Carmen smiled as she moved her way down Shane’s body.

“Shane?”

“What?”

“I never thought I’d say this but can you please stop talking so I can show you how it makes me feel when you open up to me?”

Shane’s ears turned red and she got a little embarrassed at Carmen’s words.

“Wow. Normally I’m the one saying that.”

They both smiled as Shane let her hands rest on the back of the Latina’s hips. Shane could feel her warmth and could smell the vanilla soap on her skin. She tried to relax her body and remind herself that it was okay to let Carmen take the lead. She was her girlfriend—the woman she loved, the woman who stuck by her even when she fucked up, the woman who promised to stay and help raise her brother while he was in her care—the woman she could open up to and not worry about scaring off. That woman deserved to be let in, and Shane knew it, so as much as she wanted to gently remove Carmen’s hands from her body and flip her over, she stayed perfectly still and let Carmen explore her body.

Carmen knew how hard this was for her girlfriend. Shane always wanted to be on top—to be in control, and to not let someone see a vulnerable side of her. Occasionally Shane would cave and let her lover take the lead. It was something that Carmen enjoyed and tried to cherish. She always tried to be careful with Shane, she took her time and read the signs from her body to see if her lover was enjoying it. Sometimes Shane would have her stop because it was too much to bear, and other times Carmen knew that she let her continue even though she had nightmares running through her mind.

Carmen wanted so badly to make rough love to her, but she knew they were still a long way off from that happening.

Shane felt Carmen’s tongue gently make its way down her stomach and allowed herself to smile when her lover began kissing the skin just above the waistband on her boyshorts.

As Carmen began to tug off her underwear, she brought her face up to meet Shane’s.