Don't Slow Down

Mila shows up without calling. Serene's stomach drops. She already knows what this is. Mila wants the talk she has been dodging. Mila starts gentle but direct. The dry spell bothers her. Does Serene want out? Serene admits it. She thinks they should ease off. The weight of it lands in the quiet between them. Mila steps in closer. "Is this about the years between us again?" she asks. "Because I love you and the math doesn't change a damn thing." Serene rubs her forehead. Work swallows her hours. She cannot do late dinners or last-minute plans. Mila should be laughing with someone her age, studying until the coffee shop closes, not waiting on someone married to deadlines. Then there is the fear that keeps biting at the back of her throat: what would Mila's parents say, what would strangers assume if they saw the two of them together? Mila tells her she does not give a fuck what anyone thinks. Love lands where it lands, and right now it has landed hard. They have chemistry that sets mattresses on fire, and missing it has left her counting cracks in the ceiling while her hand slipped between her legs and the only name she whispered was Serene's. That single sentence breaks the knot in Serene's chest. She cups Mila's jaw, pulls her forward, and the kiss lands deep and certain. The rest of the words can wait. She draws her inside, bedroom door clicking shut behind them.