Terri stiffened and looked at her, guarded. "I'm not a girl."
"I know that. I like you, though."
"I just don't want you to get the idea that I'm something I'm not. Or that together we're something that we're not."
"You don't have to convince me." Laura bent down and plucked the flowers she'd stepped on only a few minutes ago. They'd sprouted anew in a flurry of white and pink, and she gently pressed them into Terri's hands. "I've had a boyfriend. I came to Melbourne and went to clubs and kissed a bunch of girls, and now I want you."
She stood up and pulled Terri to hir feet, too.
"Feeling better?" Terri said, with a small smile. Ze clutched the bunch of flowers with one hand and reached out to stroke Laura's cheek with the other.
"I've never been better." Laura smiled back. "You know, I wasn't planning to tell you how much I liked you for a while, because I was just enjoying hanging out with you so much that I wanted to draw it out. But I feel like I don't have to wait any more. Can I kiss you?"
"Please," Terri breathed, hir fingers tensing at the back of Laura's neck and pulling her down for their lips to meet.
Laura wrapped her arms around Terri, pressing their bodies together. The soft warmth of Terri's body against hers felt even better than it had last time, and kissing Terri was like coming home after a long holiday. Except it wasn't coming home, it was finding a place she'd never been before, the place she was supposed to be all along. She didn't look down, but she knew there would be green shoots sprouting under her feet, growing all around her, and she almost wished they would climb up both their legs like vines holding them in place so they could never stop.
Though they didn't, of course, because they heard a giggle and a whisper and saw the back door banging shut as Bea and Todd ran back inside. The sun was setting and they walked back inside, too, rolling their eyes at their friends' mocking applause, and then the four of them settled down in the living room together with wine and a plate of Terri's bread with Laura's fresh tomatoes. Having someone to kiss was pretty great, but it wasn't all Laura had coming looking for in the city. She wanted friends, a community, and somewhere to call home where people really saw her as queer. The best part was that now she got to have that, too.
FIN
About the Author
Avery Flinders is a genderqueer author from Victoria, Australia. Ze enjoys long train rides, on which ze does most of hir writing. When not at work or writing on a train ze enjoys cooking, roller skating and sitting in hir backyard with hir small flock of chickens. You can reach hir on twitter as @averyflinders.
Green Toes Page 4
