Popcorn Love (13 page)

Vivian cleared her throat as she read more messages
over Elena’s arm. “Maybe
you
could just take it to
her
.”

Elena looked at her, arching a brow, but Vivian only
shrugged. “What? She always comes to you, you know, babysitting and
whatnot. It’s not like you’re doing anything, and that’ll save the
girl from having to take the subway. Life is good when you can
avoid the subway on a Saturday.”

“That is true.” She chewed on her lip. “But you and I
are spending time together.”

“Elena, we see each other nearly every day. I think I
will survive. Besides, I have quite a bit of paperwork to catch up
on this weekend anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely positively.”

Elena poked Vivian’s thigh. “Well, don’t sound so
enthusiastic about it. You’re going to make me feel as if I’m bad
company.”

“Oh please. You know you’re my favorite company.”

Elena grinned at her as she turned back to her phone.
It amused Vivian to see Elena’s lip suck right back between her
teeth as she typed another message. She just shook her head and
laughed internally while she waited for Elena to finish.

Perhaps I could bring it to you,
Elena typed,
if that suits you.

The response was nearly instantaneous.
You’d do
that?

Of course.
Elena grinned unconsciously yet
again.
It would be no problem.

Ten minutes later, Elena and Vivian were walking out
of Elena’s front door and toward their respective vehicles. Elena
carried Allison’s heavy backpack in one hand and her clutch and
keys in the other. They stopped in the middle and hugged one
another, planting a kiss on each other’s cheeks.

“Have fun with the college girls,” Vivian teased as
she poked Elena’s ribs. “Don’t do anything
I
wouldn’t
do.”

“So, basically
everything
is fair game?”

“Exactly.”

They said their goodbyes, and Vivian grinned all the
way to her car. She had a feeling they were on the brink of a
breakthrough.

* * *

As she walked up to the large building that was
Allison’s dormitory hall, Elena texted to let her know she had
arrived, because each building required key-card entry. She was
thankful that it was spring, so it was a fairly warm night. She
would not want to have to wait in the cold for Allison to come
collect her, not to mention the fact that it had taken her some
time to find parking and it hadn’t been terribly close. A freezing
walk back to her car would not have been fun.

It was only about three minutes before Allison came
bolting out the front door of the building with a lopsided smile on
her face. Elena’s eyes traced down Allison’s body—her messy
ponytail, baggy gray V-neck, and her black leggings, which
perfectly accented her toned thighs and calves. Laughter bloomed in
her chest as she realized that Allison’s feet were protected by
only bright orange fuzzy socks and slip-on house shoes.

Allison whistled as she reached Elena, checking out
the woman’s black dress and red pumps. “You know, it’s just a
dorm,” she teased, reaching out to take her backpack. “You didn’t
have to get all dressed up.”

Elena looked down at herself, blushing slightly. “Oh,
right. I went to see a show earlier with Vivian and my mother.”

“Ah, makes sense then.” Scratching at the back of her
neck, Allison glanced toward the ground. “You look really
nice.”

“Thank you, dear. You look quite comfy.”

Allison followed Elena’s gaze down to her feet and
laughed as she wriggled her toes around inside her socks. “Oh yeah,
they’re my faves. My feet get really cold.”

“Mine too.”

“Well, you need some fuzzy socks then.”

Elena smiled. “Perhaps I do.”

“So, uh, thanks a lot for doing this,” Allison said
as she held up her backpack. “I really appreciate you driving all
the way over here to bring me this; that was really nice of
you.”

Elena just nodded, smile still firmly in place, as
she tucked her clutch under arm and tangled her fingers together in
front of her, resting her hands against her abdomen. “It was no
trouble at all.”

“Cool.” A long silence fell between them as they
stood together in the warm night air, nothing but the sounds of
traffic echoing around them. The moment dragged until it was almost
awkward, both of them just shuffling in place, until Allison looked
up at the exact same time that Elena did, and their eyes locked
together. Stomach flipping, she quickly cleared her throat.

“Um, well, do you wanna come up?”

Elena’s eyes widened slightly. “Up to your dorm
room?”

“Yeah. I mean, we could just hang or whatever for a
while if you want. The roomie and I have a lot of movies. Unless
you have other plans. That’s cool, too. It’s no bi—”

“No, no. I have no plans. I…all right, yes, I suppose
it would be nice to have a companion for the evening.”

Allison laughed. “All right then,
companion
.”

When Elena only rolled her eyes, Allison slung her
backpack over her shoulder and began walking backwards toward the
front door of the building. “Come on,” she said, motioning for
Elena to follow her.

Elena didn’t hesitate, her heels clicking against the
concrete as she hurried to catch up.

“So, this is it,” Allison said as she opened the door
to her dorm and waited for Elena to pass. “Sorry about the
year-long wait to check you in downstairs. They’re really strict
about that here.”

Elena waved a dismissive hand and took slow steps
into the dorm, as if she wasn’t quite sure what she was doing there
to begin with. Three feet into the room, she stopped to stare at
everything. She wasn’t positive, but she felt fairly safe in
assuming that the left side of the small room was Allison’s.

Stacks of books lined a small shelf beside the left
twin-sized bed and also at the end of it. The walls were bare but
for a small dream catcher that hung just over the pillow. The
blankets on the bed were all green, including the sheets and
pillowcase, and Elena could see what looked like the end of a
guitar case poking out from under the bed.

The other side of the room was much darker—lots of
crimson and black. Music and movie posters and magazine cut-outs
covered the walls surrounding that twin-sized bed. The blankets
were red and black as well, and there were various stacks of CDs,
DVDs, and a few books sitting about.

A large dry-erase board was pinned to the wall
between the two beds, hanging just above a small flat-screen
television propped up on a short and rickety-looking old wooden
dresser. Elena chuckled as she read the message scribbled across
the dry-erase board.

“Hey,” Allison said, “I know the room’s small, but
you don’t have to laugh at it.”

“No, I was laughing at the message,” she said, a
little concerned that Allison had actually misinterpreted her
laughter and taken offense, despite the smile firmly planted on
Allison’s face. She pointed at the dry-erase board, and Allison
glanced over at it.

“Oh, right.” She laughed. “Yup,
that’s
my
roommate.”

Smirking, Elena read the girl’s name on the message.
“Well, Macy seems to believe that there is a high probability of
you committing inappropriate acts in her bed. Had this problem
before, have you?”

Allison’s cheeks flushed pink as she cleared her
throat and stammered a little. “No, no, of course not. No, she’s
just kidding. I don’t really…I mean, it’s not something that
I—”

“Allison. Relax. I was only teasing.”

A slightly choked laugh left her lips as she
scratched at the back of her neck again. “Right, I mean, duh. Of
course you were.”

Another awkward silence ensued. Allison smacked and
popped her lips, while Elena continued to observe her surroundings.
“So,” Allison said. “It’s probably safe to move more than three
feet from the door.”

Elena stood stiffly as she looked at Allison, unsure
of what exactly she was expecting of her. There was obviously
nowhere to sit except the bed, and Elena didn’t want to assume that
she was welcome to do so. She was entirely in Allison’s element
now, and it made her feel like someone had come along, peeled off
her skin, and applied one that simply didn’t fit; at least, not
yet.

“Where would you like me to go?”

“Oh, right.” Allison laughed. “I guess there’s
nowhere else to go, huh? I just meant that you could sit down if
you want. Make yourself comfortable.”

“On your bed?” Elena asked, just to be sure.

Allison felt a strange tickle in her stomach. She
nodded. “Yeah.”

It only took five steps to cross the room, and Elena
sat gingerly on the very edge of Allison’s bed, her posture rigid.
She rested her clutch on her lap with her hands atop it. When she
looked back over to Allison, the blonde was grinning at her.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just, how did you know which bed was
mine?”

“The day we met, you told me that you loved books.”
The various teetering stacks of books surrounding Allison’s bed
drew her gaze.

“Oh yeah, I did.” Allison walked over to a small
black mini fridge at the foot of her roommate’s bed. She extracted
a silver can and held it up. “You want a beer?”

Before Elena could respond, Allison scoffed at her
own words. “What am I even talking about? You are
so
not the
type of woman who drinks beer. There’s some soda in here too, and I
think that we’ve got some juice and some water in the common fridge
out in the suite kitchen.”

“What will
you
be having?”

“I’m gonna drink this beer. There’s like two
six-packs in here, so I might as well.”

“Very well then. I will have the same.”

She was determined to try to fit into these
particular surroundings. At the moment, she felt rather
uncomfortable, but hoped that would pass if she made an effort to
be more at ease, be more like the woman that actually lived here.
She could be more than a privileged rich girl.

Allison’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? You like
beer?”

“Not at all.” They both laughed. “However, I will
make an exception.”

Another can of beer was opened and passed her way,
and Elena sipped delicately at it Her lips pinched tightly together
at the first few sips, but she grew accustomed to the taste.
Allison smiled the entire time she watched her. “You’re just full
of surprises,” she said.

“So, where’s Lucas? Is he having some sweet Saturday
night toddler rave at your house right now? Anyone not in pull-ups
gets kicked out of the party, and that’s how you ended up here,
right?”

“How ever did you guess?” Elena asked with mirth in
her eyes. “He is spending the night with my parents.”

“Ah, cool.” Allison stepped around Elena’s knees and
dropped down onto the mattress beside her. House shoes dropping to
the floor with two soft thuds, she pulled one socked foot up under
her as she sipped at her beer. “You pretty close with your
parents?”

“I am, yes.”

“That’s cool.” Allison’s gaze traveled down the
exposed flesh of Elena’s legs, down to her feet, still arched
inside the bright red pumps. Bottom lip tucked between her teeth,
she leaned over to put her beer on her bedside table before hopping
off the mattress and dropping to her knees in front of her
guest.

“I always wondered what that would be like,” she
murmured as she avoided Elena’s eyes and reached out, delicately
wrapping one hand around Elena’s left ankle.

Eyes narrowing, Elena tilted her head slightly to the
side as she watched, but said nothing.

“These can’t be comfortable,” Allison muttered as she
grasped one ankle and pulled a shoe off, her fingertips just barely
brushing over the smooth skin of Elena’s foot. The limb jerked in
her hand and Elena felt a small smile tugging at the corners of her
mouth.

“I’m a bit ticklish.” She saw a wide grin spread
across Allison’s face at the admission as she immediately reached
for the other foot, but Elena was quick to throw out a hand to stop
her. “Don’t even think about it.”

Allison cracked up but froze, her hands wrapped
around Elena’s shoe. “That’s a pretty serious threat for someone
who is only a ‘bit’ ticklish.”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Perhaps I am a bit more than
a bit.”

“Like pee-your-pants ticklish or just
squeal-and-squirm ticklish?” That mischievous little grin remained
on her face.

“The latter,” Elena said. “However, I warn you to
consider your next move quite carefully, Ms. Sawyer.”

“Oh, should I?”

Elena nodded seriously.

“And why is that?”

Cheeks growing warm, Elena glanced down to her lap.
“When I was sixteen, I accidentally kicked my father in the face
when he tickled my feet, and it knocked one of his front teeth out.
He has a fake tooth now.”

Allison tried not to laugh but it burst out of her.
“Oh my God, that is hilarious!”

“It was quite horrifying when it happened, actually.
There was a lot of blood.”

“I bet.” The remaining shoe was pulled free, and
Allison put it next to the other. “I’ll try to resist the urge
then. I can’t afford a new tooth.”

“Wise decision, dear.” Elena stretched her feet down,
curling her toes and letting out a small sigh of contentment. It
was nice to finally be freed from the confines of those shoes.
“Thank you.”

The bed bounced a bit as Allison plopped back down.
“So, you wanna watch a movie or something?”

Elena, still poised on the very edge of the mattress,
glanced to the small television and then back to Allison. “I
suppose that would be fine.”

“Cool. Let’s get you out of that dress then.”

Elena’s eyes widened as her gaze locked onto
Allison’s. “I’m sorry?”