The soft ticking of a turn signal cut through the comfortable silence in the car.

As I turned into my driveway, I stole a glance at Taylor, lazily reclined in the front seat of my new car, covering a yawn with her hand.

Stretching, she rolled her head toward me with a smile. "I could get used to this."

I feigned rolling my eyes as a smirk tugged my lips. "The big bad lesbian becomes a certified passenger princess, who would have thought?"

Taylor put a hand to her ample chest, pretending to be offended. "Me?! A passenger princess, perish the thought!" She donned an offensively bad British accent, making me giggle.

As I put the car in park, I could see the front porch light turn on and the door swing open. Matt greeted us with a wave, leaning on the rail of the ramshackle porch to light a cigarette. I waved to him once I exited the car, leaning the front seat forward to retrieve my books from the back. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I turned to see a bemused Taylor standing behind me with an arm outstretched.

"What?" My confusion was evident as Taylor snickered at me.

"You don't honestly think I'll let you carry your own bag in the house, right? I'm the 'Big Bad Lesbian', the stereotype dictates that I must carry your bags for you, Princess."

I gave her an incredulous look before crossing my arms. "Doesn't the stereotype also dictate that you should be taller than me, drive a motorcycle, and have unresolved daddy issues? Or is it mommy issues?" I tapped my chin, pretending to ponder the idea.

I realized after my playful comment that I could have easily offended the cerulean-haired woman, but instead of taking offense, she fired back. "I have both!"

The shock of her self-deprecating joke made Matt guffaw in response, startling me. I'd forgotten the eldest Wooding boy was observing our banter. Taylor shot him a bewildered look before smirking, throwing my bag over her shoulder, and walking through the gate to the house.

As we slipped through the rickety screen door of the porch, I wrinkled my nose at the acrid scent of cigarette smoke. I hurried into the house, Taylor hot on my heels.

The stagnant warmth from the space heater made me shed my cardigan, haphazardly throwing it across the couch. My actions earned me a glare from Kris. "I just tidied the living room, Luna!" She scolded, shifting in the chair before pointing her gaze at Taylor. "You'd think she was raised in a barn!"

Taylor snorted, poking me in the shoulder. "That would explain some things."

I rolled my eyes playfully and snatched my cardigan off the couch before rounding the corner, and walking down the hallway to my room.

I swung the door open, stepping into my sanctuary and letting out a sigh of relief. Even on good days, there was something about walking into MY space that was just comforting.

Taylor leaned on the doorway, eyeing me with a look I couldn't place. As I set my things down on the bed, I flopped onto my pillow and let out a long groan as my tired back hit the mattress. "I just want to sleep!" I whined.

Taylor shook her head with a smile, perching on the end of my bed and pulling my textbooks from my drawstring bag, spreading them out on the bed. "Too bad, you have studying to do. You have your first quiz soon and you need every passing score you can get."

I groaned, pulling my wolf plushie over my head as if it would save me from the burden of studying. "Can't we do it tomorrow?"

Taylor swatted my knee. "That's why you picked me up!"

A coy smirk crossed my face and I batted my eyes at the older girl. "I picked you up because I wanted to spend time with you!"

Her nose crinkled and she feigned a look of disgust. "Ew, that was so cheesy."

I cackled. "Too much?"

She tapped her fingers on the cover of one of my textbooks. "Focus, Casanova. You need to read at least the first three chapters before you ignore your responsibilities."

I pouted, reluctantly taking the book from her and brushing her hand on purpose. Our eyes locked and I could see the unspoken warning swirling in her expression.

I flipped through the forward and table of contents and tried to focus, opening my notebook to take notes. I fished a pen out of the drawstring bag and idly tapped it on the page.

It was about six pages in before my eyes glazed over. I read the same sentence about four times before I shook my head, hoping to refocus my wandering thoughts.

Taking a breath, I started to copy the definitions listed in the book one by one, slowly transcribing the mind-numbing descriptions in my handwriting. After about the third definition, I realized I wasn't absorbing any of the information.

Annoyed, I tossed my pen down. Taylor stopped scrolling on her phone long enough to look up. "You're not done." She stated flatly.

I groaned. "I know, Taylor. It's just like the book is in another language. I keep reading it over and over and it makes no sense."

She raised an eyebrow. "It's because you don't want to do it. Your brain is focusing on anything but what you should be doing. The only way to deal with it is by forcing yourself to read it."

I sighed, picking up my pen and chewing on the end. I opened the damned textbook to the page I was on originally. Taking a breath to calm my racing thoughts, started to read again.

It wasn't long before I caught myself looking up at Taylor. She had shifted from sitting on the end of my bed to scoot closer to the wall, leaning against it. She brought her knee close to her chest, drawing her ripped jeans tighter around her full hips. She glanced at me for a millisecond and initially, I thought she hadn't seen me appreciating her, but the slight twitch of her lip told me otherwise.

My eyes darted back to the page, my face flushing. I feebly copied another definition, realizing my pen was going out. I grumbled as I scribbled on the corner of my paper.

My eyes wandered from the notebook to the curvy blunette across from me. The shorter woman was reading the material I had to study for my exam, her dark brows furrowed as she read. I followed the delicate curvature of her jaw to her parted lips, mouthing words as she read.

Suddenly, I didn't feel much like studying.

I leaned forward and tentatively placed my hand on Taylor's. Her hazel eyes stopped flitting across the page in front of her and stopped to meet my gaze. A smirk tugged at her lips. "What are you looking at?" The question was rather rhetorical, yet I felt my face flush as I stumbled for an answer, twiddling the pen between my fingers. Sure, we were tentatively interested in one another, but I wasn't the best at reading signals.

I studied her abundant frame, her beautiful curves draped across the end of my bed. She cocked her head playfully, causing her fluffy ringlets to fall over her eye. Hell, how could I think of studying while this delicious woman was staring at me?

I took a breath to steady my nerves. My heart thundered in my chest and I tried to hold back the ramblings of my mind. I wanted nothing more than to throw that damned book across the room so nothing was separating us.

I swallowed hard and leaned forward, steadying myself on shaking wrists. "I was looking at you." I attempted to sound sexy, but the rasp in my voice sounded more like I desperately needed a drink of water.

My attempt at flirting seemed well-received and Taylor snickered at my awkwardness. She leaned into me, sliding her hand over my own. Soon, her face was only inches away from mine and my breath caught in my throat. Her hazel eyes were laden with desire and she brought her lips to mine. Our lips moved together effortlessly and I felt her slip her hand into my hair, pulling me closer.

We parted only due to lack of oxygen, breathing in short pants.

As our eyes met once more, she pressed her body into mine, gently pushing me into the bed.

Studying would have to wait, for now.

—

Only moments after we'd finished, my phone rang. Taylor and I groaned nearly in unison. I rolled to the edge of my bed, using a hand to fix the wayward hair in my eyes. I winced as I sat up, a mild sting in my core reminding me of what we'd just done.

"Hey, Lily."

Taking note of the mild annoyance in my voice, Lily was careful with her wording. "Luna! I'm sorry to call you so late, but I wanted to know if you'd think about maybe coming over tomorrow to help me with some wedding stuff! I really need to work on invitations and centerpieces and you've always been real good with artsy stuff."

I massaged my temple with my free hand, wanting nothing more than to lean back down into Taylor's embrace and forget about the day. Biting my lip, I sighed before hesitantly answering. "Sure, Lils. I think I have time after school tomorrow. I won't be able to stay too late, I have an early shift on Saturday and I need the hours."

Lily squealed so loud I thought my ears would burst. I pulled my phone away from my head, noticing Taylor wince from behind me. "Thank you, Luna, I'm so excited to see you! It's been SO long!"

I desperately wanted to hang up on her, but my hatred of upsetting people prevented me. "I'll see you tomorrow around 3, then. You still live at the same place?"

"Not for long!" She singsonged. "Paul bought us a camper to live in at his parent's house till we can save up enough for a real house! Once we're married, I'll have to show you."

I faked excitement. "That's great, Lily! Congratulations. I can't wait to see it. See you tomorrow."

I hung up before she could say anything else. I felt Taylor's eyes on me and I turned to face her.

"She's... perky." Taylor mused.

I chuckled. "Yeah, Lily is a lot sometimes. But, to be fair, she's the oldest of eight kids. And she's getting married. That's a big deal and she's allowed to be excited about it."

Taylor shrugged. "Fair." She shifted to drape an arm across my chest, stroking my shoulder. "Did I hurt you?"

I shook my head. "Not really, just a little sore. I'm kinda new to this."

Taylor looked sheepish. "I didn't really mean for it to get that far. I'd hoped to make your first time a little more... special."

I met her eyes, stroking her hair. "No, that was perfect. If you'd made a big deal out of it I would have been a lot more nervous and might have even chickened out."

She gave me a playful look. "As I remember, I was the one who chickened out."

I giggled. "Well, to be fair, you thought I was straight for most of the time we'd known each other and then suddenly I'm flirting with you. I would have done the same thing in your shoes."

Taylor looked a bit downcast, and pulled me closer. She hid her face in my shoulder and whispered. "I almost fucked this whole thing up."

I gave her a gentle smile. "But you didn't. And look how it turned out." I gestured to our naked bodies.

She didn't look convinced. "Yeah... so much for taking it slow." She said, her tone dry.

I snorted. "In Lesbian Time, this IS taking it slow."

Taylor feigned annoyance, but it quickly turned into a hesitant smile. "Again with the stereotype!"

I tried to look nonchalant. "Hey, I'm just saying, if you show up with a uhaul-" A wolf plushie smacking me in the face ended my sentence prematurely, making both of us dissolve into a fit of giggles.