiffany turned on the lantern inside.

As they set up their sleeping pad in silence, Elaine’s mind was preoccupied with what had just happened. Her gaze settled on Tiffany, who was earnestly inflating her sleeping pad.

“Are you fine sleeping in my humble place, Miss Tiffany?” Elaine teased. She was supposed to be sleeping in the same tent as Jae, but they asked her to switch places with Tiffany. Jae happily agreed since Tiffany’s tent was more comfortable.

“Of course. I’d like to sleep with you.” Tiffany’s voice became softer as she casually dropped a suggestive remark. Her focus was still on her sleeping pad, as if uttering those words were an involuntary response.

Wait a minute… had Tiffany been doing this all along?

Elaine vaguely remembered times in the past when she made similar comments, but she usually brushed them off as Tiffany’s typical way of talking.

“You said you wanted to sleep with me. Did you mean that?”

Once they finished setting up, Elaine climbed over the sleeping pads and sat next to Tiffany. Their thighs lightly brushed. Elaine could feel the heat from their skin radiating even through the fabric of their clothes. When Elaine’s fingers grazed her hands, their eyes entwined.

“I do.” 

Tiffany swiftly moved to straddle Elaine. She muttered something else, but it was a blur to Elaine. The light dimmed. Their bodies were so close that she could feel Tiffany’s every movement.

Elaine’s gaze drifted down. Tiffany’s plump, dewy lips parted slightly as if to entice her to close the distance. Tiffany’s fruity scent tickled her nose, sending her back to that drunken night when she first had a taste.

Sliding her hands around Tiffany’s neck, Elaine pulled her closer and sealed the space between their lips. Her desire ignited from the brain-tingling sensation of Tiffany’s soft and firm lips, and she sucked on them slowly, savoring every moment. 

Tiffany’s fingernails lightly scratched her scalp, moving steadily in motion, eliciting a soft moan from her. Elaine nibbled on Tiffany's lower lip and gently bit down. She did it again, and again, and again. Each bite and pull seemed to send Tiffany into a state of frenzy.

Their breathing quickened, and their movements grew more heated.

They stopped kissing for a brief moment, their hot breaths intermingling as they panted, and their eyes meeting in an intense gaze.

Elaine licked her lips and dove back in for another taste. She slid her hand down to the hem of Tiffany's hoodie, her fingertips grazing her smooth skin.

Tiffany gasped, “wait a minute. This is getting dangerous.”

Elaine’s hand remained in place. One behind Tiffany’s neck and the other on her back. She didn’t want to let go. “You said you wanted to sleep with me.”

Tiffany peeled Elaine’s hands off, her mouth still wet and flushed from the kiss. “Yeah, but not here.”

Tiffany stood up and straightened her clothes. She walked over to the corner and grabbed the cloth covering the lantern.

Elaine’s hands, without anywhere else to go, ran her hands down her face in exasperation. “Why not?”

“There are people here! Are you crazy??”

“Am I crazy? Are you really asking me that question?”

Tiffany went silent. She searched through their bags and tossed two things at Elaine. Her toothbrush and toothpaste.

“Let’s get ready for bed and go to sleep.”

After they’ve finished washing their faces and getting ready for bed, Elaine plopped down on her sleeping pad, faced her back against Tiffany, and curled up into the  tent’s corner. Her mind was still absorbed in thoughts of their recent make-out session.

Elaine heard the tent being zipped up, the light dimmed, and there was a weight settling down beside her on the sleeping pad. A subtle scent reached her nose.

Hmph!

A few seconds later, Elaine turned around to face Tiffany and stretched her hands forward.

“What…?” Tiffany’s face was half buried by her blanket, her eyebrows pinched together.

“If you don’t want to make out with me, at least let me hug you so I can sniff you.” Tiffany rolled her eyes, but she still inched closer so that Elaine could wrap her in a hug.

To Elaine’s surprise, Tiffany’s heart was also still pounding rapidly.

Eventually, the erratic beating of their hearts calmed down, and their breaths slowed down as the warmth of each other’s embrace cradled them both to sleep.