that simply won't do

part six

The conversation had started out simple enough.

"I want to buy a new bed. Will you go with me?" Stella had asked on a Saturday as she poured her morning coffee.

Dana eagerly agreed, willing to spend any time at all with her girlfriend, no matter what they were doing.

"Is it just not comfortable enough for you? I happen to think it's lovely." She asked, causing a small grin to spread on Stella's face.

"No, it's plenty comfortable and it's only a few years old. But I was thinking the other day about how badly I wanted to ask you to move in with me and I figured if we're permanently sharing a bed I should invest in a bigger, nicer one."

Dana stopped moving, her sip of coffee catching in her throat as she looked at Stella with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Move in with me."

Stella had an earnest look in her eyes – a mixture of hope, excitement, nervousness, and fear of rejection. The longer Dana was silent, the more nervous it made her, rejection being a concept quite foreign to Stella as she was never one to set herself up for it.

"You're asking me to move in with you?"

"Yes." A crack of a smile curled on her lips, "You've practically been living here for the past couple months anyways. I figured there would be no harm in making it official."

Dana had to stop for a moment and think – her immediate reaction being a YES – knowing this wasn't a decision to take lightly, especially not when Stella was involved. The last thing she wanted was to commit to something she wasn't truly ready for and give Stella reason to believe she'd been right in her opinions about relationships all along.

"If you really want me to, then nothing would make me happier." Dana finally responded, coming to the conclusion that there was no other place she'd rather be than by Stella's side.

In an instant Stella was on the other side of the kitchen, scooping Dana into her arms and kissing her lips with passionate potency. She stared at her intently when they pulled away, love and happiness radiating off of her as they looked into one another's eyes. Dana felt herself blushing lightly at the way Stella's stare caressed her, and reached up to push a piece of blonde hair behind her ear.

"In that case you have no choice but to go with me. Since this will be your bed too."

Thirty minutes later they were both dressed and on their way to a mattress store, Dana grinning to herself in the passenger seat. There was something about the prospect of her and Stella buying a bed together that made her impossibly giddy. Any hesitation or concern she had about this new journey of theirs fading quickly anytime she looked over to the blonde in the driver's seat. There were very few things she'd been sure of in her life, her unconditional love for Stella Gibson being one.

After hours of arguing over mattresses and driving to two different stores, they found one they both could agree on, a perfect blend of soft and firm to satisfy both of their tastes. Dana felt as though it was a sign from God, finding a mattress they both enjoyed so equally. Their next stop was the furniture store, needing to find a bed frame. They shopped around for a while, once again bickering back and forth on what style they wanted. Stella was set on getting something comparable to what she already had, insisting that it was her house, until Dana reminded her that it would soon be theirs and she finally came around to keeping an open mind. They found a few they both liked, but none they loved and there seemed to be an odd pressure to find something perfect. As if the fate of their flourishing relationship depended on it.