Love, Eliot

Flirtin' With Disaster

My eyes fluttered open as the winter sun streamed through the open window. I stretched and attempted to shake off the exhaustion clawing underneath my skin.

I sat up and promised to get extra sleep that night.

After gaining consciousness, I retrieved my phone from the side table. I clicked through the endless list of notifications and chose to focus on Josiah's text.

"Good morning, cutie," The message came in an hour before I woke up.

I smiled, "You were up early,"

"Finals," I pictured his trademark eye roll, "If I have to go to one more journalism class I'll drop out."

"Bullshit,"

"Yeah, yeah,"

I sighed and checked the time. Even though classes were almost finished, Ms. Wright still insisted on rehearsing. When we returned in the spring our performance of Rent would leave the campus speechless.

Either in a good or bad way.

After taking a deep breath, I stumbled into the bathroom. I forced myself to ignore the urge to check my messages again.

I kept waiting for one I knew wouldn't come.

Instead of dwelling on the end of my relationship with Eliot, I spent more time with Josiah. The stress of finals also aided my attempt to forget about Eliot and his instruction.

I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair out of the tangled bun on my head.

The holiday break started after I finished the last rehearsal of the semester. I left the bathroom and dug through my clean clothes. After a week of constant studying and stolen kisses between exams, I didn't have time to do laundry.

I groaned and decided to forgo panties for the day.

I grabbed my bag and left the sanctuary of my room.

"Heading to rehearsal now,"

"Stopping to get coffee on my way," Josiah replied as I walked out of the building, "The usual?"

"Yes, please,"

The empty building seemed more eerie than usual. With students already leaving campus, the hallways and sidewalks were barren.

I buried my hands into my coat and started the short walk to the theater. The sun did little to warm me as I passed the abandoned fountain. Construction workers began the process of taking down the corroded water feature.

Josiah waited for me by the door, "You made it,"

"Yeah," I grinned, "I didn't want to face Ms. Wright's wrath for ditching,"

"That would be quite the show," He winked and handed over my coffee.

I glanced around before pressing my lips to his.

"Thank you," I pulled away and marveled at the pleased expression on his face. "We should get in there before she flips her shit."

Josiah sighed, "Right, but I still get you for myself later."

"Of course," I purred as we entered the warm building.

Rosemary waited for me behind the curtain with a grin stretched across her face.

"What's going on?" I asked as Josiah left me for Connor.

Rosemary beamed, "I have a date,"

"With Drew," I shook my head and fought down the gnawing pit in my stomach, "This is the fifth one, right?" Their first happened to be on the same night Josiah and I went to the movies.

Drew invited Rosemary out to dinner not long after I left. I had been hearing about their chemistry ever since.

"Right but this is the night," She beamed as the realization came to me.

"Oh," My strained voice dampened her spirits. I forced a smile, "Oh!"

She nodded, "What about you? Have you and Josiah.." Rosemary wiggled her eyebrows in a suggestive way.

I couldn't help but laugh, "Not yet but we're going out tonight,"

"And?"

"I don't know," I sighed, "We'll see what happens,"

"Meaning if you're psycho roommate leaves,"

I grinned, "Bingo,"

My roommate decided at the end of the semester to be home as much as possible. Because of the empty dorm building, she assumed it would be acceptable to party every night.

My sleep schedule suffered for it.

Before Rosemary could start another conversation about her and Drew, rehearsal started. Ms. Wright called us to the stage and started one of her wondrous pep talks.

Josiah winked at me from across the stage and heat rushed to my cheeks.

After rehearsal, I hurried back to my dorm. Practicing the elaborated dances without underwear proved more challenging than I remembered. This time Josiah wasn't lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it.

I peeled off my leggings and let down my hair. My packed bags were ready for the long trip south even if I wasn't.

Instead of worrying about the break, I threw myself into finding the right outfit. Without underwear, a skirt or dress could be problematic.

I bit my lip and remembered my conversation with Rosemary. I had one more night before Josiah left for break.

I tossed a dress onto my unmade bed and started the task of erasing my exhaustion. By the time I finished, my hair hung in spirals and shimmering makeup covered my eyes.

"Good luck tonight!" Rosemary's text brought a smile to my face.

"You too!"

The pit in my stomach disappeared as I pulled on the velvet dress. The bottom hem reached the middle of my thighs and the front trailed down far enough for cleavage to show.

"Almost there," Josiah's text prompted me to grab my coat and head out of the room. My roommate stretched across the couch and yawned as I tried to creep past her.

"Going out?" She said before I could escape.

I continued walking out of the dorm, "I'll be back later," I shut the door before she could say anything else. After a semester of dealing with her melodramatic rants, I couldn't stand her anymore.

She seemed normal enough at the beginning but over time she became worse and worse.

I pressed the button for the elevator and hoped I wouldn't get trapped for the second time. Even though I didn't mind so much the first time.

I hit the button for the ground floor and shifted my bag so it wouldn't fall between my boobs.

Josiah waited beside the elevator and smiled when the doors opened. "This seems familiar,"

My cheeks burned, "Oh does it?"

His grin told me he hadn't forgotten that awful day.

"Let's go," I laughed and pulled him out the door, "Where are we even going?"

Josiah watched as my dress blew in the calming wind, "You'll see when we get there." The gleam in his eye promised an amazing night.