“Pamela?” Lilly paused at the study table, pursing her lips. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to grab your cell number.
Pamela gaped. “You got a cell? I’ve been trying to get you to buy a cell phone for five years and Professor Hotlips asks a couple of times and suddenly you have one?”
Lilly rolled her eyes. “Come on, just give it to me so I can let you go back to studying.”
“No. This is historic.” She shut her book and stood, stuffing it into her pack without looking. “Well, let me see it?”
“I don’t have it yet.” Lilly laughed. “I’m headed to get it now, but I wanted you to be the very first number I enter into it and the first person I call.”
“Can I come?”
“What about mid-terms?”
“Mine are done. I’m just getting a leg up for next week.”
Lilly’s grin widened. “I’d love the moral support. I’ve been researching them online, but the prices are so astronomical that I have no idea what to buy. I need a laptop too.”
“Oooh, you should buy the Yoga, that way I could borrow it from you.” Pamela matched her stride. “Why the sudden tech upgrade?”
“Well, I’ll be starting college a little earlier than I planned, so I thought I should probably start getting prepared.”
“What?” She squealed. “So, you’re not going to worry about having a full year’s tuition?”
“Nope. I’m just going to dive in. I want to be able to say that I started college before I turned twenty.”
“Awesome!” Pamela grabbed her arm, shaking Lilly lightly. “I’m so stoked! Are you going to come live in the dorms with me? We can petition to be roommates next semester and then you’ll be right on campus and you can drool all the more over Hotlips.”
“Please don’t call him that.”
“Well? I saw you two loading into your car yesterday. You can’t feign ignorance for too much longer.”
“He was helping me with something at work. That’s all. I already told you about the failed kiss. There’s no coming back from that.”
“He wouldn’t have helped you yesterday if the kiss was a failure. He’s a tight-laced guy. Maybe the kiss just threw him for a loop.”
“Well, regardless, I’m not worrying about that today. Today I’m buying a phone.”
“Do you want me to get his cell number for you?”
“Could you?” She clapped a hand over her mouth and shook her head. “No. Doesn’t matter.”
“I think I have it right here.” She started searching through her phone, paging through a couple of emails until she found one from him. “Yep. He’s one of those weird teachers that puts his personal number at the bottom of his emails in case we have an emergency and need to contact him.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“I think you should make him the first call. You can save my number first, because I’m more important, but he can be your first call.” She grinned, not looking at Lilly. “I can be benevolent and allow that much.”
“Oh, so kind, Queen Pamela.”
The girls were still giggling as they entered the campus electronics store. After poking around for a few minutes one of the sales people came by. “What can I help you with?”
“She’s a new student. What do you have for laptops, and she needs a cell too.”
“Thanks Pamela.” Lilly shook her head and stepped in front. “I’m looking for something with quadcore or better, and it has to have Microsoft.”
He laughed. “Everything we sell fits that description. Will you just use it for school and basic home use, or did you want a computer that can handle gaming graphics.”
“Gaming, graphics?”
It was Pamela’s turn to laugh. “She’s never owned a laptop before. Her only computer access is at the library or at her work.”
“A basic model then.” He waved her over to her options and pointed out the features on each.
In the end, Lilly went with Pamela’s suggestion for both the laptop and the phone. With the 20% new student discount, her total purchase ended up lower than she’d anticipated. With the extra, Lilly treated them both to shakes.
Pamela moaned in delight at her double fudge, cookie, brownie, death-by-chocolate thing. “I think you’re going to be happy with your new toys.”
“I’m think I’m going to be poor if I let you make any more purchases in my behalf.”
“Oh whatever, you got a screaming deal. I didn’t even know they had a new student discount. I wish I had!”
“You’re right, they were good prices.”
Lilly pulled out the massive phone and just started at it. Was she supposed to fit this in her purse? She’d need to get a bigger purse. “Alright, what’s your number?”
Pamela gave it to her eagerly, helping her through the process of adding a new contact and saving the number. She showed her where to go to make a call and then took over, deleting all of the ‘unnecessary’ built-in apps that came factory installed. When she gave it back the home screen looked empty.
“Thanks, I think.” Lilly started to put it away.
“Seven, seven, five.” Pamela’s brow lifted in challenge as she read the numbers from her phone.
Lilly laughed. “Hold on.” She worked through the steps to add a new contact and entered the numbers as Pamela read them. When she was done, she stubbornly saved the number and closed it.
“Rude.” Pamela pouted into her drink. “At least make sure I know about the wedding date, when it happens. I can’t believe you hooked him.”
“I haven’t hooked anyone. He rejected me. Please keep it straight. It’s painful enough to think about without your unfounded optimism.”
“Sorry.” Pamela lapsed into silence for a minute before changing the subject.
* * *
Lilly pushed open the warehouse door, sliding it across the massive track until it was wide enough to give her entrance. She hung up her new backpack and purse on the Wall of Truth, noting that most of the other hooks were also filled, then stepped into the dim, candle-lit room. “No lights?”
“No water either.” Carlos said from the couch.
“She didn’t pay again?”
“Leslie said she’s going to take over the bills.”
“This is the third time in as many months.”
“Opal said she’d credit us back half a month’s rent for all of the inconvenience.” That seemed to satisfy him.
“Well, I guess that’s better than nothing.” Lilly tossed her shoes onto the pile and worked into the kitchen. “How long has the power been out?”
“Since right after you left this morning.”
“Food’s okay?”
“Fridge is empty.” Leslie came into the room. “Patrick didn’t close it, like the idiot he is, and everything warmed up before the next person came home.”
“Nothing was salvageable?”
“The freezer melted too, trying to keep the fridge cool, I assume, since that wasn’t open.”
“I just bought food.” Lilly stared in horror toward the massive appliance. “An entire week’s worth.”
“You’re not the only one. Our rotation caught everyone but Joey, since he never eats here anyway.”
“Can we split? I can’t afford to rebuy a whole week.”
Leslie shrugged. “Me neither, but that’s the breaks I guess. You stink. Please tell me you’re going to shower at a friend’s place before you come to bed?”
Lilly was too busy obsessing over her savings plan. Too much money had left her hands in one week and she felt the stress. If she had waited one more day to pay her upcoming tuition…
“Where is everyone?”
“Out back, barbecuing what we could save from the freezer.”
“Hey, some of that could have been mine.”
Leslie shrugged. “I guess you get dinner then.”
The thought didn’t console her. After fighting for her share of the feast, Lilly opened her phone and stared at the two available numbers. She’d wanted to call William first, but after leaving Pamela, she’d headed to her second job and hadn’t thought about it again until now. Could she call him for some other reason, and then call Pamela to crash on her couch?
“Hey! You got a phone! Guys, Lilly’s moved out of the stone age!” Joey grinned. He grabbed for it, yanking it from her. “My name is blurry-face, send-all.”
“What? No!” Lilly dove for him, knocking them both to the ground. Her phone bounced harmlessly on the roof’s AstroTurf and she retrieved it, but the message was gone. “Jerk! Why did you do that?”
“What’s the deal, just text them back and tell them it was a joke.” He huffed, picking himself up.
“You don’t understand.”
She stared in horror at the message sent to William, who didn’t even know she had a phone. She hit the call button and walked back into the nearly empty house.
“Hello?” William’s voice was clipped.
“Hi.”
“Who is this? I don’t appreciate text messages from students, especially as a prank, and especially this late at night. If you’re in my class and I find out who you are, you will receive a formal report on your school record for misuse.”
“William,” she hurried, “it’s me, Lilly.”
“What?” He stopped his tirade, shocked. “Are you okay? Whose phone are you using?”
“Mine.” She giggled. “I bought one today. You were supposed to be the first phone call I made on it, but then my roommate grabbed it and sent out that stupid text. I’m sorry about that.”
“You have a cell-phone?” He remained stunned. “Well, it’s good that you called, because I was seriously thinking of buying one tomorrow and forcing you to take it. You’re still coming, right?”
“Yeah. About that, my landlord forgot to pay the utilities again, and I just got home from work, so I need to take a shower, and as you can see, it’s close to eleven, so I’d better call Pamela, and I might be a bit late tomorrow.”
“Do you have laundry? I just want to make sure the washer’s clear.”
“Well, actually, if I’m going to be there anyway, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.” He paused for a long moment. “Why not just sleep on my couch tonight? The downstairs bathroom has a shower in it that you can use. If you just got home from work, you’re probably hungry, right, so I can make you something to eat.”
“Not hungry, no. The fridge was left open, so all of the food went bad. My roommates had a huge feast tonight with what they could salvage. I just finished wrestling away my share, so I’m good for tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit then?”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Bring your bathing suit. We can go swimming in the pool tomorrow after lunch to cool off.”
Lilly took enough time gather what she would need. She said a quick goodbye to Clark and Gabriel who played cards by flashlight near the door, then drove the twenty minutes to William’s house. This time she felt more than self-conscious as she pulled the suitcase behind her up the walk. No lights shone in any of the nearby windows, but William’s house was still well-lit. He answered even before she could knock.
“Come in.”
Lilly stared at his flannel pajama bottoms. The t-shirt was so faded she could only tell that it had once had a picture, but not what it was. “You look, comfortable.”
“Sorry, I don’t tend to dress up for bed.” He grinned and took the suitcase from her, leaving her with her purse, duffle, and laptop bag.
Lilly waited in the entryway, unsure of which living room she’d be staying in, until he returned. “I went ahead and tossed in the first load, hope you don’t mind.”
Her ears burned with instant heat. “Uh, thanks.”
“I have sisters.” He touched her heated ears. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have presumed.”
“No, that’s fine, I, just, don’t have brothers.”
She followed through the house to the back living room. He’d pulled back the curtain so the pinpricks of city lights created a tapestry across the dark landscape. “Gorgeous.”
“I’ve seen better.” He stared at her as he spoke. “I pulled out some sheets for you, and a light blanket, although you probably won’t need it. I don’t have a lot of spare pillows, I’m still working on building up the spare bedroom, so I gave you one of mine.”
She wanted to smell it and wanted to laugh at herself all the same split second. “Thanks.”
“If you need anything, you know your way around the house, so help yourself. Oh! The shower.” He walked quickly to the bathroom and pulled aside the decorative curtain. “It’s an old house, I think I mentioned that, well they switched the hot and cold and I just haven’t bothered to switch it back. So just remember opposite is the word of the day.”
“Okay.”
“I put out a towel, and a facecloth, I wasn’t sure if you were a loufa girl, or a washcloth girl.”
“Neither, actually.”
He cleared his throat and continued, his own ears darker. “If you need a spare toothbrush or toothpaste or anything, just let me know. There’s spare toilet paper, spare towels, and spare whatever else you might need in that closet there.” He opened the vanity mirror. “And there’s a bunch of junk in here that my sister leaves every time she comes to visit, so just ignore it unless you need it, and then feel free.”
“Thanks.”
Lilly hurried through her shower, and thinking of his offer for the next day, she took the time to shave, then gathered up her supplies and returned to her temporary sleep area. William leaned against the corner wall.
“So, um, I usually head up to bed, I mean, you’re probably really tired, but if you’re not and you want to talk or anything, I’m willing to stay up.”
“Why are you nervous?” She grinned at him, amused by the uncertainty in his tone.
He stopped himself. “You’re the first girl, aside from my sisters, who’s stayed the night. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.”
“The first?” She tried to put that in context and decided it made a lot of sense. “So where do you sleep?”
“My bedroom is upstairs. I’m a pretty light sleeper, so if you need anything you can probably just call my name and I’ll wake up.”
“You’re not going to sleep tonight, are you?” She teased.
“Probably not, no, but that’s okay. I honestly feel better with you sleeping here than in the warehouse.”
“What?” She stared hard at him. “How do you know where I live?”
William sputtered a few flustered lines and finally gave up. “I went from the stalked, to the stalker. It irritates me just thinking about it. There are, what, fifteen people sleeping in that place? It’s ridiculous that she even charges you that much. How did you get through winter? You must have froze through the nights.”
Lilly tried to separate the flattery from the shock. Shock won out, and she realized this must be what he felt when he realized she was stalking him. Still, he was a grown man. “We snuggled as one communal mass. What’s your deal?”
“My deal?” His anger flared. “You work for a creep at one job, and on the bad side of town at another. You live in a warehouse converted to house with fifteen others where body heat is your only means of survival and you’re asking what my deal is? I’m worried about you.”
“It’s fulfillment shipping. Boring, yes, but there’s nothing unsafe.”
“Except that you get out of work in the middle of the night and there are no lights in the parking lot. They have no safety protocol in place there, and you don’t even all get off at the same times, so you leave by yourself.”
“You’ve watched me?”
“Maybe once. I like you, a lot, and I respect you, but sometimes I think you’re just making choices fixated on one aspect without taking into account the rest.”
“Give me one example.”
“Like the safety factors.”
“I grew up on the other side of the tracks, William. While you’re living in your posh mansion on the hill, the rest of us live in dangerous circumstances every day of our lives. I take kickboxing at the local gym down the street from where I live. They have a discounted program for single women, and offer free RAD courses twice a year. Next?”
That seemed to deflate him for a moment. “Okay, how about your living conditions?”
“It’s not as cold as sleeping on the streets. My roommates may be slobs, but they’re all decent human beings and we’ve made it work. For the price I’m paying, I think it’s just fine.”
“I want you to be somewhere safer.”
“Well, it’s not your place to want anything for me. You’re not my dad, or my brother, by the way, so I guess you should just stop.” Her arms crossed defensively over her chest and she glared at him.
“Fine. You’re right, it’s not.” He pointed. “If you want to watch TV or something just open up the wall there, and the remote’s inside. Have a good night.”
She listened as his feet padded up the stairway and down the hall above her head. Her thoughts churned. Should she feel flattered by such behavior? Dropping onto the couch, she fished inside her purse and pulled out her notebook. She flipped back through, moving into her past, until she reached the list. She stared at the list and tried to remember how she’d felt when she wrote it.
Professor Doughan is… followed by a colorful list added to since the first day she saw him. Handsome was the first thing she’d noticed. That was still true enough. Kind? In an obsessive, compulsive sort of way. He always seemed to go over the top, threatening her boss, or stalking her. Compassionate. She’d added that one the day he saved a kitten in a tree along the walking path next to the accounting building. Watching him carefully coax out the riled minx still made her laugh. Right underneath in the same color ink was brave. He’d saved the cat by climbing ten feet into the air on a tree that shouldn’t have been able to hold him.
She continued down the list, calming her nerves and putting her in a better place. The walk down memory lane was enough to relax her and she tossed her notebook down as she snuggled into the soft sheets on an equally soft couch. She could get used to this.
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