Housemates

Chapter 58

Ellie kept stroking Mia’s back.

Mia still had her arms folded in front of herself, as if she was a little uncomfortable, but her back was bare, and her sides were smooth, and her skin was soft and warm under Ellie’s hand.

They sat there for a while, without speaking.

Ellie still felt like she ought to do something. Like she’d made a mistake, and she ought to fix it.

“Are you really okay?” she said, hoping for a conversation, but Mia just nodded.

Ellie stroked gently. There were little muscles all over Mia’s arms and back that suddenly fascinated Ellie, because she’d been feeling then all night, and was now looking at them.

“Should we talk?” Ellie said, after a while, trying to draw Mia out.

“If you like,” Mia said. “What about?”

Ellie was worried about saying the wrong thing. She didn’t want another misunderstanding. She thought carefully before she spoke. She wanted it to be obvious she wasn’t teasing, so she very carefully didn’t say she was surprised Mia would talk because of how usually Mia didn’t, and she didn’t say how the fuck was it not obvious what they should talk about. She didn’t say anything clever at all.

All she said was, “I wondered if maybe you did.”

And Mia shrugged.

“People sometimes like to talk,” Ellie said, starting to feel silly. “After they do things like that.”

Mia looked at her and finally grinned. “Do they?”

“Well I wouldn’t know,” Ellie said, suddenly abandoning the idea of not being funny. “Because of how I never have before. You tell me.”

Mia looked at her for a moment. “Do you want to talk?”

“Only if you do.”

“Do you?”

Ellie shrugged.

Mia was thinking. She seemed to be getting back to being herself. “We don’t have to,” she said, which felt a lot more like her.

“I kind of meant, are you okay too?” Ellie said.

Mia nodded. “Yep. Of course. Are you?”

“I’m fine.”

Mia looked at her again. “Not horrified?” she said. “Not too surprised by what you just did?”

Ellie shook her head.

“Really not? Or just embarrassed to tell me because it’s all my fault.”

Ellie smiled. “Really not.”

“Oh,” Mia said, and seemed surprised. “Good.”

“I’ve had a bit of time to get used to it,” Ellie said. “And I kind of assumed about tonight, that we would, when you picked me up.”

“Yeah,” Mia said, and nodded. She seemed to be thinking about what Ellie had said. She looked as though she was about to say something important and profound, something Ellie needed to hear, except that before she could, she suddenly thought about something else.

Quite suddenly, she said, “Shit, I picked you up.”

“Yeah.”

“Your car’s still at your work.”

“Oh. Yep.”

“Do you need a ride back? Or home?”

Ellie thought for a moment, then shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ll get a taxi.”