Ellie thought for a while, and then stood up. She brushed down her skirt, and looked around the room, and said, “I need a piece of paper.”

“Paper?”

“Yep. Like nice paper.”

Mia seemed confused. “Like, what, to make a list?”

“A list?”

“Yeah, like a for and against list.”

Ellie looked at her for a moment. “No, you dickhead,” she said. “Like a nice piece of paper. Do you have any?”

“Writing paper?”

“Any paper. Fancy wrapping paper if you have it.”

Mia pointed to the wardrobe. “Up the top.”

Ellie went and looked. Mia waved to the left side, and Ellie found the paper she meant. A rolled up tube of sheets of gift-wrap paper, the kind of delicately coloured handmade paper that for some reason Ellie imagined Mia would like.

“Like that?” Mia said.

Ellie nodded. That kind of paper was about perfect. It was made in squares, and already cut to size, and ready for her to fold.

She took the tube down, and unrolled it, and took out a single reddish sheet. It was textured, slightly rough on her fingers, a deep burgundy crimson. She rolled the rest of the paper up, and slid it under the bed, just to get it out the way. She wiped her hands on her skirt, in case they were still damp. She knelt on the floor, and thought, trying to remember, and then began to fold the red sheet.

Mia watched. She didn’t ask, or interrupt, or even seem to get bored. She sat on the floor, and leaned against the door, and watched Ellie folding.

It took a few minutes. It was tricky without a ruler, and with the wrong kind of paper. It was tricky because Ellie hadn’t done this in a while.

She folded, and did her best, and in a few moments she had a flower.

A rose, almost, if the paper petals had been curled properly. She didn’t have scissors to do the curling, but it still looked like a flower.

She slid over to Mia. She knelt in front of Mia.

“So I know you don’t do romance,” she said.

“Nope.”

“But I do,” Ellie said, and held out the paper flower on her cupped hands.

Mia smiled. She took the flower, hesitantly. She looked at Ellie, and then the flower, and Ellie knelt where she was, waiting.

“So I might want to,” Ellie said. “Do some romance.”

Mia looked up.

“Don’t get scared,” Ellie said. “Don’t run away.”

Mia didn’t answer.

“Don’t,” Ellie said. “Please. This isn’t nearly as bad as you think.”

“Okay,” Mia said, reluctantly.

“You don’t, but I might want to, and I get how it’s a thing for you.”

“Yeah.”

“You explained that to me. You were really clear.”

“I was,” Mia said.

“But we’re friends. So maybe I could say my thing too.”

Mia slowly nodded.

“I might want romance,” Ellie said. “With you. I might want a relationship.”

“Might?”

“Might, you dickhead. Because for all your oh I’m Mia, I don’t do relationships, this is a way, way bigger deal for me than it is for you.”

Mia looked at Ellie, and didn’t seem to understand.

“Don’t you get why?” Ellie said. “Do you really not?”

Mia shrugged.

“Because you’re a girl,” Ellie said. “Dickhead.”

“Oh yeah.”

“Do you understand?” Ellie said. “Because you keep acting like it isn’t a thing.”

“It’s a thing,” Mia said.

“I know it is. It is for me. But do you get that too?”

“Yep,” Mia said. “I do.”

“I might want a relationship,” Ellie said. “Not even might. I might want to think about one day talking to you about it, just a little. The most mildest sort of talking possible, okay?”

Mia didn’t answer.

“But there’s no point even thinking about that,” Ellie said. “If you’re just going to, well, run.”

Mia sat for a moment. “I won’t run.”

“You’d better fucking not.”

“I won’t.”

“I really hope you don’t. Because, this, I don’t know. It’s not just sex any more. And it’s not just friends any more either. And it’s especially not just you being turned on by me never having been with a woman before, if it ever was that.”

“I’m not…” Mia looked at Ellie. “It wasn’t, okay?”

Ellie nodded. “Okay.”

“So are you saying you want to?” Mia said. “You want something?”

“Romance and relationships and shit?”

Mia nodded.

“I don’t know what I’m saying,” Ellie said. “I’m not even sure I’m saying. I’m just asking how much of a problem it is for you if I do ever do want to ask.”

Mia kept nodding, slowly. “Not too much of a problem,” she said.

Ellie was actually surprised. Surprised, and slightly excited. “Really?”

“Not if you want to ask one day, no.”

“Oh,” Ellie said, disappointed.

Mia noticed. Mia realized. “Oh fuck,” she said. “Did you mean…?”

Ellie shook her head.

“Ellie, wait, I…” Mia sat there. She folded her arms over her chest. She looked at Ellie, upset.

“I didn’t mean that,” Ellie said, even though she had.

Mia was thinking. She seemed disbelieving.

“Maybe I did,” Ellie said. “Only for a second. But it’s cool. It’s fine.”

“No, I…”

“It is,” Ellie said.

“You should say what you want to say.”

“I will.”

“You should.”

Ellie shrugged, then grinned. “Want to get married right now and live happily ever after?”

“If we could live happily ever,” Mia said. “Then sure. But people never do, do they?”

Ellie looked at her, wondering if that was everything that needed to be said. If that was Mia completely, and breakups like Rose and Amanda’s were what Mia was afraid of. Then she wondered if Mia was actually afraid at all. It didn’t seem right to assume it was fear, rather than just what Mia thought. She ought to respect Mia enough to take her feelings seriously, Ellie decided, just like she wanted Mia to respect hers. Not fear then, Ellie thought. A decision.

Not that it changed very much.

“What if I wanted to try?” Ellie said.

“Then we try.”

“Just like that?”

Mia shrugged.

“Really,” Ellie said. “Just like that?”

“Yep,” Mia said. “Completely. You’re worth it.”

“Oh,” Ellie said, a little taken aback.

Maybe Mia was right, Ellie thought. Maybe Ellie thought too much. Maybe if they wanted to, then they just should. Maybe Ellie should just do something she wanted to, instead of thinking all the time. The more Ellie thought, the more she knew that was right. She shouldn’t think. She should just be happy with Mia if that was what they both wanted.

“So we’re good?” Ellie said. “Just like that. We both do. There isn’t actually a problem.”

“Telling Mark?”

Mia was joking, Ellie thought. She was teasing Ellie about last night. All the same, Ellie thought she should own up.

“Oh yeah,” she said. “He knows. I already told him.”

“Fuck,” Mia said. “I didn’t want…”

“You said you didn’t care.”

“You said you weren’t going to.”

“Are we having a fight?”

Mia looked at Ellie, thinking. “No,” she said.

“I needed to talk to someone about you,” Ellie said. “I had to. I needed to work something out.”

After a moment, Mia shrugged.

“You don’t mind?” Ellie said, still not completely sure.

“Nah,” Mia said. “It doesn’t matter.”

“So everyone’s happy?”

“Everyone?”

“You and me. Everything’s perfect? There’s no more problems we need to fix?”

Mia looked at her. “I don’t think so.”

“So we’re done talking? Everything’s good?”

Mia nodded. “I guess we are.”

“So, does that mean we’re, what… A couple?”

Mia thought. “I guess it does.”

Ellie sat there for a while. “Oh,” she said, and then, “Fuck.”

“What now?” Mia said.

“I really don’t know.”

“I guess we’d better do something,” Mia said. “To celebrate.”

“I guess we’d better had.”

“Go out? Have a drink somewhere?”

Ellie shook her head. “Not that,” she said. She was looking at Mia, thinking about Mia, and was suddenly aroused again. She was happy again, so she wanted Mia, and it seemed to be that simple.

“I never came before,” Ellie said.

“Yeah you did, as soon as you walked in.”

“The second time,” Ellie said.

Mia began to grin. “You don’t come twice. You said.”

“I do with you.”

“So now you expect it? Every time?”

“Yep,” Ellie said. “Pretty much I do.”

Mia laughed.

“Want to celebrate or not?” Ellie said.

Mia grinned, and kissed her, which Ellie decided must mean yes. Ellie kissed, and slid her hand down her front, to touch herself again, as she had been.

“Stop it,” Mia said, and caught her hand. “For once, just let me.”

Ellie shrugged, and took her hand away.

“And maybe on the bed,” Mia said. “The floor’s kind of making me sore.”

“Yep,” Ellie said, but she stayed where she was, kissing, happy. It took them a long, long time to stop kissing, and longer to move to the bed.

THE END :)