“Cindy, stop that. Please.” There was a definite note of pain in her voice, which confused me, but I had no chance of wrapping my head around it in my current state.
The elevator door opened, and we, or rather I, stumbled inside, Mitch keeping me upright. I could feel the fatigue start to wash over me when the door closed.
“No, no. No sleepies for you, not yet.”
“Aww.”
Somehow we made it into Mitch’s room. “Okay, my roommate is gone for the weekend, so you can crash here.”
Crashing, yeah, crashing sounded awesome. I needed to lie down.
“Okay, you’re not sleeping in that. C’mon, let’s get it off.”
I sat on the bed and tried to unbutton my jeans. God, these things were super tight. I groaned, laying back and trying to push the denim material down over my hips.
Mitch went down on one knee. “Just a second, shoes first.” She picked up my left foot and slipped off the red canvas tennis shoe I was wearing. She peeled off my ankle sock and stuffed it into the shoe, then repeated on the other side. “Okay, now jeans.” I flopped around, trying to get them off while she pulled them down by the ankles, and the jeans finally came free. The bare skin of my legs revelled in the cool air, and I stayed prone on the bed. I heard Mitch open a drawer in her dresser.
“Okay, come on, sit up.” I gave a pathetic whimper as she pulled me up before slipping the body suit I was wearing off my shoulders. She drew it down my body, and I lifted my hips so she could slide it off. I was disappointed she hadn’t tried to release the snappy crotch. No I wasn’t, that would be touching too close, but the thought of it made me tingle all over.
Without thinking I reached back and released my bra, letting it fall onto the floor. Now the only thing I was wearing were my panties. I was almost naked. In Mitch’s room. Oh my god. I started to giggle, particularly after I saw Mitch pull her eyes away from my bare breasts.
“Okay, arms up.” She was a little breathless, but her voice was strong, and I obeyed. She stood over me and pulled a T-shirt down my body, covering me to below my waist. “Comfy enough? Can you sleep in that?”
I was frowning. I didn’t want her putting clothes on me. That wasn’t fun, but I nodded and she tucked me under her roommate’s covers. My jaw dropped open as Mitch shimmied her own jeans off, revealing a pair of blue boxers underneath. She turned away, and I watched, mesmerized, as she unbuttoned and dropped her shirt and pulled off her sports bra, revealing her muscular back and trim waist.
My mouth began to water, and I couldn’t look away. She reached into her dresser and pulled out a tank top, which she slipped on before shutting off the light and climbing into her own bed. This wasn’t right. I didn’t like this. I don’t sit over here. I sit over there, with Michelle. Where she could hold me. I liked it when she held me. I gave an unhappy moan. I didn’t like these sheets.
“Go to sleep, Cindy.” There was a begging note in Mitch’s voice, but hearing it just made me want to be closer to her. I pulled off the covers and climbed out of bed. Two shaky steps got me across the room.
“Cindy?”
“Don’t wanna sleep alone. Wanna sleep with you.” I pulled back the covers and climbed into Mitch’s embrace, snuggling into her warmth. Oh, yeah, just like on the dance floor, this was heaven. Mitch drew the covers around us and held me close.
“Okay, just for tonight.”
“Mmm.” I put my arms around her, burying my face into her neck. God, she smelled good. My cheek brushed against hers. She pulled away slightly, and my face turned towards her. My eyes closed, and I felt my lips brush against hers. Energy coursed through my body, and the drunken fog in my brain lifted for a single moment, and I kissed her. Her lips moved against mine, and I could feel my body tremble.
Her mouth left mine as she pulled me close, and wrapped in her warmth the haze closed back around me, this time bringing blackness with it.
***
When I opened my eyes, I had about thirty seconds before the pounding in my head started, and they were wonderful. Mitch’s warm body was pressed against mine, her arm draped over my middle, and my hand was resting on hers.
It felt nice, comfortable, and I was happy for a beautiful second before the splitting headache and blind panic set in. Oh my god, what happened? Why the hell am I in Mitch’s bed? What did I do?
I took stock. I was wearing clothes, a T-shirt at least. And, um, I slid my hand down over my hip just to be sure, yes, I was wearing underwear. Thank God. I could see the jeans I’d had on laying on the floor, and my bra was over there. I had a vague recollection of taking them off, or Mitch helping me take them off. Oh my God, Mitch had undressed me. What had she been thinking? What’d I been thinking? The fog lifted a little and I remembered staggering back to the room and Mitch tucking me in. Her roommate’s bed was unmade. That’s right, she’d put me in the other bed to start. And then I’d, oh, shit. I had to get out of here, I needed to go somewhere and think. I lifted Mitch’s arm as gently as I could, sliding out and putting my bare feet on the cold floor. Mitch rolled away, facing the wall, but she didn’t give any sign she was awake.
I grabbed the jeans, pulling them on and tucking in the shirt I was wearing before gathering up the rest of my clothes. I put my hand on the doorknob and looked back at Mitch for a moment before heading out into the hall.
***
The sun was well above the horizon, beating its incessant light into my aching head as I made my way back to my dorm. I slipped into my room, closing the door as quietly as I could, but even the soft click from the latch made my head throb. I slipped off my shoes before pulling open the top drawer of my dresser and grabbing a bottle of Aleve and shaking two into my hand.
“Hey, girl. You hook up?”
Oh, brother, I hoped not. “No, no. Got drunk. Stayed in my friend Michelle’s room. Her roommate was gone.” I pulled a bottle of Gatorade out of our mini fridge and used it to swallow the pills before flopping down onto my mattress and burying my head under my pillow.
Jana chuckled. “You need to eat something.”
I groaned, my stomach doing a flip in protest of that idea. I didn’t want to think about food.
“I’m serious.” Jana rolled towards me. “Go get a shower, get dressed, and go down and have some breakfast. Make sure to have a glass of OJ. It’ll help, trust me.”
I didn’t want to believe her. I wanted to just lie here until this feeling went away. Or until I died. At this point I’d take either one. But I couldn’t lie around all day. I had to study for finals, which started Monday.
The water running over my body felt good, and surprisingly the food made me feel better, giving me some energy. I was just starting to feel human again, my econ book and notes open on my desk, when my phone dinged.
Mitch — Cindy, are you okay?
I couldn’t talk to her right now. I mean I’d climbed into bed with her. I remembered her holding me. And, oh my god. My phone tumbled out of my hand and onto the desk as the memory of the kiss blared to life inside my head.
I’d kissed her. I’d kissed Mitch. ^ding^
Mitch — Please at least let me know you got back to your dorm.
What was I going to do? How the hell was I going to ever talk to her again? And the kiss, I remembered the way it felt. It had been amazing. No, no, I couldn’t think about that. I’d been drunk. It hadn’t meant anything. I was not interested in Mitch like that. I wasn’t gay. I needed to breathe.
I turned my phone to silent, putting it face down on my desk.
I tried to focus, but my brain just wouldn’t cooperate. My phone buzzed, and I couldn’t help turning it over.
Mitch — You know nothing happened last night.
Mitch — I mean between us.
But that wasn’t true. We may not have had sex, but something did happen. I picked up my phone.
Mitch — Please talk to me.
I took a deep breath and typed something out.
Me — I’m okay. Need time to think.
Mitch — Okay. I’m here when you want to talk.
I turned back to my studies, and my phone stayed silent for the rest of the afternoon.
***
I let myself immerse in my studies, each exam looming up like a monster to slay, and I let each upcoming academic battle distract me from the war going on in my head about Michelle. She texted me after her College Algebra final on Tuesday.
Mitch — Nailed it! And by that I mean, of course, I didn’t totally bomb. All ’cause of you!
Mitch — I miss you.
That brought a tear to my eye. I hadn’t gone this long without talking to her since Coach had paired us together. And I missed her, too.
***
“So, Mitch says you’re not talking to her? What happened?”
I dropped my gaze at Carrie’s question. “Nothing. I just want to do well on my finals.”