"So, my plane arrives at 8:00 am do you think you can pick me up at the airport?" Andrew asked, while on a video call with Sienna. His room was just the way Sienna remembered it, the blue walls and baseball trophies and medals lined the shelf behind him.
"I don't know if you coming here is such a good idea, Andrew. The semester just started and you'd have to stay off campus or I could get kicked out." Sienna answered, stretching her legs in her twin size bed and feeling like Andrew had cornered her into a position she wasn't comfortable in.
"Babe, don't you want to see me? I miss you, I think we need to reconnect. Maybe have a date night, take it back to how it used to be before you left Arkansas. Besides, I'll arrive Friday morning and then we can spend the weekend together without any class interruptions." He said, sounding like a boy begging for a useless cheap toy at the drugstore.
"Ok. There's a Hyatt Place about a mile from campus, just get a room there and we can take it from there." Sienna said.
"Cool, cool! You're gonna stay with me right? What are the rules over there, is there like a curfew or something? Can you stay off campus if you want?" Andrew asked, running his fingers through his hair giving her a cute boyish smile.
Sienna knew the rules and she knew she could go off campus if she wanted to but did she really want to spend the night with Andrew? She decided to play dumb and tell him that she'd read the handbook the RA gave her on the day she arrived.
---
The week of Andrews arrival was slow and torturous. It seemed like Paige had a different girl in her bed every single night of the week. Sienna had gotten very little sleep and at this point she and Paige had gone from enemies to people who didn't acknowledge each other's existence. Sienna couldn't figure out which of the two was worse, at least as enemies she had Paige's smart remarks to keep her on her toes.
After an extraordinarily long workout, Sienna arrived back at her dorm room. The workout endorphins were still flowing through her body and for the first time in almost a week she felt full of energy. Her muscle tee clung to her body with sweat and she felt the temperature change from sweltering hot to unbelievably cold in the dorm room. She walked inside and made a grab for her stuff since she was in desperate need of a shower but couldn't help but overhear the conversation Paige was having on the phone.
"Absolutely not. I don't know what sort of parenting kick you're on or what youtube series you're watching on raising your kids but I am not getting a job. The agreement was to come to school, get my shit together and you'd keep taking care of my bills. You are not switching this up on me now, Doug" Paige confidently said, sounding like a lawyer who was in the middle of their closing argument.
Sienna could not tell what was being said on the other end but the context clues were all there. She lingered a little, gathering her things and continued to overhear what was going on. Then she heard Paige end the conversation without saying goodbye and the thud of her phone hitting the mattress.
"Hey, you good?" Sienna asked, trying to sound cool, calm and collected. Almost like it was no big deal and like she hadn't just seen and heard her roommate throw a full blown tantrum.
Paige looked Sienna up and down, almost as if she had seen her for the first time. It seemed she had been so involved in the conversation that she hadn't even noticed existence. She tilted her head to the side, as if processing Sienna's question and deciding on whether she should answer or not.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Did you come from a workout or did someone dump a bucket of water on you?" She asked, not taking her eyes off Sienna.
"I may have overdone it a little. I rode my bike to the gym, then did a full gym workout and rode my bike back. It was an 18 mile ride both ways, let's just say it seemed like a good idea this morning after I ate my weight in carbs. Now, not so much." Sienna said, sitting down on her bed rubbing her calves.
Paige walked over to her drawer and walked back toward Sienna with a tiny bottle.
"Here, it's peppermint oil. Rub it on your legs and keep them slightly elevated. It will make you less sore. Did you even attempt a cool down?" Paige asked.
"Yes, of course." Sienna said, lying through her teeth. She hated cool downs, she wanted to get her workout in and be done with it. "You seem to know a bit about this stuff. Have you played sports?" She asked.
"Softball and Volleyball since middle school. I quit sports mid senior year, though." She said, sounding disappointed while taking a seat in the bed across from her.
"How come?" Sienna asked, now completely full of curiosity. This was the first normal conversation her and Paige had ever had. She could tell Paige had not been lying about the sports as she noticed the definition in her arms. The sleeveless crop top she wore made sure to accentuate not just her perfectly flat stomach but her arms as well. Sienna caught herself staring while waiting on an answer and quickly looked away hoping Paige hadn't noticed.
"Long story. Whatever. Rub on the peppermint oil, trust me it will work wonders." She responded, her walls clearly going right back up.
Sienna thought this would be the moment when things took a turn but with Paige it seemed like that was never going to happen.
---
"...and then Wyatt just took on the challenge and ended up eating 12 cinnamon rolls" Andrew said, sounding very excited about his friend's attempt at becoming diabetic on a single dare. He walked around Sienna's dorm room looking at it like he was at a museum. "This is so much smaller than your room at home." He said, unaware he was clearly stating the obvious.
"Wow. Go Wyatt and yeah, just a tad bit smaller." Sienna responded, unable to come up with a conversation.
Andrew walked over to Sienna's bed and threw himself on it. "So, when does your roommate get here? You think we have a few minutes to...you know." He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Sienna was not about to pull a Paige and hook up with her boyfriend in the room. She quickly grabbed Andrew's arm and tried getting him up off the bed but not before he yanked his arm back, pulling her into the bed with him. He playfully began to pepper her with kisses. She was giggling when she heard Paige's voice.
"Whoa, Sienna. A gentleman caller midday? Gross." She said, not even trying to hide her disgust.
"No! This is my Andrew. I mean my boyfriend Andrew. He flew down from Arkansas to spend the weekend with me." Sienna said, prying herself out of Andrew's arms and sitting up.
Andrew jumped out of the bed and extended his hand in order to shake Paige's hand.
Paige quickly gave him a look and wiped her hand on her jeans.
"Yeah nice to meet you, Alex. I'm sorry. Dirty hands, just got back from a ceramics class." Paige said, taking a step back.
"It's Andrew." He said, dimfully unaware of Paige's jab at him. Not even in a million years would Andrew ever pick up on the fact that Paige had clearly called him by another name to assert her dominance.
"Ah yes, Andrew. The boyfriend. Got it. You two have fun and don't get pregnant." Paige said, grabbing her book bag and leaving the room.
"She's odd, huh?" Andrew asked, as soon as the door shut.
"She's...something." Sienna replied.
"She's pretty hot, too." He said, giving Sienna an evil grin.
"Shut up." Sienna said, giving him a playful shove.
The weekend came and went and Sienna hardly spent any time in her dorm room. She felt like she finally got a chance to reconnect with Andrew and things felt almost normal. She hadn't seen Paige since she caught her and Andrew playing on the bed but she assumed she was out there doing what she did best. Picking up girls. When Sienna dropped Andrew off at the airport she couldn't help but feel like she was losing a little piece of herself but she also felt a good amount of relief. She stopped at Pizza My Heart, the restaurant across the street from campus and grabbed a large pizza to eat back in the dorm.
Upon walking in the room she noticed Paige blissfully dancing with her headphones on. She felt a smile creep on her face, watching her be herself when she thought nobody was watching. She almost felt like she was violating her privacy by walking in on her without her knowing it. Sienna slammed the door, hoping Paige would hear her coming in.
"Hey" Paige said, giving Sienna what seemed to be a tiny hint of a smile.
"Hi. I stopped for pizza. Want a slice?" Sienna asked, still reeling from seeing Paige dancing.
"Yeah, I'll take a slice. Is Andrew going to drop in for some...." She asked, making an effort to ask the question without asking the question.
"No, he's gone. I put his ass back on a plane and sent him back home." Sienna said, while walking toward her mini fridge to grab a bottle of water.
"Good. Now I have you all to myself." Paige said, playfully biting her lip.
"I don't know if I should be afraid or curious," Sienna responded, rolling her eyes at Paige.
"What do you see in him? Andrew, he's like a golden retriever. I swear I think I saw his tail wag when he introduced himself" Paige said.
"He's a good guy, his family and mine have known each other for years. He's a little dumb but he's sweet." Sienna responded, sitting down on the bed reciting the words she had told herself over and over the last year whenever she questioned her relationship with him.
"Want to know what I think?" Paige said, almost in a whisper. She sat next to Sienna, her thigh grazing hers.
"What?" Sienna asked, barely able to get her one word question out.
"I think you don't like him." She said, running her finger up Sienna's forearm. "I think you're comfortable and you're itching to step out of your comfort zone but don't know how."
Sienna could smell Paige's perfume, the sultry tone Paige used so close to her ear while touching her arm gave her goosebumps. She was so focused on how her body was reacting that she forgot she had to respond to what Paige had just said.
"...and you know this how?" Sienna managed to ask.
"I'm that good," Paige said, her words full of confidence. She grinned, her single dimple making an appearance. "You should really make an effort to do the things that scare you. I guarantee you'd end up having a lot of fun. I can help if you'd like...."
At this point Sienna felt like her body was on fire. The proximity of Paige was becoming a bit much and something about the conversation felt flirtatious. The tension between the two of them could be cut with a knife. She felt intoxicated by the mere presence of Paige, she had to get out of there before things escalated. Was Paige really hitting on her or was she messing with her?