“Hmm…How’d she know that I have a liking for dessert?” Sam mused aloud.

“Oh, please, you’ve always had quite the sweet tooth,” Sarah called back to her.

The young woman’s steps slowed as she conjured up thoughts of strawberries and chocolate and then a tall, dark-haired woman came to her mind.

Sarah looked back at her sister. “Sam, whatja thinkin’?”

“Ah…nothing,” Sam blushed, “I’ll tell you later. Let’s get some of that cake now. What do you say?” Sam winked at her sister.

Brooke watched as C.C. rolled up the last piece of the large pizza and slowly but meticulously finished it off, down to the last little bit of crust in her hand. When all of the crust was gone from sight, the brunette chewed a few seconds longer then swallowed, washing it down with the last bit of beer in her can. Coming up with a satisfied smile on her face, C.C. opened her mouth to talk but released a loud burp instead. The younger sibling looked over to her sister. “Got any more, Brooke?” C.C. held the empty can upside down and shook it over her open mouth.

Amazed at how uncouth her sister could be at times, Brooke shook her head at the sight, then answered the question. “Yeah, in the fridge downstairs.”

C.C. leaned back against the front of the sofa. “You’re gonna make me walk for it, aren’t you?”

“Oh, hell,” Brooke got up from her chair, making sure to step over the reclining form of her sister on her way through the room to the hall. “Stay put, I’ll go.”

A few minutes after Brooke disappeared into the hallway, she reappeared, carrying an entire case of beer with her. “Okay, here you go.” She tossed one of the cans to her sister from the doorway then deposited the rest in the kitchen, bringing one back for herself.

C.C. studied her sister as she crossed the room while opening the can, then drinking from it before sitting back down in her chair. The brunette took another drink from her own can before talking. “You’d walk all that way for me, but you won’t go the few feet to let Sam know what she means to you,” C.C. smirked, then shook her head.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Deep furrows creased Brooke’s forehead as she tried to figure out what exactly C.C. was talking about.

“You want her to be with you but what are you doing about it, huh?” C.C. stared at the top of her beer can for a moment, then leveled her gaze directly at her sister. “Do you love her, Brooke?” Before the last word was out, the brunette snapped a hand up into the air to halt any response from the woman, “No, don’t even answer that one. It’s a given, just by looking at your face.”

“What am I supposed to do? Tell me, Oh Greatwiseass.”

C.C. smiled first, then began to laugh. “I knew this day would come. Brooke asking me for advice.” The younger sibling taunted.

“Chase…” Brooke said in a deep even-toned voice, trying not to show her growing anger.

“Ye-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-ssssss?” C.C.’s smug smile grew across her face.

Brooke sat up in her chair. “What do you think I should do? What’s your opinion?” The woman sighed.

Brown eyes dazzled at the attention her older sister was giving her. She readjusted her sitting position and calmly said, “Fight for her. Do whatever you have to, to keep her next to you.” The young woman smiled looking at the shocked face of her sister. “You know, you’re a pretty nice person when she’s around. I’d hate to lose that for months…or even longer.”

“C.C., I couldn’t argue about her going to see her sister. I think it’s great that she gets to see her.” Brooke watched the expression on her sister’s face change to one of total confusion, then it dawned on the older woman what was being referred to. “Oh, you mean the internship assignment next semester.”

“Yeah.” C.C. folded her arms across her chest and looked at Brooke. “If you’re like this for one day, what’s it going to be like when she’s gone for months at a time?”

The thought of being without Sam in her life made Brooke sick to her stomach, causing her face to pale. “Oh, God.”

“Did you ever think that that might be why she doesn’t want to let everyone know about you two? I think she’s afraid to lose you during that time away.”

The color now was drained from Brooke’s face and her hands were clenching her stomach as if she were in great pain. “Uhm…C.C., I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Yeah, sis.” The brunette now was scraping the last of the cheese off the cardboard carton, then shoved the box towards Brooke. “Here, take this and don’t aim in my direction.”

Instead of reaching for the box, Brooke pointed toward her cell phone that she’d taken off and laid on the coffee table when they first settled into watching movies. “Can you hand me the phone? There’s a call that I need to make.”

Sam settled into the double bed that she was sharing with her sister, trying to get comfortable. First she laid one way, then after a few seconds, turned onto her back letting her mind orient itself to not having Brooke with her. She rolled over to face her sister and saw the curious eyes of a young girl watching her.

“Yeah, Sarah?” Sam poked at the pillow a few times, wishing it was Brooke that she was resting her head on instead of the unyielding mattress.

“What were you going to talk to me about earlier? You said that you’d tell me tonight and well…it is tonight.” Sarah rested her head on her arm. “So, spill it.”

The blonde cleared her throat as she leaned up on one elbow and her free hand started to draw lazy circles on the sheet. “Ah…I was going to tell you about someone I met at college this year.”

Sarah’s eyes glistened, as her interest had been peaked. “Yeah? A good looking someone?” She leaned forward, waiting for her sister to continue.

“I have this really great roommate and she kind of introduced me to her family,” Sam smiled shyly. “Well, they’re all pretty good looking if you ask me, but there’s one in particular that is…ah…kind of special to me.”

“Oh, details…I want details.”

“Sarah, do you know why Mom…” Sam decided to choose her words differently. “Ah…Do you know why I moved out of the house?”

The young girl looked away from her sister, “Because you like girls, right?”

“Well, that’s part of it,” Sam knew that her Mother had tried poisoning her sister’s mind against her. “I moved out because…” she sighed. “Well, let’s just say that Mom wanted you to be your own person.”

“Huh?” A puzzled look came to Sarah’s face.

Sam reached out and put a stray lock of hair behind the girl’s ear. “It doesn’t matter who we love or where we find love. It’s if you know when that love comes.” The blonde shook her head in disgust. “I’m not saying this right, I can tell.” Her eyes looked away from her sister. “God, maybe Mom was right.”

“What do you mean?” Sarah reached out and touched her sister’s hand. “Sam, I don’t care if you like other girls. That doesn’t make you who you are. You’re my sister.”

“You are a fount of knowledge, aren’t you?” Green eyes looked into her sister’s face and Sam couldn’t help but smile at the love she saw there. “I found someone that I love very much and yes, it just so happens to be a girl…er…woman. An intelligent, beautiful woman that’s haunted my dreams for years.”

“Great!” Sarah beamed with joy for her sister, then remembered the only crush that her sister ever had. “Whoa. You’re not gonna tell me it’s that chick from Anti-Zero, are you?”

“Would it make you uncomfortable if I told you that it was Loran?”

“Uncomfortable, no. Believable…no way,” Sarah shook her head at the thought.

“Well, it’s not actually Loran, but someone that is ten times better and her name is Brooke.” Sam bit at her lip slightly then continued, “You see, Sarah, Brooke Loran was an advertising dream. The ultimate bad girl they used to sell more records, but that wasn’t who she really was.” She looked up into questioning eyes. “Now, my…friend Brooke Gordon just so happens to be that same drummer for Anti-Zero and she’s nothing like that. Nothing at all.” Sam patted her sister’s hand. “Maybe one day, I can let you meet her.”

Sarah looked at Sam. “So, she’s like your girlfriend? I mean, do you guys like..uhm…kiss and stuff?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Sam shrugged her shoulders and then smiled at what she was thinking about saying. “I love her Sarah. It’s plain and simple.” She watched for the girl’s reaction. “Does that upset you?”

“No, not really.” Sarah watched her sister breathe a sigh of relief, then the girl came right out with what was on her mind. “Do you sleep in the same bed, too?”

Sam stopped in mid breath and looked wide-eyed at her sister. “Ah…why do you ask?”

“Just wondered,” Sarah shrugged. “Is it the same as any other couple? I just want to understand, that’s all.” The young girl looked up at her sister. “Are you two like a married couple or something?”

“Sarah,” Sam inhaled deeply, then ventured into her explanation. “You know that being intimate with another person is reserved for someone that you really want to be with the rest of your life…for ten thousand years,” she blushed thinking about her choice of words. “Ah…you see, ‘Like’ and ‘Married’ are two different things. You know that same sex marriages aren’t legally recognized.”

“Yeah, but I think that’s stupid.”

“Well, so do I, especially if you know that you’ve found the other half of your soul. You know, marriage is more than just a piece of paper. It’s what each of the people in love have in their hearts that bind them together.”

“And that’s what you and your girlfriend have?”

“I’m pretty sure it is. I know it’s that way on my part.” Sam looked off dreamily and the words just flowed out of her mouth, “When you fall in love, the whole world pales to the color that the thought of your loved one can bring to your mind.”