The Sweetest Fruit ( Tomboy 🏳️‍🌈Love Story )

4. Chocolate skin

MJ

The door swung open abruptly forcing me to end the call mid-sentence. Sonia stood at the threshold, dressed in a pair of blue palazo pants and a white turtleneck. The outfit hugged her curvy frame in a way that demanded attention.

" Don't you know how to knock?" I asked, masking my irritation with feigned annoyance.

" Uhm why do I need to knock when it's also my room?" She asked, confusion plastered all over her face.

“Well, I could have someone.. over.” I blurted out the words before I could have time to think them through.

Her brow arched in disbelief as she settled on her bed still looking at me.

" Whatever ! This is why I didn't have a roommate in the first place."

Her expression shifted from irritation to hurt, and something in my chest tightened. Great, now she wants to cry.

I pretended to scroll through my phone, avoiding her gaze. The silence in the room grew heavier, interrupted only by the sound of her turning pages. Each flip grated on my nerves. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. “ Sonia,” I called out.

She glanced up, a pen resting between her teeth. She wasn't crying — thank God — but the weight of her stare made me scramble for words.

“Have you eaten?” I blurted out.

“No,” she said simply.

“Let's go grab something to eat,” I offered already putting on my shoes.

The walk to the cafeteria was quiet. A part of me regretted inviting her, but I felt compelled to bridge the awkwardness.

“So Sonia,” I began, trying to sound casual, “how are you finding the school so far?”

It has been approximately thirty four days since she came here.

“I like it. The food is amazing,” she said her face lighting up. Poor people. “Okay.”

" And the facilities too," she adds her eyes sweeping around the campus.

"Mmm." I wasn't big on small talk and every minute felt like a chore.

At the cafeteria, she ordered fries and burgers devouring the food in minutes. No wonder she is so curvy. I hated how my eyes always lingered on her. Whether she was walking in, in a towel or sitting across from me. I couldn't help but notice her. And I wasn't even into curvy girls — I preferred skinny ones, that I can hold in my arms. Yet here I was, staring at her again.

" MJ, are you even listening to me?" She asks  her voice snapping me from my thoughts.

"No," I replied, my voice harsher than I intended it to be.

"Oh "she said quietly, returning her attention to the food.

Guilt crept in. “ What were you saying?”

"It's something stupid."  She seemed unsure of herself, and I decided to satiate my curiosity. “If it's stupid why bring it up?” I teased the salad in front of me no longer tasty.

She hesitated before speaking. " I want to join the basketball team." A dry laugh escaped my mouth before I could even stop it.

" What's funny?"

"Did you say basketball ?" I asked hoping I heard wrong.

" Mhh.” Her voice was barely audible. “I saw a poster and decided to give it a shot.”

" Do you even know how to play?"

"I do," she replied her fingers fidgeting with the napkin in front of her. I leaned back studying her. She didn't seem like the athletic type — not with her short frame and soft demeanor.