But she had seen the look on Carmen’s face and had realized that every word was useless. She had already made up her mind and fuck, Carmen was stubborn as hell. Right in that very moment, Shane had realized that she had to keep her mouth shut.

Carmen had lingered on the threshold for some infinite seconds, looking down, biting her bottom lip in that sensual way that always drove Shane crazy. And Shane, her back resting against the wall, in the living room, her arms folded, had felt the electricity sparkling between them.

And she had known that Carmen was feeling it, too.

It was like a silent agreement between the two of them. It didn’t even need an eye-contact.

Shane, don’t come closer ‘cause I don’t know what I am gonna do if you’re within reach.

And…

Carmen, I know you’re hiding away so I won’t move. I’ll stay right here, against this wall, I won’t move a single step, but let me tell you… it’s so fucking hard. It’s so fucking hard to be away from you, to be just a few feet away from you and feeling at a sidereal distance.

“I’ll be back this evening”, Carmen had said, still looking down.

Shane had nodded.

“I’ll be waiting for you”.

“What about DEW?”, Carmen had asked, throwing her a quick glance.

Shane had shrugged.

“I’m taking a couple of days off”.

”When we shine
Like the sun
You seem the only one
My only friend
So pretty in white
Pretty when you’re faithful
So pretty in white
Pretty when you’re faithful
When you’re faithful…

At eight o’clock, Shane started pacing her apartment, feeling slightly anxious. It was late and Carmen wasn’t there, yet.

At nine, Shane was panic-stricken.

She had fought the urge to call Carmen several times – she didn’t want to seem clingy or pushy or be such a lez – but now it was frankly too much, even for a offhand person like her. Shane’s feelings included fear, a tiny bit of rage and resentment, and longing.

She dialed Carmen’s number just to discover that it had been switched off.

“Fuck”, Shane hissed through her gritted teeth.

Then, she heard a muffled sob from the corridor and her head jerked up in surprise.