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"oh, look at you!" squealed madeline. "you look adorable!" she showed the mirror in front of gwendolyn's face.

highlight on the tip of her nose and inner corner of her eyes. a small wing of eyeliner on the outer corner and pink blushed cheeks. her heart-shaped lips laced with tinted lip gloss. freckles enhanced, eyelashes curled. 

"maddy." gwendolyn gasped, lip quivering.

"yeah, i know. it looks good as hell. best work i've ever done," boasted madeline. "there's no way that karla won't want to sleep with you now."

the brown-haired girl cocked her head. "sleep with me? but it's the middle of the day. what do you—"

madeline giggled. "you'll figure it out, girl. besides, you look really good."

gwendolyn couldn't help but feel like she was part of a corny coming-of-age movie.heart fluttering against her chest. forget the butterflies, a whole zoo was in her stomach.

the night after karla had given her number to the blushing girl, she immediately decided to text after finishing her school work.

Ms. Valetin? This is you right?😊

Read 12:01 AM

Ms. Valetin 👩🏾‍💻👑
Yes, Gwendolyn. I'm surprised you're texting so late.

Oh sorry.

I am interrupting you? 😣

Read 12:03 AM

You're not. I usually sleep very late anyways.

I see!

I'd love to go to sleep later, yet school stuff keeps me up! 🙄

Read 12:05 AM

That sounds very exhausting.

Perhaps I could get your mind off of it by planning our date?

Yeah! Why not!😄

Read 12:08 AM

they had finally settled on a classic dinner date, yet gwendolyn had no clue where the restaurant would be. karla had agreed to pick her up outside of the corner store and drive her to the restaurant. just thinking about being in the same car with karla made her nervous.

madeline sighed. "you need to start getting ready." she shoved something into gwen's purse. "you might need these in the future."

"need what?" asked gwen, starting to reach in her bag.

"it's nothing! go before you're late!" gwen gently escorted her out of her house.

and with that, gwendolyn would be going on her first-ever date.

▢▢▢

she gazed at her pale pink fingernails while waiting for karla to arrive. feet starting to ache in the white pumps with the strap wrapped around her ankle. the pale yellow dress scattered with tiny flowers fit along her curves, exposing her collarbone with a gold butterfly necklace sitting on top.

"oh, ms. valetin," gwen hummed. "where are you?"

almost as if she called for her, the mafia boss pulled into the parking lot in a sleek and refined black tesla.

karla stepped out of the car, silver gucci belt shinning under the warm sun. she wore black high-knee boots and a long sleeve v-neck, topped with a classic gray jacket. finishing the look was a silver necklace and earrings dangling from her ear.

although the look was simple, it fit along with her toned frame perfectly.

"ms. westbrook," karla greeted. "i apologize for making you wait. were you out here for long?" 

gwendolyn shyly smiled. "oh, not that long. i was thinking about you." gwen paused, thinking about the words she just declared. "n-not like that i mean!"

karla laughed. "ms. westbrook, you surprise me everyday." karla gestured towards gwendolyn's outfit. "and you look lovely, mon chéri. you're putting me to shame now." (my dear)

honestly, what she wanted to say was: you look so fuckable right now.

but she maintained herself behind a flirty smile.

gwendolyn reddened. "you look really pretty too, ms. valetin. really, you do."

"i told you to call me karla." said the mafia boss, holding the door open for gwendolyn to sit down. "i don't mind."

"ah, okay..."

gwendolyn watched as karla turned her car on and started driving. side profile sharp and her full lips perfectly proportioned.

"gosh," she said a little louder than she intended. "she's so gorgeous."

"oh? who is?" teased karla, knowing that gwendolyn was only talking about her.

the freckled-face girl covered her mouth and shook her head, embarrassed.

karla silently smiled. many people had called her beautiful before. but for some reason, whenever gwen said it— her heart almost burst.

▢▢▢

it was almost a comical sight: a short girl— barely reaching 5'3— dressed in light colors sitting across the restaurant table from her date: a tall 6'2 woman dressed in (almost) all black.

they sat at their secluded dinner table, laughing and giggling. of course, no one would question the pair, as karla would glare right at them and they'd walk away. 

every server witnessed the sight and wished they were the ones in gwen's spot—a romantic date at an expensive restaurant.

"a crayon out of all things?" gwendolyn puffed, taking a break from laughing. "why would you eat it in the first place?"

karla had told her a story of how her teacher caught her scarfing down a brown crayon as if it was a piece of chocolate. apparently, it was an incredible memory to her of her childhood days.

she playfully rolled her eyes, a tired smile on her face as gwen had been laughing at the story for a minute now. "well... it was brown and it looked like chocolate, so why wouldn't it be?"

gwen she heads and wiped a final tear from her eye. "i won't lie though— i did try to eat wet soil because it reminded me of chocolate pudding. worms and everything."

karla looked away to the side, hand covering her lips, holding back a laugh.

"go ahead and laugh." gwen said with an angry pout.

though the action was done with innocence, karla's mind couldn't help but wonder if she just leaned forward and gave her plump lip a little nibble or— even better— sucking it into her mouth.

her pants tightened at the thought.

"it's alright, darling." assured karla. "everyone does things like that in their childhood."

gwen pushed her shrimp alfredo around on her plate. "yeah, you're right. it's just embarassing to say it out loud. and you're so cool and awesome and—" she blushed furiously and stuffed the alfredo in her mouth. "gosh, i sound like a complete dork, don't i?"

"just a little bit. but i think it's cute." karla propped her head on her palm, staring right into gwen's eyes. "are you about ready to go? of course if you're not, i can make them stay open for another hour or two."

the fork clinked against the plate when gwen placed it down. "ah, i'm ready. the alfredo isn't... that good."

"oh, dear. would you like me to tell them?

"no, it's fine! it just needed more flavor and—"

karla frowned. "honestly, i could probably cook better than all of those chefs back there. making good alfredo is almost like an art."

"oh my gosh. you can cook?" exclaimed gwendolyn.

gwen noticed the tip of karla's ears turning red. "yes. i do it for fun occassionally." an idea came to her mind as she spoke. "perhaps on a future date i'll show you some of my skills?"

"i'd love to!" gwen smiled ear to ear, her freckles scrunched on her cheeks.

karla loved her beautiful smile that subconsciously made her smile as well.

▢▢▢

as the night dwelled on, karla drove them to a secluded area that she had picked out just for this date— the final event that she'd been thinking about in her head.

rows upon rows of tulips filled the acres in front of them, hanging over them was a creamy yellow moon. a winding river curved along with them, water as clear as crystals with tiny colorful fish among them.

it was simple but perfect for a hopeless romantic like gwen.

gwendolyn almost jumped out of the car in excitement. "ms- karla, this is so pretty!" her eyes basked along the illuminated flower field happily.

karla held a blanket in her hands as she strolled behind her. "here, let me set this down." the plaid blanket spread on the grass just before the seemingly endless row of flowers began. 

blanket on the ground, she laid her body on top, legs almost onto the ground below. "come, sit down." karla's velvet voice music to gwen's ears.

gwen smiled as she sat on the blanket, a fair amount of distance between her and karla. "you found this place for our date? it's only the first one, you know"

"i've got to make a good impression," said karla. "tu es spéciale, ma fleur." (you are special my flower)

the sharp chills ran down gwen's back. she didn't know if it was from the wind or the hum of karla's voice. whatever it was, it caused her to shuffle towards her warm body.

"gosh, i wouldn't have worn this dress if i knew it would be so cold!" she huffed.

"here." taking the jacket off her shoulders and onto gwendolyn's. "i don't want you cold."

"your jacket it—"

"i care more about you staying warm. not the jacket. la veste peut être remplacée. vous ne pouvez pas, ma chère."(the jacket can be replaced. you can't, my dear.)

gwen felt her heart warmed at her statement. "o-okay. thank you."

lying together in the secluded flower oasis, they went back in forth in doting conversation, as if they were the only people on the earth.

after minutes (although it was truly a handful of hours), gwendolyn assessed her situation. in doing so, she realized she was close enough to kiss her, again.

how do i always get in this situation with her?

leaning her head onto karla's shoulder, she sighed in satisfaction. "this is the best time i've had in my life in... well a long time."

karla smiled, this time showing her teeth. "i'm very happy you think so also." her eyes trailed down to gwen's lips while bringing a hand up to her chin. "would you mind if i kissed you right now?"

her blush bloomed over her face, touching every freckle. wordlessly, she nodded her head.

the mafia boss lifted gwen's chin and pulled her by the waist, her lips connecting them in a chaste kiss.

oh god. thought gwendolyn, eyes fluttering as karla kissed her. i'm seriously going to melt. she leaned herself into the kiss more.

"how is it that we've only just met, and i'm already falling for you?" karla whispered tracing her finger on gwen's cheek. "we must go on the next date soon if they end like this."

"yes, we will." gwen confirmed, nodding her head. karla then raised gwen's hands to her face, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles, smiling lightly when she giggled.

"let me go warm up the car, it's getting dark out." karla walked back over to her car, receiving a nod from gwen.

as soon as she left, gwen rummaged in her bag to text madeline. yet as she was looking for her phone, her fingers felt a smooth, plastic wrapper slip through her fingers.

"i didn't think i had anything else in here," she muttered.

pulling out the small packet, blushed furiously, and stuffed them back in.

magnum condoms. large.