Comfy Closets - Chapter 39: Chapter 39

The final whistle blew and all I could register was the racing beat of my heart as it almost blocked out the resounding cheer of the crowd.
We won. I can't believe we're going to the finals. Holy fuck.
Through the whole game, I was screaming my lungs out at my teammates from the side-lines, receiving many glares from our coach as I often yelled so loud it blocked out her words.
I didn't fucking care. We're going to the finals!
I grinned from the side-lines as my teammates celebrated with hugs as they jumped into arms, proud of them and of what they achieved tonight. Of course, I wished I had been on the field with them to earn the win, but I was still happy nonetheless and couldn't stop smiling.
Hayley and Camilla started running towards us and I grin spilt across my face when they tackled me into a strong hug, quickly followed by the rest of the team as we all formed a giant group hug that filled the air with joy and irrepressible excitement.
"Alright, alright. She still has that sprain so if you want your captain playing in the finals next Friday, you ladies gotta ease up a bit," Coach chided light-heartedly as she beamed with pride.
"I'm healing up," I grinned cheekily then turned to give the interim captain, Hayley, a playful nudge to the shoulder before looking at everyone else too. "You did well out there. You all did. Now, all we gotta do is kick those puny Kingston asses!"
Whoops and yells of encouragement rose at the sound of our rival's name. But soon, all the players dispersed and went to go shake their opponents' hands.
I stood to the side with my arms crossed, smiling. But it slowly faded as my thoughts inevitably drifted back to the events of the past week that have been constant in my mind.
The week has gone by in a blur and it was already Friday. My girlfriend hasn't been talking to me much lately, but it wasn't down to annoyance anymore. She was just tired most days, not only because of the aftermath of the 'event', but she was also being kept busy with the school play that's coming up soon. Gia was also a part of it and has been whining over text about the long rehearsal hours that's been driving her mad.
With everything that has been happening, I thought it would be nice to get away for a bit with my girlfriend. The plans that I set up for tomorrow have to go flawlessly because Leah deserves that one night of peace, with absolutely no stress or trouble. Gia was more than happy to help me out with everything too - practically demanded it, truthfully.
Speaking of which, my red-headed friend came bounding down the bleachers with Zach so we could leave the field together.
"That was a fun game to watch! And that one goal at the end by Olivia... I'm glad we actually have a good team to make high school soccer entertaining," she jokingly remarked.
"Hey!" I shoved her shoulder lightly, mock offended but I couldn't help but grin.
"I mean, you gotta admit there's a lot of passing just going on. Now basketball - that's way more exciting," Zach shrugged innocently with a stupid smirk on his face. I hit him lightly over the head at that. "Ack!"
"You can't say anything about this. You're biased!"
"She was the one who said it was boring!"
Gia raised her palms up in defence. "All I said was their team makes it entertaining." I rolled my eyes at the two idiots as we continued walking at a slow pace so I wouldn't strain my ankle. Gia casually slung her arm around my shoulders. "By the way, have you talked with Leah about your date tomorrow?"
"I just said I wanted to take her out for a while, just to hang out. She wasn't so up for it at first, though." My lips turned down at the thought.
"Hey - it'll be just fine. This surprise is gonna be great. Heck, I'm helping you, so, it will be great," my red-headed friend said confidently.
I smiled in appreciation. "Thanks for helping me pull this off, by the way." Gia's grin stretched wide as she squeezed me into a side hug and nodded.
Zach groaned beside me, walking with his hands in his pockets. "I wish I'd thought of this idea. It'd be so cute to do it for my date."
Gia poked her head around me to look at Zach. "Oooh, date? Who's the lucky guy?"
"Not telling~" he teased, a glint in his eye.
"This again?" I whined.
"Dude, we'll know sooner or later. Might as well skip all the trouble and tell us now," Gia hummed, and I nodded my head eagerly in agreement.
"Not. Telling."
We gave up trying to squeeze the answer out of him when we arrived at the parking lot. I split ways from them as I planned to meet my teammates at the diner for celebratory food, even if it was only for the semi-finals. Before I walked away though, I stopped my girl-best friend from leaving.
"I'll meet you at my place at five tomorrow?" I said, making sure she remembered.
She winked playfully. "You know it."
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I spent the whole of this morning and most of the afternoon getting this perfect. It took preparation and several hours filled with stress, but I think the surprise was now ready. The whole thing, however, was harder to put together than expected because I had to keep my parents from knowing about it in case they asked questions and started to pry.
As she promised, Gia came over around five and picked up my surprise to bring it to the destination first. Now, it was almost time for me to go over to Leah's place and pick her up.
She still has no idea where we would be going and honestly, I felt my heart palpitate with nervousness every time I imagined her reaction in my head. Oh, I hope this doesn't go to shit.
Coming out of the quick shower smelling all fresh and nice, I went to get myself prepared. Putting on a black crop top and light blue jean shorts, paired with a comfy unbuttoned flannel and my vans, I did my usual light makeup and checked myself one last time in the mirror. My outfit looked casual and unsuspicious, exactly what I wanted for the surprise. I left my brunette hair down in waves and smoothed my clothes down enough times until I was satisfied.
Nodding one last time, I texted my girlfriend to tell her I was starting to leave and made my way downstairs with my keys in hand, heading to the front door. "Goodbye!" I yelled to no one in particular, making it sound like I was rushing so my parents wouldn't get to put a word in before I left.
I settled into Logan and pulled out of my driveway, the whole journey to Leah's house filled with tapping fingers on the steering wheel and my 'chill' playlist playing through the speakers. By the time I got there, I was calmer and more mellow, something I was really glad about.
Getting out of my car, I walked up the path to her front door and knocked. Leah answered a few seconds later with eyes that looked a little tired, but she still tried to smile.
"Hey..." I said, reaching out and taking her hand gently in mine as worry laced my tone. "You still up to going out?"
"Yeah," she nodded, letting out a heavy breath. "I think it'd be good to not be cooped up any longer."
"Alright. Let's go, then," I said with a soft smile, one she returned with less difficulty this time.
We got into my car and I started our drive to the secret destination. I let her take control over the aux cord, and we talked about random things like the game yesterday as she fiddled with the music.
"Oh, by the way, I stopped working at your aunt's place."
"What, the coffee shop? Really?" Leah asked, surprised.
"Yeah, there hasn't been enough time lately to do shifts. Jemma has been really good about it and I hope I'd get a chance to work there again in the summer."
"You will. Aunt Jemma likes you," she reassured.
I hummed in agreement and our conversation came to a lull until she realised she didn't know where we were going and started asking questions about our 'hang out'.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere."
I could feel her eyes bore into the side of my face. "Where is somewhere?"
"Somewhere," I said with teasing humour.
"Lyssa~," she whined, but I could tell she wasn't serious from the amusement I caught dancing in her eyes. She grabbed my hand that was resting on the centre console and interlaced our fingers. "Come onnn, tell me."
"You'll see soon."
The dirty blonde groaned dramatically, and I couldn't help but laugh, her joining me seconds later.
Looking at her, my heart felt lighter at the sight. It was really nice to see her laughing and feeling better compared to how she was during the week. I just felt great knowing I was able to do that for her.
She started to pester me with questions that I easily brushed aside, not giving her any hints as to where our destination would be. When she realised that I wasn't going to budge, she released my hand and crossed her arms, pouting. At that, I chuckled and reached to interlace our fingers again, kissing the back of her hand affectionately as my eyes stayed on the road. "We're almost there."
Leah dropped her pout, satisfied for now.
When we got there, my girlfriend looked confused as I parked the car in a small car park meant for hikers and trail-walkers. It wasn't a very well-known one too, so no one was really around.
Getting out of the car, the first thing I noticed was the sound of the waves lapping the shore. The view of the ocean was right there, only separated from us by large rocks. The wind brought in the fresh sea breeze that blew and twirled my hair.
I watched Leah get out of the car with a look of wonder in her eyes as she scanned the beautiful view.
The setting sun was a brilliant sight as its orange rays blanketed the area and reflected off the water, creating an entrancing combination as the waves lapped the rocks. A serene expression started to settle on her face the longer she gazed at the landscape.
Walking to her side, I wrapped an arm around her and drew her close as a particularly strong gust of wind whipped by. She gazed up at me and smiled happily. "So, this is where you wanted to 'hang out'? This view is amazing, Lys."
I smirked and took her hand in mine, pulling her closer to the water's edge. "I'd rather call it a date, actually, and there's more to this."
There weren't any other cars in the vicinity, besides one that was sitting in a spot closest to the water. I walked towards it, going to the tail of the minivan with a building excitement as Leah followed in confusion. "What are you-?"
Stopping at the back, I opened the trunk door to reveal the inside, causing Leah to cut off her sentence and gasp in shock as her hands flew up to cover her mouth.
It was a comfy haven. The middle and back seats were laid down and covered by a bunch of soft blankets and pillows on top that made it look like one very cosy cloud. Fairy lights hung along the sides of the interior, lighting up the space to create a dreamy and intimate atmosphere. And there was a basket - a literal basket, sitting in the middle of it all that I knew contained a variety of foods and snacks in plastic boxes.
My girlfriend looked to me with disbelief in her eyes, letting her hands fall to stutter out a question. "You- you prepared all this for us?"
I grinned. "Yeah, I thought it'd be nice to have a date near the ocean but be in a place that's comfy and cosy for us to stay. Do you like it?" I asked unsurely towards the end.
She looked at me for a few seconds. Then suddenly, the blonde let out a short squeal of delight as she leapt to hug me. I reflexively caught her in my arms, holding her tightly as she nuzzled her head into my neck and wrapped her legs around my waist. "Oh my gosh, Lys. Of course, I like it! This is so romantic, and probably the most effort anyone has ever put in for a date with me."
"You deserve all the effort," I mumbled into her lavender-smelling hair and pulled away grinning to see one of her own reflected right back. The dirty blonde leaned down to connect our lips, moving it against my own with a gentleness and sincerity that showed her appreciation without words. I supported her weight with my hands under her thighs and she pulled me impossibly closer as we savoured the kiss.
It wasn't until we heard the small 'aww' in the background that we pulled away, abruptly.
Gia was sat in the front seat of the minivan, her body turned around with her phone camera aimed at us as she took photos. Her expression was very similar to the human form of the heart eyes emoji at the moment.
I rolled my eyes at my best friend and Leah slipped back down onto her feet as she gave Gia a surprised and weird look. Seeing that, I went to explain. "Gia helped me set this up and brought the car here for me before we arrived."
"It's a good thing I hid low when you got here too because I managed to get these cute reaction photos! I'll send it to you two," my red-headed friend grinned cheekily.
Leah laughed good-naturedly and waved at the girl. "Thanks, and thanks for also helping to set up all this."
"Nah, it was mostly Aly but I'm glad I could help," Gia said chirpily as she got out of the car and approached us.
"I owe you, G," I said, stepping away from my girlfriend to give her a quick hug. I also handed her over the keys to Logan so she could get back. "Here you go, by the way."
She nodded and started heading back to my car with a wave goodbye. "Have fun you two! Give me all the deets tomorrow!" Before I could yell out a reply, she shut the door to the car and drove away.
When she left, Leah turned to me with a soft smile. "I can't believe you did this for me, babe."
I cupped her right cheek in my hand and placed another kiss on her lips. "I just wanted to do something special for you. Did you like the surprise?"
"I loved it," she mumbled as her lips brushed teasingly against mine, and I could tell she meant it.
I kissed those irresistible lips again then pulled away with difficulty as I gestured for her to get in and test out the comfiness herself, moving the food basket to the side. My girlfriend gladly did so and settled herself into the blankets, lying down with her head on the propped pillow as the fairy lights surrounded her. "Oh god, this is amazing. This is the life."
I chuckled at her reaction and joined her, lying on the blankets that practically made me feel like my body was melting into it. "Hmmm, yeah. That feels good. And the breeze from the ocean just makes this... so good."
"Whose car is this, by the way?" Leah asked, turning her head sideways.
"It's my parents'. It took a long time to convince them to let me use the car tonight. They think I need it for something with the whole gang, given the extra seats and all, but I just needed the space."
She hummed thoughtfully. Another thought came up and it made me smirk. I propped myself up on my side to face her. "By the way, babe, I've told your parents that I planned this date for us, and I told mine that I was sleeping over at Gia's. So, there's no rush to head back. We can even go back in the morning..." I said softly, supporting my weight on my elbow as I lowered my face to hers to give her lips a light teasing peck.
Leah tried to prolong the kiss but sighed in frustration when I pulled away. So instead, she gripped the back of my neck with her hand and pulled me back down to her lips. I moaned when she instantly slipped her tongue into my mouth, deepening it as she pulled my body over hers.
I propped my arms beside her head and when we broke our contact for air, she held the most serene smile as she played with the short tendrils at the nape of my neck. "Thank you for doing this."
I gave her a sweet peck to her plump lips. "No problem." Leaning down to continue our kiss, I heard a faint growling sound suddenly erupt. Leah's cheeks turned a slight pink at the noise. "You hungry?"
"Just a bit," she bit her lip sheepishly and I chuckled, getting off of her and grabbing the basket.
"Well, no worries, we have a lot of food. And being the amazing girlfriend that I am," I said jokingly, "I brought fruits, sandwiches, pizza and a whole bunch of junk food that coach will yell at me for if she ever found out."
My girlfriend grinned widely and kissed my cheek. "You know the way to my heart."
As we ate, we left the trunk door open to let the cool breeze in and keep the amazing view of the ocean there for us to see. I connected my phone to the sound system in the car, putting on some music to play out.
We finished the food with little leftovers and laid back on the blankets, all satisfied and full. Leah was playing with my fingers as we relaxed and cuddled, content with watching the view of the sea and the sunset as the sky slowly shifted and changed colours - from the bright orange and soft pinks to an encompassing dark blue as hints of purple coloured the horizon.
Leah decided to be all cute and lifted my hand up to her lips, softly kissing my knuckles affectionately. "You are amazing. You know that?"
"Oh, I knew that already," I feigned arrogance and laughed when she rolled her beautiful hazel eyes. She joined me seconds later and we slowly settled back into a comfortable silence with the soft music playing. I couldn't help but ask. "I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you much this week, but... how've you been?"
Leah took a few seconds to think then sighed. "I guess I've just taken this time to think. With the Sara thing, I'm not sure how to fix it. I mean, she's my friend. But- I just hope she comes around. Riley talked to her and it looks like she won't be changing her opinions any time soon. If only she just tried to learn more about this, it could help." The girl in my arms sighed again, heavier this time. "I don't want to lose her as a friend."
I ran my fingers through her hair gently in slow, calming strokes. "She might understand one day, or she might not. But you're not alone either way. You have people who understand and love you. Don't forget that, yeah?"
She nodded her head lightly and I decided to deviate the topic to less stressful things. By now, only the fairy lights illuminated the space and it made it feel like we were in our own bubble - our own world.
At one point, we were bantering about the best holiday destinations ever when she paused in thought, her gaze focusing on my figure. A smile started to grow on her lips.
"Oh man, I have a song stuck in my head right now and I wanna play it." She went to grab my phone from my other side. I saw her unlock my phone and scroll through the songs I had. Meanwhile, I held her to me as the blonde had her head resting comfortably on my chest.
"A-ha," she said as she apparently found it, a new song cutting off the previous one. I groaned playfully as I recognised the familiar tune by girl in red immediately. Leah grinned widely at my reaction and started singing along, but she sang in a way that made it feel like she was directing her words to me specifically.
"They're so pretty it - hurts. I'm not talking 'bout boys, I'm talking 'bout girls. They're so pretty with their buttoned-up shirt," she sang, holding back her laughter as she played with my flannel shirt at the lyrics to the end, the corner of her eyes crinkling with humour.
I giggled hard when I caught the coincidence and she sat up to push my flannel off, turning into this playful tease as she bobbed her head to the song. "Babe, I didn't know you had a thing for buttoned-up shirts," I flirted.
"What lesbian doesn't?" she asked rhetorically, and I guess she had a point.
When she removed my flannel, her eyes glided to focus on the strip of bare skin left by my crop top. Her hands went to rest on my tan abdomen, trailing her hands up and down to feel up the warm skin. My girlfriend teasingly pushed the hem of my shirt higher to reveal more, the atmosphere quickly turning from playful to lustful in seconds.
"You're so beautiful," she whispered under her breath, teasing the edges of my bra and my breath quickened as she drew closer to the place where I really wanted her.
"You should see yourself right about now. Too fucking sexy," I replied as she went to straddle my waist.
Leah smirked despite the pink colouring her cheeks and leaned her upper body down as she kissed along my jaw. She whispered boldly into my ear.
"I guess we're gonna fuck in the back of a car, then."
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Bright morning light streamed in through the windows, piercing my bleary eyes. I blinked slowly and looked around to realise that I wasn't in my bed at home, but actually still in the back of my car and under the covers with a very naked girl who had an arm slung across my waist.
Leah cuddled closer to me in her sleep when I started shifting about. I stopped my efforts and chose to let my eyes analyse her instead.
She looked so beautiful as the early rays of the sun kissed the skin of her back. The light strands of her hair looked like they were almost glowing and, at that moment, to me, she was an angel.
The blonde-haired beauty woke up a few minutes later, her light hazel orbs gazing sleepily at me as her smile filled me with content. "Morning."
"Morning, beautiful."
She shifted up to kiss me softly on the lips and I felt such utter bliss at the moment. "You want to go grab some breakfast soon?"
"Yeah, that sounds really good."
We laid like that for a while longer before deciding to get dressed and head off to the nearest diner for breakfast.
Through the whole meal, we couldn't stop the smiles from making its appearance on our faces. The date could only be described as the best so far - if lingering gazes and the constant smiles were any indication.
Unfortunately, soon I was driving Leah back to her place and dropping her off. I got out of the car and gave her one last heated kiss goodbye before letting go of her hand as she walked up to her house.
The rest of the day consisted of me floating on cloud nine as I went back home and cleaned up the car. I also did my homework and updated Gia on how the date went, which led to her pestering me when I refused to give the details. She did send me the pictures from yesterday and I couldn't help but stare at them with a full heart as our happiness radiated through the screen.
The good morning turned out to make the rest of my day and now, I just couldn't wait to see Leah tomorrow at school.
But when I got to school the next day, I didn't see her anywhere.
I brushed it off and waited until we had Chemistry together, but she wasn't there either. Now, getting worried, I texted her and even called her when she didn't reply. But nothing.
When school ended, I decided to head over to her place. My thoughts raced anxiously as I hoped that it wasn't something I did yesterday that caused her to skip school, but she might just be sick or something.
Getting to her house, I exited the car like yesterday and walked up to her door to ring the doorbell. I waited with a tapping foot and it wasn't until Leah's mom answered the door, did it stop.
"Hi. Is Leah alright? She hasn't been in school and she isn't answering my texts and calls," I said, worrying my lower lip.
The woman's kind eyes that looked so similar to Leah's, saddened as she gazed at me. Her features looked conflicted as if she were having trouble deciding whether to say something.
"Leah... her d-," she cleared her throat before continuing with difficulty. "Leah might need some space right now."
"Why? What happened?" I asked anxiously. I couldn't help but take a step closer to the door, the urge to see Leah now stronger than ever.
She stopped me from getting through, holding her palm up. "We found out yesterday that Leah's biological father had - he passed away."