‘It just…it just reminds me of bad times.’ Alice sat quietly waiting for Dana to continue, she wasn’t sure of what she had meant exactly by that but could judge by the tone that it wasn’t something Dana liked to talk about. The brunette began to get squirmy and took another swig of the wine regretting mentioning anything.

‘Dane look at me.’ Alice set her glass on the coffee table and turned her body towards the tennis player. ‘It’s me, you can tell me anything but I won’t push you if you don’t feel like it’. Alice tried to sound as supportive and strong as she could but her voice wavered slightly on the last word.

Dana took a deep breath and finished her drink. ‘It’s not really a big deal Al, I just used to listen to it a lot when I was struggling with…well everything I guess, admitting I was gay, trying to get my tennis career going, college…’ Alice rubbed her back supportively and sat patiently whilst the brunette continued. ‘It just reminds me of an age where I hid from everyone and everything and I really don’t want to go back to that place’. Dana finished and looked up to be met with two beautiful brown compassionate eyes staring right back.

‘You don’t ever have to go back to that place. Dana, you’re so much more than you think you are. You’ve come such a long way in the eight years I’ve known you; god knows what you can achieve in the next eight. You’re out now, you have no reason to hide and if you need some shelter I’ll be there to protect you.’ Alice looked away with her cheeks slightly burning, embarrassed at her last admission and feeling like a dork in a bad romcom. It was Dana’s turn to use actions instead of words to reciprocate her emotions, more forcefully than she intended, she tugged Alice’s neck towards her own and drew her in. Mouths met in a tangled confusion of tongues and lips as Dana climbed on to Alice’s knees to be as close as physically possible. Alice moaned as she felt Dana sucking on her tongue and teasing her so passionately that any previous mortification faded into pure desire.

Dana awoke when the sun shone through the window blinding her in the face. She still had a naked Alice wrapped around her firmly on the couch, they hadn’t even made it to the bedroom last night in their haste. The brunette couldn’t help but smile when she looked down and seen just how crazy Alice’s bed head had become. Smoothing it down, she gently cupped Alice’s face and placed a chaste kiss on her lips to which she replied by twitching her nose and mumbling something incoherent. Dana chuckled and pulled the blanket over them further. ‘I love you,’ she whispered settling down again, ready for another hour of sleep before her run. ‘I love you too,’ piped a croaky Alice who snuggled further into Dana, embracing the peace and quiet of the morning.