Page 170 of Vying Girls

I smile when I feel a body lie on top of mine, wriggling like I’m some sort of mattress. Tilda lets out a contented sigh, mirroring my own as her presence washes over me like a balm.

‘Hey,’ I whisper.

‘Hey, yourself.’ She pokes me in the side. ‘You abandoned me.’

‘Still can’t handle my feral family?’

‘They’re mean when you’re not around.’

Tilda jiggles as I laugh. ‘Give over. They’re plenty mean when I’m around too. That means they like you.’

Tilda grunts good-naturedly. ‘Lucky I’m used to that kind of love language.’

‘Well, that’s the saddest thing ever.’

Tilda smiles, leaning up on her elbow with her hair cascading over me. She strokes a thumb over my forehead. ‘You okay? Objectively speaking.’

‘Objectively speaking, not really.’ Putting my arms around her, I drag her back on top of me. ‘But do you know what?’

‘What?’

‘I know I’d be a million times worse if you weren’t here.’

‘Good,’ she murmurs, gently kissing my lips. ‘That’s exactly why I am here.’

‘You need to get back to uni.’

‘Nah. Haz needs to pull her weight more in the group project. Perfect opportunity.’

I smile weakly, recalling the countless messages from her about how much uni sucks without us.

‘I just don’t want you getting in trouble.’

‘Wewon’t,’ she says firmly, still hell-bent on not letting me quit. It annoys me, honestly. She doesn’t get it. She’s not had a family depend on her, she’s only ever had the opposite.

‘Why don’t you have tomorrow off with your mum?’ she suggests. ‘We can chill for one day. I think he’s stable enough. Let your Nan and the kids go up instead.’

‘I can’t do that. He’s asking me to stay overnight. He wants me there.’

‘Okay. Just don’t forget to look after yourself too.’

I smile, giving her a squeeze. ‘Oh, my bad. Thought that was why you were here.’

‘Damn, it is. I’m slacking.’ She touches our foreheads together, enveloping us in a little pocket of shadow. ‘Well, your nan’s just got some pizzas out the freezer, so do you wanna kiss for a bit? We’ve got time.’

I can only nod, because what idiot would say no to that?

I let her encourage me onto my side, waiting eagerly for her to mould herself to me, a leg threading between mine, one hand raking through what’s probably bedhead by now. She does all this without taking her eyes off mine, so many unsaid things running through her expression. We don’t need words for this. There’s love and there’s support and a promise that she’ll always be there for me.

My eyes slip closed when her lips touch mine. She smells like fruit salad, just the barest hint of her body spray lingering after a long day of hospital sterility. It’s such a girlish scent compared to her dark aesthetic. Suits her though. Beneath all of that, she’s nothing but sweetness.

My body heats slowly, each drag of her lips felt in the pound of my heart, and the wet throb somewhere below. It feels far away though, like thunder in the distance. This isn’t about sex, but reconnection after a shittier than shit day.

She slips her tongue into my mouth, our bodies melded all down their lengths now. I can’t help my small groan, vibrating from my mouth to hers. She does something to me. It’s like magic. I feel every muscle in my body unfurling, smoothing out like a clear lake.

I splay my hand on her lower back, my favourite place to cradle. It makes her feel so small and delicate, like I just want to cuddle and protect her forever. My other arm threads beneath her until there’s no space between us at all.

Her hand leaves my face, skimming down between my boobs and making my hips jerk.