L is for Lesbian

Lesbian

(Obviously, I'm many days behind, but I figured I'd drop L on Lesbian Visibility Day!)

Layla was everything people expected when they thought of a preacher's daughter; modest, wholesome, and incredibly sheltered. The doe-eyed blonde was the Christian Conservative ideal of an All-American Good Girl. Her father touted her to his congregation as the ideal of a Woman of God, dutiful to her parents and chastely awaiting the righteous love of a Man of God.

That was what made the first step out of line so unexpected. Thanks to years of diligent studying, and despite her father's apprehension, Layla begged her way into attending college.

It was unconventional in her family, where women were expected to settle down, marry Godly men, and pump out many Christian babies. Layla promised to major in Theology and be an example for her peers; she felt a calling she could not explain to her father, but she still wanted to appease his expectations of her. Despite all her expectations, he relented because he knew his daughter had the Fear of God in her.

Layla was ready to go to college and be an example of her righteous raising. She was not expecting to meet an example of her polar opposite in her dormitory. Her roommate, Kelsey, was anything but traditional. An art chick with short, colorful hair and MULTIPLE tattoos— at eighteen!

Something about Kelsey made Layla nervous, but she was taught to be friendly and welcoming, even to people from... different walks of life. Kelsey, to her credit, was incredibly friendly. And open. Oh, so open. Layla got acquainted with the tattoos on her roommates as she spent her time walking around their room less than fully clothed.

Try as she might to ignore Kelsey, Layla found herself enthralled by the wild nature of her roommate. She started asking about her art and her interests, delving further into a secular world she was unfamiliar with.

But it was not just her interests; it was her body. It was her lack of shame. It was the way the low cut of her jeans dropped to the fullest point of the curve of her hips. Kelsey, to her credit, never said anything when she caught Layla staring. She just let her timid roommate cling to her (metaphorically) to help her break out of her shell.

They spend many nights in that first semester staying up late, talking about life and identity and shame. The shame that Layla had that Kelsey lacked, and where it came from. Each Sunday, it got harder to stomach some of the rhetoric at service and harder to justify getting out of bed early each morning.

Particularly when the bed she was rolling out of was Kelsey's bed. At first, it was something Layla justified as a comfort, but as Thanksgiving break rolled around, she was learning to accept the way Kelsey's scent lingered in her mind and her warmth left an impression on her body.

When Winter Break arrived, the preacher nearly had a heart attack when his timid blonde daughter returned home with her hair dyed pink. He preached fire and brimstone that Sunday on the Earthly temptations that lead good submissive women astray, but the fear tactics did not hit Layla the way they used to before college.

Kelsey could confirm Layla was not as submissive as everyone assumed.

In her second semester, Layla diversified her courses, opting for a Literature course where the Gospels were not required reading. Word traveled down the grapevine from her small college church to her small hometown, with Layla's father reaching out, demanding to know what was keeping his daughter from weekly services. 

He threatened to pull her out of school and lamented his mistake of leading her away from her destiny as a Godly housewife. Layla could only imagine his shock when he received her letter the next week.

Dear Daddy,

Thank you for setting me along my true path. Walking the straight line you preached, I never dared to stray out of fear. I needed to step away from your fire and brimstone to understand my path was never meant to be straight.

I won't be coming back this Summer. My girlfriend and I will be getting an apartment and I don't plan on telling you where. But rest assured, campus security has been informed that you are no longer a welcome guest here. I don't need sermons on hate and submissive boxes I belong in anymore, and that's all you've ever offered.

Farewell from your very, very gay daughter,

Layla

The newly re-registered English major slipped the envelope in the mailbox, only to feel familiar lips against her neck. She grinned and turned to admire Kelsey, dragging a suitcase behind her for their first Spring Break trip together.

"You ready to get moving on, babe?"

Layla could not help but wrap her arms around Kelsey's slender waist and pull her into a proper, passionate kiss in the middle of their dorm's courtyard. "Never been more ready."