The Mittens series so far:
Mittens
SchrΓΆdinger's Mittens
Cyber Mittens
High Voltage Mittens
*****
Samantha: Well, here we are again.
Nina: Yup.
Samantha: Another short one?
Nina: I wanted to crowbar this little adventure in. :)
Samantha: So this is actually mostly about a friend of ours.
Samantha: Permission has been granted.
Samantha: Names have been changed.
Samantha: We wouldn't have put this in the Mittens continuity in the first place, seeing as it's less about sex and more about one specific lovely moment, but...
Samantha: Well...
Nina: We only just found out that this happened!
Nina: I mean, this was years ago, now, and we were at a party last week and it just, kind of... came out.
Samantha: There was SO much giggling.
Nina: It wasn't as awkward as you might think.
Samantha: We are being deliberately opaque here.
Nina: You'll see why. Enjoy!
***
Heading out of the restroom, Khushi saw a familiar face passing by in front of the arcade, on the way to the Jumping Rabbit.
The familiar face saw her, too.
"Khushi!" called Nina, and she came bounding across the midway, bringing along - who was that? Samantha?
Yes, that's Samantha... And they're holding hands?
"Nina? Sam?" said Khushi. "What're you doing here?"
Internally, Khushi sighed.
Start asking a question. Realize after you've said the first word that it's a stupid question. Finish asking said question anyway, knowing that you sound like an idiot. Wonderful.
"
Rollercoasters!
" cried Nina. "What're
you
doing here?"
Khushi grinned.
And, just like that, Nina flips things around so I don't have to feel silly anymore.
She's awesome.
"Rollercoasters," agreed Khushi. "Adrian's gonna meet me here after work."
Abruptly, she felt a vibration around her midsection.
Now?! Now, while I'm talking to Nina?! Adrian, you bastard, I'm going to - oh. That's my phone.
She unzipped and reached into her fanny pack. "In fact, he's just texted me now - oh."
Samantha frowned. "Everything all right?"
Khushi looked up from her phone. "He's stuck in traffic. Says the tunnel's blocked, looks like an accident."
Samantha grimaced. "Yeesh. Those things are hell on a
normal
day."
"Tell me about it," said Khushi, firing back an "Okay, see you soon" text and replacing her phone in the fanny pack. "Well, this is a co-incidence!"
Nina grinned. "Isn't it just!"
Samantha grinned, too, but there was something else in that grin - Khushi couldn't quite put her finger on it. "We're gonna head over to the Jumping Rabbit. You want to join us?"
Khushi hesitated.
I should probably take it out,
she thought.
But they just saw me coming out of the restroom, it'd look weird if I just turned around and went straight back in. I mean, what would I say? "Sorry, I went in the restroom and forgot what I went in there for, but now I remember that I was going to pee. Silly me."
"Sure," she said. "To be honest Adrian and I were doing a kind of date thing, but, hell, he's not here!"
"Well," said Nina - and Khushi noticed that her fingers were twining around Samantha's - "we won't be offended if you split off once he gets here. Hang out with us for a while. Amusement parks aren't much fun on your own. Yes, Sam and I are an item."
Khushi's mind hit a bump at the unexpected turn of conversation, until she noticed she'd been staring at Nina's hand, nestled inside Samantha's. She looked back up. Samantha was blushing.
"Two weeks yesterday," she said, quietly, smiling a little.
Khushi paused. "...really?"
Nina and Samantha nodded, at once. Khushi, now that she knew, began to see the little telltale signs that this was very true - the way their heads angled ever-so-slightly towards each other, the glowing look about them, the suggestion of one or two extra happiness-pounds around Sam's cheeks.
"Wow," breathed Khushi. "That's
awesome.
"
"You have
no idea,
" said Nina, provoking a grin from Samantha.
"Sam," said Khushi, "I didn't even know you
liked
girls!"
"I didn't," said Samantha with a blush. "I don't. Just..." one of her arms went around Nina's waist. "Just
this
one." And Samantha kissed, briefly but tenderly, Nina's temple.
Khushi chuckled a little. "I don't blame you. Nina is the
most
awesome of awesome people. If anyone was gonna turn your head, it'd be her."
"Oh, you," grinned Nina.
Be friendlier to Sam,
thought Khushi.
She's not just the old-friend-from-school-found-again-on-the-internet anymore, she's going to be a larger part of Nina's life - pay more attention to her, find something in common.
She glanced downwards. "Oh, hey, Sam, we're fanny-pack buddies!"
Nina grimaced. "Yeesh."
Samantha giggled - Khushi had never heard Samantha giggle before - and said "Come on, Nina, it's not like I wear one when I'm
not
planning on going upside-down."
"
Super
-geeky," muttered Nina, clearly without malice.
"Well, I
am
super-geeky," said Samantha. "Look," she said to Khushi, "I've even got the dorky strap-on glasses thing going on, here."
Khushi noted the bright yellow rubber thing attached to Samantha's glasses and looping around the back of her head, but she also noted how Nina began to blush at Samantha's last sentence.
She could've called it a glasses retainer, or whatever it is they're called.
But she didn't.
I wonder if that was intentional.
"Look, there's no line for the Rabbit!" cried Nina, pointing.
But I still have the...
"You coming?" said Nina, bounding off towards the line entrance.
Khushi looked towards Samantha. Samantha smiled, and shrugged.
Okay. Sure, I'll leave it in for now.
"Slow down," yelled Khushi, chasing after Nina.
***
As it turned out, there was a line.
Just a very short one,
thought Khushi.