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“She also saw me with the redhead…”

I ended up telling them how I found out about my sexuality and also about some of my fears. I had never opened up toanyone. Colleen was probably the one person I’d shared the most with in my life, yet even she knew very little. She only knew what I allowed her to, and it wasn’t intentional. I was simply afraid of being judged.

I was raised to be a princess. Also to be a strong, capable woman, yet one who could embrace her gentleness and be devoted to a marriage, like in a fairy tale. The problem was, princesses usually didn’t fall for other girls.

At least that's what I saw constantly repeated in messages that were passed on to me throughout my life.

“You know...” Sidney interrupted me at one point. “It's amazing that you can trust us enough to open up like that. I really appreciate that, Ken.”

And she made other tears come to my eyes.

I had finally won the friendship lottery. Sidney and Jazmine were people worth having around.

“Oh, enough feelings for today, please!” I complained in a playful tone. “I'm going to get wrinkles too soon.”

They both laughed in my face, but the light atmosphere we had going on didn't dissipate.

The cloudy weather pleased me much more than the usual scorching heat that usually dominated the days in Belinda. I tied my hair and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I was getting ready to go for a run before practice. It was still too early and anyone with the slightest sense would be asleep, but I felt anxious. Ever since Kendra opened up to me, I felt something strange every time I looked at her. And it had been two days. With that feeling, I ended up avoiding her for a bit, which wasn't fair, but it was how I managed things at the time.

I adjusted my top over the tank top I was wearing and, from the corner of my eye, I watched the blonde, who had been in my thoughts, enter the bathroom.

“Oh, hi!” She said, more excited than she wanted to seem. That was weird.

“Hey, good morning.” A gentle smile took over her lips, which was new too. I didn't remember ever seeing one of those being directed at me before.

“Good morning…”

I looked at my reflection again, but I noticed that her clothes were also suitable for exercising.

“Are you going to the gym?” I asked, curious.

“No, I was just thinking about going for a walk and running around campus.” She turned on the tap and put her hands together to gather the amount needed to wash her face, which was a little swollen. She must have just woken up. “And you?”

“I'm also going to run around campus.”

Kendra perked up.

“Great, we can do this together.”

I forced myself to smile at her as I waited for her to finish her morning wash.

“Did the bathroom on your floor break down this time?” I asked, realizing she didn't need to be there. Blue eyes met mine through the reflection in the mirror.

“It's locked, I think the floor inspector left it locked. And it's really early, so I didn't want to disturb her.” She shrugged. “Shall we?”

I agreed. I went to my room to leave my toiletry bag and waited for Kendra to do the same, waiting for her in the building's lobby. I thought about disregarding our agreement and just leaving without waiting for her, but that would be too rude, as well as cruel. I didn't want another war with Kendra, but I didn't know exactly how to behave if we weren't in chaos. It wasn't like we'd had this kind of relationship between usbefore. Besides, every time I closed my eyes, the vivid memory of Kendra in that barroom, moaning, came to mind. It was eating away at me, stirring up sensations so intense that her very presence felt alarming.

“Are you ready?” She appeared next to me, making me almost jump in fright.

“Oh yes! Let’s go”

I opened the door and let her go out first. We started walking, but soon we were going faster. The smug smile on Kendra's face as the sun broke over the horizon would make a great photograph.

What the fuck… Why am I thinking that?

“Hey, Torres… tell me a secret.”

“What?”