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“Babe, trust me. Would I ever let you fall?” Sabina’s grip is tight around her wrist and her eyes lock in on Elena’s, a hint of worry beneath her usual impish grin.
“You let me fall,” Jane retorts from her spot underneath the tree, hand shading her eyes against the afternoon sunlight. It’s bright against the pavement of the parking lot, but Elena’s glad they went in the middle of the day so no one would be around to see her inevitably fall.
“Jane! Not helping! And that was like three whole years ago, it’s not my fault you have a shitty center of gravity. ”
Elena huffs out a laugh, tentatively shifting her weight across the skateboard she’s currently perched on. It’s an old one of Sabina’s, a bright red that matches the helmet--also Sabina’s-- that she’s snapped tightly into. “Ok, I think I’m ready.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, let’s do this.” Elena strapped her wrist guards in place, giving Jane a quick wave.
Sabina’s hand is warm on her back and Elena’s highly aware that her shirt is sticking to her back, just because of the sheer amount of nervous sweating she’s doing. “You’re the cutest,” Sabina murmurs under her breath, just before she pushes Elena off with an enthusiastic “you got it babe!”
Elena bends her knees like Sabina’s taught her and shifts her weight, cruising across the asphalt. There’s a slight breeze blowing her hair back and she manages a soft smile, because she’s finally, actually doing it. “I’m doing it!” She looks back at Sabina and Jane, who offer her a pair of cheesy thumbs-up and the middle finger, respectively.
There’s only a few cars in the parking lot, but when Elena looks back, she realizes that she’s fast approaching one. It’s too late to turn and she’s about to stop when she remembers--
“Sabina! How do I stop?!”
-
Jane buys her a blue slushie from the gas station and Sabina kisses each band-aid before she plasters them across her knees, so all in all, Elena decides learning to skateboard isn't that bad. She’d just recommend learning how to stop first.
-- --
“You know,” Sabina drawls, her long legs hanging off of Elena’s bed, “I’ve never been to the aquarium before.”
“Sabina.” Elena sits up from her place on the floor, purple nail polish abandoned.
“Elena.”
“You’ve never been? Ever?”
“Nope,” Sabina pops the “p”, a slight grin emerging on her face. Car keys jangle in front of Elena’s face, “you wanna go?”
-
Elena’s halfway in between the shark exhibit and the popcorn stand before she realizes she has no idea where Sabina is.
She spills half of her cheddar-carmel corn on the floor and almost runs into two suburban moms with strollers before she finds her by the penguins, sitting cross legged on the floor beneath the glass enclosure.
“Dude. Have you seen these?” Sabina gestures wildly with her hands, eyes bright. “They have cute names and everything-- look at their little tuxedos!”
“You know that’s just the pattern of their feathers, right?
“Shhh. They’re about to feed Steven!”
Elena’s butt goes numb on the cool concrete while they sit and watch, but Sabina’s face when she sees the stingrays exhibit is worth the price of admission alone.
It’s dark by the time they leave, but Elena has the sweatshirt Sabina bought her to stay warm while they try to find their car in the parking lot, spending seven minutes wandering in circles with their fingers intertwined.
-- --
“Are you...are you jealous?” Jane leans over, cup in hand to ask Sabina with a smirk settling on her face.
Sabina shakes her head, peeling off her snapback and running a hand through her hair. Ingrid’s hosting her third party of the month and apparently it’s an open invite, because the house is packed and hot. “No, I mean, why should I be?”
She feels Jane staring at her, but she’s too busy watching Elena at the other end of the living room. Sabina can tell she’s past tipsy and her eyebrow twitches watching that redheaded senior from Elena’s computer class edge closer and closer to her. “Fine,” she grits her teeth, “maybe a little.”
“Oh, okay,” Jane laughs, shoving her off the couch. “Go talk to her then.”
Sabina rolls her eyes, “no, dude, it’s fine. It’s not like I don’t trust her, because I do.”
“I know you do. I also know you spent the entire car ride here texting me about how hot Elena looked in that dress, so there’s that.”
Now it’s Sabina’s turn to shove her back, flipping her off as she heads across the room. She had spent the entire car ride texting Jane, partially because Elena’s wearing that one red dress that gets her every time.
And maybe she’s a little past buzzed too, when she throws her arm around Elena’s shoulders and pulls her in tight. “Emma, right?
“Emily, actually,” the redhead frowns and takes a step back, her high ponytail swishing behind her.
“This is my girlfriend, Sabina,” Elena explains, looking up at her and Sabina’s sure the rest of the party disappears, the music fades, and it’s just her and Elena, in that bright red dress.
Sabina throws a hasty, “nice to talk to you, Elizabeth,” over her shoulder, before she’s pulling Elena through the crowd, flipping off anyone standing in her way. Sabina tugs her up the stairs towards an empty bathroom, laughing as she almost tripped over the top step.
“Where are we going?” Elena asks as Sabina shut the door behind them, shutting out the sounds of the party downstairs. “Bina?”
Sabina presses Elena against the door, placing her finger against Elena’s lips. “Shhh. Can I kiss you?”
Elena just nods, leaning in at the same time Sabina does. Elena’s breath is hot against hers and Sabina can feel her shiver slightly when she puts her hand on her neck, cool, silver rings brushing past her skin.
Fuck.
The counter digs into her hips as Sabina slides her thigh in between Elena’s legs, pulling the red silk out of the way.
“Sabina…” Elena’s voice is higher than normal, a little breathless.
“Mhm?”
She doesn’t answer, just bites at Sabina’s jaw instead, moving her lips down her neck, lower, lower.
(And when Jane laughs at her turtleneck and trail of uncovered bruises the next day, Sabina just flips her off and makes Elena promise she’ll wear that red dress to every future party.)
-- --
Elena’s been listening to Sabina groan and mutter underneath her breath from across the room. But after ten minutes, she’s had enough, setting down her book with a little more force than necessary. “Babe, what is the problem?”
Sabina flops onto her bed with a loud groan, throw pillows scattering to the ground. “I’m trying to fill out this application, but the stupid website won’t work.”
Elena holds out her hand expectantly. “Let me take a look.” She toggles through Sabina’s screen, pausing to look over at her girlfriend who’s currently splayed out across her bed, head dangling over the side. “Well, it’s gonna take a second, but I think I can do it.”
“You’re the best, El.”
“I know,” Elena smirks, moving a few browsers around and typing sporadically. She amps it up a little, giving the occasional sigh and frowns at the screen for extra measure.
“Is it really that hard?” Sabina moves from the spot of the bed, coming to stand behind Elena’s desk.
Sabina’s hands are warm on Elena’s shoulders and she rolls her neck back before she answers. “Uh, not too bad. I just had to hack the mainframe, decode your external system, and then input the new VPN.”
“Dude, what?” Elena doesn’t turn around to look, but she knows Sabina’s jaw is about to touch the ground. “You can do all that?”
“I mean, yeah, it’s not too hard to do.” Elena hands Sabina her laptop. “But you just typed in your password wrong. Like twelve times.”
“I-what?”
-- --
There’s cake batter drying on Sabina’s stovetop and flour dusts Elena’s shirt. A few sprinkles decorate the kitchen table and the scent of vanilla lingers in the air. The dirty bowls are piled high in the sink, with Elena’s promise that she’ll help clean up before she leaves.
For now, she’s curled up on the couch with Sabina, who’s licking the last bit of frosting off of her fork. “This was a good cake.”
Elena stretches, nodding. The sleeves of Sabina’s sweatshirt are too long on her, so they slip down her arms when she leans down, her hands draped in worn, grey fabric. It’s dark outside and the muted tv gives off a faint blue glow in the living room.
“I’ll send you some next year.”
Sabina’s grip around her hand tightens, as she shakes her head lightly in disbelief. “Yeah...yeah. It’s still kind of…”
“Crazy?” Elena leans against her shoulder, breathing her in.
“Mhm.”
“I’m proud of you though, I mean like getting in there? Going to that school, for all four years of college? That’s insane.”
Sabina rubs her thumb across Elena’s wrist, seemingly lost in thought.
“I’ll visit a bunch. We’ll work something out-- we always do.”
“I know.”
“I love you,” Elena says, eyes a little wide as she shifts to look up at Sabina. “Sorry, I know we haven’t said that yet and I was planning on waiting until prom because I know--”
“Elena.” Sabina interrupts. “I could probably make that work.”
“You-what?”
Sabina pulls Elena in closer. “Babe, of course I love you, of course.”
“Oh, oh !” Elena gives her shove, “geez, you goof. Don’t scare me like that.”
“It’s why you love me.” Sabina gives a lazy grin, kissing the top of Elena’s head.
“It’s one of the reasons I love you.” Elena laughs, “there’s a few more.”
“I’d hope so.”