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Romance Lesbian LGBTQ+

Author's Note: I am aware that this story does not completely go with the prompt, but I was pretty proud to write a romance like this and wanted to submit it. Hope you enjoy it!

Iris’s stray hairs are pushed away from her face by the biting wind. Flying down the slope, the feeling of being free floods through her. This sensation blurs the rest of the world, and Iris suddenly collides with something–or someone.

A girl with shockingly black hair and olive skin tumbles down the slope with rainbow-haired Iris. They land at the bottom, one laughing and the other… not so much.

“Oh, my god! Are you okay? I’m so sorry.” Iris said. She bit her nails as they moved out of the way.

“I’m okay; you’re fine. It’s not the first time I’ve gotten run into.” This girl, who Iris found undoubtedly attractive, seemed to care less about the situation than Iris did.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, if you got hurt or anything I can take you somewhere,” Iris said. The pair shuffled into the main building, sitting down next to the blazing fireplace. They glanced at each other, blushing every time they made eye contact.

“Um, I don’t think I caught your name. I’m Iris.”

“Tiana. Was this your first time skiing?” Tiana meant it as a joke, but Iris looked away and rubbed her arm (a nervous tic).

“No, actually. I was just a little distracted.”

“A little?”

Hesitant laughter emitted from both of the women.

“Are you from around here?” Tiana asked.

“Yeah, about fifteen minutes away from the main street. You?”

“I live off of there. I actually work in the vet clinic right next to the post office.”

“I know right where that’s at! I’m a therapist, I have my own business across the street from Starbucks. Convenient when I have long mornings and need a coffee to make it through the rest of the day.” Iris smiled, let it stretch all the way up to her eyes. Tiana giggled.

“Now, this might sound crazy, and I know we just met… but would you like to go out for coffee sometime? I know a cute, little shop that’s not Starbucks,” Tiana stated.

“I’d like that.”

***

“Hey, thanks for coming,” Tiana said. She smiled and waved Iris over.

“No way I’m turning down coffee. Are there any winter specials?” Iris looked up at the glowing menu that hung above the counter.

“Yeah, my favorite is the Merry Berry frappuccino. It’s pretty much just strawberries,” Tiana said. Iris’s excitement about this new coffee turned into a frown.

“I’m allergic to strawberries. I know, I know, a weird thing to be allergic to.” Iris laughed it off but couldn’t hide her uneasiness with this new experience.

“Well, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Iris scratched at her wrist.

The rest of the date goes by smoothly, and before they know it, the new couple has been talking for almost two hours.

“I better be getting home. This was a lot of fun, thanks again for asking me to come,” Iris stated, taking one last sip of her drink.

“No problem. Besides, when I see a pretty face, I just can’t help myself.” Tiana giggled as Iris’s cheeks flushed a bright red.

“Well, if you’re so confident, why don’t I pick you up at your house next Friday, six-thirty? We’ll go to a fancy dinner, just the two of us.” Iris rubbed her arm, a small smile dancing on her face.

Tiana seemed to contemplate for a moment, then looked back at Iris and said, “I’d like that very much.” She reached out and squeezed Iris’s hand before walking out, jingling the bell on the door.

“YES!” Iris celebrated. The few customers and one barista that was there gave her the side-eye, but a couple smiled and clapped for her in a joking manner. They watched as Iris danced her way out into the winter air.

***

“You look… beautiful.” Iris’s jaw practically fell on the floor when Tiana stepped out of her house in a sage green dress that came down to her knees.

“Thank you,” Tiana said. “I went thrifting one day and found it. It fits perfectly.” She twirled around.

“You go thrifting? That’s awesome.” Iris’s enthusiastic smile caused Tiana to blush.

“Shall we go?” Tiana teased.

“We shall.” Iris put her arm out, letting Tiana put her hand in the crook of it.

***

“I needed you to help me! How could you just go out and leave me here after something like that?” Tiana, red in the face,  paced back and forth in front of an exhausted Iris.

“Based on the way you were acting, I thought that you just wanted to be left alone.” Iris shook her head, staring down at her hands.

“All I said was that I needed a minute to think after you told me about this ‘trip’ of yours.” Tiana stopped pacing, hands on her hips.

“No, T, you said that you wanted me to leave. So, I did and got a drink. I don’t know what you expected from me.”

“I wanted you to read between the lines! I thought that you would be able to tell that I just wanted you to stay and talk.” Tiana’s voice faded away, and she wrung her hands, flopping down on one of the kitchen chairs. Iris put her hand to her head.

“Look. I’m sorry that I’m not a mind-reader. But, if you really wanted me to know that, you would’ve come out and said it!” Her hand flopped back down as tears began falling from Tiana’s eyes.

“You told me that you’d always be there for me,” Tiana whispered.

“I am.”

“You also said that I wouldn’t have to tell you everything and that you would understand it all without me saying so.”

Iris’s face flamed a bright red, and bolts of anger flashed in her eyes. “I specifically told you that I don’t interpret things well! I don’t express my feelings well and you have to explain things to me.”

“You’re doing pretty well at that right now… I’m leaving. Gonna go for a drive or something.” Tiana got up, grabbing her coat and boots.

“Fine by me.” Iris watches in shock as Tiana slams the front door closed, shaking the entire house. Sinking to the floor, Iris sobbed.

***

Geared up in ball caps, sneakers, and matching backpacks, Tiana and Iris navigated their way around all of the obstacles that covered the path up the mountain. Iris powered on, but Tiana’s sweaty face showed nothing but exhaustion.

“Iris, will you please just tell me where we’re going?”

“Nah-ah-ah. I told you: it’s a secret. I can tell you that you’ll love it.” Iris grinned smugly.

“Fine. Can you at least tell me how much farther we have to go?” She glanced around, trying to find a stopping point.

“We’re here.”

They were standing on rocky ground, surrounded by trees. The cliff overlooked a green forest, and a small lake was off to the right. It was picturesque.

The couple took their backpacks off, setting them down off to the side.

“This is beyond beautiful, but why are we here?” Tiana asked. She looked around again, taking in the view. 

“I have my reasons. The day that we had our first date–”

Tiana cut in, saying, “The coffee shop.”

“Yeah. I hiked up here because, ever since I was a kid, this is where I have come to think. And after our date, I thought. A lot. Mostly about you.” Iris paused, taking a deep breath.

Tiana raised one eyebrow, beginning to grow suspicious. “And?”

“I have come up here after each of our dates. Almost every time I’ve come up here, I’ve thought ‘She’s the one. The one I’m gonna marry.’ So, I thought it was only right to come here.” Iris bent down on one knee, pulling a ring case out of her sweatshirt pocket. Tiana put her hands on her cheeks, tearing up. The diamond on top of the silver band glinted in the sunlight.

“Iris?”

Iris responded: “Tiana, you have made me the happiest woman on Earth. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

“Obviously!!!” Tiana exclaimed. Iris, standing up, slipped the ring onto Tiana’s finger. They both grinned ear to ear as Iris pulled Tiana by the waist to her, kissing her.

***

“Do you, Iris King, take Tiana Talik, to be your lawfully wedded wife?” the minister inquired. Iris smiled at her soon-to-be wife, sliding the new and improved wedding ring on her left ring finger.

“I do.”

“And do you, Tiana Talik, take Iris King, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Tiana repeated Iris’s action, firmly stating, “I do.”

“Then I now pronounce you wife and wife. You may kiss each other,” the minister suggested. He stepped aside. Tiana was centimeters away from kissing the love of her life through the clapping when it started.

Gunfire.

March 31, 2022 15:57

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90 comments

15:55 Dec 13, 2023

omg!! i LOVED this story! there aren’t a whole lot of wlw stories on here, so it’s awesome when i find one! iris and tiana are so cute together and oh my goodness the cliffhanger at the end. great job!! -mars

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16:38 Dec 22, 2023

Thank you so much for the feedback!! :)

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ℂ𝕁 𝕄.
20:12 May 31, 2023

OMG WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE GUNSHOTS I NEED TO KNOWWWW!!!! All your stories are amazing, Brooke. Idek what to say you're just an amazing writer.

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03:54 Jun 26, 2023

GIRL I DONT EVEN WRITE ANYMORE SO IDK EITHER awww thank you 💛

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Dhwani Jain
04:15 Mar 21, 2023

HEY!!!!!!!! How have you been?!

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03:56 Jun 26, 2023

pretty good, you??

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Dhwani Jain
10:13 Jul 07, 2023

Me too!

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Megan Sutherland
02:40 Mar 04, 2023

here's the question, brooke- do you actually have a cowboy hat?

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03:57 Jun 26, 2023

no 😭

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Sapphire 🌼
15:55 Oct 13, 2022

UM??? HOW COULD LEAVE US ON A ONE-WORD CLIFFHANGER LIKE THAT???? Before I say anything, HI BROOKE! I know this is old but I really needed something to read and your story was perfect :))) Are you planning on continuing it? Because I'm curious to see where it goes! (I was gonna type up some critique but then I saw Livia's comment and she basically said everything I was gonna say LOL, but if you'd still like some, lmk!)

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01:55 Nov 08, 2022

I HAVENT BEEN HERE IN MONTHS AND DONT EVEN REMEMBER WHAT THE CLIFFHANGER IS HI SAPH I MISS YOU omg thank you :))) I doubt it because I have lost all motivation for writing sadly. it's a never ending writers block. thanks! (lol sure bring the critique on!)

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Sapphire 🌼
00:42 Mar 26, 2023

ITS OK ME EITHER LMAO HI BROOKE I MISS U TOO i forgot everything i was going to say lmao im so sorry 💀 ive lost all my motivation too :((( it just doesnt feel the same when im writing, it doesn't come as naturally yk idk if you'll ever see this, and idk if i'll ever see your response, but its been so long <33 how are you doing?

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03:56 Jun 26, 2023

yes fr after reedsy started going away i just couldn’t write anymore. i’ve been thinking abt trying again it has been foreverrrr. i’m pretty good, wbu?

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Sapphire 🌼
03:48 Feb 27, 2024

ofc im responding like a year later lmaooo 😭 im alrighttt im a lot mroe active on insta btw im sorry i forgot abt reedsy until like yesterday omg the nostalgia is wild

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01:20 Feb 28, 2024

lmao everybody does at this point, I’m only answering rn bc I got the “you have a new comment” email Don’t have insta :/ lol you’re good, I go months w/o even thinking abt it No kidding, that’s all my bio is abt now lmao

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Megan Sutherland
22:35 Aug 16, 2022

hey, remember me? :D

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19:23 Aug 20, 2022

OMG MEGAN WHERE DID YOU COME FROM AND WHERE DID YOU GO

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Unknown User
04:29 Sep 24, 2022

<removed by user>

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18:21 Sep 24, 2022

Do do dododo do do do do dododo do do do do do

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Megan Sutherland
14:41 Feb 15, 2023

hiiii i don't exist on here but i might again maybe

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19:58 Feb 15, 2023

OMG HIIII

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Megan Sutherland
21:17 Feb 15, 2023

AHHAHA HIIIII ITS BEEN SO LONG

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03:58 Jun 26, 2023

AND NOW ITS BEEN LONGER

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18:01 Aug 09, 2022

i mean who isnt

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02:55 Sep 24, 2022

oh that's dumb

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18:22 Jul 23, 2022

YOUR BIO IS SO TRUE WTH I MISS EARLY REEDSY SO MUCHHHHHH

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00:38 Jul 30, 2022

FR THOOO I ESPECIALLY MISS THE PEOPLE THOUGH LIKE MEGAN AND B AND AMES AND SAPH

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Megan Sutherland
22:35 Aug 16, 2022

yo?

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19:23 Aug 20, 2022

OMG MEGAN WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE

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Lilliane Wei
05:11 May 31, 2022

PLEASE— GUNFIRE BROOKE WHAT WHAT DID YOU DO BRRROOOKEEEEE AHHHHHHHHHH Other than the GUNFIRE at the end, I really liked this story (well i guess in terms of you've-intruiged-me-i-want-more-please-dont-kill-them-what-did-you-do-brooke-why-ness, i like that part too). It's so sweet and I love how you traverse time, showing quick snapshots of their life together. I especially like the argument because I think it's super important to highlight that arguing is a part of being a couple and it's completely normal. Also, I really like how you used ...

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18:12 Jun 05, 2022

Omg, Lyvia! I miss you! Thank you so much for this feedback, it made me smile and I love it! :DDDD I mean, I had to mix it up a little and what's the best mixer-upper than killing some people? And, yeahhhh, that was ~definitely~ on purpose.... Thanks again! <3

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Dhwani Jain
18:24 May 26, 2022

Hey! Where are you? Why has Reedsy been so boring lately? (copy-pasting this to a lot of people as I'm BoReD)

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04:32 May 30, 2022

Hi! Let's go with Mars, lol. I think people are deterred from using it due to the fee to enter the contest, as well as people have gotten very busy lately and simply don't have the time to be very active. I wish I was more active, but it is very difficult.

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Dhwani Jain
06:07 May 30, 2022

Hey! XD Yeah, I get that....

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*goes to ur profile to talk 2 u cuz we havent talked in so long* *notices new story* *clicks it* *sees romance* *sees lesbian* *SCREAMS* so first, before we get to the dramatic screaming- HIIII!! WE HAVENT TALKED IN SO LONG OMGGG THiS IS CEL WITH A NEW NAME LMAOOOO HRUUU?? Ok now dramatic screaming: NOOOOOOOOOOOoOOOOOOOOO WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO THIS TO ME BRONANA WAHHHHHHHHHHH IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL IJDWHIHDOEH AND THEN IT ENDED WITH GUNFIRE AND I WAS *SCREAMING* BUT ANYWAYS- this story was so slice of life and refreshing it honestly felt like...

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04:33 May 30, 2022

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK TYSM LESTE IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY IKR LOL LOVE IT GREAT NOW WE'RE TALKING AGAIN HAHA, WBU

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REVERSE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK BRONANA AND ALSO NP LOL SJDWOWJIEDOEIWJFW YESSSSSS LMAO FEELS LIKE A D E C A D E HEHWEDSEHEHEJEEH HONESTLY? SAME EEEEEEEEEE IM SO HYPER RN LOL WHATCHU DOIN

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18:13 Jun 05, 2022

SZEKLRJBHSELZIGRNJARES;IBHSLERIUBHXLIUEBTFHLSZEIURH FR THO!!!! DZBFUZRURZR BRO SAMEEEEEEEEEEEE SITTING ON MY COUCH BUT MENTALLY HYPER WBU

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WDJKSVHOEIRJ2PEFIREOWFPKDOJPIEFWOKEIVPKRJPOEIJEIOVEIORJ EHERHWHUFHEFWR IKR SEIUDISDUIEJSIRJIDJEFN HEHEDEHWHEHEHEHW YEA LOLLLLL LYIN ON MY BED BUT ALSO HYPER EJIWFJEOJ WJWDIEDJWJEEWJ WRITING ANYTHING??

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12:24 Jun 07, 2022

DKCUYENXICUEBSOCHXYEIZJCYDBCIJSHXYEBXIUCYSBXICUDBXIDYEHCUDJSOSOLXODOSPPPSLXJXNSNAKWJEJRJNCJDJCJC KINDAAAAA IM WORKING ON SOMETHING I STARTED LAST YEAR THATS PRETTY COOL AND THEN I WROTE A SUPER SUPER IN DEPTH CHARACTER DESCRIPTION FOR A RANDOM CHARACTER BECAUSE I WAS BORED SO I HAVE TO MAKE A STORY OUT OF THEM! WBU?!?!

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Jexica Marcell
19:08 Apr 19, 2022

HIIIII OMG LONG TIME NO TALKKKKKKKK HIIIIIIII

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04:34 May 30, 2022

HEYYYYYYYYY OMG IKR HRU

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Jexica Marcell
22:03 May 31, 2022

IM REALLY BAD LMAOOOO HOW ARE YOUUUUU

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18:09 Jun 05, 2022

NO WHYYYYYY CAN I HELPPPPPP I WAS GOOD BUT NOW IM SAD CUZ YOURE SAD

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Jexica Marcell
17:51 Jun 07, 2022

NOOOO DONT BE SAD IM DOING BETTER NOWWWWW OMG PLS JUST BE HAPPY IM GOOD!!!!

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18:02 Jun 07, 2022

ARE YOU SUREEEEEEEEEEEEEE I CANT HAVE MY BESTIES SAD OK? BUT IF YOU MEAN IT WE ALL HAPPY AGAIN :DDDDDDDDDD

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Dhwani Jain
15:49 Apr 13, 2022

You know Sapphire? We have a collab coming up on my blog at 04:06 p.m. IST tomorrow (April 14). Do check it out, here's the link (https://djdhwanijain.wordpress.com/)

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20:36 Apr 16, 2022

I’ll check it out soon!

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Dhwani Jain
10:41 Apr 17, 2022

Thanks

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04:36 May 30, 2022

No problem! :)

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Dhwani Jain
06:08 May 30, 2022

=D

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Dhwani Jain
12:08 Apr 10, 2022

Hey!!!! How are you doing?

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20:36 Apr 16, 2022

Hi! Great, how are you?

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Dhwani Jain
10:41 Apr 17, 2022

Awesome!

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04:36 May 30, 2022

That's great! :)

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Unknown User
23:48 Mar 31, 2022

<removed by user>

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21:35 Apr 01, 2022

Omg I'm so happy that you enjoyed it!!!!!!!!!! I'm literally loling and smiling :) Thank you so much for being first and reading! :D

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Unknown User
23:50 Apr 01, 2022

<removed by user>

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Unknown User
04:30 Sep 24, 2022

<removed by user>

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18:20 Sep 24, 2022

digitally yes but not in real life sadly

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Unknown User
23:59 Sep 24, 2022

<removed by user>

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01:53 Nov 08, 2022

brookeloveshercowboyhat

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