Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zinnia beamed at her girlfriend as she returned with her book of choice. She wasn't satisfied with a simple brush of the hand, however; she took up Lenore's hand and weaving her fingers between hers. Then she looked at the title of the book in Lenore's other hand. "Sounds like you got something juicy," Zin whispered.

She opened the book up on the table, turning to the first page. She continued to hold onto Lenore, hiding their intertwined fingers under the table. She used her thumb to draw small circles on the back of her girlfriend's hand, smiling to herself as she did so. She returned her attention to the book.

Predictably, as she had judged by the title, it was a romance novel. She hadn't expected Lenore to choose that type of book, but she supposed that it was appropriate considering that this was their first date. Perhaps the book would be educational.

Zinnia was surprisingly engrossed in the story. She'd never read a romance book before, deeming them far too girly. But now that she was reading one, she found it exciting and extremely interesting. She couldn't help but imagine herself and Lenore in the protagonist and love interest's shoes. She wasn't blushing, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

It didn't take long for the couple in the book to go on their first date. It was a dinner date, which Zinnia found a little strange because she ate with Lenore almost every day. But the book made it seem very intimate. She guessed that she should ask Lenore out to dinner after they finished in the library, but there was only one time and place to eat anyway, and that was in the mess hall.

After the date, the protagonist's love interest drove them back home. Before they parted ways for the night, the love interest leaned in and... they kissed passionately!

Now it was Zinnia's turn to blush. She didn't know that they were supposed to kiss on the first date! She'd wanted to kiss Lenore for quite a while now, but she hadn't mentally prepared herself to execute the desire at all. She stole a glance at Lenore, wondering if she'd just read the same paragraph, and whether she was expecting a kiss at the end of their date.

Zinnia was a little startled when Lenore looked at her. Judging by the blush of her best friend's normally pale skin, she had also just read the kiss scene. She had to say something; hadn't she decided to be brave?

"I... I've never kissed anyone before," she admitted in an undertone. "I don't really know how. Do... do you want to try?" She blushed furiously as she stammered out the question. Her heart pounded in her chest; would Lenore say yes? Would she say no? She was afraid of either answer.

Zinnia expected Lenore to say no. Her silence seemed to be answer enough, and she was about to apologize for asking and suggest that they keep reading, but then her girlfriend surprised her. Zinnia's mouth fell open in shock when she saw Lenore nod. She tried to pull herself together, but she could not quite banish the blush from her cheeks.

She froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. She summoned all of the courage that she could muster and steeled herself. She gave Lenore's hand a squeeze, then used her free hand to place a finger beneath Lenore's chin. She tipped her friend's head up and leaned forward. Her heart was throbbing so quickly that she could no longer feel its separate beats. She stared into Lenore's eyes, blushing hard, their faces inches apart.

She finally closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Lenore's. It felt surprisingly soft. She'd planned to give her friend a simple, quick peck, but a strange desire erupted in her stomach, and she allowed the kiss to continue. Her hand drifted from beneath Lenore's chin, moving instead to her beautiful black hair and cupping the side of her head. For a moment that felt like an eternity, she forgot the world and fell into a blissful oblivion.

Zinnia was quite ready to kiss Lenore again at her command, but she jumped in her seat when a librarian caught them. Still holding Lenore's hand, she found herself dragged out of the chair and all the out out of the library.

"C'mon," Zin said. She renewed her grip on her girlfriend's hand, then half-jogged all the way to dorm Tragen. She poked her head into her dorm room and, as was usual for that time of day, it was empty. She pulled Lenore onto her bed and sat beside her, finally releasing her hand.

She suddenly realized the implications of dragging her girlfriend into her bedroom. Her face turned so bright that one might have expected steam to pour out of her ears at any moment.

"So," she said awkwardly, turning away from Lenore. "Look at my flowers!" She pointed to the pot that sat on the dresser by the window. Several bright red poppies were blooming. Zinnia leaned over and plucked one by the base of its stem. She smiled and handed it to Lenore. "It matches your eyes!" she pointed out.

Zinnia felt a shot of adrenaline jolt through her body. Lenore wanted to keep kissing her! That made her feel a lot less nervous. She nodded and said, "Yeah, I do."

And suddenly she found herself kissing Lenore again. She felt silly for worrying about not knowing how; the movement of their lips felt completely natural. The warmth in her stomach returned, slowly seeping throughout her body until she felt like she was floating. Who could have guessed that kissing would be so much fun?

Zinnia tilted her head to one side, pressing her lips against her girlfriend's a little more aggressively. With every intake of breath, she smelled Lenore's delicious scent. Her hands wandered to Lenore's hair again, feeling the short, luxurious locks. She could do this forever.

Zinnia was reluctant to allow Lenore to part from her, but the noise of the bell was insistent. She looked down, biting her lip and blushing lightly. "Yeah..." she agreed. "We can have a dinner date, like in the book."

She slid grudgingly out of bed, her fingers quickly finding Lenore's once again. Even if life would not permit them to kiss forever, she would at least touch her for as long as possible. It was all she could do to remind herself that she wasn't dreaming.