The Only

Chapter 10

The past week has completely physically and emotionally drained Lisa. So when she wakes up past noon on a Saturday, it is completely understandable and well-deserved.

The sun is already high up in the sky and the world around her already sounds quite busy when she comes to. At first she thinks she's woken up before sunrise because their shared room is a little dark and no sun rays hurt her eyes.

But she checks her phone and sees that it's already 12:34 pm and looks around bewildered.

The sight she sees does surprise her.

Rosie is sitting at the little round table they dine on, across the side of the room where their beds were. She is already wide awake and typing something on her laptop in concentration. She sips what Lisa assumes to be tea from a cup. A plate of sliced fruit rests on the table to her left.

Lisa looks to her left and sees that the curtains of the windows to her right have been pulled close, as if done so thoughtfully to make sure the brightness of the day can't wake her and she can keep sleeping peacefully.

A warmth spreads across Lisa's chest. Their curtains weren't drawn closed last night when she fell asleep. They often forget to do that so Lisa is always rudely awakened by the sun and most mornings she has to get up in frustration to close them.

It could only mean Rosie closed them for her when she woke up earlier.

"Oh, hey you're awake," comes a soft greeting from across the room.

Lisa turns around to see Rosie, blonde hair gathered back into a low ponytail, smiling beautifully at her, all cheeks and twinkling brown eyes - the midday sun washing her in light, through the open curtains and coming from the window at her side.

Lisa feels a flutter in her stomach. She always does whenever Rosie smiles at her a certain way.

This morning, Rosie just looks so soft and unguarded with the way she's still wearing her old worn out sleeping shirt and shorts, the way some strands of her hair came loose, and how the glasses she's stubbornly refused to wear sit on her face.

Lisa loves seeing her like this. It's not often that she does, not in this exact state.

And she loves it especially more because she is the only person in the whole world who gets to witness this. Not even Rosie's parents nor her sister gets to see it.

Lisa feels a happiness settle over her like a blanket - a contentment that wraps itself around her heart.

This part of Rosie is still hers and hers alone.

Lisa thinks her day is already starting out in the best way.

"Morning," Rosie says, then she looks at the time on her laptop. "Or, good afternoon, rather." She chuckles.

Lisa sits up a little, pushes herself up on elbows and looks at the blonde. She gives her a sleepy little dopey grin in response, one corner of her lip lifting higher than the other. She couples it with a dumb little wave.

"Morning, gorgeous," she croaks in her barely-awake state. She has never shied away from flirting with her best friend and she would never pass up an opportunity to shower her with compliments and get an embarrassed, blushing response.

And she does get what she was aiming for.

Rosie laughs and waves her compliment away.

"No," her best friend protests in a cute whiny voice. "I look like a mess! I haven't even showered!"

"Mhmm," Lisa says. "Still pretty." She ends her statement in a yawn which she covers with a hand.

Rosie just rolls her eyes. Lisa gives her a wink. She doesn't fail to take note of how this was the first good morning greeting she got from Rosie in a while. She locks it away in her mind and savors it.

"If you're hungry, I can make you toast or you can have an apple, too, if you want." Rosie gestures to her plate of apple slices.

Lisa raises her eyebrow, the smile on her face growing exponentially brighter, all traces of sleepiness leaving it.

Rosie is offering to make her toast today, too. This is going to be a good day indeed.

"I'll take you up on that offer of toast." Lisa answers, sitting up on her bed. "Will it be regular toast or are you going to make me French toast?"

Rosie looks at her with a raised eyebrow, as if to say, 'really?' Lisa clasps her hands in front of her dramatically, as if to beg. She wears her best pout and puppy-dog eyes for added effect.

"Please?"

Rosie groans.

"Fine. I'll make you French toast."

Lisa claps her hands and does a little dance of victory.

"Yay, thank you, Chef Rosie!"

Rosie just shakes her head, smiling. Lisa swings her legs over the edge of the bed and gets up. She pads over barefoot to where Rosie was bending over and grabbing milk from their little fridge and stands right behind her.

"Wait, if you were busy working on something on your laptop, you don't have to!" Lisa explains hastily. "I can eat plain bread or just fruit."

Rosie keeps grabbing ingredients - the bread, the eggs, the cinnamon and sugar.

"No, I was just checking up on committee reports." Rosie answers. She turns around and smiles. "It's fine, I'll make it for you."

There is too little distance between them and Rosie is a little too close for comfort. They've never been awkward about physical intimacy with each other, but Lisa's feelings always makes her hyperaware.

Lisa holds her gaze for a beat and her eyes unknowingly trail down to her friend's lips.

Rosie has the prettiest lips Lisa has ever seen, right next to her own. Her cupid's bow was perfectly defined and her bottom lip is full and pink.

Lisa could just kiss her right then and there.

"So, just sit back and relax or whatever and I'll let you know when your food is done, okay?"

Lisa snaps out of the haze that came over her. She pulls her eyes away from her friend's lips.

"Yeah, okay."

She walks back to her bed, trying to get her bearings, making sure that she closes the lid on her feelings tightly. She can't afford to act on her impulses and potentially ruin their friendship.

When Lisa's sitting back on her bed and the stove clicks on, Rosie calls out to her.

"Lisa, I think we both deserve a nice little off day after last week. Phew."

Lisa snorts. Rosie doesn't even know half of what she has had to suffer not just for the past week but for weeks prior since the aquarium date.

"Oh, yeah, we definitely do," she agrees.

"So what do you think of just staying home tonight? I'll cook dinner and then we can watch something on netflix til we both fall asleep or something." Rosie suggests.

It doesn't escape Lisa how Rosie calls their little space home. She always has for the past three years but everytime she does still makes Lisa's lovesick heart jump in glee.

"I think that sounds great," Lisa says.

Rosie turns around and looks back at her, gives her a small smile and a nod. Her plan of a weekend of nothing but the two of them just taking it easy is already working out perfectly.