Popcorn Love

“That’s it?” Macy boomed. “You’re seriously this excited over a bit of pashing?”

Allison rolled her eyes. “You weren’t there, okay? It was hot. It wasn’t just a kiss, okay? It was the kiss.”

“No way it was that good,” Macy laughed, shaking her head.

“It was though!” Allison threw a wadded up burrito wrapper at her roommate, falling back into her pillows, her cheeks red. She rolled her eyes again as she threw an arm over her flushed face. “God, I sound like a friggin’ tween with a crush.”

She rolled on her side to face Macy again. “One of my last homes before I left, I had a foster sister that was almost twelve, and she totally freaked out about this boy at school. She talked about the kid nonstop—his spiky hair and eyebrow ring. I thought it was so lame, you know? I used to tease her a lot when she’d fill up whole pages of her notebook with ‘Mrs. Marcus Walsh’. But weirdly enough, that’s how I feel right now, every time I think about it.”

“Well, fuck me dead! You’re starting to sound like you’re in love with her, Alli.”

Allison jolted up in shock. “No!” she protested. “What? No, of course not! I hardly even know her yet. I mean I know her. I just don’t really know her know her. But no, not in love. Hell, I don’t think I’d know what that whole ‘in love’ thing was even if it bit me on the ass. I just like her. I like her a lot. She’s awesome. I mean, she’s stunning, really, and nothing like what you would expect, you know?”

If Macy was honest, watching Allison speak about this other woman was enough to make her feel giddy, and that was rare. She had been privy to a few of Allison’s childhood stories, how they had weathered her, and she knew that her friend rarely, if ever, got her hopes up about anything. She seemed hopeful in this moment, though. She seemed happy, almost like she had found something she had been searching for, for quite some time.

But rather than say any of that, Macy mocked gagging, sticking her middle finger in her mouth.

Allison smiled as she said, “Shut up.”

“No, go ahead, mate. Keep on with the gross gushing. I love it.”

Allison collapsed back on her pillow. “I mean, she can be totally awkward and stiff when you throw her out of her comfort zone, but who’s not like that, right? But when she gets comfortable, she’s so funny and smart and always so fucking pretty. Seriously, I think she might be an alien in a person suit, because who the hell is that pretty all the time?!”

“You,” Macy said. She then grinned goofily at her friend and added, “And me, of course.”

“She’s in a completely different league.” Allison laughed when Macy gasped, pretending to be offended. “Seriously, you should see her.”

“Well, good on ya if she’s that fine, but I’ll reserve judgment ‘til I see her myself.”

“Oh yeah? And when exactly were you planning on seeing her?”

“Whenever you bring her home to meet the family, of course.” Macy grinned and shrugged behind the pillow still wrapped in her arms.

“The family?” Allison cackled. “Are you talking about yourself, or have you forgotten that I don’t have any family?”

Macy scoffed. “Of course I’m talking about me. I’m your family, and so you’re obligated to bring this Elena chick by to meet me.”

Allison sighed. “We’ll see.”

* * *

“That’s it?”

“What do you mean?” Elena asked, frowning. “It was quite heated.”

“Still,” Vivian said, “you had her in your bed, and you were making out, and you were both apparently groping each other, and then you just stopped?”

“There is such a thing as taking it slow, Viv. Some people prefer to move quickly. Some don’t.”

“Yes, but—” Elena waved her off.

“I know you wanted me to ‘let loose’.” Elena clucked her tongue as she leveled her best friend with a playful glare. “But I think we both know that that simply isn’t me. I’m not saying it won’t happen or even that it won’t happen soon, but we only just realized our feelings for one another. I’m actually glad we stopped, because I—”

“You what?” Vivian had an inkling she knew where this was headed.

Elena swallowed and sighed. “I care for her, more than I expected I would.”

“Oh Elena, I know you do.” Melting, Vivian grinned and resisted the urge to clap her hands. She felt like a cupid, a badass and entirely successful cupid. “And I know she cares about you, too.”

“Oh?” Elena asked. “And how is that?”

“Because she got up and walked away in the middle of a make-out session that easily could’ve led to hot sex.” Vivian made a show of waving her finger over Elena’s face and upper body. “I’ve seen you, okay? I’m looking at you right now, babe, and you’re way too gorgeous to walk away from.”

Elena blushed, her head dipping slightly. “Yet she went.”

“Yeah, she did.” Vivian nodded. “Maybe she’s more like you than you realize. Maybe she’s just a take-it-slow kind of girl. If it’s me interpreting her actions, I would say it’s a clear sign that Allison is invested in at least seeing what could possibly develop between you two.”

“Is it strange how much that excites me?” Elena asked. “In truth, I barely know her, but I find myself thinking about her all the time.”

Vivian shook her head as she propped her elbow on her knee and settled her chin into her open palm. She smiled at Elena, her insides positively squirming with her excitement. This was the most hopeful, and the most thrilled, that she had seen Elena in quite a while, though she obviously reined it in better than most would. Elena Vega was nothing if not composed.

“It’s not strange,” she replied. “It’s good. You will get to know her the more time you spend with her. It’s good, you hear me? I know you like to overanalyze everything, but just this once, try not to, and just let it be good, okay?”

Elena gnawed softly at the corner of her bottom lip. When she nodded, Vivian practically jumped for joy. “Okay, so we have to plan a date.”

“Date?” Elena whispered, eyes widening. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Oh God, Vivian, what the hell am I supposed to do with Allison on a date?”

Vivian watched Elena’s eyes flit steadily back and forth, panic brewing in their depths. “Okay, okay,” she said, snapping her fingers at Elena, “let’s just take a breath, okay? It’s all fine. It’s just a date.”

“Yes,” Elena snapped, her knee bouncing rapidly under her desk, “a date with someone who has very little in common with me! How are we even interested in one another? Vivian, I haven’t the slightest clue how to plan a date with her. I don’t even know if she would want to go on a date with me.”

“Now you’re just being modest, Elena,” Vivian said. “It doesn’t suit you. Let’s go back to the I’m-sexy-and-I-know-it Elena. She’s fun, and she knows for a fact that anyone would be lucky to date her, and Allison Sawyer is no different.”

“Right,” Elena croaked, clearing her throat.

“Okay, work on your delivery next time. That was the poorest vote of self-confidence I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe this has you so rattled. Nothing rattles you.”

“Right.” Elena tried it a little more firmly this time.

“That’s better.” Vivian smiled at her and opened the notepad application on her smartphone. She poised her fingers over the keyboard once she opened a new note. “Now, let’s plan this date.”

* * *

“Shit!” Allison hissed, swiping a hand down the front of her face. “Shit!”

Macy snorted with laughter. “You said that already.”

“This warrants repetition. In fact, I’ll say it again. Shit! Shit! Shit!” Allison ran her fingers through her ratty blonde hair that was in desperate need of a wash.

“Stone the flamin’ crows, Alli!” Macy groaned, wrapping her pillow around her face and sighing into it. “It’s just a damn date! Take a breath and calm down. You’re driving me crazy.”

“It’s not just a date,” Allison argued. “It would be like the first date, and that’s the most important or something. I don’t know, really, but it has to be good, right? I don’t even know what to do with Elena. I mean, I don’t have much money, and I wouldn’t want her to pay for everything. You have to help me, okay?”

“Fine. I’ll help.”

“Okay,” Allison said. “Do you think she’d want to go somewhere fancy?”

“I’m guessing she does fancy on the regular,” Macy said. “Take her out your way.”

Allison’s expression crumpled and Macy pushed herself up and out of her bed and over to Allison’s. Plopping down, she placed a hand on Allison’s knee. “Hey, no worries, okay? We’ll plan the perfect date.”

“We will?”

“Definitely. Now, she’s all about that little rascal of hers, right?”