Aka. "Destination Anywhere", "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria"... After a very intense year in Würzburg (Germany), I'm back in Salamanca. I probably won't have that many experiences to write, but there's always an excuse to post a new entry!

4.

A package of peas hit the bottom of the shopping cart. Sharon looked around in the frozen food section, thinking of what else she could buy. Meanwhile, Flo was looking at some kind of pizza like she had just seen a fallen angel. The sight made her smile.
"Hungry?" she asked, placing her hand on the taller woman's shoulder.
"No, not really..."
"Then what's with all the fascination?"
The blonde pointed at the pizza. She bit her lip guiltily as she spoke.
"This one is really good. Pizza is one of my sins, but I haven't had it in a while."
"Oh. We can have it for dinner tonight, if you like."
"No, no need to" Flo gasped.
"Why not?" the brunette wondered, arching an eyebrow.
"I don't want you to buy anything for me. Makes me feel bad."
"Don't be silly" Sharon chuckled "You're spending the weekend in my place. I want you to feel at home."
Flo's lips curled into a happy smile as she heard that sentence. She decided to let Sharon take the pizza, knowing what her reason for that was. Perhaps the time had come to say something.
"By the way, I really like pizza, too. I've never tried the frozen ones though" the Dutch girl kept babbling.
Yet the other woman wasn't listening. She was too excited planning a certain conversation in her head. Her distraction was such that she almost bumped into some old woman's cart as they moved on to the next alley, where the cleaning products were. The lady gave her a glare out of the corner of her eye as she passed her by, while Flo mumbled some apology. A giggle escaped Sharon's mouth.
"Be careful!"
She responded with a sheepish smile. Her eyes followed the brunette as she stretched slightly to pick something from the shelf and threw it into the cart. The excitement came back to her. She just needed a way to bring up the topic and see how the land lay.
"Speaking of feeling at home" she spoke suddenly "I was thinking that, as we're spending pretty much every weekend together, I could leave some stuff in your place. You know, like the essentials - something to sleep in, maybe some underwear and toilet stuff."
The Dutch girl turned towards her with a puzzled look, eyebrows raised. For a moment, she seemed to hesitate.
"Okay" she replied with a smile.
"Good" Flo smiled back, a bit more encouraged "In fact, we might spend many more weekends together from now on."
"How comes?" Sharon asked without turning while she studied a box of detergent.
Before answering, the blonde inhaled. She toyed nervously with the cart's chain.
"Haven't I told you the good news? I've applied to be transferred" she explained "It's not yet a hundred percent sure, but apparently there are many chances that I might be moving here next month."
"Oh, that's great!"
The other woman grinned softly as she faced her. However, Flo had the sensation that the smile was not completely enthusiastic. She had expected more of a reaction.
"Your sister will be very happy to have you here" Sharon continued.
"She definitely is" Flo nodded "And I'm glad to be able to see her more often, too. Besides, I was thinking... yet that's a bit further away in the future, of course" she forced herself to add "That we could move in together."
Although Sharon was giving her back to her again, the way she shrank back already gave her an idea of what her face looked like. That was certainly not the reaction she was expecting. Of course, she knew it was still a bit too early; yet her chemistry with the brunette was undeniable. She was certain that they were both on the same wavelength. After a long silence, the other woman gave her an awkward smile, tucking some dark strands behind her ears.
"Oh... well, if you get tired of your sister and have nowhere else to go..."
Her answer left her completely puzzled. What did she mean by that? Sharon had already turned away, rolling the cart to the next section. If Flo could have seen her face, fear would have been written all over it, so she was determined not to let that happen. The taller woman followed her.
"You don't want me to move in with you? Why?" Flo wondered.
"Well, don't you think it's still very early?" Sharon's voice sounded a bit higher than usual.
"That's exactly why I said ‘further away' in the future. I'm moving to this town in at least a month; I was thinking probably three or four months after that or so... I mean, one day we'll want to go one step further in our relationship..."
"R-relationship?!"
"Well, what do you call the past three or four months?" a confused frown covered Flo's face.
Sharon sighed. The moment she had dreaded had arrived, but she wasn't ready for the confrontation. She chose not to answer and look very concentrated on doing her shopping. Unconsciously, she began walking faster, pushing the cart and studying every shelf very carefully. Yet that didn't distract Flo, who kept following her.
"Sharon, I believe we need to talk."
"Hmm, where on Earth are the breadcrumbs?" the brunette said aloud, hoping the other woman would get the hint that she didn't want to talk about it.
The taller girl rolled her eyes. A fear was growing inside her, seeing how Sharon ignored her. Taking advantage of a moment in which the Dutch girl was trying to reach something from the upper shelf, she picked it without difficulty, forcing her to face her.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
"Look, Flo, it's not the time..." she sighed.
Flo's arms were crossed in front of her chest, and the look she was giving her couldn't be more meaningful. Sharon bit her lip. There was no escape, although she wished there was.
"Why do you have to make everything so complicated?" she complained.
"No, you are making this complicated" the blonde retorted "I thought it was pretty simple. Then you freaked out when I used the word relationship, and I want to know why."
Letting out a harsh sigh, Sharon turned away once more and hurried to the checkout. Nevertheless, her friend wasn't ready to give up.
"Sharon, will you answer me?"
"Please, not here... not now..." Sharon mumbled through clenched teeth, her eyes on her shopping.
"But this is important!" she tried not to raised her voice, but failed miserably.
The girl at the checkout was already looking at them with curiosity, no matter how hard she tried to pretend she was indifferent. In for a dollar, in for a dime.
"Alright" she tidied her dark hair before looking up at Flo "See, you're a sweetheart and I love spending time with you. But you said yourself you didn't like long-distance relationships."
"And that's exactly why I want to move here!" Flora answered "I really want us to work."
"Well, it is working... it's just... not a relationship."
"Oh, I see. So you think of me as your fuckbuddy and that's all?"
Upon hearing the word ‘fuckbuddy', the cashier couldn't be discreet anymore. In fact, the boy at the next checkout almost dropped his bag as he turned around to look at them. Yet Flo, unlike Sharon, seemed oblivious to it all.
"Well, no..." the Dutch girl replied, visibly embarrassed "I just enjoy the way we are now. We don't need to call it a name or make it official."
"I see. So you want no commitment at all? That might have worked with Tarja, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm not her."
The guilty look in Sharon's brown eyes said it all. Flo had never felt that stupid in her life.
"You... didn't have an open relationship with Tarja, right? You used me to cheat on her?"
Sharon took a deep breath.
"Look-"
But the other woman didn't let her finish the sentence. She shook her head with the most horrified expression Sharon had ever seen.
"I don't want to hear it. I have no idea what image you have of me, but I'm the kind of girl who sticks to one, only one person. And damn it, that also means not ruining other people's relationships!"
"You don't understand" Sharon lowered her voice "That relationship was already ruined. You just gave me the push I needed to finally break up with her."
"Great! So I'm just a rebound" Flo's tone remained the same as she narrowed her blue eyes "Well, for your information, this is not who I am. I shouldn't have come."
And before she could stop her, the blonde stormed out of the supermarket.