Falling for My Bully: A Lesbian Romance

by Alexa Woods

  line of trees a few feet away from the bleachers had other ideas. It snapped

  like a firecracker going off in the dead of night. Arabella froze as June and

  Sarah broke apart. June scrambled away while Sarah grabbed for

  something, anything, to shield them. She came up with her jacket and thrust

  it over her head. As if that was going to hide anything.

  June’s dark eyes locked with Arabella’s. June stared fearlessly, her lips

  swollen from Sarah’s kisses, her pupils still dilated. She was still breathing

  hard too. And then, as Arabella just stood there, June lifted one shoulder in

  challenge, as if to say that she didn’t care if Arabella would tell the whole

  school. She did glance worriedly in Sarah’s direction though, and it was

  clear Sarah did care. That she didn’t want people to know. It was probably

  why they were hiding out under the privacy of the bleachers.

  Arabella felt something in her stomach that she’d never felt before. No,

  she’d felt it, but she’d never really admitted to herself what it was. Staring

  at June, with her mussed hair and huge pupils and heaving chest, Arabella

  felt desire. It wasn’t the first time she’d been turned on by a woman, but it

  was the first time she’d felt that prickling awareness when it came to June.

  Arabella knew all about herself. She knew she wasn’t truly into guys.

  That was the real reason why she didn’t want to do anything else with Joe.

  And she’d called enough girls sluts before that she didn’t want to be one

  herself. She always made it seem like her parents had a curfew for dates.

  That they were strict. In fact, they didn’t care who she dated or where she

  went. They did, but not anywhere near the extent she made people believe.

  She’d known for a few years that she was probably never going to be into

  guys, but that wasn’t something she could risk anyone else finding out. Joe

  was a good cover, even if he was annoying. She just wanted to make it

  through the hell that was high school, graduate, and leave Cincinnati

  behind, and then, she promised herself, she’d be brave enough to admit the

  truth to herself and her family.

  June’s black gaze bored through her until Arabella felt hollowed out. She

  cleared her throat, squared her shoulders like June had done, because

  Arabella Ferguson didn’t get intimidated by anyone, and she never got

  bossed around. She shored up all her mean-girl courage, but when June just

  stared back at her, ever defiant, Arabella let it go. She held her breath,

  turned on her heel, and stalked away.

  She hadn’t given a single reassurance that she wouldn’t tell anyone about

  what she’d seen, but she also hadn’t fired off a cheap shot at June. Her

  silence, more than anything, would have come as a shock. It shocked her.

  She hadn’t been able to think of a single mean thing to say. She hadn’t even

  wanted to be mean. Honestly, as she walked quickly away from the

  bleachers to get her stupid sweater, she knew she couldn’t make fun of June

  for this. She couldn’t, because that would be wrong on every level. Arabella

  couldn’t betray June like that because it would be a betrayal of herself.

  So, it looked like Sarah’s secret, and the possible secret that June didn’t

  look like she minded people knowing, was safe. Not only did she not say

  anything, she wasn’t going to use it as ammunition in the future either. That

  would be unforgivable.

  Arabella snatched up her sweater, finding it exactly where she’d left it,

  and hurried in the other direction. It meant taking the long way around the

  school parking lot, but she was overwarm, flushed actually. She could use

  the cold wind to take the heat out of her skin and the long walk to blame on

  her pounding heart.

  She could think of something else to be mean about. She focused her

  racing thoughts on that. Just because June had gotten a pass from her today

  didn’t mean she was going to get one in the future about anything else. She

  couldn’t think of any justification for it, but she didn’t need to.

  She’d keep doing what she always did. Being mean was like a drug. It

  entrenched her position in the school, in the world, solidified her popularity,

  and strengthened the bonds of whatever passed as loyalty between her and

  the girls she called friends. Her world was right when she was at the top and

  she had no intention of falling off her throne.

  If only the next eight months until graduation didn’t feel so impossible to

  get through.

  Chapter 9

  June

  June was exhausted the next morning. Summer, who’d slept peacefully in

  the hot, sluggish night, was up early, chipper and excited for a day of lake

  activities. She’d tried to rouse June at six, but June had thrown a pillow at

  her, then stuffed the other one over her head. Surprisingly, Summer left her

  alone. She went off to do her morning swim or run or whatever it was that

  she was so jazzed about all alone.

  June didn’t go back to sleep. She laid in bed, her eyes squeezed tightly

  shut against the sting of the morning sun already invading the room. An

  hour after Summer left, she could hear their moms moving around. The

  dark, burnt scent of fresh coffee and the smell of sizzling bacon proved their

  presence in the kitchen.

  After struggling with the heat in the room and with what she’d learned

  about Arabella all night, June was too tired to even think about getting

  motivated to get up for breakfast. The coffee would still be there when she

  did roll out and she could take or leave the bacon. She’d been so fired up

  the night before, so stunned, so amazed, that she couldn’t even think about

  sleep.

  Should she tell Summer? It made so much sense now. Why Arabella had

  never told anyone about seeing her and Sarah. She’d always wondered why

  her enemy, a person who took such delight in poking any and all pins into

  her that she could, had given her a pass. Not just any pass. A life-changing

  pass.

  Arabella could have gotten miles and miles out of what she’d seen. Those

  seconds could have turned into painful days, weeks, and months of torture.

  At the very least, she could have resorted to bribery and gotten June or

  Sarah, who were both known as nerds, to write some papers for her, but she

  hadn’t even done that.

  She’d never breathed a word.

  June remembered how shocked she and Sarah were when nothing

  happened. They’d waited, barely daring to breathe. Eventually they’d

  decided not to tempt fate. Sarah had very religious parents, and for that and

  other reasons, she wasn’t ready for people to know. June, on the other hand,

  decided to take any power that she could away from Arabella. She’d never

  cared if people knew she was a lesbian. She’d finally told Summer about

  what happened.

  June had worked her butt off to get that scholarship but she actually

  didn’t care much about her school experience. It was unpleasant, being

  bothered constantly by Arabella. The things she said stung and burned like

  hot metal biting into her skin. They chaffed and festered, but they never

  reached beyond
the surface. It was the same thing when June came out.

  People talked for a week and then they just moved on to something else

  when it was obvious June didn’t give two flying shits what they were going

  to say or do.

  “June!” Summer stuck her head in the room, scaring the shit out of June.

  She realized that she’d lost herself again, as she’d done all night. She

  couldn’t turn off her brain and she was exhausted from more than just not

  sleeping.

  June groaned. She still had the pillow tucked loosely over her face.

  Summer’s footsteps were heavy on the wood plank floor. She grabbed the

  pillow and tore it away, letting all the bright light spill in. “Come on! Even

  Arabella is up. You can’t let Miss Citified City Girl beat you to getting

  outside.”

  Should I tell her about Arabella?

  There were very few things June didn’t share with Summer, but this was

  going to be one of those things she kept to herself. Arabella hadn’t come

  forward with the information, but it also didn’t sound like much of a secret.

  It wasn’t just because all those years ago she’d kept June’s secret. June

  didn’t really believe in giving away information that wasn’t hers to give.

  Life was a lot simpler if one kept the wild gossip to a minimum. She’d

  always ascribed to that, and she wasn’t about to do anything differently.

  Even if Summer was Summer.

  “Okay, okay,” June muttered. “I’m up.” She swung her feet over onto the

  floor. It was approximately six thousand degrees, and she was sure it wasn’t

  past eight in the morning.

  “Good! I want to take the boat out. We can go swimming again. Our

  moms said they’d come. Then there’s the market at one that we love, and

  we could get the bikes out of the shed and go for a ride, and…”

  June didn’t mean to tune out, but as Summer rattled off her list she was

  so tired she kind of checked out. She agreed to something, maybe a lot of

  things, and got up and got dressed after Summer left.

  She didn’t know how she’d have the energy to get through a jam-packed

  day. Wasn’t lake life supposed to be about taking it easy? What did people

  say about needing a holiday from their holiday? Whatever it was, she

  figured she needed it. Very. Badly.

  ***

  After a day jammed so full of activities that even Summer was worn out,

  June thought she’d be able to fall asleep as soon as she turned out the light.

  Instead, she stayed in bed, her sheets kicked off against the wet heat

  saturating the cabin like a sodden blanket. She stared up at the roof,

  watching shadows and listening to night sounds until she couldn’t take it

  anymore.

  Wild animals or not, she was going outside to escape the heat.

  When June tried her flashlight, she found that the batteries were dead.

  She thought about taking her phone but didn’t want to risk dropping it and

  breaking it. She decided on the beach, since she didn’t have to be wary

  about any wild animals there. Or, at least, she hoped she didn’t. It was

  probably safer than climbing the tree or sitting underneath it and waiting for

  something to fall on her head.

  Since she was so tired and so annoyed that she couldn’t sleep even

  though she was exhausted and had been all day, June missed the strange

  shadow on the beach until she was almost there and the shadow turned into

  a living, breathing person with a rush of blonde hair and eyes that looked

  like black onyx in the dark.

  Arabella.

  June wanted to turn around and head back to the cabin, but it was too

  late. She’d already been seen. She could tell, because Arabella smiled and

  the sliver of moonlight up in the sky reflected off her teeth. Her eyes shone

  too, wet and glistening. She looked almost ethereal like that, in the

  moonlight and the shadows, some kind of silver dust fairy that worked their

  magic in the secret hours of the night.

  “This is becoming a ritual,” Arabella said softly. She crossed her legs on

  the beach. She was wearing her bikini, June realized. She very quickly

  focused on Arabella’s face instead of considering the yellow swimsuit. Or

  more like the assets that it displayed.

  “Were you going to go for a swim?” Right, just point out what you’re

  trying to ignore. That’s wonderful. Very subtle.

  “I’m not sure yet.” Arabella’s eyes raked down June’s t-shirt and her

  pajama shorts. “You?”

  “No. I was just…it was hot in the cabin. I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Me neither.” Arabella turned her head, her eyes sliding away, giving

  June a small reprieve from the gaze she probably didn’t realize was burning

  in its intensity. “I thought a midnight swim would be fun, though. The water

  is probably nice at night. Actually, it was the only thing I could think of to

  cool down. It’s not much cooler out here now than it was during the day.”

  “Y-yeah. I mean no.”

  Arabella gathered up her blonde mane and twirled it over one shoulder.

  She wound it around her hand, the muscles in her arm flexing. Bathed in the

  dark, she was the kind of pretty that again reminded June of something

  otherworldly. It didn’t matter that she was watching Arabella’s hands or

  keeping her eyes on her face. Her mind filled in the rest of the information

  for her, including the lush curves and that small yellow bikini that defined

  them. The bikini was just a bikini. It wasn’t more or less revealing than any

  other bathing suit, but it didn’t matter. On Arabella, it turned into something

  extraordinary and apparently the images were burned into June’s mind.

  Her mouth went dry, and heat shot from her belly straight to her upper

  thighs.

  “You didn’t tell Summer,” Arabella said.

  “N-no,” June whispered, a little too huskily. She didn’t like what that

  note meant in her voice. Her tongue felt heavy and ungainly in her mouth,

  which was so, so dry.

  “It would have been okay if you did.” Arabella laughed, mistaking that

  tremble in June’s voice for a sort of awkwardness. “It’s not a secret. But

  thanks.”

  “I…” June wasn’t usually one with nothing to say. Even in high school,

  when Arabella and her crew were at their worst, she’d always had some

  comeback, or when she’d chosen to stay silent, it was because she wanted

  to.

  “You could stay.” Arabella patted the sand. “There’s plenty of room here

  for two. Or did I take your spot again?”

  “No. That’s alright. I mean, I wasn’t coming to…I was just going for a

  walk.”

  “Well, since you’re out here now, we could just relax. Or is it too weird?

  I could move down the beach if you want. Leave you alone.”

  A strange sensation thundered in June’s thighs. She felt heavy there, like

  her legs would be a thousand pounds if she tried to lift them. Her whole

  body might as well have been cement. She felt like she was frozen to the

  ground, rooted with a marble base that she couldn’t break free of.

  She thought that maybe it was best if she kept walking, or if she returned

  to the cabin, but her manners c
ompelled her to walk towards the beach, her

  plastic flip flops, a fancy set from her own beach line, of course, clacked

  with every step. They might have been lightweight, but they would outlast

  an apocalypse, provided it wasn’t too hard core, and they were fully made

  out of recycled materials.

  She let her clip clopping shoes take her to the small strip of sand, then

  she plopped down totally ungracefully. They just sat there, a good three feet

  between them, staring out at the moonlight reflected on the purple-black

  surface of the water.

  “The night is almost prettier than the day,” Arabella breathed. “Not that

  it’s not pretty during the day, but it’s not so hot right now. I think the

  sunrises out here would be amazing. The sunsets are pretty spectacular. I

  can’t remember the last time I watched one before last night.”

  “Yeah,” June croaked. Further down the shoreline, a real frog croaked,

  long and low, and the response didn’t sound that much different.

  “Where did you go to college?” Arabella asked suddenly, the question

  taking June off guard.

  “Uh, here. Cincinnati. I lived at home. It was cheaper.”

  “I went down to LA. Wanted to do the whole California kid thing. I was

  spoiled. Right from the get-go. My parents paid for the whole thing, no

  questions asked. I wasn’t even that smart. Didn’t stand a chance at getting a

  scholarship. I wanted to take drama, which I probably would have been

  good at, but my dad talked sense into me and said I should make business

  my major and do theatre or other arts as a minor. I’m glad he did, because

  my God, you should have seen how many people were majoring in theatre.

  I mean, it was LA after all.”

  “I’m sure a lot of people go down there for that.” June really had no idea,

  but it sounded like the right thing to say. Just to agree.

  “I would have made a terrible actress, but I found that I had a passion for

  marketing. It took me until my second year to figure that out. I had to take a

  few marketing classes my first year, just introductory stuff and it was, I

  don’t know, I just really liked them. And I was good at them. I’ve always

  been artsy. I know no one knew that because I kind of never pursued

  anything but cheer, hair, makeup, clothes, and being a total bitch in high