Italian Liaisons

The Faculty Party Melina approached Ari’s classroom, unable to hide her tears. This time Ari was standing out front of it talking with Nara and Brooke. Ari expressed her concern right away and wasn’t about to let her go nearly as easily as she had when she’d been worried about money. This time, she wanted to know what was wrong right away and wasn’t about to give her time to open up to her on her own. “I learned that my neighbor back home died,” Melina said through teary eyes. Brooke translated for her, and Ari gently hugged her and placed a kiss on her head. Already, Melina felt so much better. She loved Ari’s touch and longed for more of it. “She’d been battling cancer for a long time, and she finally lost the fight.” “Oh, that’s too bad,” said Nara. “At least she’s no longer suffering. Did you know her well?” Melina nodded. Melina dried her tears. She looked forward to singing at the upcoming faculty party and seeing Ari. Especially seeing Ari. When the time finally did roll around two nights later, she was once again excited and nervous, but she sang her songs, in both English and Spanish, without any mishaps. She remained on stage for hours as the many staff members, seated at several large round tables, danced, chatted, and enjoyed an evening of fine food and entertainment together. When she was done performing, she headed off the stage and in search of Ariella, whom she hadn’t seen as of yet. That wasn’t surprising, though. She never saw much of anyone from the stage because of the way the lights shone upon her, blacking out whatever was behind them. Her eyes scanned the room, all the while many unfamiliar faces came up to compliment her on her singing. She tried not to be impatient or rude to them as she quickly moved through the large room in search of Ari. Finally, she spotted her speaking with Nara, Brooke, and someone else she didn’t recognize. “Hi!” she called out a little louder than she’d meant to, causing Ari to jump and the others to giggle. At first, Melina was worried that she’d be quick to brush her off in favor of mingling with her coworkers, but Melina would end up being more than pleasantly wrong and surprised in no time at all. She approached the foursome, eyes on Ari all the way. It was the first time she’d seen the teacher casually dressed, and she liked what she saw. Not that she didn’t like Ari in her long skirts and dressy blouses, but if she looked hot dressed all conservatively and businesslike, she looked even hotter in jeans and a black tank top that really showed off Ari’s well-sculpted arm muscles. The more form-fitting clothes, as opposed to the looser clothes she wore to class, showed a somewhat petite woman. She also looked more like she could be a lesbian but was still hot just the same. A wide smile broke out across Ari’s face. “Come sei bella!” she exclaimed, eyeing the champagne pink gown she wore, which the school’s president’s wife had helped her pick out with some of the money she was paid for singing that night. Smiling back, Melina eagerly entered Ari’s inviting embrace. She expected a quick hug and kiss, but Ari held on instead. And kept holding on. And the closeness drove Melina wild as she happily returned Ari’s embrace and scattered kisses. Their arms remained around the small of each other's back as they chatted with the others, not caring who may’ve been eyeing them curiously. If Melina had had any last lingering doubts as to Ari’s preference or if she might like her, they were gone now. And so they talked the rest of the night away, sometimes just the two of them, sometimes with others, but they remained glued to one another’s side all night long. When it came time for Melina to leave with the president, she almost burst into tears a much worse than she had two mornings ago.