SHORTS (gxg): Sapphic Short Stories

You Make Me Feel Like This / Does Your Man Know You're In Love With Me?

Dell always wore two rings on each hand. All were silver, except for a thin, gold, diamond-studded ring she wore on her left, ring finger. It was the only one that did not belong to her. It was stolen, of course.

"What are you so serious for?" Nara asked.

Dell was silent. She was in the middle of tearing the entire living room apart.

"I missed you, too. My Christmas break was great, thanks for asking," Nara said after rolling her eyes.

"Sorry. I just... I lost my damn ring. The silver one on my thumb. The one that spins? Have you seen it?" Despite the answer, Dell still hadn't stopped her search. Just a glance at Nara, but that's all.

"No. You do know that I just got here, right?" Nara paused. "You know, everyone I know gained weight during the quarantine. You just got prettier."

Dell smiled this time. "If you're trying to get in my pants, break up with your man first and we can figure something out."

Nara froze.

"People could compliment you without wanting to sleep with you, you know," Nara argued, her timing terribly late.

"Except we both know that it doesn't apply to you."

That unsettled Nara. "If you used your eyes instead of your mouth while looking for your ring, maybe you'd have found it already."

"Please. You just wish I'd use my mouth on you instead of my eyes."

The miniscule thud of a ring hitting Dell's back broke the tense silence in the room -- then only the thin, ringing sound of metal wobbling on the floor.

"Found your stupid ring," said Nara. "It was under your table, if you even bothered looking there in the first place."

Dell picked up the silver accessory from the marble floor. "Thanks, Nara," she said with a genuine grin on her face. Then her gratitude reverted to her default teasing. "If only there was any way at all that I could repay you."

The frustration from Nara was almost palpable, and that only encouraged Dell. They both knew that, but Nara couldn't stop herself from reacting.

"Stop flirting with everything that moves, how about that?"

Dell sat on the table across Nara, who stood still in her blazer and crossed arms. "You freeze when I talk to you. Does that make you an exception?" Dell asked as she fixed her rings.

"Wow. I actually hate you."

Dell's eyes softened, all the teasing in her face and voice and body just gone for a moment. "I'm actually in love with you," she replied. She knew Dell would never believe it, no matter how truthfully she would say it. So she said it all the time, for the hell of it.

Dell blinked rapidly, her dark brown eyes screaming in confusion below her knitted brows. She cleared her throat. She was adorable. Just a tall ball of uncertainty and poor restraint. "I still hate you."

She shrugged. "I know, Nara," she said. "But if you change your mind, I'm just waiting for you to meet me halfway."

Nara let down her hands to her sides, and her fists were balled and trembling. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"All of this. I can't stand it anymore."

Dell was taken aback. She literally shifted back. "What—What do you mean?"

"Stop playing with me. I don't like it, and I'm tired of it."

"I was never playing," she said gently.