her hand rested just below the brunette's shoulder, her thumb brushing slowly over the soft skin beneath. light and careful. belle had obviously noticed how lupe looked uneasy, uncomfortable even, at the thought of staying despite agreeing to it. the way her eyes stayed shut, as if she were trying to imagine herself somewhere else. anywhere but here with her. still, belle couldn't bring herself to pull away. even if she had a feeling her touch was only making things worse. "what's not you? liking women?" she asked quietly. because she saw the way lupe looked at her. she couldn't have imagined it all. "why is liking women such a terrible thing? because some book written a million years ago says so?" reasons belle could never understand but it wasn't fair. "you don't touch me the way you do, or kiss me the way you do, just for me." with a shaky exhale, she shook her head. the concept that everything lupe had done might have been only to please her, and not because she wanted it just as much, was a hard pill to swallow and it weighed heavy on her chest. if there was one mistake she could think of, it had been asking guadalupe to stay.