Shane trailed her kisses lightly up Carmen’s neckline and when she reached Carmen’s earlobe; she proceeded to capture it into her mouth, sucking on it lightly. It drew a quiet laughter from Carmen and as Carmen turned her head slightly, she trailed a path across Carmen’s cheek, never breaking the contact of lips to skin. She rested her lips on the dent that Carmen’s smile ended. Only when she felt Carmen’s smile faded a little did she lift her lips away. Shane grinned as Carmen turned her head a little more to face Shane, flashing her with a full Cheshire cat smile.

Shane stole a quick peck on Carmen’s lips. Then her lips caught the top of the nose of the Latina. She suckled on it lightly, drawing a fit of girly giggles from Carmen. Carmen pulled away sharply, but quickly replaced her lips on Shane’s mouth. They held the position for a long time, neither deepening the kiss nor breaking it. When at last they came apart, Shane whispered in Carmen’s ear, “Hey peach.”

Sighing contentedly, Carmen replied with a soft “Hi…” before adding “I missed you…”

“And I missed you too… very much.” Shane whispered into Carmen’s ear again. Carmen had no idea how much; Shane had desperately wanted to hold her in her arms ever since the conversation with Mercedes.

“Shane… I…”

“Yeah?”

Carmen had so many questions for Shane, but she didn’t know where to begin. She sighed and turned back into her lover’s embrace, looking ahead into the horizon instead of talking.

‘Should I tell her…?’ Shane thought, still fighting that internal battle as to whether to let Carmen know about the conversation with Mercedes. “I much prefer her to tell me herself.” Mercedes’ words rang in her head and she decided that it was up to Carmen to come out.

Meanwhile, Carmen was deep in thought as well. She wanted to know what Shane and her mother talked about. But she didn’t want to burst this bubble she was in. What she didn’t know really wouldn’t hurt her. And acknowledging to Shane that she knew meant that she would have to face her mother. Shame and the fear of letting her mother down caused her to want to hole up more into her shell. ‘Not now… just not now…’ Carmen found all sorts of excuses to avoid thinking about this issue.