A Night to Remember | A Marellinh Short Story

A Night to Remember

There was soft music playing in the spacious room, and people were doing various things; dancing, eating, chatting, and so on. Marella, however, was mingling on the side. She wasn't interested in dancing-- that is, until someone hesitantly touched her shoulder. Marella turned to Linh, who glanced away nervously and held out her hand.

"May I have this dance?"

Marella blushed, then smiled softly. "Yes," she whispered. She gently took her hand, and Linh pulled her into a simple ballroom dance position. And it felt so right. That was the only way she could describe it. Soon, all her nerves disappeared, and it was just her and Linh practically floating along to the music. Marella didn't know how long they danced, but she remembered looking into Linh's silver-blue eyes and thinking how beautiful she was.

Soon, they made their way outside, away from all the people. Linh sat down in the grass and gestured for Marella to do the same. They looked at each other for a moment, and Linh laughed softly.

"That was nice," Linh sighed, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah," Marella agreed. They gazed at the sky, the stars twinkling in the cool summer night air. "You're a good dancer," she smiled.

"Oh, I was just following what you were doing," Linh glanced away. Even in the dark, Marella noticed her face was red. And what she did next probably didn't help with that, but she covered Linh's hand in her own and squeezed it softly.

Linh looked at Marella's hand, and her lips curved into a shy smile as she held Marella's hand in return. They sat there for a few minutes, and Marella didn't mind that they didn't really talk. Just being with Linh was enough to make her happy. And she enjoyed that. Until Linh stood up.

"I'll be right back," she said. And without another word, she was walking back inside.

Marella just stared as she left. What had she done wrong? Gosh dang it Marella, you really messed up, didn't you?

It was probably the hand-holding thing. Why did she do that? That wasn't something normal friends did. That would be more of a 'couples' thing, right? They weren't a couple. Of course she had to go and make things awkward!

Her mind raced through endless scenarios, each ending horribly. She had been so close to Linh, and now she just ruined it. She might as well just leave, shouldn't she?

Marella's thoughts were interrupted when she saw Linh walking back, holding two Custard Bursts. "I brought snacks," Linh smiled.

So... Linh had just gotten up to grab some food. And Marella was overthinking things. Wow.

"You okay?" Linh sat back down next to her. A little closer than last time, Marella's mind had to point out.

"Yeah, it's just..." Marella trailed off. "Well, never mind. It was stupid, I was overthinking, I thought I might have done something and you had left..." Stop rambling, she scolded herself.

"Oh, sorry," Linh blinked. "I should have told you what I was doing. But don't worry," she grinned. "I wouldn't just leave like that. You mean a lot to me."

That last sentence caused Marella's heart to skip a beat. You mean a lot to me. Marella smiled. "You do too."

After a brief moment of silence, Linh spoke. "You like cherry chocolate, right?" she offered Marella a pastry.

"It's my favorite," she smiled, gently taking it from her hand. "Thank you."

"No problem," Linh smiled again. That smile was such an important thing to Marella.

They both bit into the Custard Bursts at the same time, flavor exploding in Marella's mouth. "Mmm." It took Marella a moment to realize that they had both said that in sync. Their eyes met, and Marella couldn't help but laugh along with Linh.

"So..." Linh sighed, taking another bite of the Custard Burst. Marella couldn't help but notice a bit of the juice drip onto her chin. And it seemed like Linh didn't notice... So Marella reached over and wiped it off with her index finger. An odd sensation spread into her arm when her finger grazed Linh's lip a little bit.

Linh froze. Marella drew back, feeling her face burn once again. They stared at each other, neither one moving or saying anything, though Marella wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

Linh turned her face away, which was also red. She cleared her throat a few times, as if she'd lost her voice. "I brought napkins," was all she said.

"Yeah. Um," she took the napkin Linh offered and hastily cleaned her finger off. The silence between them was suffocating. Marella turned away.

"Hey," Linh put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over that. I actually didn't mind it. It was just... unexpected. Sorry."

"Are you sure?" Marella asked hesitantly.

Linh smiled gently. "You think I would lie to you?"

"No," Marella said, and she meant it.

Linh stood up. "Dance with me, Marella."

And they did. It was a slow, calm dance. And Marella loved it. They swayed to the music of the wind rustling through the trees, and the crickets, chirping away. It was the most peaceful Marella had ever felt. It gave her courage. Courage to do what she had wanted to do for a long time.

"Linh," she spoke softly into the calm moment.

Linh looked at her. "Yeah?" she whispered.

Marella looked at Linh's eyes, and before she could lose this surge of bravery, she leaned forward and gently kissed Linh on her soft lips.

And everything else disappeared. She thought she had been happy before, but no. This was happiness. This was what felt right. And she was so caught up in the moment that she almost forgot to realize that Linh was kissing her back.

Linh was kissing her back.

Which meant Linh felt the same way. This wasn't some one-sided fantasy she was making up. Unless she was dreaming. But this couldn't be a dream. This was too amazing, too... wonderful to be a dream. And yet in that same sense, it was too wonderful to be real. And it was. It was so real.

But, all too soon, it was over. Marella was staring breathlessly into her favorite eyes in the world once again. And neither of them said anything. Until Linh smiled.

"That was..." Linh sighed. "Wow," she breathed.

"Thank you," Marella said.

"For what?"

"For... not pushing me away."

"Are you kidding?" Linh laughed. "I've been wanting to do that for a while."

"Wait... really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, just..." Linh hesitated. "Next time, maybe ask first."

"I guess I got a little cocky, didn't I?"

"Well, I love that about you," Linh smiled.

"You think I'm overconfident?" That was a bad thing, wasn't it?

"No! I just love your plain confidence. I could never be as outgoing as you."

"You're perfect the way you are," Marella assured her. "Trust me."

"That means so much, coming from you," Linh whispered. 

Marella leaned in, so close that their noses were almost touching. "May I?"

Linh pulled her in and kissed her once. "Yes."