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Tara doesn’t really like tequila but at this moment she is very grateful for the cup grasped tightly in her hand. The party roars on, paying no mind to the mini meltdown she is currently having in the quiet corner of Amber’s kitchen. She breathes in deeply, trying to calm the erratic beating of her heart all the while trying to wrap her mind around her raging emotions.
Tara was just laughing with all of her friends in the other room, discussing their favorite horror movies (The Babadook, obviously ) and stupid tropes they all love when she suddenly noticed Amber watching her quietly, a small smile ghosting her lips. She doesn’t know why her heart started racing but it had, she suddenly felt nervous under Amber’s warm gaze but she also never wanted her to look away. Confused, Tara quickly tore her eyes away from her and tried to dive back into the new topic her friends had latched onto; strange fears.
Mindy was going on about why subway carts made her uneasy when Tara felt a slight brush on her shoulder. She turned and found Amber settling on the armrest of her chair, chiming into the conversation.
“No, no- But she’s right though! Subway carts are terrifying!”
“Thank you!” Mindy exclaims, throwing her hands out in exasperation.
“Alright, well how are they scary?” Chad demands, rolling his eyes at his sister.
“Well what if for some reason you’re being chased by this psycho killer and end up both being trapped in the same cart? There’s no escape! You’re trapped, therefore you’re as good as dead!” Mindy bursts out, eyes wide.
Tara chuckles quietly before she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Amber staring down at her. “I actually don’t find subway carts scary,” she whispered clandestinely, “I just thought she could use the support.” She popped a small honeycomb piece into her mouth, her lips wrapping around her fingers slowly, drawing Tara’s attention to her full pink lips. Suddenly Tara’s mouth felt dry, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Amber’s lips, not even as she moaned softly and licked her fingers clean of honey. At the sound coming from Amber, Tara abruptly realized how hot it was in the room, blushing.
“Oh-I,” Tara stammers, her face hot as she tries to think of something to say.
Amber smirks.
Tara grips her cup quickly and pushes to her feet, “Refill,” she mumbles before rushing out of the room and to the kitchen, where she is now, trying to recover from… whatever just happened.
Amber is her best friend, someone she adores completely but that, what just happened, what she’s feeling. Tara isn’t sure if that’s what best friends are supposed to feel towards one another.
She so desperately wanted to taste the honeycomb, off Amber’s fingers, on Amber’s tongue. To hear the delicious sound she made one more time, be the cause of that sound- yeah, no. Friends definitely don’t feel that way about each other.
She sighs deeply, feeling a sense of dread slowly settle in her gut. She absolutely cannot act on these emotions. No way. With the possibility of ruining their friendship? Losing Amber forever? Tara would never do anything to jeopardize what they have now, not for anything. So she tries to shove those feelings away, chasing them with some tequila that she can’t stand. Amber is her best friend, and that’s all she’ll ever be.
*
After wrangling her feelings, Tara makes her way back to the party, not where Amber is because she’s not sure she could handle being so close to her just yet.
She finds Chad dancing amongst the crowd and joins him, sliding her hands up his arms and connecting them behind his neck. Immediately Chad brings his hands to her hips and they sway to the music effortlessly.
“Hey, Tara,” Chad greets with a broad grin.
Tara smiles back easily, “Chad.”
Tara can admit, Chad is handsome, breathtakingly so. Broad shoulders, muscular, beautiful brown eyes and brown skin, a killer smile. He’s just so- perfect. But… Well, he’s not Amber. Shaking the thought away, Tara continues dancing with Chad, laughing freely at all the silly dance moves he performs with such confidence. Grabbing her hand, Chad twirls her. As she’s spinning her eyes lock on enraged brown ones and she freezes without even meaning to.
“Tara?” Chad calls behind her.
Tara can’t tear her eyes away from the girl watching her from the outskirts of the dance floor. Amber looks… beautiful. Well, she looks pissed actually but despite that she looks breathtaking.
Her brown eyes are dark, flashing angrily as a tumultuous sea of emotions raged on within them. Her brows furrowed deeply, her jaw clenched tightly, lips pressed into a thin line. Her face flushed with anger and her shoulders stiff, the cup in her hand completely demolished by the death grip she’s holding it with.
A chill runs down Taras spine at the sight of Amber’s almost palpable anger.
Oh, oh, Tara likes this, she likes this a lot.
“Tara?” Chad calls once more, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Amber turns from her, storming out of the room towards the stairs. Quickly, Tara turns towards Chad, “I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll see you later, yea?” She doesn’t give him a chance to answer before she’s chasing after Amber.
She runs up stairs, Amber nowhere in sight now. Slowly, she makes her way to Amber’s bedroom, seeing the light on inside. She knocks softly. “Amber,” she calls quietly, “Can we talk?” There are several beats of silence before the door swings open and Tara is face to face with Amber, her face blank, eyes void of emotion. Something she does when she wants to hide how she truly feels.
“About what?” Amber questions.
Tara huffs, “You know what.”
“Sorry, if you want to talk you’re going to have to be more specific.”
Tara works her jaw for a moment feeling frustrated. “You want me to be specific? Fine. Why are you so angry about me dancing with Chad?”
She watches as Amber clenches her jaw, obviously unhappy Tara actually brought up what’s made her upset.
A beat of silence.
Another one.
“You know why.”
“Sorry, you’re going to have to be more specific.”
Amber’s eyes flash, her lips press into a thin line and Tara waits. She waits for her to take the silent dare she not-so-subtly threw out there. If Amber’s going to be angry with her, she’s going to have to admit to both of them why.
They stare each other down; Tara’s daring, Amber’s calculating.
Eventually Amber looks away, casting her eyes downward, all the fight leaving her but she still doesn’t speak. Tara looks at her, seeing the way she wraps her arms around her middle and curls in on herself slightly and she just can’t push her anymore. She doesn’t want to cause Amber distress.
Carefully, she raises her hand and gently caresses Amber’s cheek. “Hey,” she murmurs tenderly. “Why?” Amber raises her gaze again, her eyes searching Tara’s almost desperately. Tara steps closer without meaning to, slowly closing the distance between them.
“Because I like you, Tara, and not in a friend way.” Amber confesses, her voice barely above a whisper.
And that’s all Tara needs before she’s kissing her slowly.
Oh, this is even better than Tara imagined. Amber tastes like honeycomb and beer and- her. Tara doesn’t think she’s ever tasted anything as amazing as Amber and she’s wondering why they haven’t done this sooner. She sighs softly into the kiss and Amber deepens it. Tara brings both hands up to cradle Amber and pull her closer, sliding one up to her hair and tugging lightly causing a delicious moan to fall from her lips. She can’t help the way her lips curl slightly at the sound she wanted so desperately to cause. Amber’s hands find her waist and drag her toward her, pressing their bodies together in a way that makes Tara’s insides flutter.
It’s slow and sweet and Tara can’t help the way her heart is pounding in her chest. She pulls away to suck in a sharp breath and Amber is chasing her mouth like a woman starved. The kiss is no longer sweet and gentle, it’s hungry and passionate. Both so desperate for the other, to feel them, to taste them, to have them. No kiss has ever been better, Tara’s decided. Hands begin to travel and breathing is suddenly impossible. Eventually they both break away, in need of air (though Tara would happily die getting lost in Amber). They rest their foreheads together and breath heavily, both trying and failing to catch their breaths. After a few moments Tara meets Amber’s eyes again.
“I like you too, and not in a friend way.”