offsides | c. clark

ten.

2020
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

Caitlin lay sprawled out on Alex's bed, glancing around the cozy dorm room filled with sketches, books, and a few scattered soccer jerseys. In the corner sat a half-packed bag that Alex had abandoned when Caitlin had knocked on her dorm room door. Kassidy was out with Kate and so Alex had the room to herself. Something that Caitlin had taken as an invitation.

"You need to finish packing," Caitlin says as she stares at the suitcase. More specifically, one of her Iowa Women's Basketball hoodies had ended up in the suitcase. Alex and Kassidy would be heading to North Carolina for the NCAA tournament, hoping to bring home Iowa's first championship.

Alex sat beside her, cross-legged, her laptop balanced on her knees, "I'll finish, but we have more important matters to tend to."

Caitlin looks over at Alex, her eyes glued to her. She liked looking at Alex. She liked it whenever Alex was looking at her. Her favorite thing in the world was when their eyes met and they'd stare at each other, neither of them saying anything, just observing.

"What are these important matters?" Caitlin asks, finding herself growing excited at the possibilities.

"You need to take this quiz," Alex says with a teasing smile, scrolling through the colorful, clickbait-y "Am I Gay?" quiz on her screen.

Caitlin's eyes narrowed at the screen, and she snorts, folding her arms behind her head as she leans back, "I don't need to take that."

"How else will you know?" Alex asks, her eyes sparkling with challenge as she nudges Caitlin's leg.

Caitlin raises an eyebrow, smirking, "Lex, come on. I think I have a pretty good idea."

Alex however was insistent as she bit her lip to keep from laughing, "Just do it."

Alex does something that Caitlin finds impossible to resist as she fixes her brown eyes that have that soft innocence to them. They drew you in with quiet strength and made you forget every defense you ever had. They were the type of eyes that made you want to protect her yet surrender to her completely simultaneously.

Alex adds a pout with her look, "Humor me? Please?"

Caitlin sighs as she sits up and scoots closer to Alex. She leans over Alex's shoulder as she reads through the questions, "Do you find yourself often thinking about girls?"

Alex looks over her shoulder at Caitlin, "Well, do you?"

Caitlin looks at Alex and huffs, "Well I'm definitely not thinking about this quiz right now."

Alex elbows Caitlin in the ribs, "Be serious for two seconds. What if the results shock you?"

"I doubt they will," Caitlin mutters under her breath, but she gives in deciding to entertain Alex, "Okay do they mean girls in general or like how pretty they are or wanting to kiss them?"

"Probably the latter," Alex says.

"Then the answer is quite frequently," Caitlin says. Alex looks over her shoulder at Caitlin with renewed interest.

"And just which girls are you thinking about kissing?"

Caitlin smiles at the reaction and leans closer to the computer, "Next question!"

Alex huffs as she looks at the screen, "Do you feel excited or nervous when people of the same gender compliment you or show interest in you?"

Alex stares at Caitlin's face, watching as she reads over the answer choices thoughtfully.