I'm Yours (PRN)

xvii

"Shhhh."

Her finger presses against her lips as she guides him up the stairs. Another whiff of nostalgia wafts in the air. It isn't hard for Prince to recall the earlier days when she'd sneak him into her room. Not too much has changed. It is the minor details that make the main idea less provocative over time. Then, they were horny teenagers. Now, Prince is in a jam. None of such details are on her mind. The goal is simply to get Prince up to her bedroom without a single sleeping soul noticing.

She tip toes up the stairs. Prince follows her as he mimics her acts, his boots leave droplets of melted snow water on the stairs. The moment they make it to her bedroom, she shuts the door and locks it with haste. Prince awkwardly stands in the center of the pastel pink and white room, his hands in his pockets as he watches her adjust the locked door. The last time he stood in Monica's room, he saw more than he intended to.

Monica turns to face him, a smile spread across her face in preparation of a joke she wants to make. It promptly fades as she studies his uncomfortable body language. "You can... Uhm, you can take your coat off. The phone's where it always is." Monica swiftly walks past him, removes her robe, and dives onto her bed. Her feet being used skillfully to kick off her slippers, Monica watches Prince remove his jacket. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine... just a little nauseous."

Her nose turns up. "You aren't going to puke are you?" Prince shakes his head from left to right. Monica rolls over and closes the window. "Good, I hope not. I cannot believe you threw rocks in my window," Monica says, holding up a pebble.

Prince holds back his laughter, picking up the phone to call Lisa first. Dialing the digits, he allows his eyes to wander around Monica's bedroom. Most of it looks the same from when they were still teens. Although, he can see splashes of new items and decorations brought on by the woman in the bed next to him. One of which being that same picture of William he saw propped up in her dorm room. Prince rolls his eyes, the attitude display being helpful to express numerous scenarios in his life.

"Did she answer," Monica asks from her bed, propping herself up on her elbow.

"No," Prince says, shaking his head, pounding down on a new set of numbers. "I'm trying Dre right now. I think Lisa's still in LA. She never told me for sure when she'd be home..." His distractions halt his talking as he awaits a voice to answer the phone. After the final ring, Prince is backed into a corner. He leaves a message. "It's me, man. Bobby's shitty car quit on me. I'm stuck at Mo's. Come get me... Please. Okay, bye— And hurry up."

Monica sits all the way up, readjusting her pillows behind herself. "Is there no one else you can call?" The silence on Prince behalf is telling. All of his nocturnal pals are either tied up or missing in action. "Do you want me to wake Tony? I don't think he'd mind driving you..." Waving off her suggestion, Prince reaches for his coat. Monica's lamp allows her to catch a glimpse of the redness still apparent in his face. "You can stay here. We'll just sneak you out when the sun comes up like we used to."

Too cold to object the offer, Prince saunters toward Monica as she sprawls out in the bed. He takes a seat on the far edge. She tosses him a throw blanket, the same one she gave him in her dormitory. The two sit in the bed, staring at each other. They are eye to eye. His droopy eyes showcase the leftover hints of sadness that he's being trying to fight. Monica's heavy eyelids mimic his sadness with exhaustion fueling her condition. They stare each other in the eye until becoming one in the same.

"I'm really excited for Christmas," Monica openly states.

Prince lazily smiles. "Yeah?"

Biting down on her lip, Monica nods her head against her pillow. "Yeah, it means we're closer to the new year. The new years means I'm closer to my Olympic training." Somehow Prince has already guessed this January would bring her closer to her passion. "I'm going to turn out the light, okay?" She scoots closer to Prince and lowers her tone, trying to avoid waking the house. He nods his head, apprehensively. Monica notices he's sitting closest to the light and asks, "You mind turning off the light instead?"