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The pounding of Laura’s head, simultaneously mixed with still feeling a little bit drunk, woke her up. The room spun, so Laura shut her eyes before really opening them. At first she thought she was getting the flu when she remembered what she did last night.
It was the big post-midterm week Summer Society party and she may have enjoyed herself a little too much. She willed herself to fall back asleep.
She started to burrow her face into her pillow when she realized something was very different. Her pillow was totally different. Firm. No, soft – very soft – yet firm. Comfortable. Like a person. Because it was a person.
Laura Hollis had someone in her bed.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, she thought to herself, keeping her head on the person’s shoulder, not wanting to move abruptly and wake the stranger up quite yet. What do I do?! Okay. Look at the person.
She peeked one eye open, the sunlight from the open window blinding her momentarily. She could see a chest. Oh thank god, boobs.
Holy shit.
It was a woman underneath her. A naked woman.
Laura’s head was tucked between the woman’s shoulder and neck. The stranger’s arms were wrapped around her, their legs entwined.
That’s when it clicked that she, too, was naked. Naked and basically on top of a strange, stranger woman.
And Laura freaked out more.
Okay, okay, Hollis, calm down. Calm down. JUST CALM DOWN.
Everything is going to be okay. It’s no big deal. Maybe last night you had hypothermia and she was warming you up. Maybe she had hypothermia and you saved HER life. Totally a thing that could’ve happened.
…oh dear god, I see hickies on her, you definitely hooked up. YOU HAD A ONE-NIGHT STAND.
And you haven’t even looked at her face yet, crap Laura, look at her!
Slowly, so as not to wake up said naked woman, Laura lifted her head from the woman’s shoulder.
Oh god, it’s Carmilla Karnstein.
HOLY SHIT. THIS IS A BIG DEAL!
At Silas University, there were a few common rumors. One was the “Chicken Kiev” served on Mondays was not to be eaten because it was more ‘lizard’ than it was ‘chicken’. Another was that the Dean of Students lived off the tears and sorrow of failing first year students.
Another was that Carmilla Karnstein was a murderous murderer who was not to be bothered. Or spoken to. Or looked at. Unless you wanted to be mauled and/or castrated. She had a reputation for being rude, pretentious, and obnoxious. And scary.
That said, Laura obviously knew not to believe every rumor (the Chicken Kiev thing was probably true, but the Dean couldn’t possibly live off of tears and sorrow alone; there was no evidence of any nutritive value in those two things anyway).
And Carmilla was LaFontaine’s friend or lab partner or whatever. In any case, they hung out. LaF seemed to like Carmilla. Laura trusted LaFontaine. LaFontaine wouldn’t befriend a murderous murderer. I mean, why else would LaFontaine introduce the two last night?!
Ah, last night. The fog in Laura’s mind was clearing. She forced herself to pull her thoughts together.
Okay, soooo. Carmilla Karnstein is naked in my bed. We did ‘it’.
(Holy crap Laura, you had sex, you can call it ‘sex’.)
ANYWAY, what happened? Think. THINK.
Laura’s mind was flooded with memories of the night prior.
Laura could hear the bass of the music thumping from the Summer Society from the other side of the campus. As she approached the building, she could see the crowd overflowing onto the front lawn. She recognized a few people – Sarah Jane, who lived on her floor, laughing with her roommate Natalie and Mary, the girl who lived next door, who hated her (Laura turned away so Mary wouldn’t notice her). She saw Elsie, a Summer Society sister, leaning against the front of the house with a group of girls hanging on her every word, like she had her own personal harem.
She walked past all of them and went through the front doors, looking for her friends, Lola Perry and LaFontaine.
Pushing her way through the throng of people, she tried spotting the two in the crowd. It was a little difficult, being as short as she was and as busy as the party was, but she eventually found them, tucked away in the kitchen.
LaFontaine was taking a shot, already looking a little flushed; Perry was, unsurprisingly, organizing the empty plastic cups and bottles for the recycling.
“This party is like people soup!” Laura yelled over the sound of the music and crowd. “How can anyone think in here?! It’s so hot and busy and-“
“-I think you’re failing to understand how parties work, Laura, you’re not supposed to think. You’re supposed to have fun,” LaFontaine said, their words slurring a little. They thrust a beer into Laura’s hand. “Have fun, if you remember how. I haven’t seen you out from under your huge stack of textbooks in weeks.”
“I know how to have fun!” Laura yelled. She still took a (sizable) drink from the red cup, which appeased LaF. “And look, Perry’s not having fun!”
“Really, Laura, do you know me at all? I’m having a wonderful time!” Perry said brightly, before wiping a beer spill from the counter.
LaFontaine shrugged and looked at Perry with unrestrained admiration. Laura suspected that they were more-than-roommates (seriously, they weren’t fooling anyone), but respected the fact that they hadn’t publically said anything. But it was pretty obvious.
“See, Perry’s definitely having a great time. I’m having a great time – I’ve already destroyed a couple Glee Club dorks at beer pong. You, on the other hand, need to get on my level. I’m like, three drinks and two shots ahead of you. Here, take this,” LaFontaine poured Laura a shot of something that was glowing and red. “The Alchemy Club made it. It’s supposed to represent the like, fiery wildness of the Summer Society. Or their hair. Or my hair. I don’t actually remember, but it’s yummy.”
Laura rolled her eyes and took the shot, feeling the burn slide down her throat. She sputtered a little and chased it with another few chugs of the cheap beer.
“Oh, I convinced my kind-of-friend Carmilla to hang with us tonight. And she’s walking up right now – hey Carmilla!”
Laura spun around, in time to watch Carmilla saunter over. She was the kind of woman (a drool worthy, stunning, could kill you with a glare or a wink kind of woman) Laura admired from a safe, far distance, away from any chance of embarrassing herself in front of her.
And now she was approaching.
Laura took another long gulp from her drink, emptying it, before pouring herself some (very boozy) punch. She ignored the pointed look from Perry, who took the empty cup and disposed of it appropriately.
LaFontaine was already throwing their arms around Carmilla. “Creature of the Night, you made it!”
Carmilla rolled her eyes but patted LaFontaine’s back before stepping away. “Hey LaF, Perry.”
“Carmilla, this is the friend I was telling you about, Laura Hollis. She has a nice face, doesn’t she have a nice face?” LaFontaine said with a mischievous grin. She pushed the two closer.
Laura watched Carmilla’s eyes study her, as if evaluating if she did, in fact, have a nice face, but Laura was probably misreading the look. She was probably just feeling the affects of consuming all that alcohol so quickly.
“Hi sweetheart; I’m Carmilla.” Carmilla extended her hand for Laura to shake. The way Carmilla said ‘sweetheart’ made Laura’s heart skip.
“Hi!” Laura said. She went to shake Carmilla’s hand, but without thinking, she used the hand that held her drink. It sloshed around in its cup, spilling a little on Carmilla’s fingers. “Oh crap, I’m sorry!”
Laura turned around to find napkins before Carmilla stopped her. “It’s okay, cupcake. I got this.” Carmilla took the offending fingers and licked them clean. “Sweet. All better, see?” she said, waving her hand.
Laura’s eyes widened and she felt like a cartoon character, like they shot out of her sockets.
“Hnnnng,” Laura vocalized, not saying any real words. She was suddenly glad the music was so loud; she hoped no one heard her. Her hopes were dashed with LaFontaine snickered next to her.
“So,” Carmilla began, also barely suppressing her grin at Laura, “you, LaFontaine and Perry all live on the same floor?”
Laura stared, still processing Carmilla’s methods of cleaning herself and not registering that Carmilla asked her a question. Perry nudged her.
“Oh! Yeah,” Laura answered, “we live on the same floor. Perry is the Floor Mom. I mean the Floor Don.” She looked at LaFontaine, who had a shit-eating grin, not even bothering to hide the fact that they thought Laura’s awkwardness was hilarious.
Laura felt a strong arm loop around Laura’s shoulders, weighing her down. She looked up at the owner of the arm and saw Kirsch.
She welcomed the distraction from her embarrassment and smiled up at him. “Kirsch!”
“LITTLE NERD HOTTIE! You’re here!” Kirsch was a lovable, if not oafish, guy who she knew from her English Lit class. “And you brought hotties. Hello Little Nerd Hottie’s hot friends!”
Laura playfully rolled her eyes. “Everyone, this is Kirsch. This is LaFontaine, Lola, and Carmilla.” LaFontaine and Perry smiled; Carmilla glared and looked bored.
“Hey everyone! I just wanted to thank you, Laura – Laura here helped me study for my English midterm and I’m 99% sure I definitely passed!” He puffed out his chest, like a happy golden retriever.
“So, are you two dating?” Carmilla asked, like she was judging Laura.
The others laughed; Laura laughed the hardest. Carmilla looked caught off guard, but stopped looking annoyed at Kirsch.
“Absolutely not,” Laura answered.
“Nope. I have a girlfriend. Sarah Jane. She’s awesome. Hey, are you by chance LaFontaine from Mac Hall? She lives on your floor! S.J. was telling me about you – you’re the person who’s super awesome at beer pong but not as awesome as I am?!” Kirsch asked, excitedly. Laura was certain if he had a tail, it would’ve been wagging right now.
“Oh, I know you, you’re Sarah Jane’s very mistaken and terrible at beer pong boyfriend,” LaFontaine answered, smirking. Kirsch laughed.
“Oh, it’s on, Little Nerd Hottie’s friend!” Kirsch gestured for LaF to follow him, which they did.
“See you later, girls!” Perry said brightly, before following their retreating backs.
Carmilla and Laura smiled at each other.
“It looks like we’ve been ditched.”
“I guess we’ll just have to keep each other company, cutie.”
They moved into the living room (Kirsch and LaF already escalating in their smack talk). Carmilla entertained Laura with her observations about the other partygoers. They were a little snarky and rude but hilarious nonetheless.
When Laura went to grab them both refills, she came back to find Carmilla helping LaFontaine at beer pong by distracting Kirsch. Later, when she returned from the washroom, she caught Carmilla helping Perry clean the living room.
Then, while waiting for Carmilla to grab her another drink, she watched Carmilla nearly punch out a Zeta bro for drunkenly falling onto a tiny Alchemy Department student.
This woman was the most intriguing person she had ever met.
The only way Laura could shake how intimidated she felt by Carmilla was to keep drinking, which made her tongue feel heavy, her head feel warm, and made her feel like over-sharing awkward facts about herself.
(“I am so in love with Helena Bonham Carter. Have you seen Fight Club?! And how hot she was as Bellatrix?! OR IN ALICE IN WONDERLAND!!”
“Wasn’t she basically a bobble head in Alice In Wonderland?”
And also:
“My last girlfriend is now my roommate’s girlfriend, which is surprisingly not as weird as I thought it was going to be. It was never going to work out between the two of us. Danny’s so tall and Betty’s tall and tall people need to stick together. They keep small people like me sheltered from strong wind when we’re standing outside.”
“…I was going to comment on how we should probably be cutting you off, but I feel like that’s something you would say sober.”)
Fortunately, Carmilla kept with Laura’s pace – with drinking and sharing. As “mysterious” as Carmilla seemed, she was actually quite generous with sharing who she was to Laura (Carmilla’s stories were less embarrassing, of course).
Carmilla told her about how her (adoptive) mother was the Dean of students (and how they both really hated each other), how she spoke over twenty languages (“When you’ve been around as long as I have, you pick up on a few things.” “What are you, like two years older than me?!”), and how Carmilla, too, was also single (and her last girlfriend, Ell, broke her heart).
Despite what everyone had said about Carmilla (that she was scary, rude, pretentious and obnoxious), Laura found her to be charming, funny and really flirtatious. Still super scary, but not for the reasons that most everyone had. Laura just found beautiful women to be incredibly scary.
But that was completely normal, okay?
Speaking of incredibly scary, Laura also learned that Carmilla was a vampire. And maybe it was a combination of the alcohol, the great conversation, and Carmilla’s beauty, but Laura genuinely didn’t care. She found it to be interesting, sure, but just as interesting as Carmilla’s knowledge of Sumerian or her relationship with her brother (Will, Kirsch’s creepy pale friend).
Her lack of caring probably went against everything her dad warned her about. She assumed ‘hoodlums and ‘ruffians’ – her dad seriously still used those words – were even lower on the danger-level than vampires. But she really didn’t care.
(Not when Carmilla would gently push Laura’s hair behind her ear before whispering about the people nearby.
Not when Carmilla would keep her hand on the small of Laura’s back when other people would approach them.
Not when Carmilla would smile and laugh – genuinely – at one of Laura’s stories or jokes or embarrassing childhood anecdotes.
Laura was usually not on the receiving end of this kind of attention; it made her feel special.)
At some point in the night, she found herself returning some of Carmilla’s affections. And with every escalating pass, Laura matched Carmilla’s boldness. The flirting turned into something more after a random girl (seemingly intentionally) bumped into Laura, causing her to spill her drink all over herself.
Carmilla led Laura to washroom to clean her up. As soon as they entered, Laura took off her stained top. The back of her mind told her that she didn’t need Carmilla’s help, that this wasn’t a group activity, but she was more occupied with cleaning the gross sticky drink off her skin. And, really, she had a bra on – technically, she was wearing more clothes than she did at the beach.
(She also didn’t mind the obvious and frequent sideways glances from Carmilla.)
But when she finally looked up at Carmilla and saw how close they were standing together in the tiny washroom, her pupils blown, her mouth open, she knew she would have a hard time exercising any self-control if she didn’t get a hold of herself.
Carmilla, who broke their stare by busying herself by cleaning the red drink stain off Laura’s shirt, made an off-hand comment about how Laura’s shirt looked like it was covered in blood.
“…people are going to think I was eating you in here, or something.”
The innuendo was too much; it tore into the last scrap of control Laura had. She was suddenly hyperaware that she was standing in front of a stranger, a very beautiful stranger, topless.
A stranger who kept sneaking appreciative looks at her.
Carmilla, bless her, mumbled something about finding a change of clothes for her when Laura decided enough.
And she kissed her.
Carmilla’s lips were so soft. She tasted like beer and honey and metal. Laura wanted to commit this moment to memory and relive it every day.
Laura grabbed at the back of Carmilla’s head, threading her fingers through her hair. She was vaguely aware that Carmilla’s nails were clutching at the small of her back. She felt like she was drowning – she needed to take a breath – but she didn’t want to stop kissing her. She gasped, letting a moan slip out, when she felt Carmilla’s tongue against her own.
That’s when she heard a knock against the door.
“Laura, open up – I have a shirt for you!”
Danny’s voice from the other side of the door came down like a proverbial bucket of ice. Laura was out of breath, like she had been running, as Carmilla pulled back. “I’ll get it.”
Laura braced herself against the counter, trying to slow her speeding heart. Carmilla open the door a crack and Laura heard Danny’s surprised, “Oh! Carmilla. Is Laura-“
“-Thanks for the shirt, Xena.” Carmilla slammed the door. Laura would’ve reprimanded her for being rude to her friend if she wasn’t so flustered. “Here you go,” she said, handing it to Laura without looking at her.
Laura threw it on quickly. She could see Carmilla’s mind working, overanalyzing the situation.
Laura knew how she wanted this night to go. It came to her with a sudden clarity. It was a sobering decision, one that was out of place considering the alcohol and adrenaline running through her. She decided to take this into her own hands once again.
“My roommate mentioned she wasn’t coming back to the room tonight.”
Carmilla stared back with an intensity that Laura had never been on the receiving end of. Then, slowly, she nodded.
“Let’s get out of here then.”
Things were a little fuzzy as to how they got back to her dorm room, but Laura remembered what they did when they made it to her room.
(Laura fumbling with the keys as Carmilla kissed her neck.
Finally pushing the door open, dragging Carmilla in with her.
Carmilla’s hands travelling down her waist.
Her fingers running through Carmilla’s dark curls.
Pulling Carmilla on top of her on her bed.
Hands grabbing, grasping, and then wandering.
Clothing removed, tossed on the floor.
Carmilla asking, her expression so heartbreakingly sincere, if she was sure, before Laura nodding yes, desperate for relief.
A warm mouth. Skilled fingers in all the right places.
Moans. Muffled cries.
Carmilla’s name, gasped from her lips.
Catching her breath, then rolling on top of Carmilla, praying that her extreme enthusiasm for the situation made up for her (relative) inexperience.)
The last thing Laura remembered was seeing Carmilla’s face (eyes closed, so peaceful) before falling asleep.
Laura snapped out of her thoughts.
Oh. Okay. So. Yeah.
Oh crap.
Carmilla shifted beneath her, a physical reminder that last night very much happened.
Holy Helga Hufflepuff in a handbag, I just had a one-night stand. I had sex with her. Really amazing sex.
She tried to stifle that last thought, because hello more pressing issues at hand – like how was she going to get this (more or less) stranger out of her bed.
This was not something Laura ever did. She was a dork. A good student, well on her way to making the Dean’s List and Honor Roll. She had well over a thousand followers on her Tumblr blog. She wrote fanfiction about Hermione and Luna for goodness sake!
While Laura tried to not judge other people about these kinds of things, she held herself to a standard, a standard that didn’t allow her to have random hookups with strangers, no matter how hot they were.
She looked at Carmilla. What do I do?!
“Sweetheart,” Carmilla’s sleepy voice said, stopping Laura’s internal breakdown. “Can you stop staring? I’m trying to sleep here…”
--
Carmilla woke up feeling Laura’s anxious stare. Despite the fact she felt ridiculously hungover, it was too goddamn early in the morning to be getting up. Especially after a night like last night. Carmilla didn’t bother opening her eyes. Instead she tightened her arms around Laura.
“Carmilla, no, don’t fall back asleep.” Laura sounded panicked.
Carmilla slowly opened her eyes but kept her hold. “Why? I’m hungover, your bed is super comfortable, and quite frankly, you really wore me out last night.”
That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Laura pulled herself out of Carmilla’s arms and sat up against the wall, holding the blanket up to cover her chest. Which lifted the blanket from Carmilla’s body, exposing her body. Carmilla did nothing to cover up. She noticed the effort Laura put in looking directly into her eyes and absolutely nowhere else on her body.
Carmilla’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay, what?”
“Seriously?!”
Carmilla rolled her eyes and swung her feet off the side of the bed, accepting that Laura was going to continue to freak out until she left. “Everything is going to be okay. This is college. This,” Carmilla said, pointing between the two of them, “happens all the time.”
“But not to me! Also you are naked right now and it’s very difficult to maintain a conversation with you when you’re…exposed.” Laura whispered the last word, which Carmilla found adorable.
Carmilla smirked. “Didn’t seem to bother you last night.”
“Carmilla. Just. Please put your clothes on and leave,” Laura said, nearly begging.
She looked back and saw the panic in Laura’s eyes.
“Fine, cupcake. I’ll leave.” Carmilla tried to keep the hurt from leaving her voice, but she knew she failed when Laura placed her hand on hers.
“I’m sorry. I’ve…I’ve just never done anything like this before.”
Carmilla pulled her hand away and started gathering her clothes. “Where’s your washroom?”
Laura pointed towards a closed door behind her, which Carmilla dragged her feet into, slamming the door shut.
While changing, Carmilla thought back to last night. LaFontaine told Carmilla to come to the Summer Society party, that they had a friend they wanted her to meet. She didn’t want to go but LaF thought it’d be good for her to meet people.
LaF and Carmilla had a difference of opinion about a lot of things, one of them being that LaFontaine liked people and Carmilla didn’t, but she relented. She didn’t mind the bio major and their roommate, Perry. She actually enjoyed hanging out with them.
Of course, that didn’t mean that she was looking forward to being surrounded by throngs of drunken lack wits all night. She was not thrilled about going to a god-awful Summer Society party. She promised herself she’d never go back there after a hook-up with one of the Society sisters over a decade ago went awry (if you’re going to sleep with a girl and never call her, make sure she’s not a trained archer), but that was forgotten when she arrived and saw Laura for the first time.
The first thing Carmilla thought as she approached LaFontaine and Perry at the party was that whoever they were speaking to was adorable, like a happy eager puppy.
When LaFontaine introduced the two, Carmilla took note of Laura’s painfully obvious attraction to her. She thought it was hilarious, and even teased her at first – she knows she’s hot, and this happens all the time (without exaggeration) – but something about how sweet this Laura woman was about it really endeared her.
Carmilla stuck with Laura for the night and found that the more she got to know her, the more she liked her. Laura talked a mile a minute and didn’t really have much of a filter, so she over-shared. Carmilla learned a lot about her during the first couple hours of the party.
For example, she learned that Laura was massively obsessed with Doctor Who and Harry Potter, and that she had a crush on all versions of Helena Bonham Carter – from Marla Singer (which Carmilla agreed with), to Bellatrix Lestrange (which she kind of agreed with), to (strangely enough) The Red Queen.
After Laura politely (but firmly) turned down two Zeta creeps who were trying to hit on them (after Carmilla threatened to rip out their spleens), Carmilla learned that Laura was the “only child of a massively overprotective dad” who put her through krav maga training at a young age, so she was fully capable of defending her own honor, thank you very much.
Carmilla learned that Laura was single. By her own admission, she liked taking things slow and forming friendships with any women – oh, there, confirmation that Laura liked girls too (good) – before dating them.
She also learned that Laura could drink. It must’ve been the number of drinks she consumed to keep up with Laura, but Carmilla found herself also sharing more about herself.
When she let slip that she was a vampire (something that wasn’t exactly a secret, but wasn’t exactly common knowledge); Laura didn’t even seem fazed.
“Oh cool,” Laura said, nodding, before adding, “Are people generally okay with you being a vampire, or are they jerks? I hope they’re not.“ She gave Carmilla a genuinely concerned look.
Carmilla shrugged. “I really don’t care.”
“Well, for what its worth, it doesn’t change how I feel about you,” Laura said. She blushed immediately after saying it. Carmilla thought to tease her, but decided against it.
“So are you like Angel or Angelus?” Laura asked.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about, cupcake,” she answered. Her words kind of muddled together, the affects of the booze hitting her a little.
The nonchalant way Laura spoke about her being a vampire caught her by surprise. People were usually very strange about it – scared, initially, then either accepting (but cautious) or not accepting (and cautious).
Laura rolled her eyes. “Okay, we’re going to have to watch Buffy together one day. Are you a good vampire or a bad vampire?”
“I suppose I’m a little of both.”
Laura took a sip of her drink – which Carmilla refilled moments earlier – and with a mischievous glint in her eyes said, “Works for me.”
Laura’s smile changed; it darkened in an unexpectedly sexy way. The way the fairy lights in the living room lit Laura’s eyes and the feeling of her pressed against Carmilla in the crowded room made time feel like it had slowed down. In a good way.
Carmilla felt her face flush a little, as if the heat was rising in the room. She reached up to brush a strand of hair away from Laura’s face.
The moment was lost when someone – a girl who Carmilla recognized as one of her “study buddies” from last semester (who she never called back) – bumped into them, causing Laura to drop her cup and spill her drink all down her shirt.
“Oops, sorry!” Carmilla heard her say, completely ingenuinely, as she quickly walked away.
“What the hell?!” Laura yelled, towards the girl’s retreating back.
“Come on, creampuff, I think there’s a washroom upstairs, let’s get you cleaned up.” Carmilla grabbed Laura’s hand and led her up the stairs into a (small and cramped) washroom.
Immediately, Laura took off her shirt, standing in front of the sink in her bra. “Ugh, I feel so gross and sticky! Find me a towel or something?” Laura said, turning on the faucet and splashing her chest with water.
Carmilla grabbed a towel from under the sink, trying her hardest to not stare, but doing a terrible job at it. She handed it to her, their fingers touching. Laura licked her bottom lip; Carmilla wondered what it would feel like against her own.
“…Thanks, Carm.”
Carmilla broke her gaze and busied herself by grabbing Laura’s discarded shirt. She ran it under the water. “It’s probably going to stain. It’s a shame the drink was red, people are going to think I was eating you in here, or something.”
Carmilla looked at Laura’s reflection in the mirror, catching the innuendo as soon as it came out of her. Laura must’ve caught it too; she stopped drying herself off and lowered the towel.
In that moment, it also became even more apparent to Carmilla that Laura was standing topless, in a tiny washroom, inches away. And they were alone.
Laura turned to face Carmilla. Her eyes flitted down to Carmilla’s lips.
Carmilla wasn’t an idiot. She knew exactly where this was headed.
But for some reason, Carmilla tried to keep some self-control. Laura was a beautiful, adorable, vibrant woman – who was also drunk (as was she). They were both compromised. Carmilla didn’t want to take advantage of her, which was weird, because in the past, Carmilla hadn’t ever any moral crisis about making out with drunken women.
But Laura was different.
So Carmilla offered, so quietly that she wasn’t sure if she actually said it, “Do you want me to go find you something to change into?”
That’s when Laura reached for Carmilla’s face and kissed her.
Laura’s mouth moved against her own and Carmilla kissed back immediately, getting swept up in the moment. It was rough, hard, and not at all shy. She felt Laura’s heart pound against her chest, so close that it felt like it was her own. As soon as Laura’s mouth opened and Carmilla felt Laura’s tongue touch her own, Carmilla heard Laura let out a moan, the most frustratingly sexy sound she had ever heard.
A knock on the door interrupted them.
“Laura, open up – I have a shirt for you!”
Carmilla pulled away and immediately felt cold. Laura was red and let out a shaky breath, like she had been running. Carmilla felt the same.
She barely bit back an insult at the very tall redhead (who Carmilla decided she would hate forever for interrupting them) when she opened the door – only slightly ajar – to grab the shirt.
Closing the door, she took a deep breath (in an effort to calm herself – she hadn’t been kissed like that in forever), and handed Laura the shirt. Laura quickly put it on and looked up at Carmilla with an odd expression.
As Carmilla was about to suggest they rejoin the party, Laura spoke: “My roommate mentioned she wasn’t coming back to the room tonight.”
Carmilla stared for a beat, and for a second she considered rejecting her – offering to walk her back instead, and maybe getting her phone number, see where this was going before they did anything else. But she was not prone to going against her nature, and being an impulsive vampire, she accepted.
“Let’s get out of here then.”
Carmilla stared at her reflection in the mirror, hands bracing the sides of the sink. She noticed the array of hickies on her chest and neck in her reflection. They would quickly heal, but for now were reminders of last night.
She considered the ways she could salvage this – her pride, their potential relationship – but came up short. She hated this; she just met the girl. This wasn’t even close to being her first one-night stand in her life.
But the flashes of last night – more intense than usual, more involved, just more – made this moment so difficult.
She resolved to just leave. Clearly she read the situation wrong. Laura made it pretty clear she wasn’t interested in spending any more time with her.
She chastised herself for feeling this way; finally on the receiving end of a fuck-and-chuck. God, she had gone soft.
Carmilla left the washroom, ready to take her walk of shame. She quickly moved past Laura, glancing at her and hoping that her face wasn’t betraying her and revealing how she really felt.
Laura sat on the bed, wearing a shirt and jeans.
“Carmilla, wait.”
She stopped at the door and slowly turned around.
“Yeah, creampuff?” Fuck, her voice wavered a bit. She clenched her jaw, disappointed in herself. Her Maman was right; sometimes she was such a baby.
Laura took a deep breath and Carmilla steeled herself, preparing herself for the rejection she was about to face.
“I’m so sorry, Carmilla. This is so not something I would ever do, or thought I would ever do. And I think you’re beautiful and I really enjoyed talking to you last night and getting to know you. You’re funny, and smart, and ridiculously sexy. And so beautiful. Which I already said, but I think it’s worth repeating.”
“You don’t have to say that, cupcake-“
“From what I remember,” Laura continued, ignoring Carmilla, “which I think is everything, I had a great time. It was, again, from what I remember, the most fun I’ve had in a long time. You’re interesting – I mean, obviously, you’re a vampire – but you’re so much more than just that.”
Something within Carmilla’s chest fluttered.
“But,” the emphasis the word caused Carmilla to frown, “like I said, I really don’t do things like this. With people I just met. Which isn’t a bad thing, or a good thing, it’s just a thing. And I’m not blaming you – I was super drunk, but you were too, I think. And I was fully aware of what I was doing and I was doing exactly what I wanted to do…but I hope I didn’t pressure you or that you felt pressured by me; I would hate myself if you did.”
“Oh, Laura. Cupcake, no. You didn’t pressure me at all. Please don’t worry about that,” Carmilla said, her heart breaking a little. No one had ever taken Carmilla’s feelings into account after anything like this – she was used to being used as much as she herself used others.
She wanted to do anything, everything, to help ease how overwhelmed Laura was feeling.
Laura let out a breath that she had been holding.
“I’m so glad you feel that way, Carm,” Laura said, relief flooding over her features. “You are so beyond anything I’ve ever…you’re like little gay Laura wished her hardest to create the most beautiful woman in the world, and there you are, like a person created from my subconscious and a magic genie, looking all beautiful and being all wonderful.”
Carmilla felt herself blush.
Laura continued, “This is obviously really stressing me out. I was supposed to go to the party, let loose a little, hang with LaF and Perry, finally figure out if those two were secretly together, come back here and enjoy a night away from my snoring roommate. But instead I wake up with you in my bed. I’m not saying I regret what happened. I’m just trying not to freak out. Well, freak out more than I currently am.”
This girl was unlike any person Carmilla had ever met. Which was a good thing.
“And, Carmilla, I don’t know how this works. What do I do now? Should I offer you a snack? Give you cab money? I don’t even know where you live. And am I ever going to see you again? Are you going to brag to your friends? Please don’t be a jerk and brag to your friends about this-“
“-Okay, cupcake, stop. Okay? Please. It’s my turn now.”
Laura let out a hmph.
“First – that was a lot of information coming at me at once. You’re going to have to write some of that down, because I’m stuck at the ‘created from your subconscious’ part,” Carmilla said. Laura’s cheeks went a little red. “Second – I’m not some asshole who’s going to talk about this to anyone. I’d have to talk to people, first of all. But like I said – I’m not an asshole. Well, I am, but not about this kind of thing.”
Laura sighed and ducked her head down. “I know you’re not. I’m sorry. My mind just went there-”
“-also, stop apologizing. Look, I’m sorry. You’re in a situation that you’re feeling really torn up about, and I’m half of the reason why. If I knew…if I knew what I know now, I’d go about a lot of last night differently. But for what it’s worth, I...I had a great time last night. All of it. You’re…fascinating. And beautiful. Which I think you probably don’t hear enough.”
Laura raised her head slightly and shrugged. “Thanks. Sorry I keep apologizing?”
Carmilla laughed. “You’re also the strangest woman I’ve ever met.”
They grinned at each other.
“Okay, cupcake, what now?” Carmilla asked, leaning against the dresser at the front of the room.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, these things usually play out in one of two ways, and there are pros and cons to both of them. One: We say goodbye, we never see each other again, except for occasionally on campus. It’s awkward and we avoid each other,” Carmilla said, pushing herself off the dresser and walking forward.
“Pro: last night becomes an excellent memory, but a memory nonetheless. Con: For you, you’re forced to compare every woman you’ll ever be with to me, and well, clearly they’ll all fail,” Carmilla said, completely smugly (but seriously, completely seriously). Laura rolled her eyes but laughed.
“The ‘con’ for me would be: Well, I like you, cupcake. You’re weird, but cute. I kind of want you around.”
“Kind of?” Laura asked shyly, as Carmilla stopped next to the headboard.
She picked at her nails and shrugged, before continuing with the list.
“Two: I take you out for breakfast, because I still have a massive headache that can only be cured with coffee and greasy food – first let’s swing by my room, I have blood in my fridge and it’ll help immensely – and we hang out. Find out if we like each other sober as much as we did wasted.”
Laura laughed again. “And what are the pros and cons?”
“Well, pro: I am excellent company. As charming sober as I am drunk. And you might realize that you kind of want me around too,” Carmilla said, uncharacteristically shyly.
Before Laura could interject, Carmilla went on, “Con: I’ve never hung out with a presumed ‘one-night stand’ before. But you, Laura Hollis, are making me do a lot of things,” (feel a lot of things), “I’m not used to…doing.”
“Breakfast would be awesome, to be honest,” Laura said. Carmilla sat down next to her.
“Good, because you should probably get some food in you. You took all my energy last night, I can’t imagine how hard it is for a human after all our ‘activities’.”
Laura grabbed her yellow pillow and hit Carmilla with it.
“Shut up.”
“So violent, are you sure you’re not part supernatural evil too?”
Laura rolled her eyes and then smiled sheepishly. “I do – ‘want you around’. We really did have a great time last night, didn’t we? All of it. Even before the stuff happened.”
“We did,” Carmilla agreed.
“And…well, you said you’ve done ‘this’,” Laura said, pointing between the two of them, “before? And they’re not usually…”
“If you’re asking if I’ve ever hung around after a one-night stand to be complimented in a thousand word monologue, then kind of freaked-out at for another monologue, then swung back around for another complimentary monologue, then no. I usually just leave.”
“I guess I should warn you then: If you’re going to be with me, you’re going to have to get used to me freaking out about everything at first. It’s a thing that I do,” Laura said.
Carmilla quirked an eyebrow up. “’Be with you’?”
“Hang out with me!” Laura sputtered. “Hang out. Breakfast. ‘Be with me’ at breakfast!”
“Clearly that’s what you meant to say,” Carmilla said, nudging her. “Okay, creampuff, let’s go get some food.” Carmilla stood, pushing herself off her knees. She held her hand out for Laura to take.
“You know,” Laura said, standing and lacing their fingers together. Carmilla stood in place, feeling the length of Laura’s frame against her own. “We’re doing this completely backwards – first we had sex, then we had a meltdown – okay, I had a meltdown – and now we’re going on a date…”
“So this is a date?”
“Of course this is,” Laura replied confidently.
“Well, for the sake of us continuing to break tradition – can I kiss you good morning?”
Laura answered with the press of her lips against her own.
And Carmilla felt like it was the beginning.