Ghosted (gxgxgxg)

Chapter 2

The Present

"Okay, you have to keep your eyes closed!" Talia told the tall willowy brunette standing at the front door. "I'll keep you safe, I promise!"

"Talia, you're so crazy!!" Elise giggled. "And I heard you abeille, I'm keeping them closed!"

Taking the taller girl's hands in her own, Talia walked backwards into the house, and then steered her to the right and into their new kitchen. "Okay, open up!"

Elise opened her eyes, and then gasped in surprise. "Oh my God! Talia, this is amazing!" She quickly tried to pull the shorter girl into her arms, but Talia was too solid, so she just ended up pulling herself over to Talia instead. "I can't believe you did all this!"

The two girls had bought the house in a foreclosure auction for a dirt cheap price at the end of spring, and Talia had been working all summer to get it ready to move into with Elise. She knew it wasn't completely up to code yet, when you buy them that way, you're getting them in an 'as-is' condition, but she was working on getting it there. The goal had been to get it cleaned up and livable before the end of summer when Elise started her teaching job. With the kitchen finally done, and the floors refinished, she'd beat the deadline by almost two weeks. Now they could start moving in while Talia started on other renovations in rooms that had less traffic. Both bathrooms still needed to be done, as did the deck and a lot of other little projects, but they could both live there while Talia did that.

They weren't married yet, but they knew they would be even if there were no rings to show it yet. Talia worked for her father's construction business, doing mostly subcontracting on new builds and home renovations and handyman projects. Elise was fresh out of college and was going to be starting as a new 4th grade teacher in nearby Cohasset. They were the perfect pair in the eyes of their families.

They made a striking couple. Elise was the tall and slender beauty with the French accent, having been born in France before moving to America as a child with her parents. Talia was shorter and stockier and a second generation Mexican American with the dusky skin, black hair and dark eyes that was the perfect counterpoint to Elise. They'd met, surprisingly, in a woodshop class in the junior year of high school. Both were fluent in a second language, French and Spanish respectively of course, and the school had allowed them to take a different elective once they'd shown their proficiency. Talia had chosen the shop class as a way to get better at her job, she was already working for her father at that point, while Elise had taken it because she thought she might get to do some wood carving. They were the only two girls in the class and had gravitated towards each other at once.

They were dating mere weeks later and had professed their love to one another before the Christmas break. Unlike some other same sex couples, they both had the support of their family, and anyone who said anything in school had to deal with Talia's quick fists. Happily, there were few people who said a thing, and they had a rather ideal high school and family life. Even college had gone smoothly, with Elise staying close to home and Talia working to save up for their future together.

And now, the future was here.

"Can we move in now?" Elise asked, excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Damn right we can!" Talia confirmed. "Dad said we can use one of the work trucks to bring stuff over."

Elise jumped into Talia's arms, the shorter girl twirling her happily before setting her down for a loving kiss. "I can't believe we get to live together now!"

Talia grinned at her love. "We've already been sharing either your bedroom or mine for the last five years!"

"Yeah, but this is our place now!" Elise pointed out. "No more worrying about my kid sister being nosy or having to keep quiet when you're using that sweet tongue of yours!"