Over the Phone

Chapter One

Chloe Whitaker rolled over in her bed and slapped a hand to her alarm. Peering from beneath her blankets, she glared at the clock; 7 am had come too early. Stifling a groan, Chloe climbed out of bed, her long hair tumbling down her back in riotous waves, grabbed her clothes, and went for a shower. Feeling more able to tackle her day now that she was clean, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her long chocolate brown hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, showing off her slender neck. Her cheeks had a rosy glow to them that made her look extremely healthy and happy. Her storm gray eyes sparkled radiantly, due in part to the way her pretty petal pink sweater called attention to them. Chloe had a heart shaped face with high cheekbones, a small nose, and full lips. In an optimistic mood, she smiled at her reflection before leaving the bathroom. She stopped short, her good mood vaporized intantly; her apartment was a mess!

Wine glasses and dinner dishes littered the dining room table, a backpack had been kicked over and the contents were strung all over the living room, and clothing- both male and female- left a trail to her roommate's room. Chloe's roommate, Beck, was a sloppy, slovenly, drop dead sexy blonde who took advantage of her looks to bring home guy after guy after guy; a fact Chloe was more than uncomfortable with. Sure, Beck was gorgeous, but Chloe was pretty too, and she didn't feel the need to sleep with the entire campus population to prove it to herself...

Chloe began to pick up the clothing, beyond angry that she would again have more housework to do than necessary. Heading down the hall, she didn't stop to knock before walking into the room. Sure enough, Beck was asleep next to some dark haired guy Chloe didn't recognize as being one of Beck's previous... friends. She dropped the bundle of discarded clothing on them both, causing them to flinch awake.

"What the hell," Beck screeched. Chloe put her hands on her hips and glared at them both.

"Yeah, that's what I said when I walked into the living room this morning. Tell your friend he's got ten minutes to get his notes from chem lab off my floor before I start shredding." She turned from the room and left, just as the visitor muttered, "Is she serious?" Beck ignored him and lay back down. The next sound coming from the bedroom was a furious scramble of tripping, cursing, and clothing being yanked on.

Chloe barely made it back to the kitchen; her legs were like jelly. Her whole body trembled as she dropped into a chair at the table. She felt like she was going to shake apart. Anytime Chloe got really angry, the force of her emotions had her trembling like a mouse; she was very shy and timid by nature. She had never spoken to someone like that before and she was sure that any minute Beck was going to come down the hallway and deck her in the face.

Instead of Beck, her house guest came sliding across the floor and nearly fell into the coffee table. He gathered his papers in record time and stood looking at Chloe, his jeans and belt both undone with boxers exposed and sweater hanging off one shoulder.

"Would you really have shredded my notes?" Chloe was battling her own emotions now, trying to keep it together- what she'd done scared her. She looked up at him sadly, tears in her eyes, and shook her head.

"No." He heaved a deep sigh, straightened his clothes, and left looking angry. Chloe preferred that to the sneer Becki wore when she came down the hall a moment later.

"God, you're such a prudish freak, Chloe. Come on, we both know you're not mad that I was having sex. You're only mad because we made a mess, and you and your OCD can't stand anything out of place. I mean, look at you," she gestured at her with her hand at Chloe. Chloe looked down at herself, wondering what problem Beck could possibly have with this outfit. Her pink three quarter sleeved sweater was form fitting without being too tight and her light washed jeans fit very much the same way. It was very pretty and nicely put together.