Chapter Text
Carina had always enjoyed painting and drawing, but had never had the time or opportunity to take lessons.
When she finally finished university and signed her contract with the 9 to 5 job, she treated herself to enrolling in art school to have an outlet from the stress of her job.
She entered the building and followed the 'registration' signs. As she entered the room, her eyes fell on the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.
When Carina walked in, the blonde looked up at her and the first thing she noticed was her bright ocean blue colored eyes.
She had short blonde hair that reached just above her shoulders and her fitted t-shirt made her muscular arms visible.
Carina swallowed deeply, her body could no longer move, she felt numb by the beauty of that woman.
She had never experienced anything like this with anyone and certainly not with a woman.
Why did she suddenly feel this way around a woman? She was so intrigued by her that she even became shy, which was not something Carina Deluca normally became.
Women don't fall for women, she had always learned that in her home country.
A relationship is only allowed between a man and a woman.
Her parents taught her that one day she would find her prince charming, marry him, have children and grow old happily together.
But Carina was different from them, she didn't care what they told her.
She had seen her brother struggle so hard to be who he was, to be able to love the boy he fell in love with.
He moved to America and he was one of the reasons she moved here to.
She was the only person he had when he came out and that had made their bond even stronger.
She was so proud of him for daring to do that and that he and Giovanni had been a perfectly happy couple for 8 years now.
“Hi there, are you here to sign up for classes?”
The question pulled her out of her lost thoughts.
"Uh-Si, I mean yes Ma''am."
"Please, you don't have to call me that, you can say Maya" the woman winked at her and held out her hand to shake it.
"Oh yes, hello M-uh Maya. My name is C-Carina."
'Why do I stutter, just act normal' Carina thought to herself but Maya found it secretly very cute the shy stuttering pretty woman in front of her.
“Oowh, I love your accent, where are you from?” she said, still holding her hand.
“I was born and raised in Italy, but when I chose to study veterinary medicine and they gave me the opportunity to do an internship abroad here, I grabbed it with both hands. And since moving here I have lost my heart to this beautiful city."
"I can't believe this city would be more beautiful than the ones in Italy, but I'm glad you made that choice."
She winked again with a smile and Carina smiled back shyly. Releasing her hand, she delicately caressed Carina's fingers with her own.
"Tell me, what do you have in mind?
We have: drawing, painting, clay, pottery, flower arranging,...
Wait, if I were to guess, I would think of flower arranging? Or with your slender hands and graceful long fingers, pottery? "
"I don't think you can guess right Maya" she giggled.
"When I was younger I always had a sketchbook. And because of my work I want to have a hobby to forget the busy working days and I would like to get back into it. So drawing and painting is the things I choose."
"You surprised me Carina, but honestly that's the best choice you made… you just met your future teacher."
Maya couldn't believe what she heard, her heart skipped a beat when she heard that this beautiful woman would be in her class every week.
"Excelent, you may put my name on your list then Miss Maya: Carina Deluca" she said as she looked straight into the ocean blue eyes.
Her name was music to Maya's ears, a beautiful lady with a name that sounded like the most beautiful titel of a song.
Who brought this lady into this world the blonde thought, she wanted to thank them to create her.
"I can't wait to start the lessons.
I've wanted to do this for so long, but due to circumstances and later my studies and internships, I didn't have time for it and now I'm so happy that the time has finally come."
When she saw Carina's eyes sparkle, Maya already knew that this student would be the most motivated student in her class, ever, and it made her excited to get started to.
"So Carina, classes start next Monday and are always from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM.
We start with a few simple things to see what level everyone in the class is at.
And based on that level and learning pace we learn new and more difficult things.
In a few months I hope that we can start with nude models, is that okay with you?
I prefer to ask the students if they are okay with this and that they know that this will also be a part of the lessons because not everyone is open to it.
And I wil let you know when we will have drawing or painting from week to week."
"Si no problem, I like to do portraits!
A human body is not easy to do, but I think it is one of the most beautiful things on earth."
"Great, then we share the same opinion.
So this is the list of everything you need to bring to each class and I think this is all the information you need. Do you have any questions for me?"
“No, I think that's all I needed to know.”
"Then I'll see you next week. I'm looking forward to having you there!"
"See you next week Maya" Carina said with a smile that almost blinded Maya's eyes.
Carina went straight to the store to buy all the supplies she needed so she could go to class prepared and not disappoint her teacher.
5 days... 5 days until she can finally make a dream of many years come true.
Something her parents never allowed her to do as a child, but she could now decide for herself.
It was going to be the 5 longest days ever as she was looking forward to it so much, like a child looking forward to his birthday party.
Luckily, she would be working 3 of those days, the perfect way to take her mind off things and these first days of work will likely be filled with getting to know her new colleagues, patients and the workplace.
She went to pick up dinner because she didn't feel like cooking anymore before she went home to have a quiet evening.
After some reading, she wanted to sleep on time because the alarm was set for 8 o'clock for her first day at work.
She couldn't fall asleep, she was nervous about starting her job, but also because of her meeting with Maya and what it had done to her.
Maya came back into her thoughts, but she didn't want that to...or did she want it?
Those ocean blue eyes looking straight through her, the subtle stroke of the blonde's fingers over her hand, the muscular arms peeking out from under the sleeves of her t-shirt, she had noticed it all...
After a while she finally fell asleep, the last thing that crossed her mind was a blonde standing in front of ger class teaching her to draw.
At the end of the day, Maya walked outside the classroom, happy with all the new amount of students the school welcomed this new year.
Her class ended up with 8 students and she was very happy with that. It is the perfect number to be able to help everyone during the lessons if they need help.
And if it turns out that they are all at the same level, it would be perfect to be able to progress through the lessons quickly.
But still this 'Carina Deluca' kept haunting her mind. The way they connected and the feelings it gave her, it was something new.
Maya was someone who didn't do feelings, or at least she didn't wanted that. Only the pleasures on wednesday were all she wanted to deal with to fulfill her needs.
Today was a wednesday but she didn't need a one night stand this evening, she was too lost in her own thoughts and wanted to sort everything out.
When Carina had entered her room, she was immediately impressed by her beauty.
This was something she had never experienced before, that someone without knowing them had taken her completely by.
When she opened the door to her apartment, she felt something was wrong. Where was her buddy Ford? Normally he always jumped on her when she came home.
"Ford?? Fooorddd, where are you?"
He came out of the kitchen, limping, not too extreme but still enough that he couldn't run or jump anymore.
"Are you okay, Bubs? What happened?"
It wasn't until she looked up that she saw the damage, everything in the dining room was scattered on the floor and thrown into disarray.
“FORD, AGAINNN??”
The dog looked at her with puppy eyes, he knew his owner couldn't resist this and she would forgive him for everything.
It wasn't the first time this happened that when Maya had a long day away from home, which he is not used to because she normally only works short hours in the evening, he welcomes her with a mess.
The limping was noticeable in itself and Maya didn't see any major wounds or much blood, so she decided to wait and see how things would progress.
Maya cleaned the house and they curled up on the couch to watch a movie and share some leftover food.
Maya couldn't concentrate, she picked up her phone and searched on her social media for a woman.
Carina Deluca
Born: July 17
Relationship: Single
Interested: Men
Maya was a bit disappointed to see that she is only interested in men. It hasn't stopped her in the past if she knew straight women and make them open their eyes that they are not just intrested in men.
Maybe she doesn't know it yet or she hasn't come out of the closet yet, that feeling and the signals didn't come out of nowhere after all.
"Look Ford, what do you think of her?
Isn't she beautiful?"
She showed a photo to her dog, he tilted his head slightly to the right.
"She is a new student of mine.
I don't think I have ever met anyone who was so happy to start drawing lessons.
She may be the most motivated student EVER in my class.
I hope I can secretly get to know her better.
Have I ever said that about anyone Bubs?
What's happening to me." she sighed.
"She gave me a feeling, a feeling...
I don't do... Or .... Uugh" she sighed again.
She started yawning, got up and went to bed, still processing what had happened that day until she fell asleep.
When she woke up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast, she noticed his limping was getting worse. So she decided to call the vet to make an appointment.
When she arrived they checked in.
"I know Ford is used to having Doctor Carl but due to circumstances he has moved to another region, so it will be someone else, is that a problem?"
"No, not at all. They have all learned their trade so I trust them."
After a while of in the waiting room, were ford had got up to be social with everyone and every other animal in the room, it was their turn.
"Ford, you can come in" it came from a familiar voice behind an open door, but Maya couldn't give a name to the person of the voice.
When she entered the room, she immediately met the hazel brown eyes that she could recogniz out of thousands now.
“Carina… uh you – Hey, you here?” she said nervously.
Carina was stunned when she looked straight into the recognizing bright blue eyes.
"Maya hello welcome, I didn't think I'd-uh, see you again so soon. It's my first day here and oooh, I didn't know you had a dog. Hello cutie, what's your name?"
She bowed down to his level.
"I also thought I wouldn't see you again until Monday" she said, giggling nervously.
“This is Ford, my roommate, say hello to Dr. Deluca Ford” and the dog barked in response to the woman in front of him.
'Dr. Deluca' as Maya said, gave her a nice feeling in her stomach.
“Hello to you too Ford, can you jump on the table?” Maya picked up the dog and set him on top.
“Normally he would jump on it, but the reason we're here is his paw, so today he can't do that.”
"Ooh, can you show me your paw Ford?"
He raised his right paw to hand it to her and she looked at it very closely.
"I can already see what the problem is, you cut it a bit. What have you done, have you been a rascal?" she tickled him behind the ear.
"I should have taken a picture of my dining room so you could see what he had done" Maya sighed.
"Well, I imagine he made a mess.
But fortunately his own damage is not that big.
You will have to disinfect him a few times a day and if you go out with him, walk preferably on hard ground, it is less dirty and then it heals quicker.
Also wash his paw after walks and clean it very well."
"Thank you so much Dr. Deluca" Maya said with a grateful smile as they looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds until Ford barked for attention.
"Is everything ready for the lessons?
Have others signed up or have I signed up for private lessons?" she said with a mischievous grin while grabbing the stuff to disinfect his wound.
"Well, you'll be sharing the lessons with 7 others, so no, unfortunately there won't be private lessons.
But if you need extra help, you can always ask me."
Maya kept her eyes on Ford, whose wound Carina was now tending to, as she answered.
Carina didn't know what to say, she was shocked and flattered at the same time, no one had ever given her such a clear forward answer.
She liked that Maya was that kind of person and the flirting had an effect on both of them.
"That's it Ford, I'm done with you.
You need to be careful not to get this again in the future. Even though you and Maya are always very welcome, I'd rather have a happy, healthy Fordie" she said as she lifted him to get back on ground.
Carina handed over her personal card with her number instead of her work card. She subtly wanted to exchange her number with an excuse and in the hope of perhaps getting a message from Maya.
"This is my number. If it gets worse or if there is something else going on with Ford, you can always contact me. Otherwise, I guess I'll see you again on Monday?"
"We will definitely see each other again on Monday, see you then Doctor Deluca, have a nice weekend!"
'Dr. Deluca' once again, jitters came through the brunettes body.
"See you Monday Miss Maya, I'm looking forward to it" she said with a shy smile.
Maya walked quickly as she felt red rising to her ears from the way she called her 'Miss Maya' with that Italian accent. What secret powers did this woman have on her?
The next 2 days Carina had a lot of work and she was so happy that she chose that place to work as the colleagues were very helpful and kind to her.
The pet owners had no problem going to a new vet so her days were immediately filled with all new clients.
Friday at 5 p.m. her colleagues asked if she wanted to go to their favorite cafe, it was always the way to end the working week.
But she was so tired from all the new information and impressions she had to process, that she just wanted to go home and sleep through the whole weekend.
"Come on Carina, just 1 drink?"
Carina hesitated, her body felt so tired, but 1 drink wouldn't last long, right?
And getting to know her new colleagues was really something she was interested in.
“Just one drink Deluca?” Alberto asked again.
“Oh why not.”
"Let's go!" they all cheered.
When they entered a bar called Joe's, they took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink.
Carina's eyes fell on blonde hair that looked familiar to her, that coincidence couldn't be true.
When she saw out of the corner of her eye that the lady was going to the bathroom, she followed.
Her instincts took over, even though she didn't even know if it was her, she just had to know.
She waited by the sinks until the woman came back out of the toilets an the blonde with a bright pair of blue eyes looked straight at her.