| Hollis |
“Promise me you’re good to drive home?” Whitney leaned into the window of Hollis’ vehicle a half hour later. After reluctantly pulling themselves away from each other, they’d gone back inside to finish their food and tried to act like nothing happened. All the while Kendra didn’t say anything else save for a half assed excuse to disappear into her bedroom, leaving the two girls alone downstairs. Not that Hollis was surprised. It’s hard to come back from such an intense conversation and discuss something light like the weather, or what’s new on television. If it were her in Kendra’s position, she probably would have done the same thing. Shortly thereafter, Hollis thanked Whitney for the meal and they walked back out to her car. It was an unspoken agreement between them both that she should go. Every second they hung around the dinning room just felt more and more uncomfortable, and there was already so much to th
| Hollis |As the two friends (who were quickly becoming lovers) continued to stare into one another’s soul, Hollis bit her lip with a barely audible sigh. She could easily count almost every gold speck glimmering in Whitney’s cinnamon colored eyes. She would’ve mistaken them for hazel, if it weren’t for their usual pure honey shade. Hollis threaded her finger’s through the brunette’s silky curly black hair, feeling a mixture of euphoria and terror surge through her veins. She’d just admitted everything aloud, and had no idea how the other girl felt about it. The suspense was maddening.“What did you say...?” Whitney finally breathed in hopeful uncertainty. Her hands remained cupped along Hollis’s jawline, her small voice trembling. The air around them went quiet for a second as the blonde struggled to make sense of her reeling thoughts. From the moment they met, Hollis couldn’t deny their obvio
| Hollis |She studied the selfie being shoved in front of her face carefully and let out a quiet scoff. For lack of a better word, Hollis would've called Zette a Peacock. That flashy, attention grabbing type who made everyone's heads turn wherever they went. She had the feeling Whitney's EX could care less if it was good or bad attention, as long as she got the attention. That's what this stunt must be about. Even if that's all it was, the whole thing left a bad taste in Hollis' mouth. She wasn't used to the bitter sting of jealousy, which came swiftly in the form of Criszette Swearengen. Whitney seemed physically shaken up by the random text, and it left Hollis feeling like she was wading in open waters."Huh. Sounds like someone misses you back in California." She commented evenly, slipping out of bed to treat her sore body to a much needed hot shower. Hollis had never been able to stand her water any cooler than scalding, and only stepped
| Hollis |Hollis felt Whitney briskly walk behind her, but refused to slow down. She needed a cigarette now. Not in ten minutes, not at the end of her shift- right fucking NOW. Nobody seemed to notice the two Ringo's employees slip right out the front doors, not even Evan who was busy taking handfuls of compliments on the evening's stellar customer service. Hollis waited for the other girl to give up and head back, but the persistent crunch of leaves nearby told her it wasn't happening. She didn't want Whitney getting in trouble for leaving the restaurant momentarily, but secretly felt relieved to have her right there."When'd you start smoking, Holly?" Whitney asked once they were far enough away from the building. Hollis snorted as she lit up with shaky hands. It took a couple tries, but she finally succeeded and took a sharp inhale before letting out a long, drawn out cough."Right now. No seriously, Jake gave me a cancer stick bef
One week later | Whitney |"So how do you feel about being stuck on different shifts now?" Kendra took a large bite out of her honey crisp apple as she watched Whitney arrange her wild curly hair into two side buns atop her head critically. Giving a satisfied nod at the mirror, she plopped on the couch to slip into some hot pink vans with an indifferent shrug at her curious roommate."It's worth it. Sneaking around would've made Hollis feel paranoid, and at least now those weird chicks I was telling you about are leaving us alone." After Hollis had asked Whitney to be her girlfriend, they'd gone in the very next day an hour before their shift to talk to Evan about their relationship. The overworked assistant manager lectured them briefly about conflicting interests, but asked Whitney if she'd be alright working the lunch shift at Ringo's moving forward."I know we originally hired you on to help cover dinner shifts...but Hollis
| Whitney |"I'm sorry...." Whitney whimpered into Hollis's ear, using the palm of a shaking hand to wipe her tears away. Every time she wore makeup lately, she wound up crying. What the hell, Universe? "Don't apologize Whit, you have nothing to be sorry for." As always, Hollis was patient and didn't press for any additional information. Hugging her felt like the safest thing Whitney knew, and she never wanted to part from her girlfriend's warm embrace."I wish I drove to Auburn a long time ago..." Whitney sighed wistfully, tightening her arms around Hollis' neck as she rested her head against the other girl's shoulder. "It's amazing how they continuously manage to make me hate California more than when I lived there. I can't escape everyone's expectations, not even from across the United States." She felt Hollis' long fingers massage her scalp gently, and turned slightly to moan into her neck. "You're good with your hands...""I though
| Hollis |St. Mary’s Hospital felt like a million miles away. Every second that passed struck Hollis’ heart with fear as she sped down the freeway, dodging anyone who got in the way. Her hand shook against the steering wheel uncontrollably, and she was afraid if she spoke she’d start screaming. Whitney stayed silent, which was probably for the best. There wasn’t anything she could say that’d make her feel even the slightest bit better right now.We just got back to normal Hollis thought in disbelief, thinking back to their heart to heart conversation only two nights ago. She'd gotten pretty good at sneaking around Dalton, but he was the older brother after all. So he’d rescheduled his routine date night with Nina and bombarded his younger sister the second she walked in from work just after two in the morning. Without giving Hollis a chance to say anything, Dalton enveloped her in a bear hug and apologized for putting her i
| Hollis |At the tender age of six, Hollis learned what being grateful was all about for the first time in her young life. She’d been playing on the monkey bars in the schoolyard alone after all her classmates had gone home for the day. It was her normal routine, but just until she saw her brother. Dalton being in the third grade wouldn’t get out for another ten minutes, leaving the little girl to her own devices. It’d been storming in Auburn that morning, rendering all the playground equipment slippery and practically unusable, but that didn’t stop Hollis as she struggled to swing herself to the next bar. She’d almost reached the end when Dalton’s shocked little voice calling her name startled the child, and she came crashing down on one of the cold, hard bars; Effectively busting her chin wide open. She’d cried more from shock and fear than of the actual pain, thinking of how mad everyone was going to be at her. Dalton even then wa
| Hollis |She'd never really been a big cryer, but it felt good to get everything out in the grand scheme of things. Everyone needed an occasional outlet, after all. Hollis had no idea what time it was when the gut wrenching sobs finally subsided, but her face was almost as swollen as her knuckles and she could barely keep her eyes open. At some point, Kendra had helped her upstairs and into Whitney's room. All the furniture had been replaced, but didn't look like anything her girlfriend would've brought along from California. The chestnut drawer matched the color of Whitney's bed frame, and a small little black night stand stood out in an attractive way. Not surprisingly, a baby pink comforter was draped over the queen sized bed neatly. Having never been in Whitney's room before, Hollis started to feel a little more at ease. She could smell her lover's favorite perfume, and spotted it on the nightstand. "Happy" by Clinique. Thin white lace drapes softly blew against the win
Thank you SO MUCH for reading "Not All That Glitters." I began writing this novel July of 2019, and made it my official NaNo project. The last chapter was posted at the end of November 2019. I've completely fallen in love with my characters, and spent tons of time developing them! I hope you've enjoyed reading about Whitney and Hollis. <3 I'd really love to hear from you if you enjoyed my novel! Knowing how many people love and enjoy this book really makes a difference to me, every last reader is appreciated. I write not only for myself, but for you too! To continue Hollis and Whitney's adventure through life, be sure to check out "Not All Who Wander Are Lost", the sequel to "Not All That Glitters."
A month later, (Christmas Day)Hollis and Dalton's home was much more full this Christmas than it had ever been in the past. In addition to Nina's parents, her older brother Fabian was visiting from Madrid, Spain for the holidays. Kendra came over with her infamous sweet potato bake, and even Jake made an appearance on the way to his dad's."Are you sure you don't want to come in? We've got so much food." Hollis hitched a thumb toward the direction of her kitchen, where Nina and Whitney were busy prepping the various sides to go along with Dalton's honey baked ham. The Bogards didn't care for turkey, which was fine with everyone else. Family meals usually revolved around their somewhat picky eating habits, so they were used to it by now."Naw man, my pops is waiting for me and I promised I'd help him cook. I think he invited his old lady too, so that'll be cool. I just wanted to drop these off." Jake handed Hollis thre
| Whitney |So she actually came, but what was there left to say? Almost a year ago now, Criszette committed the ultimate offense- sleeping with Theresa. As a result, she effectively ended their year and a half long relationship and became the perfect reason to get the hell out of California. She’d dodged every text, phone call, and email for months leading up to her big move. It only took Whitney a minute to think about what her sister was proposing. Wiping the tears away, she met Theresa’s bluish green eyes with conviction.“It’s partially Zette’s fault I left in the first place. What makes you think I want to see her? She killed us the moment she touched you. We’d still be together if it weren’t for that! I wouldn’t even be here. Why is that so hard for you to grasp? You ruined my life, Theresa. From day one. Bringing Zette is just rubbing salt in my wounds at this point.”
| Whitney |"Do your parents know we work here?" Hollis asked Whitney in disbelief as she followed her girlfriend's family's rental toward a couple of free parking spaces, right next to Ringo's. The blonde hadn't seen anyone aside from their boss and Jake since she'd checked herself into Lakeside a couple months back, and seemed hesitant about just waltzing in as a customer. "I may have mentioned it in passing, but I don't remember." Whitney replied in amazement as they pulled up beside the Audi her father was driving. She yanked the visor in front of her down, peering into the lit up mirror so she could touch up her mascara. "Do you want to go somewhere else, Holly? I could ask." Things were already getting off to a fantastic start. Her father's invitation seemed sly, but she couldn't figure out what he was getting at yet. Whitney had to admit it seemed pretty weird that they wound up at Ringo's, of all places. "We
| Whitney |With December just around the corner, unforgiving Maine wind howled and whistled right outside the Munroe Inn. Hollis gruffly rose from the bed to kneel, removing her navy blue sweater and plain white tee she wore underneath as she maintained eye contact with Whitney. Their hotel room was starting to lose it’s chilly atmosphere, and the only sound that could be heard over their frantic panting was the hum of the heater. Hollis’ black bra followed and as soon as it was tossed aside, Whitney carefully cupped the blonde’s small perky tits in her trembling hands. When it came to sex, every time felt like the very first time, and it was almost always a feverish event. There was so much more to their relationship, but part of the initial connection would always stand out; Their undeniable physical attraction to one another. “God, your boobs drive me crazy...they’re so little and perfect!&
| Whitney |“Are you ever going to tell me what we're doing?” Whitney probed a half hour later, tugging on Hollis’ sweater anxiously. Her blonde lover’s smile was frozen in place as she kept driving, occasionally checking her side mirror the closer they got to heavier traffic. It seemed like wherever everyone else was going, they were heading the same way and it added to Whitney’s rapidly growing excitement. She loved surprises- as long as she didn’t have to wait for them. So maybe that meant she didn’t enjoy surprises after all? Did it qualify as a surprise if it was planned in advance, but revealed as soon as she caught on!?“Let’s play a game, okay?” Hollis finally spoke up, clearing her throat. Whitney’s light brown eyes glittered like spun gold as she bounced slightly in her seat.“What kinda game?”“I’ll give you th
| Hollis |“Am I hearing this correctly? You want Zette’s number?” Whitney asked with a mild amount of fear hidden in her voice.“Are you fucking joking, babe!? Yeah, I want your disrespectful EX GIRLFRIEND’S number. This has gone on long enough and I’m about to bring it to a screeching halt. If your sister won’t listen to you, trust me, Zette will want to hear what I have to say.” Hollis snarled, hastily shimming into a pair of light wash low rise jeans. “It’s her ass that’s getting chewed out if she still decides to come with your family to Auburn.”“I’m just so tired of the drama, Holly.” Whitney sighed curtly, but surrendered to her girlfriend’s request. “I sent it. Don’t threaten her too much, please? I don’t need my over dramatic sister running to our parents and making this a bigge
| Whitney |Getting up before noon wasn't on the top of Whitney’s favorite to do list, but after worrying about Hollis off and on all night she’d only managed to get a whopping four consecutive hours of sleep- making it six A.M by the time she finally gave up and dragged her exhausted body into a hot shower. Leaning into the steady stream, Whitney rested her forehead against the white tiled wall, listening to Hollis’ voicemail play over and over from memory.I wish you were awake right now, I just need to hear you say everything’s going to be alright. Her girlfriend sighed with dismay. The sniffling in the background made it sound like she’d been crying. Sleep well, baby. I’ll call you again as soon as I wake up. That was at one A.M. Whitney woke with a start at around two, checking her iPhone with a bad feeling and finding the voice message. Not wanting to disturb Hollis in case she’d finally pa
| Whitney | Maine's sun had already set behind the vast trees and mountains that stretched for miles just beyond Kendra and Whitney's house before the three girls finally went inside. Hollis and Kendra were suddenly fourteen years old again, covered in snow and getting lost in shoving each other. They laughed in a way Whitney hadn't heard before. It was a pretty cool thing to be around, and she felt lucky to know and love both of them. "I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow. You wanna stay for pizza, Hollis? Or did you guys eat already?" Kendra shrugged out of her fire engine red parka and hung it up on a wooden coat hanger. Hollis did the same with her jacket, and rested one of her hands on Whitney's fragile shoulder mischievously. "Wicked. Babe, you good with cheese? I don't care for the entire garden plus a few lettuce shavings on my pizza. Unlike your roommate over there." She egged Kendra on, who threw a hideous ancient decorative pillow that'd belonged