Rosa sat on a counter in the backroom, swinging her legs as she listened to her music and made her way through a tub of salad she'd prepared for lunch that morning. As she did so, she thought about Gina. She thought about the kiss they'd shared a mere three nights ago. Rosa was in conflict with herself. Rosa liked Gina, she was bubbly and constantly had something to talk about so Rosa didn't need to engage when she didn't want to. The way Gina smiled up at her after she spotted a cat on the side of the road, excitement filling the smaller woman in a way that warmed Rosa's heart. But then again, she'd only just met Gina. She didn't know this woman. They had been on one date and it was a date that made Rosa thoroughly uncomfortable.

Rosa had struggled with anxiety and a fair amount of depression since she came out of an abusive relationship a couple years back. At first, Jocelyn seemed like everything she could ever ask for in a woman but after Rosa told her she wasn't ready for marriage, Jocelyn made it very clear that Rosa was a waste of space to her. She made Rosa regret saying no everyday for two years. Endless hours of degrading and foul language and on a bad day, Jocelyn would become physically violent with Rosa. She would leave her bruised and beaten before holding Rosa, apologising and drilling it into the poor woman's head that Jocelyn was the only person that could ever love her. And thus began the trust issues, and understandably.

It had been a problem for her dating in the past because going to fancy restaurants or the movies with a stranger would pretty much always end in Rosa having a panic attack and her date never calling her back. With Gina, she felt panicked and wanted to get out of their as quick as possible but for the first time in awhile she actually felt as through she was in control of her own emotions and was able to grit her teeth and get through it. Still, Gina gave off the vibes that this was her ideal kind of date and probably didn't need the trouble of a mentally ill girlfriend. And for this reason, Rosa hadn't text Gina.

Of course she wanted to. She wanted nothing more. Gina was the first person since first meeting Jocelyn that she had actually felt comfortable in the company of. Walking home, holding her by the waist and watching her face light up as Rosa tattooed her arm. Just the way the red head looked at her, started a warm feeling pooling in her stomach. But she felt guilty. She didn't want to ruin this poor woman's life. Rosa would get attached too quickly, panic and fuck everything up. She didn't want to have to put anyone through that.

A tear ran down her cheek and as it did, Ethan appeared in-front of her, hanging their coat up. They were waffling about some stupid old woman who had tried to stop them in the street for a church session.

"Do i look like someone who wants to go to church?" Ethan asked as they turned to face Rosa. she just stared back at them , not bothering to cover the fact she was crying. "Ro, what's wrong?"

Rosa shook her head, tears spilling down her face. "I'm so useless."

"What! No you're not," Ethan assured her as they jumped up to sit next to her. "Is this about the other night?" Ethan had been Rosa's best friend for years and they were one of the only people who knew the truth about Jocelyn.

Rosa nodded and Ethan sighed. "Not everyone is like Jo, Rosa."

"I know but i didn't think she was like that either, but she was. And besides it's more about the fact i don't want to put all my issues on someone else."

"Sooner or later you're going to have to forget about feeling guilty if you want to settle down in life. If they're the right person then they'll understand and help you when you need it." Rosa nodded and they wrapped an arm around her. "Call her back, Ro. She bought you flowers for fuck sake." She laughed slightly and wiped her eyes.

-

As much as Rosa wanted to listen, she didn't. Instead, that night, she nurtured a glass (or three) of her cheapest whiskey and stared blankly at the TV. She was slowly giving up on life and she didn't want to bring anyone down with her.

Rosa's silence was broken however, when the door bell rang. She groaned and put her glass down. It was probably Callie. She couldn't deal with Callie right now. Rosa made her way over to the door and reluctantly unlocked it.

On the other side, she was expecting to see her nosy as fuck cousin but instead stood Gina. The small woman was holding a net bag full of things that looked like they could fall out at any minute, her face home to a warm smile.

"Hey. I'm so sorry I haven't called work has been an overload recently!" Gina spoke energetically.

"What are you doing here?" Rosa asked out of confusion.

"Well I was thinking about calling and asking you out on another date but then I remembered how that restaurant was all but your cup of tea. You looked so uncomfortable and I'm so sorry for that. So I thought, to make it up to you, we could do something different. I brought takeout and something's gotta give on DVD. I remember you mentioning it's your favourite." Gina said, pulling out the DVD.

Rosa stared at her in disbelief. Someone she'd only just met already knew her so well. She didn't quite know what to say. Gina caught her silence:

"Or I can go? I'm sorry I should have asked if I could come round."

"No, No, it's okay. I just..." Rosa stood there looking at her for a second. "No one's ever done anything like this for me before."

"Well, girl, I'm happy to be the first person treating you right," Gina smiled as Rosa moved out the way and she made her way into the apartment. Gina put the bag on the counter and emptied it's contents . "I know you had curry the other night so I got you an Indian but I also got Chinese in case you fancy something else. Oh and I got us some wine."

Rosa was in total shock. Gina was such a nice person and she cared about Rosa. This never happened. She leant against the kitchen counter next to Gina. "Thank you, Gina." Gina looked over at her and smiled.

"Of course," she nodded before sliding Rosa's food over to her and locating Rosa's wine glasses. "You only own two wine glasses?" Gina clocked an eyebrow questionably.

"I live alone," Rosa shrugged.

"Fair enough," Gina laughed softly and poured the both of them a sizeable glass of wine, before picking up her food and the DVD. The two made their way over to the couch and settled down together.

They spent the rest of the night on the sofa, watching the film in a comfortable silence. Gina had managed to pluck up the courage to make contact with Rosa. She shuffled closer and lay her head on Rosa's shoulder, smiling to herself when Rosa's hand came down to rest on her thigh. Gina wouldn't admit it yet but she really liked Rosa. She knew they'd only actually had four interactions but she could already feel herself falling for the woman who was now mindlessly playing with her hair. Gina relaxed into the feeling of Rosa's acrylic nails running across her scalp repeatedly.

After awhile, Gina sat up and swung one leg over Rosa's lap, carefully straddling her. She held onto the latina's cheek before leaning in and capturing her lips in a tender kiss. Rosa sat up more in place and wrapped her arms around Gina's slim middle, pulling her closer. They both puled away after a few blissful minutes.

"Do you want to go to the bedroom?" Rosa asked, her cheeks pink.

"I do," Gina smiled. "But i don't want to have sex. I don't want to rush into anything." Rosa's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Someone wanted to spend time with her without it involving sex. Rosa felt a certain heat rise within her and she smiled up at the woman still sat in her lap. She kissed her again.

"I really like you, Gina." Rosa said shyly as she pulled away once more. Gina smiled softly and tucked a curly behind the woman's ear.

"I like you too," She punctuated her sentence with a quick peck to Rosa's lips. Rosa stood up, moving Gina's legs to wrap around her waist and she carried the smaller woman to her bedroom. She placed Gina down on the bed and made her way over to her wardrobe. She pulled out a pair of shorts and a sports bra for herself and grabbed a bigger t-shirt for Gina.

"You can sleep in this," Rosa said handing her the shirt. Gina nodded and watched as Rosa left to get changed in the bathroom. When she returned, Gina was changed and under the covers.

As Rosa made her way round the bed, Gina couldn't help but check her out. Her long legs holding up a perfectly toned body. A defined set of abs made home on her stomach and her arms flexed as she moved. And to top it off, Rosa was covered in perfectly placed, beautiful tattoos. They littered her arms and legs, as well as running up her back and down her sternum. She briefly regretted asking not to sleep with Rosa just yet.

"I can see you staring, Linetti." Rosa smirked. She lifted up the covers and climbed in next to the red head. Gina blushed and turned away:

"You know..." Rosa trailed off, pulling Gina into her. She placed a couple of soft kisses on her collar bone. "Kissing doesn't count as sex." Rosa grinned against Gina's neck before taking some skin between her teeth and biting down. Gina let out a soft whimper.

"I guess we've got a fun night ahead of us then," Gina smiled before returning to straddling Rosa.