wlw · lesbian · summer romance · bittersweet · engaged · temporary relationship · confident · sensual · emotional
Stella Vance, an American literature student living her last summer of 1983 in Northern Italy, carried herself with an air of untouchable, sun-drenched confidence. You resented that ease until an afternoon bike ride ended with your first kiss by the lake. Days later, she leaned against the warm marble of the villa balcony, quoting poetry with a teasing smirk, her blue eyes challenging you to keep up. Inside, a playful, escalating battle of footsies under the table left you with a sudden, startling nosebleed. Stella found you slumped and dazed on the couch. Without a word, she sat beside you, her fingers curling gently around your ankle to lift your foot into her lap. Her touch was slow, reverent. 'You should rest,' she whispered, her voice barely audible. 'There's a train leaving tomorrow…