#how come trixie naming everything she hates about kissing katya before kissing her anyways is. so cute

[folieanoot]

queueuwu

you’re gonna get red lipstick on me and you know i hate that

[artificialqueens]

Mrs. Needles, Thank You (Shalaska) - Josie

AN: Hi!! I originally posted this fic on ao3, but I’ve decided to submit it here, too, as a way to get more feedback n stuff. It’s basically pure smut. It’s the first thing I’ve written in years and it was originally supposed to be a oneshot but I’ve decided to keep updating it whenever I find a new weird/dirty/crazy kink that I think would be fun to write lmao. Anyways, Sharon takes the role of a trophy wife in here and Alaska’s a lawyer, which is (kinda??) important to the fic once I start posting more chapters. I hope y’all like it because I refuse to read it.

“Sharon, I’m leaving, I love you!” Alaska called out into the bedroom where her wife was currently sitting on the bed, still half asleep. No matter how many times Alaska woke her up at six in the morning she would never get used to it. Sharon walked over to Alaska rubbing her eyes and kissed her on the lips.

“How long are you going to be at work today, Lasky?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart. Not too long, hopefully. I’m finishing up the case.” Alaska smiled, patting Sharon’s scraggly hair down. She saw the little glint in Sharon’s eye as she did it. Sharon pulled the blonde into a hug, yawning into Alaska’s neck. She could fall asleep right there. Alaska pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. “Go back to sleep baby. I love you. I’ll see you later.”

Sharon mumbled an incoherent ‘I love you too’ as Alaska left the house.

Alaska reached her work building with a yawn and a scowl, seeing her coworker’s rig outside. He always tried to hit on her, apparently not getting the face that she was a lesbian with a wife. She enjoyed the attention, though. Pulling her hair up into a loose bun as she walked into her office, she saw Russell on the other side of the room talking to their boss. He turned around quickly and smiled, and it took everything she had not to roll her eyes.

“Morning, Russ.”

“Good morning, miss. How are you?” Mrs., she corrected in her head.

“I am fine. Please leave my office.” His smile faltered for half a second before getting up and leaving, closing the door gently behind him. At that exact moment, Alaska felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She swiftly opened and unlocked it to see a picture message from Sharon. She was in the shower. It wasn’t uncommon for Sharon to send Alaska pictures of herself at work, but so quickly and boldly was unusual for her. Alaska stared at the picture lovingly, noticing the drops of water cascading down her wife’s body, following the line that starts directly under her perky tits down to her belly button. Alaska got up and closed the blinds to her office, locking the door and sitting down in the desk chair.

She unbuttoned the button on her pants and looked back at the photo, silently thanking God for her wife. Her fingers dipped below her waistline, feeling the lacy panties she had put on that morning. Fingerpads made their way across her thighs to her clit, lightly rubbing. Her fingers felt lower, spreading the wetness that had accumulated up to her folds. A slight moan left her lips as she texted Sharon back.

You shouldn’t have done that. Bad girl. But I’ll forgive you.

She opened the photo in full screen, staring at her wife’s tits, wandering lower and lower, to her belly button, and even lower, until the picture cut off. She fantasized about what was below the black edge of the picture, about getting her wife off, telling her she was a bad girl. Her orgasm was building and she shoved a finger and then another into herself, curling them up to touch her g spot, and she let out another moan.

It’s no fun without you here., Sharon replied quickly.

You know I would be there if I could., Alaska responded, typing quickly into her phone so she could get back to the picture. She could feel the heat in the pit of her stomach building, two fingers stretching her and hitting her g spot with every thrust, all it would take was one more thrust and she would be coming, in her office no less, and she would finally be able to focus for the day and-

And then she stopped.

If you’re a good girl for the rest of the day you won’t be punished. She sent with a quick tap on her phone screen. The rest of the day was going to be hell, and she wasn’t gonna make it without seeing her wife until she gets home.

Message from Cupcake

She opened the text seeing a picture of smiling Sharon, this time with clothes on.

“We won the case, sir.” Alaska announced proudly to her boss. She had just gotten back from the court after working on a case with a foster kid. After being stressed about this case for months she was relieved to have finished it off the way she did, putting her heart into it. Her fingers reached up to unclip her loose bun from her head as she walked into the breakroom, running them through her long blonde hair to make it go flat again.

The light blue couch where Alaska usually sat during her breaks was taken, so she settled into a gray armchair in the far corner of the room and pulled out her lunch. She let Sharon pack her lunches usually. Sometimes Alaska would end up with sweet notes or fruit cut into hearts. Sharon, Alaska thought. Sharon would be happy to hear about the case. Alaska would watch how her light grey eyes sparkled as she congratulated her and gave her kisses, her wavy hair bouncing with every movement.

“Alaska,” She whipped her head up to see Russell, her coworker. He was second chair in court today, working along with her on the case. “Boss just informed me you can leave early today. You don’t have another meeting until tomorrow.” He said, nodding at her. His eyes floated down to her white blouse and blazer where she had subtle cleavage showing, but the sudden movement of Alaska’s phone coming out of her pocket made his eyes drift back up to her face quickly before smiling and walking away. She saw how his eyes stopped on her breasts for a moment.

Alaska video called Sharon three times before she answered. “Hey, baby.”

“Sorry, I was cleaning up.”

“Yourself or the house? You look nice.” Sharon smiled at her comment and blushed. Alaska’s eyes crinkled at the corner and she moved her hand to the inside of her thigh, thinking about earlier.

“Momma’s bringing you home a present today… I won the case!”

“Really? Yay! I’ll make cookies for when you get home!”

“What do you want for a present, angel?” Alaska said, winking. “You’ll have to behave though… naughty girls don’t get presents.” She saw Sharon’s eyes glaze over at the statement almost immediately.

“It’s so hard for me to not be bad when you take so long to get home…” Sharon replied quickly, playing the game her and Alaska knew so well. She was so, so hopelessly turned on just because of one comment. The blonde saw Sharon’s arm make her way down to her legs.

This was aggravating; Sharon knew she couldn’t talk like that at work, yet she still wanted to break the rules her and Alaska had set in place. She knew what she was doing, toying with Alaska like that. “Baby, don’t. You’re such a pretty little girl. I would hate to have to punish you for denying one simple rule.” Alaska pulled her own hand away from her thigh and rested it on her chin, placing her elbow on the arm of the chair. She lightly grazed her fingertips on her high cheekbones putting her pinky slightly into her mouth and Sharon whined. Alaska’s eyes narrowed and Sharon pulled her hand back up to her face.

She knew Sharon was probably so wet by now. It was probably dripping down her thighs, soaking her panties. She would have to throw those panties away.

Maybe Alaska would bring her home some new ones. Shove the other ones in her pretty baby’s mouth to get her to shut up.

Alaska was at work. She shouldn’t be thinking these things.

“Sharon.”

“Yes?” Sharon’s eyes lit up at the mention of her name after the dead silence.

“What did you pick out for today?” Oh, code words, Sharon knew this one. She slowly pulled the strap down on her dress down to her waist for Alaska to see the bright red bra she was wearing. Her tits spilled out of it at the top, and Alaska bought it too small for a reason. Her cream colored skin was so nice to stare at. It was one of the previous presents from Alaska, one from a while ago, but she took great care of it because she knew the blonde loved it. Her petite C-cup breasts barely even needed the push up from the bra, but she appreciated it anyways. After a few seconds she pushed the straps of her dress back up. “So, what’d you do today?” Alaska asked her after deciding not to torture her wife any more than she already has.

Sharon would do anything for Alaska. She was wrapped around her finger. Right now Sharon was ready to unravel with just one word from Alaska’s mouth. She wanted to melt and mold herself to be whatever Alaska wanted.

“Invited Katya over and watched movies, but she left to go to Trixie’s. I miss you.”

“I miss you too baby. I can’t wait to come home and bring you presents. But you have to promise to be a good girl while I’m gone, angel, or else no presents anytime soon. You know the rules.”

“Yes, mommy.” Alaska shivered at the nickname, and twisted strands of her hair around her fingers, gently tugging. She could feel the heat at the pit of her stomach sending small shocks down in between her legs.

“Can you do the dishes sugar? And put on your nice clothes for mommy when she comes home. That dress is far too… conservative. You want to look extra pretty, kitten.” Sharon smiled wide, Alaska gazing softly at the round edges up to her face leading to her sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones. Her plump lips her a deep, alluring red, telling Alaska she was waiting for her all day. She wanted her to beg, wanted her to have to get on her knees before Alaska even touched her.

“Lasky-”

“Mommy.” Alaska cut her off. “Babydoll, you know not to call me that.” She saw Sharon’s eyes narrow. She was losing patience. She needed release. “Don’t be naughty, doll. It’s not my fault if you break the rules.” She said, nonchalantly, clicking her fingernails together. Sharon had to be wet by now, dying for Alaska to come home and fuck her.

Russell walked back into the room with his laptop and seemingly more paperwork. “Alaska, do you have a daughter? You seem like such a good mother!” He said enthusiastically, a poor attempt at trying to flirt with her.

“Got to go, babydoll, be a good girl before Mommy gets home and I’ll bring you something.” She smiled, and Sharon smiled back, before ending the call.

Alaska stood up, putting her lunch back into the fridge to eat later, and directed her attention to Russell, who was trying extremely hard to drag his attention away from her ass.

“No, that was my wife. She’s waiting for me at home.” She smiled a grin, watching Russell’s mouth gape open.

“O-oh. Sorry. Have a good day, miss Needles.”

“Mrs. Needles, thank you.” She closed the door to the workroom with a bang. What a prick.

She headed out to her car, a nice red convertible she’d had for a couple years. There were bags in the back full of clothes and some papers she had yet to drop off.

She headed out of the parking lot of the huge brick law firm and onto the highway it was conveniently placed on, and pulled into a new little bakery that she hadn’t seen before. Apparently they specialized in cupcakes, had been on some show or whatever. The door rang as she walked in, still so turned on she could barely focus. The woman behind the register had dyed grey hair and pretty blue eyes. She smiled at Alaska when she came in, but seemed timid. Fragile, almost. She moved gracefully, too, and Alaska appreciated the gentleness of her actions.

“I’ve never been here before, I want to get something for my wife. What do you recommend?”

“Um, well, personally I like the red velvet. It’s really good. But if you’re not into that the vanilla is also amazing.” She smiled, pointing down into the glass case to point out what ones she was talking about.

“I’ll take both, thanks.” Alaska smiled at the woman and got her wallet out of her purse, pulling out ten dollars in cash. “Keep the change.” She said, walking out the door and making the commute home.

Pulling into her house was like waking up on Christmas, exciting and alluring. Sharon was so close to her- probably sitting inside reading, or watching a movie, with a glass of red wine. She’d been waiting all day for this.

Sharon watched as the door open, waiting to see Alaska’s reaction to her in the finest lingerie, a black and nude corset, black thigh highs, a thong, and garters with just a sheer robe covering her. Her thin waist and thick thighs were accentuated in the lingerie she had chosen, with her boobs practically fully on display, spilling out of the cups on the top. Alaska finally saw her and sucked in a breath, not being able to stop her hips from rolling at the sight. She’s been waiting for this all day, all fucking day, she needed her and she needed her now.

“I brought cupcakes.” Alaska said sweetly, regaining her composure.

“I was good, mommy! I promise.” Sharon said back. She smiled proudly and wiggled a little bit.

‘Good job, cupcake! I’m proud of you. Come here.” She grabbed the box with the cupcakes in them and set them on the table, watching Sharon slink her way over from where she was standing on the couch. Her hips swayed seductively, catching Alaska’s attention. Once she got close enough, Alaska twirled a finger around a lock of Sharon’s hair and tugged, making Sharon moan. “Sit down.”

“I missed you today.” Alaska said, unboxing the red velvet cupcake and placing it on a plate, and grabbing two forks. Sharon was sitting at the small dining table with her legs crossed and her fingers twirling two strands of her hair together.

“I missed you too! A lot. I made cookies, they’re in the fridge.”

“I’m more in a cake mood right now princess,” Alaska replied softly, setting the plate down onto the table in between them. Alaska picked up the fork and took a bite off the cupcake with it, holding the fork out to Sharon. Sharon stared at the fork for a second before leaving in and eating the bite off of it, pressing her lips over the fork tightly and slowly leaning back, releasing the fork from her mouth. Alaska took off her jacket and unbuttoned her shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Sharon knew that. Alaska fed her another bite before standing up.

She quickly unbuttoned her pants again, pulling them down her thighs and eventually onto the floor, with her ass in Sharon’s face. “Don’t touch, kitten. You don’t want to get in trouble now.” Her wife whimpered and crossed her legs tighter, staring at the visible space between Alaska’s tits, watching how the fabric of her unbuttoned shirt grazed over her nipples. She was in nothing but the shirt and a lacy white thong now, and Sharon could see the discoloration in the panties where Alaska was so obviously turned on. Her stomach twisted as shots of heat spread down to her thighs. Alaska sat down on the table, carefully making sure that none of her breasts were visible as she fed Sharon another bite of the cake. Sharon shuddered with every movement.

“Lasky,” She said, closing her eyes. She was shaking, she needed to be touched, right now. Alaska looked her straight into her eyes and stood up.

“Take it all off. I want you naked and I want you in the bedroom. Now.” Sharon made a beeline to the bedroom, leaving Alaska to whatever she was doing.

After a few torturous minutes Alaska walked in the room. Sharon was on the bed, sitting with her calves tucked under her ass, the skin on her hips pushed out. Alaska almost moaned at the sight of it. “God,” Alaska said before coming up to Sharon and kissing her passionately, letting her tug off the shirt she had on and then putting her knees on either side of her hips. Sharon was biting at her lips every so often, and every time she did Alaska moaned. Alaska’s fingers made their way across Sharon’s waist, up and over her tits, squeezing for a brief second. Sharon stopped kissing Alaska to let out a loud moan.

“Sharon, baby,” Alaska said between breaths. “Get up, stand over there.” Alaska pointed at the area in the front of the bed. Sharon quickly got up and followed orders. The blonde followed, sitting at the edge of the bed in front of Sharon. She let Sharon’s eyes wander down her body for a few seconds before giving another order. “Give me your hands, doll.” Sharon gently placed her hands on top of Alaska’s when Alaska pulls a small piece of rope out from behind her, tying her wrists together in front of her.

“You shouldn’t have sent me that picture at work today. I’ve changed my mind about forgiving you.” Alaska said in a pitying voice, lacing her fingers through locks of Sharon’s hair, before tugging so hard Sharon yelps. “Spread your legs, put your arms out in front of you, use the bed to hold yourself up.” With that order, Alaska stood up and got behind Sharon while she used the bed for leverage. Her fingers traced the cream colored skin of Sharon’s ass, watching how pale it got the harder she pressed into it. She noticed the wetness that had gone from Sharon’s pussy to the insides of her thighs. She let her hand go in one more circle over her before lifting it up and bringing it down hard onto Sharon’s ass, leaving a red mark as Sharon jumped. She spanked her three more times before Sharon spoke up.

“Please, Alaska,” She whispered, panting.

“What was that?”

“Please.” She whimpered, trying to stay standing. Her legs had practically almost turned to jello, leaving her wobbling.

“Ok. Fine. Stand up.” Alaska said, sounding bored. Sharon stood up and walked over to Alaska, her eyes following the blonde’s curves all the way down to her ass until she felt the rope from her wrists being untied. Alaska let her go and walked over to the bed, laying down and spreading her legs. Sharon got the memo almost immediately, pulling herself onto the bed and settling her face between Alaska’s legs, kissing the inside of her thighs. Alaska gasped once Sharon finally came in contact of her clit, rubbing her tongue over it, fingers still playing lightly with the area around her folds before pushing one finger in slowly. Alaska pushed her hips up, moaning loudly. She pulled her hand away from the headboard and grabbed a handful of Sharon’s hair, tugging and pushing her head deeper into her. Alaska was a panting mess now. Sharon put another finger in, curling them upwards, feeling Alaska contract around her, becoming completely undone.

Sharon started kissing her thighs, still thrusting into Alaska. Alaska’s moans couldn’t be contained anymore and she was sure the neighbors could hear her. “Sharon, baby, I’m gonna come, please,” Alaska moaned one more time before finally convulsing around Sharon’s fingers as she fucked her through her orgasm. Alaska’s hands had never left her hair, still pulling and tugging at the wavy strands while climaxing. Soon enough Sharon felt Alaska slow down and her hands left her hair. She gave Alaska’s thighs one last kiss before leaning up and kissing her on the lips. Alaska brought her hands up to Sharon’s neck gently and put her knees in the dips of her waist, Sharon’s fingers grazing along her outer thighs.

Alaska pulled away after about a minute of just kissing and sat up with her legs dangling off the bed. Sharon followed, trailing behind her and slowly moving her hair across her back to kiss her neck. Alaska turned around, kissing her on the mouth again, leaning her back and pushing her onto the bed.

“Wait here, don’t move unless you want me to punish you, doll.” Alaska whispered into Sharon’s ear, Sharon squirmed and elicited a moan from the other girl’s words as she walked out the door.

Alaska headed straight to the secret closet in the bathroom- a small safe that sat under the sink in the cabinet. It was built into the wall for discreteness. She unlocked it quickly using her birth date and grabbed the only thing that was in there- a pair of pink painted handcuffs. She walked back into the room and made a rattling sound with the handcuffs that made Sharon giggle. “Thought you said you weren’t going to punish me, Lasky?”

“This is hardly a punishment for either of us and you know that.” She retorted. Sharon giggled again letting a devious grin take over her previous smirk. “Here, baby, give me your hands, put them around- yeah,” Alaska said motioning to the bedpost behind Sharon’s head so she could put the handcuffs on, using the bedpost as a way to keep her from moving.

“You’ve been waiting all day for this, huh, doll,” Alaska said, walking around the bed and sitting down on the corner. Sharon stayed silent. “Answer me, brat!”

“Yes,”

“Do you want me to touch you?” Sharon felt her hips roll up as the heat in her stomach and face pooled down.

“Yes.” Sharon replied, exasperated. She loved when Alaska took control like this.

“Beg for me.” Alaska moved her hands down to Sharon’s legs, playing with her skin. Pinching, pulling, biting.

“Please, Alaska, I need you to touch me so bad,” Alaska looked uninterested, still playing with Sharon’s legs, running her hands up and down the sides.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come home all day so you could fuck me, please,” This got Alaska’s attention, finally letting herself move her hands to the insides of Sharon’s thighs and spreading her legs apart.

“Keep your thighs there.” Her fingers crawled up her wife’s body and into her parted lips. “Suck.”

Sharon immediately went to work, sucking and licking at Alaska’s fingers, lathering them. When she finally pulled them out of her mouth there was a tiny strand of saliva connecting the tip of her middle finger to Sharon’s thick lower lip. Alaska went to work quick, wrapping her mouth around Sharon’s nipples, licking and sucking at them as she rubbed her clit, going from fast to slow.

Sharon started shaking, sobbing as Alaska touched her. Her moans couldn’t be silenced even when Alaska covered her mouth, letting out one more moan before coming all over Alaska’s hand, soaking the sheets underneath her.

Alaska was the first one to leave the bed. She slipped on another pair of underwear and an old t-shirt from their previous vacation. She grabbed another t-shirt for Sharon and threw it at her wife, who was still chained to the bed post trying to catch her breath. Alaska walked over and lovingly undid the handcuffs, letting Sharon sit up, before grabbing the t-shirt off her lap.

“Hands up, love.” Sharon listened to Alaska, putting her hands in the air so she could slip the loose XXL t-shirt over her. “I love you so, so much. You know that, right?”

“I love you too, Alaska.” The blonde curled into Sharon’s arms and lied her head back on her shoulder to get Sharon to lean down onto the pillow, gently spooning her.

“Goodnight.”

“G’night, Lasky.”

[artificialqueens]

What Next? (Katlaska) - Jem

AN: I started this oneshot on Valentine’s Day and totally forgot to finish it until recently. This is for the anon who requested tooth-rottingly sweet Katlaska.

Summary: Alaska has a huge crush on her coworker Katya, so her and her friends devise a plan to leave candy hearts for her every day leading up to V day. Little does she know Katya hates Valentine’s Day

What Next?

When she starts, it’s just a little bit of harmless fun. Since Alaska started working at RuCorp she’s had her eye on Katya, and in the months that have passed, she’s become a bit…infatuated.

Katya is so unlike anyone Alaska’s ever met. She’s such a hard worker, always seemingly calm and in control but with a boundless sense of creativity. Then there’s her bright smile, pretty eyes, shiny hair, and of course, her totally toned body. She seems to have her life together in a way that Alaska can only dream about. And dream she does, about Katya kissing her senseless on top of her desk until she can’t remember her own name.

So naturally Alaska never speaks to her. She’s a bit shy despite how professional and social she appears to her clients and Katya is too beautiful and too put-together to talk to without making a fool of herself.

Then, it’s a week before Valentine’s Day and all Alaska can think about is some way to let Katya know just how special she is. It’s not like she’s ever gonna tell her, she doesn’t even know if Katya likes girls, anyways, but she needs to do something.

Courtney decides to help her because she’s a hopeless romantic, and Willam agrees because she thinks it’ll be funny if Alaska gets caught. She’s not going to get caught.

She has to buy three containers of candy conversation hearts, because some of them say stupid things like “Cool” and “My Man” and she needs to make sure she has enough of the good ones. She knows Adore will probably eat the extras with little prompting.

Alaska starts a bit innocuously with a pink and yellow heart that say “Nice Girl” and “My Star”, respectively. She has Willam place them on Katya’s desk next to her coffee when she goes to the bathroom. She’s too nervous to do it herself, and Willam is good at lying on the spot if she gets caught.

Her plan is to place two hearts in Katya’s office every day this week until February 14th. She’s not a stalker, so it won’t be any more than that. Just a nice gesture from a forever-secret admirer. Harmless.

The next days she gets a little bolder. Courtney distracts Katya with small talk while she puts a candy in the desk drawer and one beside Katya’s mouse. These ones say “My Lady” and UR A 10”. Once she really gets the hang of it all she starts leaving them in less-obvious places so Katya has to work for it a bit.

Nothing changes in the woman’s demeanour in their weekly office meeting. Katya barely acknowledges Alaska as Ru explains the layout of the week, which isn’t much different than normal. They really don’t talk often because Alaska’s heart threatens to beat out of her chest and her words come out fumbled every time they do. Obviously Katya doesn’t know anything is up. Alaska asks Courtney if she’s heard anything about Katya mentioning the hearts, but it seems she hasn’t spoken about them to anyone in the office. Alaska can’t help but imagine what Katya must think about the situation. Does she wonder who is leaving the pastel candy for her? Or has she not even noticed?

No, she must have. The previous day’s hearts are always gone when she places the next ones.

The messages get a little more direct as the week goes on. Alaska leaves “Let’s Talk”, “Say Yes”, “Hold Me” and “Only You” around the office. The colourful candy looks cute tucked on Katya’s shelf with her Russian books. The day before Valentine’s Day she puts a purple “Let’s Kiss” and orange “Love you” right on her desk where it all began. It’s s bit exhilarating, sneaking around to leave tokens of her affection behind. It gives Alaska something to do with the pent up feelings and it makes her a lot more confident.

Maybe she should reveal herself to Katya? There’s always a chance she might feel the same way, even if it’s very unlikely.

“It’s going to be Valentine’s Day, anything can happen on the most romantic day of the year!” Courtney persuades her that night. They’re having a girl’s night in at Alaska’s apartment, but they’ve been too caught up in her love life to pay attention to the movie on screen.

“Stop being a stalker and just tell her already.” Willam says it a lot more pointedly than Courtney, but Alaska knows it’s out of love.

“Do you really think she’ll like me back?”

“It’s worth a try. Nothing bad happens if she says no, and I’m tired of watching you pine after her. Once you know, you either fuck and fall in love, or you can finally move on with your life.”

She decides to do it. This time she goes into Katya’s office to wait. In her hand, she holds the final hear: “Be Mine”. The anxiety eats her up as she stands by Katya’s empty desk, waiting for the woman to come back from her coffee break. She brushes her fingers through her hair nervously, talking herself into staying.

It’ll be ok, she tells herself. No matter what happens.

What feels like years later Katya comes back. She’s looking down at her coffee when she enters her office, and before Alaska can speak, she looks up at her and opens her mouth.

“Is this some kind of fucking joke?” Katya says, and it’s bitter but not in a humourous way.

“What?” Alaska is distraught. It’s not the reaction she’s been expecting at all. “No?”

“God, and I thought you were the one person here who actually liked me.”

“I do like you. What the fuck are you talking about?”

“This!” Katya yells, shoving a handful of candy hearts she pulls out of her pocket up in Alaska’s face. “You’ve been leaving these all over my office for the past week.”

“Yes?” Alaska still doesn’t know what’s going on. She’d been planning on telling Katya, but hadn’t realized the woman had already known it was her.

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me.”

“I’m not, I swear.”

“You know, everyone here fucking knows so I’m sure someone told you.”

“Katya….”

“I hate Valentine’s Day.” Katya articulates, speaking clearly like she thinks Alaska is a stupid toddler. “Because my last ex literally broke up with me on February 14th, right here in this office and everyone got to see me humiliated and in tears and they haven’t let me live it down once.”

Katya has fire in her eyes, and Alaska never expected this so she doesn’t know what to do or what to say but she can feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t know, if she did, she wouldn’t have done this.

“I-I’m sorry.” She chokes out, brushing past Katya as quickly as possible to get the hell out. She feels like such a fool. Not only is she dumb enough not to have known about Katya’s past, but she’s been stupid enough to think she could do something nice and have her feelings reciprocated. Katya obviously doesn’t feel the same way.

Alaska proceeds to have a nice emotional breakdown in the public washrooms. Her hands are clammy, and the words on the candy in her hands are starting to smear. She drops it at the bottom of her purse, wanting to forget she’d ever seen it.

She hears someone walk in, and there’s a moment of panic where she realizes her makeup is smudged, her nose is red, and there’s frankly no hiding the fact that she is in the middle of a crying spell.

“Alaska?” Alyssa comes in and doesn’t ask anything else. She just wraps Alaska up in a warm hug. “Oh baby.” She whispers as Alaska completely breaks down in her arms.

———

“Woah there, Katya, are you ok?”

Katya nearly runs Courtney over as she storms out of her office.

“I can’t believe this! Did you know?” She can’t help but accuse the Australian, she’s Alaska’s friend after all.

“Know what?”

“About Alaska? God, I can’t believe she’d go through the lengths of pulling such an elaborate prank just to make me feel horrible. I thought we were all adults here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“She always seemed nice enough, a little withdrawn and cold maybe, but this Trixie thing? Fuck, she’s a total bitch.”

“Alaska doesn’t know about Trixie.”

Katya raises her eyebrows skeptically, stopping her frustrated pacing immediately at Courtney’s words.

“She doesn’t. She’s only worked here a few months and none of us told her.” Courtney pauses, the realization obviously dawning on her. “You thought the candy was a prank?”

“She really didn’t know?”

“Of course not. Alaska may be a lot of things, but she’s not a monster.” Courtney says. “She really likes you, Katya.”

“I thought….”

“You thought what?”

“I thought she was making fun of me.”

“Why would you think she’d want to upset you?”

“No one here really likes me,”

“That’s so not true.”

“Well everyone either makes fun of me about Valentine’s Day or has avoided the topic like they thought it was a direct reflection of me being a loser.”

“God Katya, no one thinks you’re a loser. We just thought it was a sore spot, so we never brought it up. It was out of love. I forgot you and Trixie broke up on Valentine’s Day, to be honest.”

“You’re saying she likes me?” Her voice is small, because she can’t bring herself to believe that could be true. Alaska is statuesque, professional, adorable, and most of all, too good for her.

“I can’t believe you had no idea! She’s been pining after you since forever.”

Katya pauses, the anxiety and rage that have left her body being replaced with guilt. “Shit. I really fucked up, didn’t I?”

—————

Alaska is at home alone, curled up on the couch, watching the Valentine’s Day episode of the Golden Girls as she does every year. Alyssa had protested against her being alone tonight, but she doesn’t have the energy to be around anyone else after everything that’s happened today. She’s turned off her phone so she doesn’t receive Willam and Courtney’s concerned texts; she can’t handle their pity right now.

“Blanche, you’re right. Love is love period. Some things never change.”

The voice on the TV speaks, but it doesn’t comfort Alaska the way it usually does. The three women in this episode may have been abandoned by their dates, but Alaska has seen it enough times to know that their respective boyfriends all show up at the end and they have a wonderful night. That’s certainly not the case for her, tonight.

Why is she such an idiot? If she likes Katya so much, how could she have not known she hated Valentine’s Day? She’s upset the one person she’s liked in a long time, and now Katya hates her.

Maybe she’s overreacting, but she hasn’t felt this shitty since her last ex had posted the intimate details of their relationship online in a fit of rage. It had been enough for Alaska to quit her job and move to RuCorp to ensure her reputation as a professional wasn’t tarnished. It hadn’t been incriminating information, really, but she’d been working in a field where her clients and boss needed to see her as perfect, and the shame of having people know such personal information had been overwhelming. Luckily, the post had been deleted, and Alaska ended up enjoying working at her new job with Will and Court much more anyways.

She dreads going back and having to work with Katya, though. She hopes it doesn’t mean she’ll have to move again, because she loves the people she works with like Alyssa and Adore, and her boss seems to like her. Can one stupid misunderstanding wreck that for her? She hopes not.

Her doorbell rings, and she honestly groans in disbelief. If it’s Courtney coming to make sure she hasn’t moped herself into a puddle of despair, she won’t be able to handle it. She drags herself up off the couch, still wrapped in a blanket, to painstakingly go open the door.

It isn’t Courtney.

“Uh… Hey.” Katya looks bashful, ashamed even, and Alaska is so confused that she drops her blanket at her feet and her mouth falls open in shock.

“Katya?” She says tentatively. She’s literally wearing an oversized t-shirt and shorts, and no bra. Her face is makeup free, probably streaked with tears, and her hair is matted against her head. In other words she’s really not expecting company.

“I was really shitty to you today, and I don’t expect you to forgive me, but would you like to go out to dinner with me?”

Alaska glances at the clock, it’s 11:30 at night, hardly dinner time, but Katya doesn’t look like she’s pulling her leg.

“Are you for real?” She asks the woman standing outside.

“Yeah.” She doesn’t sound like she’s lying, she actually wants to go out with Alaska?

“Um.. I’m not really dressed.”

“You can go get dressed if you want, I mean, I think you look great but if it’ll make you feel better, you can.” Katya rambles and Alaska almost snorts with laughter because she looks far from great, especially compared to Katya, whose makeup and hair is perfect, even if the outfit she’s wearing is questionable.

“Ok… yeah, you can come in, I’ll go get dressed.”

She invites Katya in, and the woman takes a seat on the couch. Alaska runs to her bedroom, unable to process what’s happening in her brain.

Katya Zamolodchikova wants to go for dinner? With her? After what happened today? Alaska doesn’t want to jinx herself, so she just gets ready and tries not to overthink it.

She pulls a brush through her hair, washes her face, and only really puts on some lipstick and mascara. She doesn’t want to keep Katya waiting long enough to change her mind. Then, she pulls on a tight pink skirt and top that are hopefully classy enough with the addition of her beige trench coat. It’s not her best look, but it’s better than nothing.

She gets back out to meet Katya, who leads her to her car. They make it downtown in an albeit awkward silence, and then are faced with the issue of every restaurant being full, or closed at this hour on Valentine’s Day. After trying a third place, they’re sitting in the dark car together and Katya speaks.

“Shit, I’m sorry Alaska.”

“It’s ok.”

“I’m obviously really bad at this whole, romance thing. I didn’t even think about reservations, I did this on such a whim.”

“You’re not mad at me anymore?” Alaska figures they’re not in a rush, so they might as well talk about it.

“Courtney talked to me, told me you didn’t know about Trixie dumping me. I overreacted.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t find out from anyone, and I’m sorry for bringing up those negative feelings for you.”

“It’s not your fault, I’m the bitch that yelled at you for trying to do something sweet.”

“I should have just told you how I felt, instead of being a stalker.”

Katya laughs, and it’s so warm and throaty and Alaska falls in love all over again.

“And how do you feel?” She asks once they both stop laughing.

“You really don’t know?”

“I’d like to hear it from you, not from a piece of candy.”

“I think you’re beautiful, and smart, and funny, and I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

Katya doesn’t answer, but instead leans in until their lips meet.

The clock on the dashboard reads 12:45 am and February 15th becomes their Valentine’s Day instead.

They end up going to a 24 hour McDonald’s in their fancy clothes and get apple pies and ice cream. Katya is absurd, weirder than Alaska had known just from working with her, and her sides start to hurt from laughing so much. Eventually, Alaska’s not quite sure how, they end up back at her apartment, drinking champagne she got for Christmas two years ago and kissing on the couch. It’s everything she had dreamed could happen, and it doesn’t seem real that Katya is here, kissing her neck and whispering in her ear. Things start to heat up, and once Alaska’s in just her bra and panties lying beneath Katya, the woman suddenly stands up.

“Just wait, one sec!” Katya says desperately, as if she’s forgotten something vital.

Alaska groans as they lose contact, and her skin gets goosebumps without Katya there to keep her warm.

Katya rifles through her purse for a moment, coming back with something concealed behind her back. She straddles Alaska’s waist once again and tosses down a bunch of rose petals, rather haphazardly, across the couch.

“Romantic.” She whispers in a husky voice, and then she bursts into laughter. The petals are stuck in Alaska’s hair, and she’s even got one in her mouth and she can’t help but shake with laughter either.

“Oh my god, you are such a dork.” She tells Katya, and though the sexual tension dissipates, she pulls the woman in for an affectionate kiss.

They don’t end up doing anything, in the end, but they have all the time in the world for sex. Instead they laugh with each other until they are past the point of exhaustion and Alaska has to practically carry Katya into her bed.

When Alaska wakes up the next morning, Katya’s body is no longer next to hers (she’s just gone to the bathroom) but she finds a pink candy heart that says, “What Next?” on her pillow.

[artificialqueens]

wingwomen chapter 5 (trixya, shalaska) - lale

I can’t even explain how much the response to this fic has meant to me! Thank you for spurring me on to write so much this week. Stay tuned…I think this has one more chapter in it.

Queen of the snakes 🐍: Trixie!!!

Queen of the snakes 🐍: where are you???

Queen of the snakes 🐍: PLESAE TRIXIE

[missed call from Queen of the snakes 🐍]

[missed call from Queen of the snakes 🐍]

[missed call from Queen of the snakes 🐍]

Queen of the snakes 🐍: did you leave??

Queen of the snakes 🐍: please dont overreact to this trix!!

***

Trixie threw her phone aside, sniffling. She sat on the grass in Laganja’s yard, trying her best to hold back tears. She’d found a quiet spot far away from the group of smokers, claiming her own space to have her meltdown in private.

Of course Katya liked Alaska more than Trixie. She’d been so stupid, rushing into their plan headfirst without stopping to think about the possibility that even if she could manage to change Sharon’s mind about Alaska and the rest of the cheerleaders, that didn’t mean that Katya would like her. She’d gotten so caught up in the whirlwind of everything that was going on, making friends with Sharon and watching Alaska and Katya get closer, thrilled that everything seemed to be working – and now it had come back around to smack her in the face.

“Stupid,” she muttered to herself, doing her best to wipe away her tears without ruining her makeup. She wasn’t sure why she was trying so hard to preserve it �� the night was already ruined, so what reason did she have to worry about her makeup? She looked down at her dress, sniffing as she smoothed the fabric down over her thighs. Just an hour ago she’d been standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom, twirling for herself and reveling in the sight of herself in her favourite pink dress, hair curled to perfection and makeup impeccable. She’d felt on top of the world; right now, she just wanted to sink through the floor and never emerge again.

Someone sat down beside her, and she tried to swallow back her sobs. Maybe it was Kim, or Pearl, or even Alyssa or Shangie; someone who she could cry to without feeling embarrassed. As long as it wasn’t Alaska. She didn’t think she could face her right then.

“Privyet, Barbie,” Katya said, her smile softer than Trixie had ever seen. Trixie blinked at her in surprise.

“Oh. Hello. Sorry, I’m such an idiot,” she said, ducking her head to try and mask the inevitable streaks in her makeup that her tears had caused.

“No,” Katya replied calmly, shifting closer in the grass until she was sat almost directly in front of her. Trixie thought she was even more beautiful this close up, her pale ivory skin lit up in the dusky night air. Trixie quickly looked away, feeling even more embarrassed. How could she have been stupid enough to think a girl this amazing, beautiful and charming and funny, could ever want her?

“You and Sharon are friends now, yes?” Katya said, eyes still fixed on Trixie.

“Yeah, I think so. I don’t think she hates me anymore, anyway,” Trixie said, sniffling. Katya reached out towards her, one hand lightly cupping Trixie’s jaw. Her thumb rubbed against her cheek, the touch immediately filling her face with heat.

“She does not hate you. She hates all the cheerleaders before! But she still sits and watches you every single day. So I say, Katya, why does she watch these girls if she hates them? I have to find out!” Katya said, her thumb still rubbing at Trixie’s cheek. She realized that she was rubbing away her tear tracks, carefully blending her makeup in again.

“And did you find out?” Trixie asked. She was too confused by what was going on to do anything but go along with Katya’s story.

“Da! She watch you all, but she watch Alaska the most. Why? Ah! I realise! She has ginormous, crazy crush!” Katya explained. Her eyes danced as she talked, as if she was doing her best to make the story as entertaining as possible.

“She did? Even before we started talking?” Trixie asked, surprised. She hadn’t thought that Sharon had even given any of them a second thought before Trixie had forced her into friendship.

“Stupid, ridiculous crush. So, I sit with her and we watch the cheerleaders. I did not mind. I like watching beautiful girl too,” Katya said. Trixie looked away again. She didn’t want to hear the rest of this story if it was going to be a re-telling of how Katya had fallen for Alaska, too. “Then Alaska starts to talk to me, and I realise this is my chance! I make friends with Alaska, and you were making friends with Sharon, make her realise cheerleaders are not all bitches. Perfect! I can tell Alaska all great things about Sharon, and then they fall in love! Because of me!” Katya continued animatedly. She switched hands, gently wiping away Trixie’s tears. “But then I realise big, big flaw in genius plan.”

“And what was that?” Trixie asked. That you fell for Alaska too? You realized you didn’t want Sharon to have her?

“I forget about me!” Katya replied, throwing her free hand up in the air dramatically. “I want Sharon and Alaska to fall in love and then I get pretty Barbie doll’s number. Stupid plan! I should forget Sharon and Alaska and just talk to Barbie, instead.”

Trixie’s gaze snapped back to Katya, looking at her in surprise. “What?” she said, fumbling to get any words out. “What do you mean?”

Katya’s smile turned almost shy. “I did not think what we would seem like, to you and Sharon. My genius plan was really dumb plan! I never wanted to make you cry. Will you forgive me, Trixie?” she said. Her accent drew Trixie’s name out, making it sound more like two words. ‘Trix-ee’. She’d never liked her name as much as when Katya said it.

“I – you think I’m pretty?” she said, dumbfounded. Katya gave her an incredulous look.

“Maybe it is you who is dumb, Trixie!” she said, her smile stretching back out into a grin. “There! Perfect,” she announced, pulling her hand back from Trixie’s face. She missed her touch instantly. Katya took her phone out of her pocket, opening her camera app and switching it to its front camera with a deft tap of her fingers. “See? Beautiful!” Katya said proudly, holding her phone up in front of Trixie’s face. She’d blended Trixie’s make up in perfectly; her eyes were still a little red, but the rest of her face looked as flawless as when she’d left the house earlier that evening.

“Woah,” Trixie said, blinking at herself before looking at Katya again. She smiled up at her, and got a beaming grin in return. Katya put her phone down on the grass beside them, then leaned forward to kneel over Trixie, almost in her lap. Trixie looked up at her; with Katya’s petite, lithe body leaning over hers, crazy braids dangling past her shoulders, she could barely believe what was going on. Katya thought she was pretty? She liked her? But –

“You kissed Alaska. I saw you,” she said cautiously. She’d already had her heartbroken by letting herself get caught up in the idea that Katya could like her once. She wasn’t going to let herself fall again quite so easily.

“Is nothing! I am excited at what she said,” Katya explained, her expression utterly earnest. Trixie chewed her lower lip; sometimes it was hard to tell when Katya was telling the truth – normally when she was telling them some crazy story about her life back in Russia – but right then it was difficult to think she could be lying.

“What was she saying?” Trixie asked. Katya shifted above her, and there was that shy smile again. Even in Trixie’s uncertainty, it felt like her heart melted slightly at that sweet smile.

“She made me promise,” she said.

“Promise what?”

“I want her to talk to Sharon. She says yes, if I ask you out,” Katya admitted. Trixie felt heat rise in her cheeks, and Katya’s smile grew. She cupped the side of Trixie’s face in one hand again, and she couldn’t help but lean into the touch. “So cute,” Katya said softly.

“You want to ask me out?” Trixie asked, her incredulity clear in her voice.

“Will you say yes?” Katya asked, her thumb brushing over the edge of Trixie’s bottom lip. She swallowed hard, looking into Katya’s eyes.

“Yes,” she said honestly. She thought she understood in that moment how Sharon had felt about them trying to make friends with her – it all seemed too good to be true, and she was terrified that it was going to fall apart any second.

Instead, Katya just grinned at her, carefully sliding her free hand around to settle on the back of Trixie’s neck. Her fingers tickled at the hair at the nape of her neck, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine. “Trix-ieee,” Katya said, leaning in closer until there was barely an inch of space between their lips. She smelt of cigarettes and perfume, a smell which Trixie could never have imagined she’d like. On Katya, it was intoxicating. “Will you go on date with me, pretty Barbie girl?”

“Yes,” Trixie breathed, her voice almost a moan. She hadn’t even had a drink yet but she felt drunk, intoxicated by Katya.

“Mm,” Katya hummed, so close that Trixie could feel the sound as much as hear it. As Katya closed her eyes, her eyelashes brushed against Trixie’s hypersensitive skin. Katya pressed their lips together in a slow, tender kiss, and it was all Trixie could do to wind her arms around her and cling on for dear life. It was nothing like the slapstick, brief kiss she’d seen Katya plant on Alaska earlier – now, she felt stupid for even imagining that that could mean anything. How could it now that she knew that Katya could kiss like this?

Trixie had kissed her share of people over the years – a few guys, back when she was trying to figure out her sexuality, and then a couple of girls since then. She’d had nice kisses, sweet kisses at the end of dates and makeout sessions when someone’s parents were out. None of those kisses were anything like this. She sighed against Katya’s soft, full lips, her mouth opening against them to deepen the kiss. Katya shifted until she was fully settled in Trixie’s lap, her slight weight against Trixie’s and her ass nestled against her thighs. Trixie’s arms around her middle squeezed involuntarily, eliminating any space remaining between them.

“Katya,” she moaned against her lips, her eyes peeking open. Katya had a blissed out expression on her face, and she closed the gap between them again to nibble lightly at Trixie’s lower lip.

“Trix-ieee,” she replied, her own voice a little hoarse. She made a captivating sight, lips a little puffy and eyes still closed, showing off her perfect eye makeup. Trixie leaned up, pressing their lips together again. Katya opened her mouth to the kiss eagerly, making a purring noise in the back of her throat as Trixie’s fingers nudged at the edge of her dress. She spread the flat of her palm over the soft flesh of Katya’s thigh, skimming upwards slowly. “Tease,” Katya groaned, fingers threading into Trixie’s hair.

Trixie didn’t know how long they stayed there, trading languid kisses. The sky got darker above them until she could barely see Katya’s features; she didn’t care. She felt addicted, each kiss giving her a heady rush and leaving her desperate for more. It was like she was in heaven; she never wanted the moment to end.

She was brought crashing back to her senses by the bright, blinding light of an iPhone flashlight shining directly at them. Katya squeaked, practically tumbling out of her lap in surprise as Trixie brought her hands up to shield her eyes. “What the fuck?” she said, putting an arm out to try to block the light and see who’d found them.

***

“What the fuck?” Alaska said, taken totally by surprise. She’d been looking for Trixie for over an hour, searching every room in Laganja’s house before venturing into the yard. It was already dark at that point, and she’d struggled to distinguish who was who in the groups of people gathered outside, smoking and laughing. Katya had dashed after Trixie before Alaska could even react, slowed down by the half dozen drinks she’d had since she arrived at the party. She hadn’t spotted either of them on her search of the house, even as her mind cleared.

As time passed, the worry in her stomach had worsened, making her feel sick to her stomach. She hadn’t done anything, really – except maybe forget the whole reason she’d set out to make friends with Katya in the first place. Trixie had always been such a good friend to her, putting up with her stupid, stupid crush on Sharon all year and always doing her best to help her. And she’d repaid her by hurting her.

She hadn’t meant to, of course. If only Trixie knew the circumstances, that that stupid kiss had only happened because Katya was so damn excited by the idea that Trixie liked her. Alaska had been so proud of herself, and then everything had crumbled around them.

Except maybe it hadn’t. Finally, after stumbling around in the dark yard for a while before remembering that her phone had a flashlight built it, here she was, stood in front of Trixie and Katya. There was no doubt over what had happened: she could see traces of Trixie’s signature pink lipstick smeared around Katya’s mouth, and Trixie’s lipstick was smudged, hair in disarray.

“Do you have to blind us?” Trixie said, reaching out to try and grab at Alaska’s phone. She moved it to her side, the flashlight illuminating the grass at their feet enough that she could still see their faces without blinding them.

“Sorry,” she said. Katya, apparently recovered from the shock of Alaska interrupting them, resituated herself in Trixie’s arms. Still looking at Alaska, Trixie absentmindedly looped her arms around her, a giggle escaping her lips when Katya pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I see you two sorted things out, then?” Alaska said, smirking.

“I think so,” Trixie said, a dopey smile on her face as her gaze shifted to Katya. Katya beamed back, looking at her as if she was the only person in the world.

“Da,” she agreed, brushing her fingers through Trixie’s hair lightly. When a long moment passed without either of them looking away, Alaska cleared her throat, shifting awkwardly. Trixie finally tore her eyes away from Katya, having the grace to look sheepish.

“Sorry about before. I think Sharon had me convinced…I was being stupid,” she said, shaking her head.

“What was Sharon saying?” Alaska asked, frowning. Katya had gone back to pressing kisses to Trixie’s cheek, undeterred by Alaska’s presence.

“She was being super moody. Talking about how the two of you had lady boners for each other,” Trixie said, blushing furiously when Katya moved her kisses to her neck.

“What the fuck?” Alaska said, taken aback. What on earth would make Sharon think that? Why would she even care, anyway? Alaska knew Sharon didn’t like her – why would it even bother her if she had a thing for Katya?

More to the point, what right did she have to say any of that to Trixie? It was as if she’d been trying to hurt her.

“Alaskaaa,” Katya said, snapping her out of her thoughts. She was looking up at her, a vaguely amused expression on her face. “I keep promise. You go talk to Sharon now, yes?”

Alaska looked around. In the distance, far away from anyone else at the party,

she could see a pale, slender figure, her halo of messy blonde hair lit up by the glow of a cigarette held in her hand.

“Yeah, okay,” Alaska agreed, turning off the light on her phone. No need to give Sharon the chance to run away. She’d ditched Alaska any chance she got, made it clear she had no interest in getting to know her, and now she’d upset her best friend. Alaska wasn’t going to let her get away from her so easily this time. “Yeah. I’ll fucking talk to her.”

[artificialqueens]

I, A Russian Immigrant CH2 [Trixya] by ArtificalMandy

Katya’s a foreign rich girl, and Trixie’s a poor, native sweatshop girl.

EARLY SEPTEMBER

The teachers are gods in mama’s eyes. If they said jump into the harbor, mama would wave me goodbye.

When I get a bad mark, mama says, “We crossed all the way across the ocean, so my daughter could be a nothing, a nobody?” If I’m drawing, she calls out to me to “take out my books and study.” If I tell her there’s nothing to study, she says “study anyway! This way you’ll know what the lesson is tomorrow.”

But I hate school.

The lessons are dull: Ms. Creme talks too fast and gives too much homework. I can’t wait to run out and play hopscotch with Violet and Jinx on the streets. Mama doesn’t like me hanging out with them because Violet smokes cigarettes and Jinx is a “red-headed jew.” I don’t want to smoke or know what a jew is, but mama slaps me when I say that I love my friends.

“You know what happens to kids who play too much on the streets,” papa says as he puffs at his pipe from behind the newspaper. “They become what they become.”

What does that even mean? Become what? A murder? A prostitute?

Still, I obey their wishes by playing further down the street, so mama can’t see me from the window. I think mama’s wise to my antics because she buys me a glassy-eyed doll, with big blonde hair to try to keep me inside.

I place her on my bed and name her Trixie after my friend.

One day I take it out of my room and bring it down to the street corner, knowing my friends can’t afford real dolls of their own. They ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ for a couple minutes before getting bored. I rest Trixie by the wall and go to play hopscotch. When I come back, she’s gone.

“Where’s that doll I bought you, Katerina?” My mother asks me in Russian as she serves a hot plate of borscht. I spent an hour searching and searching. I even beat up Alaska because everyone knows that she likes to take things that aren’t hers.

“I gave her away,” I say in English.

Lying is easier in a foreign tongue.

That night I toss and turn as the lie sits heavily on my heart. I wonder where poor Trixie is, and I hope that some nice girl found her instead of some snotty nosed boy. A boy would crack her porcelain face under the hoof of a horse.

When I walk to school, I search the dark streets for any white glass or broken, beady eyes. I find none.

++++++

LATE SEPTEMBER

Jinx happily goes to temple on Fridays. Violet’s mother drags her to church. But I…I go nowhere. Not temple or church or mosque.

I don’t care until a southern girl in my class, Ginger, asks why “I don’t have God in my heart?” Then she calls me an “atheist,” which is ridiculous because they wouldn’t let my parents in through Ellis Island if they were atheists.

“Do we believe in God?”

My papa doesn’t answer. He just turns the newspaper, and I turn to look at my mama. She’s cooking up a storm, pans and pots clattering, and I know she doesn’t want to hear my question. I’m not sure why. I don’t know anything about God except he makes different people come to different houses to pray to him. I wonder why we all can’t go to the same house. Isn’t it the same God? I don’t dare to ask my parents.

Instead, I make a list of things I’m not allowed to do, so I know what I should do: read comic books, chew gum, drink soda pop, wear dresses shorter than their knees, and curse.

When I meet Trixie by the library and show her this list, she laughs.

Trixie teaches me my first curse- “Fuck.” I like the word in my mouth. Even better I like the sparkle in Trixie’s eyes when I lean close and whisper it in her ear. We cover our mouths to stop ourselves from giggling too loud.

“Fuck school,” I whisper. “Fuck god.”

Trixie stiffens and shakes her head: “Don’t say that.”

“Why?”

“Just don’t, ok? You can tell everyone to ‘fuck off,’ but it’s not right to say it to God because…well, he’s like Santa.”

“Santa?”

“Uh, he’s always listening. Alright? The only place that’s always been nice and safe for me is Church. It’s the only place where everything’s always ok because…because even if this life is bad, we’ve always got the next.”

I don’t understand because I’ve never been to Church or thought about any life but this one. When I tell her this, she gasps and asks if I’m a ‘jew’ or a ‘muslim’ or an ‘atheist’

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully.

Trixie grabs my wrist and urgently decides that I have to start going to church. I don’t really care, but if it means more time to spend with Trixie, I’m excited.

We head to church on Sunday, and Trixie’s hand brushes against mine. I flush and press our pinkies closer together. I sometimes glance up at her lips, admiring them and wondering what they taste like. I wiggle in my seat. For someone who sits through mass, I have very unholy thoughts.

“What’d you think?” Trixie asks and smiles at me. I don’t know about church, but I could worship the light in those eyes.

“Beautiful,” I say and reach to take her hand, but she’s already turned to go. Trixie doesn’t work on Sundays, and I’ve spent up most of my allowance on movies; so, we go to the park instead.

“What it like, Trixie?”

“What?”

“Working at…factory?” I struggle to form the sentence, but Trixie knows what I mean. She closes her eyes like she’s in pain while she pumps her legs up and down on the swing.

“The machines are tall and dark and horrible. You get so tired you went to lie down right there and sleep. But you have to go out for some air. It’s like a prison. If there was ever a fire, you’d be dead. It’s impossible for everyone to escape down the stairs. The fire balconies are nice to sleep on, but you could never get down them.”

“Has there ever been fire?”

“Once,” Trixie shrugs and then jumps off the swing.

We play in the red glow of the setting sun, and though I should go back home, I don’t want to leave her.

“Why do you go?” I ask her as she turns to leave.

“Money.”

“Oh.”

When I get home, I ask mama how to get rich. She looks at me closely like she’s sure I’ve been doing something wrong. Finally, she says “study your books.”

I go to school bright and early. Maybe if I get good grades and find a job as a teacher or something, Trixie will never have to work again. Then we go to the movies together forever, press our pinkies together in church, and…

I flush as the wretched thought enters my head. Maybe we can kiss.