Edge of Seventeen (Part 14)
Title: Edge of Seventeen (Part 14)
Author:xjekkix
Word Count: 1577 words
Summary: A chance encounter leading to a chance romance.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This is not real.
A/N: Beta’d by csifreak90
Samantha’s eyes open; she doesn’t remember falling asleep. For a moment she’s disoriented. She knows she isn’t at home. A freckled back is pressed into her stomach and her memory of last night comes rushing back with a vengeance. Her temperature rises just thinking about it; her skin becomes clammy and her mouth dry.
She carefully climbs over Lindsay beside her, covering the girl’s bare body with a blanket. Her t-shirt hangs from a bedpost and her panties lay crumpled by the door. She glances around looking for her jeans, only to find a leg peeking out from beneath Lindsay’s sleeping figure. She sighs, contemplating her chances of getting them back without waking the girl but decides she can probably sprint to the bathroom minimally dressed without being caught.
A clock on Lindsay’s dresser reads 9:00 in the morning - with any luck, Dina will sleep in after her night of boozing.
She looks out the door, up and down the hallway both ways. The coast is clear so she sneaks out, not quite closing the door behind her.
In the mirror, she sees a tired face and sweaty hair. She desperately needs a shower but doesn’t want to go ahead without asking. She splashes some water on her face and runs wet fingers through her hair, pulling it back into a tight ponytail. Without her hair in the way now, she notices redness at the base of her neck - teeth marks on her collarbone. She giggles a little and pulls her t-shirt up to cover the spot.
As she opens the bathroom door she hears shuffling feet. She waits a moment before running down the hallway, her socked feet sliding on the hardwood flooring. With a thud, she collides with the door, now closed. She turns the knob without success. Her heart beat skyrockets as she realizes the wind must have blown it shut, locking it automatically.
“Linds…” she whispers, quietly tapping on the door, hoping to wake the girl without catching the attention of the owner of the shuffling feet in a nearby room. “Linds…” she says a little louder.
The shuffling feet start in her direction. She panics, considering running back into the bathroom and trapping herself there until Lindsay wakes up.
“Honey. Is that you?” Samantha hears Dina say. The woman turns the corner and stands at the end of the hallway. Samantha places her hands in front of her, trying to hide her lack of clothing. “Oh, Samantha. You stayed. Did you sleep okay?”
Samantha nods, blushing.
“Linds is a pretty sound sleeper. Was the guest room cool enough for you?”
Samantha hears movement from inside Lindsay’s room and hopes this means the girl is stirring. “Uhh. Yeah, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow,” she lies. “Would you mind if I had a shower?”
Dina agrees and tells Samantha she has coffee brewing for when she’s done.
She showers quickly and jumps out, incredibly grateful to find a robe with Lindsay’s name on it hanging from the back of the bathroom door. Wrapping it around herself, she shake-dries her hair with a towel and steps out into the hallway.
Lindsay’s door is still closed but she knocks again, her fingers crossed. She can’t even describe how relieved she is when the doorknob wiggles and the door opens. The girl stands in the doorway, her eyes barely open and her red hair in tangles.
“Morning sunshine.” Samantha rushes past her and into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.
“Where were you?” Lindsay mumbles, crawling back into bed.
“Locked myself out. Then ran into your mom who kindly let me use your shower.”
Lindsay’s eyes widen. “You ran into my mom? What did she say?”
“Nothing. But I think she wondered why I wasn’t wearing pants.” Samantha laughs, realizing how odd she must have looked wandering the halls like that.
Lindsay shakes her head, smiling and tugging at the arm of her robe on Samantha.
“Uh uh. I’m getting dressed and we’re going to have coffee with your mom.” Samantha recognizes the look in Lindsay’s eyes as the same one from last night. Hooking up while Dina is sleeping is one thing. While she’s fully awake and roaming the halls is another entirely.
Samantha dresses quickly and walks ahead of Lindsay down the hall, brushing her wet hair with her fingers. “Did you sleep okay?” she asks over her shoulder, inhaling the sweet aroma of home-brewed coffee.
“Mhmm. Not as good as you, though,” Lindsay says, grinning.
Dina greets the girls in the kitchen, two cups of black coffee in her hands. “Wasn’t sure what you wanted in them so I’ll let you take care of that.”
Lindsay drags her slippered feet over to her mother and lays her head on Dina’s shoulder. “My baby. Eighteen and a day; I can’t believe it.” The woman smiles as Lindsay straightens up. She pushes Lindsay’s hair back past her shoulders, catching a glimpse of the beginnings of a bruise on her neck.
“I’m not a baby mom,” Lindsay teases before realizing what her mom is staring at. She gathers her hair back around her neck.
“What’s that, I see?” Dina says, tauntingly. “My little girl has a hickey.” Lindsay blushes; Samantha buries her head in the fridge. The cream is right in front of her eyes but she pretends she can’t find it. “Did you meet a boy at the club last night?”
Lindsay walks to the kitchen counter with her steaming cup of coffee, spooning some sugar into it, not saying a word.
“Well, did you?”
Still no response. Samantha emerges from the fridge with the cream in her hand and sets it beside Lindsay’s cup.
“Oh. OH!” Dina exclaims, finally putting two and two together. “You didn’t stay in the guest room,” she says flatly to Samantha. Samantha shrugs, embarrassed and returns her attention to fixing her coffee.
“Mom, I can explain,” Lindsay says, turning around with a pleading look on her face. To her surprise, Dina’s expression seems understanding, at peace.
“You’re an adult now, honey. You don’t need to explain anything.”
Dina leaves her full cup of coffee sitting on the dinner table and steps out into the backyard without saying a word. The girls let her go, knowing she’ll need some time to process.
“Well, that went better than I expected,” Lindsay says, sipping carefully from her mug. Samantha forces a smile, feeling guiltier now than ever. This was not how she wanted Lindsay’s mother to find out. “Do you think I should go talk to her?”
Samantha shrugs. She never had to deal with something like this with her parents, who just always knew about her fluid sexuality and adversity to labels.
Lindsay decides to at least go and sit with her mother for a while; to check and make sure she is really as cool and collected as she seemed.
She sees her mother sitting at a picnic table, her head in her hands. Her heart breaks. All she wants is to go over and hug her; make everything better. But she knows it will take more than that.
“Mom?” Lindsay says timidly, sitting opposite her mother at the wooden table.
Dina’s make-up is running; she wipes away the tears and looks at her daughter and smiles. “You’re just growing up so fast, baby. I feel like I can’t keep up.”
Lindsay reaches across the table and takes one of Dina’s hands into her own. “I’m still your little girl. Always will be.” Lindsay smiles feebly, trying not to cry.
“Does she make you happy?” Dina asks, looking her daughter directly in the eye.
“More than anyone ever has.” She says this with confidence. Her heart swells just to think about how happy she is with Samantha.
“That’s all that matters to me, then.” Mother and daughter reach across the table and embrace tightly, both crying tears of relief.
Samantha stays sitting at the kitchen table, taking thirsty gulps of her hot coffee. It burns as it goes down but she needs the boost.
Knock, knock at the front door. It’s not her home and so she doesn’t answer it. Another knock; she gets up, heading to the back door to let Lindsay know someone is here when the front door opens.
“Anybody home?” she hears a familiar voice say. Britt enters from the hallway. “Oh, hi.”
Samantha sighs. Britt is the last person she wants to deal with right now. “I’ll go get Linds,” she says, setting her cup on the table and walking away.
“No! No…I want to talk to you actually.” Her voice is calm. She sounds like she’s ready to make amends.
“Oookay.” Samantha offers her a cup of coffee and the two sit facing each other at the table.
“I’m really sorry about yesterday. I was way out of line.” Samantha nods. “I think for Lindsay’s sake, we should call a truce.” Samantha nods again, taking a final sip from her cup. “Could you say something maybe?” Britt’s voice is nervous as she stirs her coffee.
“I agree.” She sticks out her hand. They shake on their deal just as Lindsay and her mom come back in the house.
Britt stands up; Lindsay runs to her and hugs her tightly. Samantha stands also, looking to Dina apologetically. Dina smiles at her, and nods approvingly.
Dina is happy. Britt is happy. Lindsay is happy. Samantha is happy. Nothing else matters.
Author:xjekkix
Word Count: 1577 words
Summary: A chance encounter leading to a chance romance.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This is not real.
A/N: Beta’d by csifreak90
Samantha’s eyes open; she doesn’t remember falling asleep. For a moment she’s disoriented. She knows she isn’t at home. A freckled back is pressed into her stomach and her memory of last night comes rushing back with a vengeance. Her temperature rises just thinking about it; her skin becomes clammy and her mouth dry.
She carefully climbs over Lindsay beside her, covering the girl’s bare body with a blanket. Her t-shirt hangs from a bedpost and her panties lay crumpled by the door. She glances around looking for her jeans, only to find a leg peeking out from beneath Lindsay’s sleeping figure. She sighs, contemplating her chances of getting them back without waking the girl but decides she can probably sprint to the bathroom minimally dressed without being caught.
A clock on Lindsay’s dresser reads 9:00 in the morning - with any luck, Dina will sleep in after her night of boozing.
She looks out the door, up and down the hallway both ways. The coast is clear so she sneaks out, not quite closing the door behind her.
In the mirror, she sees a tired face and sweaty hair. She desperately needs a shower but doesn’t want to go ahead without asking. She splashes some water on her face and runs wet fingers through her hair, pulling it back into a tight ponytail. Without her hair in the way now, she notices redness at the base of her neck - teeth marks on her collarbone. She giggles a little and pulls her t-shirt up to cover the spot.
As she opens the bathroom door she hears shuffling feet. She waits a moment before running down the hallway, her socked feet sliding on the hardwood flooring. With a thud, she collides with the door, now closed. She turns the knob without success. Her heart beat skyrockets as she realizes the wind must have blown it shut, locking it automatically.
“Linds…” she whispers, quietly tapping on the door, hoping to wake the girl without catching the attention of the owner of the shuffling feet in a nearby room. “Linds…” she says a little louder.
The shuffling feet start in her direction. She panics, considering running back into the bathroom and trapping herself there until Lindsay wakes up.
“Honey. Is that you?” Samantha hears Dina say. The woman turns the corner and stands at the end of the hallway. Samantha places her hands in front of her, trying to hide her lack of clothing. “Oh, Samantha. You stayed. Did you sleep okay?”
Samantha nods, blushing.
“Linds is a pretty sound sleeper. Was the guest room cool enough for you?”
Samantha hears movement from inside Lindsay’s room and hopes this means the girl is stirring. “Uhh. Yeah, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow,” she lies. “Would you mind if I had a shower?”
Dina agrees and tells Samantha she has coffee brewing for when she’s done.
She showers quickly and jumps out, incredibly grateful to find a robe with Lindsay’s name on it hanging from the back of the bathroom door. Wrapping it around herself, she shake-dries her hair with a towel and steps out into the hallway.
Lindsay’s door is still closed but she knocks again, her fingers crossed. She can’t even describe how relieved she is when the doorknob wiggles and the door opens. The girl stands in the doorway, her eyes barely open and her red hair in tangles.
“Morning sunshine.” Samantha rushes past her and into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.
“Where were you?” Lindsay mumbles, crawling back into bed.
“Locked myself out. Then ran into your mom who kindly let me use your shower.”
Lindsay’s eyes widen. “You ran into my mom? What did she say?”
“Nothing. But I think she wondered why I wasn’t wearing pants.” Samantha laughs, realizing how odd she must have looked wandering the halls like that.
Lindsay shakes her head, smiling and tugging at the arm of her robe on Samantha.
“Uh uh. I’m getting dressed and we’re going to have coffee with your mom.” Samantha recognizes the look in Lindsay’s eyes as the same one from last night. Hooking up while Dina is sleeping is one thing. While she’s fully awake and roaming the halls is another entirely.
Samantha dresses quickly and walks ahead of Lindsay down the hall, brushing her wet hair with her fingers. “Did you sleep okay?” she asks over her shoulder, inhaling the sweet aroma of home-brewed coffee.
“Mhmm. Not as good as you, though,” Lindsay says, grinning.
Dina greets the girls in the kitchen, two cups of black coffee in her hands. “Wasn’t sure what you wanted in them so I’ll let you take care of that.”
Lindsay drags her slippered feet over to her mother and lays her head on Dina’s shoulder. “My baby. Eighteen and a day; I can’t believe it.” The woman smiles as Lindsay straightens up. She pushes Lindsay’s hair back past her shoulders, catching a glimpse of the beginnings of a bruise on her neck.
“I’m not a baby mom,” Lindsay teases before realizing what her mom is staring at. She gathers her hair back around her neck.
“What’s that, I see?” Dina says, tauntingly. “My little girl has a hickey.” Lindsay blushes; Samantha buries her head in the fridge. The cream is right in front of her eyes but she pretends she can’t find it. “Did you meet a boy at the club last night?”
Lindsay walks to the kitchen counter with her steaming cup of coffee, spooning some sugar into it, not saying a word.
“Well, did you?”
Still no response. Samantha emerges from the fridge with the cream in her hand and sets it beside Lindsay’s cup.
“Oh. OH!” Dina exclaims, finally putting two and two together. “You didn’t stay in the guest room,” she says flatly to Samantha. Samantha shrugs, embarrassed and returns her attention to fixing her coffee.
“Mom, I can explain,” Lindsay says, turning around with a pleading look on her face. To her surprise, Dina’s expression seems understanding, at peace.
“You’re an adult now, honey. You don’t need to explain anything.”
Dina leaves her full cup of coffee sitting on the dinner table and steps out into the backyard without saying a word. The girls let her go, knowing she’ll need some time to process.
“Well, that went better than I expected,” Lindsay says, sipping carefully from her mug. Samantha forces a smile, feeling guiltier now than ever. This was not how she wanted Lindsay’s mother to find out. “Do you think I should go talk to her?”
Samantha shrugs. She never had to deal with something like this with her parents, who just always knew about her fluid sexuality and adversity to labels.
Lindsay decides to at least go and sit with her mother for a while; to check and make sure she is really as cool and collected as she seemed.
She sees her mother sitting at a picnic table, her head in her hands. Her heart breaks. All she wants is to go over and hug her; make everything better. But she knows it will take more than that.
“Mom?” Lindsay says timidly, sitting opposite her mother at the wooden table.
Dina’s make-up is running; she wipes away the tears and looks at her daughter and smiles. “You’re just growing up so fast, baby. I feel like I can’t keep up.”
Lindsay reaches across the table and takes one of Dina’s hands into her own. “I’m still your little girl. Always will be.” Lindsay smiles feebly, trying not to cry.
“Does she make you happy?” Dina asks, looking her daughter directly in the eye.
“More than anyone ever has.” She says this with confidence. Her heart swells just to think about how happy she is with Samantha.
“That’s all that matters to me, then.” Mother and daughter reach across the table and embrace tightly, both crying tears of relief.
Samantha stays sitting at the kitchen table, taking thirsty gulps of her hot coffee. It burns as it goes down but she needs the boost.
Knock, knock at the front door. It’s not her home and so she doesn’t answer it. Another knock; she gets up, heading to the back door to let Lindsay know someone is here when the front door opens.
“Anybody home?” she hears a familiar voice say. Britt enters from the hallway. “Oh, hi.”
Samantha sighs. Britt is the last person she wants to deal with right now. “I’ll go get Linds,” she says, setting her cup on the table and walking away.
“No! No…I want to talk to you actually.” Her voice is calm. She sounds like she’s ready to make amends.
“Oookay.” Samantha offers her a cup of coffee and the two sit facing each other at the table.
“I’m really sorry about yesterday. I was way out of line.” Samantha nods. “I think for Lindsay’s sake, we should call a truce.” Samantha nods again, taking a final sip from her cup. “Could you say something maybe?” Britt’s voice is nervous as she stirs her coffee.
“I agree.” She sticks out her hand. They shake on their deal just as Lindsay and her mom come back in the house.
Britt stands up; Lindsay runs to her and hugs her tightly. Samantha stands also, looking to Dina apologetically. Dina smiles at her, and nods approvingly.
Dina is happy. Britt is happy. Lindsay is happy. Samantha is happy. Nothing else matters.