Drowning in the Sea of Love

...Like I said, you've got ten se—...oh, God...it's...

She didn't want to count down the last ten seconds.

...It's not coming...is it?

...5:00.

Her workmates clocked out to grab their things and hit the road. A few nearby Sara called a quick g'bye, g'night, see ya later and so forth...but Sara didn't hear them.

She didn't understand. What was going on? Mel wouldn't have just forgotten about her. Would she?...She went back through her phone's inbox. Did...she text me and I just somehow missed it?...Did my phone act up or something?...

Oh my God, maybe something really did happen to her.

The other possibility was there was something wrong with one of their phones. She let three more minutes pass collecting herself. Okay, steady, Kelton. There's a reasonable explanation for this. There has to be. She's your sweetie-pie, she loves you. And you love her. You could be getting all worked up over nothing. It...it is just a text, after all. It's not like you're breaking up if she doesn't text you. She probably just forgot her...

That's it! Sara thought with relief. She forgot her phone! That has to be it! She does like to stay up late. She...she slept in a little this morning, got a late start, rushed to work, and in her haste she just forgot it. So she couldn't call and tell me, and she also can't E-mail me. So, that...that's it! It's gotta be! Oh, thank God; it all makes sense now! I feel so much better. Maybe she could've called with someone else's phone, but...oh well.

Even so, as she drove home from work, her normally zealous belting out of her favorite songs was lacking a bit of her trademark enthusiasm. The tiny bit of doubt still loitering in her mind robbed the heart from her voice.

She...totally just forgot her phone. She had to've. That's it. I'm right. I'm absotively posilutely sure I'm right. Completely certain.

...I hope.

*****

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014, 6:19 p.m.

Sara waited till she knew Mel'd be home, and rechecked. Still nothing. She dialed.

Ring...ring...ring...click. "...Hello?" said a familiar but sad voice.

"Hello"? Didn't she look at the caller ID? "...Mel?"

"Yes?"

"Sweetie, it's me!"

"...Oh...Sara?"

???

"Yeah, Sara!" she chuckled. "What's the deal, babe? Ya forget who I am or something?"

She'd asked this question as a joke, but Melleny's only response was a dismayed sigh.

Sara was getting a little scared. "Whoa, Mel, sweetie, I was just kidding! Hon...don't get upset, I really was just playing," she clarified. "Is...are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Silence.

Sara's heart accelerated again, but this time she was afraid. "Mel, talk to me. If there's something wrong, I wanna kno—no, actually, check that; I need to know. Mel, please."

"...Sara...I'm...I'm not sure I wanna talk about it."

Sara felt something very frightening descending on her. It was as if Mel didn't hear a word of what she'd just said. Either that or it was so bad she couldn't tell her at all.

"Melleny...y-you're not...breaking up with me, a—...are you, sweetheart?"

"...Not exactly."

"'Not exactly'?" Sara repeated worriedly. "What does that mean, 'not exactly'?"

"Okay, no, Sara, I'm not, no."

Oh. Whew. 'Kay, no big deal, I only just realized I'm in love with you last night, that's all!

"Well, thank goodness! Gosh, Mel, you scared me there, babe! Well, was...was there anything I said? Something I did wrong?"

Another sigh. "...No."

"Well, then what? Baby, what? Tell me what's bothering you! I wanna make you happy!"

Nothing. Silence. Crickets.

"Melleny?"

"Sara..."

For the first time, she hated the sound of her own name. She didn't push.

"All right," Sara calmly acquiesced, not wanting to aggravate. "Well, sweetie, I won't force you if you don't want to, but I want you to know I'd do anything to make it better."

Yet one more sigh.

"Okay, fine, I'll tell you," the voice came sharply through the phone, startling Sara.

"You really don't hav—"

"Sara..." Mel cut her off. "I had a really terrible, awful day...but I'm afraid to say why."

"You're afraid to?" Sara felt her blood temperature plummet. "Melleny...darling, are you in some kind of trouble?...Are you in danger?"

"No, no, it's not like that...I just...couldn't stop crying all day," Mel confessed.

Hearing that cut deep into Sara's heart. Poor Melleny sounded just so defeated. Sara was obviously familiar with bad days, but up to this point, Mel'd always seemed at least halfway cheerful. Was her perception just clouded by all the fun they'd been having together? Holy smoke, Sara said to herself. Twenty-four hours ago, everything was fine!

"Oh gosh, Mel," she said softly, feeling her apprehension overcome by sympathy. "I'm so sorry, honey, I..." She tried to think of anything she could do. "Well...hey, why don't you let me come over? I could try to help you through it."

"Sara...I just dunno...I mean, I don't even know how to explain it...I feel so upset, like I...like I just can't turn anywhere."

Oooh. Hearing that felt like being kicked in the stomach. Once she let it sink in, Sara realized just how plaguing the situation before her was. Her girl( )friend, the person with whom she'd just madly fallen in love, was suffering inexplicable pain, and she could do nothing visible to make her glad. She felt so helpless. She took one more stab, trying to throw more pleading into her voice.

"...Not even to me?"

Melleny said nothing. Sara, desperate, still didn't want to give up.

"Mel, darling, I really wanna cheer you up," Sara tenderly entreated. "Wh—can-can I come over, please? I'll-I'll br—I've got a frozen pizza I've been saving just for you. I know how much you love pizza. I'll make it for supper, I'll bring a comforting movie or something? Anything! Want me to get some milk and cookies? I'll get you anything you want! Mel, I'd do anything for you. Please, let me come over, you can tell me all about it. You can have both my shoulders as long as you need 'em...okay?"

She didn't expect an answer right away, and she didn't get one.

"...Ok-okay? Please, Mel?...Please?"

Sigh. "Well..."

Sara perked. Her heartbeat quickened again.

"...Aw, what the hell."

Gosh. Don't overexcite yourself about it. But Sara didn't care. She was just so happy Mel would let her come over, she didn't worry about it. "Oh, good!" she smiled, feeling relieved again. "I'll be there before you know it, hon, I promise. Just hang in there, it'll all be okay. I've had bad days too; it's no big deal! If that's all it was, we'll get through that!"

A sudden, long, cold silence followed.

"M—...Mel?"

"...Did...did you just say...'It's no big deal'?"

Sara detected a hint of something not very good in Melleny's voice. It sounded like...hostility. Rather...scorned hostility. Sara sensed she may have taken a bad turn.

"W—...well, honey, I didn't mean anything by th—"

The next sound Sara heard broke her heart. A tearful sniffle trying to hold back a sob.

Sara gasped. "No, no, no, Mel, I didn't mean anything by that, I swear!" she insisted. "Mel, honey, please don't cr—"

She was interrupted again. "I gotta go."

Sara's eyes widened. "Oh, no, Mel, no, please, just wait a m—" Click.

She'd hung up. Sara removed the phone from her ear and stared at it in a mix of shame and panic. Oh, God! she thought like a small guilty child. I...I made my girlfriend cry!

And Sara was the sensitive one. She'd always thought that in a relationship she would be the weeper. She felt horrible. She'd tried to make things better and inadvertently made them even worse. Oh God, what've I done?? She immediately called back. But this time there was no answer. Sara waited for voicemail, and spat out a quick message to bridge things until she could get to Melleny's house.

"Mel, babe, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean to say anything that could've hurt your feelings. Melleny, I swear, you're my angel. I wouldn't try to hurt you for anything in the world. I mean it. I-I did mean that. Okay, Mel, sweetie, I'm gonna come over now. All right? I'll-I'll bring the pizza. I'll see you in a little while, okay, Mel? I'm coming right over. I'll see you then. I love you. Bye."

She grabbed her keys, phone, purse, and the pizza from the freezer, jammed her feet back into her shoes and jumped into the car in a worried, hurried rush. She was still feeling terribly guilty on the way. She didn't have the peace of mind to sing; all she wanted to do was punish herself.

What is WRONG with me?! she self-berated, shaking her head. She's supposed to be my girlfriend! Good girlfriends don't make their girlfriends cry! And the worst part is I don't even know what happened to make her day so bad!

Finally, she made it to Mel's house. She thought it might've been a good idea to stop for flowers, but she didn't want to make this trip take a minute longer than necessary. She was very nervous on the way to Mel's door, not knowing if she should be expecting a trusting smile or a smack on the nose. But whatever happened, she'd be ready.

That last part of her reasoning was faulty.

Once she placed herself between the screen and front doors and timidly knocked, it promptly opened. Sara barely said or did a thing before Mel flung her arms around her in a powerful embrace. She pulled Sara right into her and squeezed with all her might.

Sara wasn't ready for that. But it seemed like good news to her. She certainly wasn't about to object to Mel deciding to forgive her—if that was in fact what was happening—but she was also curious exactly what was going on. She'd sounded so heartbroken on the phone. And now, twenty minutes later, clamping onto her in a big bear hug of love??

When they finally did break about thirty seconds later, Mel took a moment to shut the door, then switched gears and proceeded to shower Sara with kisses. All over. Again, Sara had less than no clue what the deal was, but she wasn't going to complain. When Melleny finally laid off with the affection, Sara spoke, choosing her words very carefully.

"Um...so...does...this mean I'm forgiven?"

Mel gazed at her with all the love two teary cobalt blue eyes could hold.

"You are the most perfect treasure to ever enrich my life."

Wwwwwow... thought Sara. I...dunno what I apparently did between home and here, but whatever it was...go me!

Perhaps a less than great idea to bring it back up, but she had Sara's curiosity piqued just a bit high. "I...kinda thought I...hurt your feelings," she confessed sheepishly.

"But then you told me you loved me!" exclaimed Melleny, glowing with limerence.

I...did? Sara didn't actually remember saying that at all. But there was no way she was admitting that right now. If it—whenever it may've occurred—was what suddenly turned Mel's entire day around, by gosh, she'd stand by it.

"Well...of-of course I did!" Sara chuckled. But, uh...when, exactly, again?

Mel threw another hug on her. "You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that!" she wept into Sara's shoulder.

...No, no, I guess I don't! Eh...PLEASE, God, remind me when I said that again?!

God heard her this time. Mel released her and retrieved her phone. "It was like a life preserver!" she cooed. "Like a ray of hope suddenly shining down on me! Oh, I have to hear it again!" She played Sara's message and pressed the speakerphone button.

"Mel, babe, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean to say anything that could've hurt your feelings. Melleny, I swear, you're my angel. I wouldn't try to hurt you for anything in the world. I mean it. I-I did mean that. Okay, Mel, sweetie, I'm gonna come over now. All right? I'll-I'll bring the pizza. I'll see you in a little while, okay, Mel? I'm coming right over. I'll see you then. I love you. Bye."

Whoa, I did say it! It was almost tossed in there as something of a reflex, a verbal aside as casual as had she been talking to her folks. She honestly hadn't even noticed she'd said it. The whole message was kind of a blur as she was just trying to get it all out and scoot. But there it was, right there in living sound. The emotionless voice menu gave Mel some options of what to do with the message. She saved it, put down her phone and sat them on her couch so they could cuddle up and talk.

"Sara..." she said in a much different tone than before, coating all four letters of her name in a thick sheen of affection. "There's...something I wanna tell you right now. Things...um...things've been kinda rough for me lately..."

Really? Again, something she'd never have guessed. You could've fooled me, sweetie!

"...And, today was no exception. I've been thinking a lot about us lately, Sara. And...I never told you this before, but...sometimes I get these...spells, you might call 'em. When I just...kinda get sad. Real sad. I, eh...I have hereditary clinical depression.

"And you know...I was with my Mom and Dad last night," Mel went on. "Which hasn't been so much fun since we all met my sixth brother-in-law. Sara...almost all my sisters are married, and the one single one has a serious boyfriend. And, my folks are just..."

Sara thought she saw where this was going. "...Not so crazy about you being gay?"

"No, actually, not really that at all, but I get the feeling they're a little...disappointed, in my inability to find someone to love."

Sara smiled and slid her arms around her a bit tighter, planting a kiss on her shoulder.

"And see, that got me thinking," Mel continued. "And, I think I reached this point today when...something clicked inside me. I mean, sure, my parents' approval's important to me. But just as important, Sara, it's like all the time we've spent together's built up this big ball of bliss in me, and...I think today I learned it's there to fill something in me that was empty. Thing is, though...before we started dating, I didn't even know that empty part of me existed. Now, when I'm with you, it's like that bliss ball swells up and makes me whole. And when we have to leave each other, it shrinks, and I feel hollow again."

Sara could start to feel herself "meltin'," just as her officemates indicated.

"And now that I know that empty space's there," proceeded Melleny, "...I can't ignore it. Y'know? I-I can't not know it's there now. So when we're apart, that emptiness hounds me, and torments me, and won't leave me alone. So, today...it was like my depression spells met up with my empty space, and...they double-teamed me. Suddenly...all I could think of was you. How you weren't with me, and you had to be somewhere else, and we couldn't be together, and I just...lost it. And, outta nowhere I just started crying, and I just...couldn't stop. That was when I realized, Sara...I need you in my life. I...

"...I can't live without you."

She sniffled, wiping her nose. "My only hope was that you felt the same way about me."

"Well...gosh, honey...why couldn't you tell me this on the phone?"

"I would've..." Mel hesitated. "But like I said, I was afraid."

"Of...?"

"Well, like I told you, Sara, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. And the way my parents felt about me really kinda hit home. And the more dates we've gone on, and the closer we've got, I could tell this was developing into much more—well, for me, anyway," she added. "I knew I was feeling something a lot deeper and stronger for you...but...I didn't know how to tell you before tonight, that..."

She paused for a breath. Sara raised her eyebrows and bit her bottom lip in anticipation. And when Mel looked back up and said it...even if Sara hadn't heard her voice, she'd have still been able to tell in her sapphire eyes.

"...I love you."

There they were. The magic words. But this time, it wasn't a dream, imagination or fantasy. Sara heard them, from Melleny's lips to her own ears, for the first time ever. And just like in her dreams and fantasies, they instantly gave Sara an emotional orgasm. Her heart erupted with amorousness, and sent her through a mental climax.

The next segment of Mel's narration reflected Sara's own outlook. "But when I heard your voice message, and heard you say it to me, I knew everything would be okay. And I wouldn't have to worry or be scared anymore. 'Cause you love me too."

Sara felt her own emotions getting the better of her again. She sniffled joyfully.

"Well, y'know, I, uh..." she giggled, "I just decided that I...well...I wanted to come over. Y'know? I just thought, to hell with the consequence!"

Melleny smiled, playing along. "Yup...you told me you loved me, that's all I believe."

Sara kept it going. "That's right, I...wanted to come over. It was a need I couldn't explain. Just...to see you again. I...just wanted to come over."

They laughed together. Once the laughter tapered off, finally letting it sink in, they gazed into one another's eyes. Sara brushed some of Mel's hair out of her face, and kissed away the dried trails on her cheeks. Melleny took Sara's face in her hands, not wanting to wait another minute to let her lips do the talking for her...so to speak.

Ten seconds later, they'd plunged into the proclamation of mutual love. Holding, caressing, locking and unlocking lips, passing soft sighs, sultry breaths and sweet nothings to and fro. And this time, their tongues did get in on the action. Had Sara been able to recall the details from her dream of them back in December, she would've picked up a startling similarity between it and the reality going on right now.

Even though she couldn't bring back the varied elements of the dream, she could remember the dream itself. And she couldn't believe it; it was coming true! The sighs and moans deepened and richened with each moment, hands floating, passing over each other, lips trading a dozen variations of "I love you"s. Eventually bringing their romance to another level, Sara and Melleny slid their bodies from a sitting-up position to a horizontal sprawl, so they could snuggle and make out like bandits on Mel's couch. Melleny ended up on top, which was more than fine with Sara.

After an immeasurable span of kissing like kids, fondling, exploring each other, fingertips finding their ways along, inhaling one another's sweet scents, nipples and clits solidifying, Melleny's larger tits dancing on Sara's smaller ones, longing to squeeze one another's like the ripe melons they were, dampening pussies humping each other's thighs...Mel peeled her lips off Sara's to tell her something.

"You know what...lovergirl?" Melleny breathed as her soft nose tickled Sara's cheek.

Sara giggled, kissing the nose in question nuzzling her face. "You love me?"

Mel passed a little giggle back. "Well, besides that."

Sara let her eyes wander in thought. "You...really love me?"

Mel's girlish laughter reminded Sara she'd just died and gone to heaven. She could just fall into those warm, crinkly, gorgeous blue eyes, and drown a happy woman.

"Well, yes, that too," conceded Mel. "But in addition to that...I was kinda wondering if, uh...if maybe you wouldn't be averse to, uh..."

Sara batted her innocent baby hazels, waiting eagerly to hear the rest. What Mel had told her on their first date was true of both of them. Melleny too was cute when jittery.