Patrice was back already, but Norah and Kris weren’t due to arrive until the following day. Mia felt a little apprehensive thinking about Norah’s arrival. She was waiting to tell her in person her decision to try things out with Jesse. Still, she had about sixteen hours until the awkward moment was due to take place.
Mia had just finished putting all her clothes away when she heard the front door of the apartment open. Assuming it was Patrice she decided to go down in a few minutes after she connected her laptop up on her desk and let it charge.
Her ears perked up a little when she realised there were two voices coming from the living room and the male accent wasn’t French. In-fact the voice was quite familiar. Pleasantly surprised, she decided to go downstairs to investigate.
A smile crept over her face when she peeked downstairs and saw Jesse in his black university jacket and cap. Another inspection maybe? No, wait there’s someone else here.
A neon-purple haired, busty female came into view and it looked like she had luggage with her.
Oh god, I forgot about the empty spare room!
Mia realised that there was still space in their apartment for at least two other people to live there. She had at one point lived in the spare room when she and Norah weren’t on speaking terms. Deciding to hold back a little Mia observed her new flatmate.
Christ, she’s a little loud. Wonder if it’s just the excitement? Sounds like she has an accent but can’t quite place it. Jesus – her boobs are huge!
The newcomer seemed to be making a joke and Jesse just smiled rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Realising that was her cue, Mia walked down the stairs to introduce herself. She caught Jesse’s eye and saw a look of relief on his face as she got closer to the living room.
“Wow, you are pretty strong helping me carry all my stuff; you must work out,” the stranger cooed while giving Jesse the once over. “All the boys I’ve met here are so cute, but you are the nicest so far.”
What the ... is she flirting with him?
Jesse acted indifferent to the comment, but Mia noticed that he was trying to contain a grin. He managed to change the subject as Mia narrowed her eyes at the very forward girl standing in her living room.
“Hilde, this is Mia,” Jesse introduced. “She’s one of your housemates. Mia – Hilde, your new housemate.”
Mia shook Hilde’s hand and exchanged pleasantries while trying to suss the newbie out. Hilde was from Denmark and was there for the semester through a similar exchange programme to Mia.
“I better get going and let you guys get acquainted. Lots of new faces arriving so I should head back,” Jesse said looking towards the door.
“I’ll see you out,” Hilde volunteered while thrusting out her obviously large chest; Mia tried to hold back an irritated look.
“It’s no big deal,” Jesse replied backing-up towards the door. “I’ll see you guys around,” were his parting words before grinning at Mia as he left.
“Wow, that boy is hot!” Hilde exclaimed fanning herself with her hand. “So handsome....”
“I heard a rumour he was gay,” Mia interjected in an attempt to mark her territory. Fuck did I just say that?
“Damn, all the best ones are. Are you sure? I’m usually quite good at noticing these things?”
“Yeah, I maybe wouldn’t say anything to him about it though. He might be a little sensitive about it,” Mia added as to prevent any traces of the white lie coming back to her.
She walked into the kitchen and went to the fridge hoping to find some water and hopefully not the remains of mouldy food the others might have left before the Christmas break. Peering inside, she gasped aloud and found her shelf filled with at least a dozen cans of soda with familiar blue, orange and silver design. There was a sticky note attached to one of them:
Found these in a Scottish store when I was home. I’m pretty sure you mentioned Irn Bru to me before. Hope they make you feel a bit more at home this time. J x
Mia felt her heart swell at the sentiment. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone in Boston had done for her in her whole time there. She slipped the note into her pocket and walked back into the living room with a can of Irn Bru in hand.
Hilde looked as though she had already made herself comfortable as she lounged out on the sofa.
“So Mia, how many more people live here and when are we having a party?”
***
Later on, after Hilde had been shown the empty room and unpacked, Mia gave her a brief tour of the apartment and showed her where to meet the welcome group that would be taking place the next day. From the sounds of things Hilde had already made a few friends through various social networking sites and was planning to meet them over the weekend. The Danish girl was bursting with energy which had an exhausting effect on Mia.
Patrice never came back to the apartment and a cheeky text from him confirmed Mia’s suspicions that he had hooked up with someone within a few hours of getting back.
It was getting late and after having something to eat, Mia realised she feigning sleep was hopeless. The flight and the time difference now had the better of her. Changing into her comfiest pair of PJs she slipped into her single bed and tried to relax. She had just rested her head on the pillow when loud techno music blared from the next room.
Hilde – for fuck sake. Some of us aren’t buzzing with adrenaline and need their fucking beauty sleep. Or sleep of any kind for that matter.
Mia pulled a pillow over her head and hoped that her tiredness would win over the noise. She couldn’t have been more wrong. It was only ten o’clock, she didn’t want to go next door to complain and look like the moody housemate.
Instead she just hooked her headphones into her phone and tried to block out the hideous synthesised sounds of Hilde’s music with some rock & roll. After half an hour of competing with the noise pollution even Metallica on her headset couldn’t drown out, Mia was ready to explode with frustration until she noticed she had received a text message.
“Hey party animal, think u guys can keep it down? Some folks are jetlagged u knw. J x”
She smiled reading the message from Jesse before replying back. Mia realised she wasn’t the only resident that was disturbed by her flatmate’s music.
“Tell me about it, I was just attempting to get some sleep when that shit started. L ”
“I C. The newbie already making a gd 1 st impression? Just go ask her to turn it down. X”
“No way! And look like a crabby housemate on her 1 st nite - no thanks. U do it!”
“Hell no! u see the way she was looking at me earlier?! I thought she was gonna eat me alive!”
“lmao, true but its ur job! Please... I’ll make it up to u xxx”
“3 X’s. Wow u must really mean it! Fine, I’m just about to clock out. I’ll come over before I head home. See u in 5. J x P.S get ready for my serious face!”
Holy shit, he’s coming over and I’m in my fleecy PJs.
Mia got up quickly and changed from her pyjamas into a slightly cuter pair of shorts and her blue Strathclyde University hoodie. She looked in the mirror and gave her cheeks a little pinch to bring some colour to her face but realised she already looked a little flushed.
Hearing the knock at the door made her stomach leap and she ran down the stairs to get there before Hilde did. In her excitement she almost flung the door open. Jesse stood at the step with a stern look plastered on his face which made Mia giggle a little.
“Miss Daly, we’ve had a few complaints about the noise coming from this apartment. Are you responsible for this horrendous music?” Jesse said with the most authority he could muster whilst trying to keep a straight face.
Without warning the music stopped and they turned to see Hilde walk downstairs. She had a round figure which was evident from the extremely tight, low-cut dress she wore. It gave Jesse and Mia an eyeful of her G-cups. She also had on five inch heels and it was obvious to Mia that Hilde was having a hard time walking in them.
“Hi Jesse,” she said sweetly. “Why do we have the pleasure of your company again?”
“Umm, I was just telling Mia here that you guys need to keep the noise down.”
“Okay, sure. I just turned it off. I’m heading out to a party tonight do you guys feel like coming?” she asked fixing her eyes on Jesse while she asked.
“I’ll pass this time. Feeling pretty tired you know?” Mia said.
Hilde gave Mia a look to register that she noticed Mia was still there before turning her attention back.
“Jesse what do think? Maybe after your shift finishes?”
He shook his head aware that Mia was glaring at the new girl. “Sorry, got to get up early tomorrow to work out.”
“Oh well I guess a body like that needs to be looked after. Maybe another time then? See you later Jesse, and sorry about the noise.”
Hilde walked past the pair of them at the door and Mia noticed that she pretty much pressed her boobs into Jesse’s chest as she walked out of the main door. Jesse smirked and Mia rolled her eyes at him as she took a step back from the porch.
“So are you heading home?” Mia asked curiously, noticing that he was still holding the front door open.
“I don’t know Miss Daly. Are you inviting me in? I believe you owe me one,” he answered teasingly.
“Yes, but she switched the music off herself so I don’t know if that should still count...”
Mia noticed a slight look of disappointment on his face which made her melt. “But, I suppose I could thank you for the Irn Bru you got me...”
Jesse smiled and closed the door behind him, hanging his jacket on the peg before following Mia into the living room. He gave her a glance over, enjoying the way her shorts sat just below the curve of her bottom. It was a view he had missed the past three weeks.
“Can I get you anything to drink? I haven’t been to the supermarket yet so just tea, milk or soda,” she offered.
“I’m fine. We could just hang out for a little bit...” Jesse sat down on the sofa and patted the space next to him. Mia joined him on the couch, consciously aware to keep a little bit of space between them.
Since they had met there was always tension between them and before he broke up with his ex-girlfriend a few months ago there was nothing she could do about it. The situation was obviously quite different now but it still made Mia think of all the rules that usually come with dating.
It was probably the first time she was with Jesse with each of them both aware that they had feelings for each other. Mia felt a little confused as to how she was supposed to act around him now. Their first date wasn’t officially until Wednesday so she didn’t want to rush into anything. However, she knew herself that she would be a liar if she thought that she would prefer staying in on her own.
A half an hour never killed anyone, right? Just hanging out in the living room together. Holy shit, he’s just taken his cap off and all I want to do is mess up his hair. Must. Hold. Back.
“So how do like your new housemate? She seems pretty friendly...” he joked, taking her out of her trance. Mia scowled at him playfully.
“Oh she’s lovely,” she answered as she rolled her eyes. “Actually she’s okay – to be fair we were all probably that excited when we first got here. She’s just a little, what’s the word I’m looking for...?”
“Loud? Rowdy? Eager?”
“Yes; all of those things! Can’t wait until the others meet her though. It’s going to be quite an eye-opener.”
“Well I’m sure the guys will make her feel welcome,” he said referring to how flirty Hilde was. “So how was home? Did you have fun being will all your friends again?”
“Yeah it was brilliant. I think we went out drinking a bit too much to be honest. Well me and Frankie did anyway. She was well and truly feeling the holiday hangovers.”
“Frankie is your ex-girlfriend right?” Jesse asked looking slightly tense.
“She is. But she’s also my best friend too. Is this making you uncomfortable?” she asked curiously trying to work out the change in his body language.
He noticed her unease and quickly answered in reassurance. “No, not at all. Sorry, I guess I’m not used to being with girls that are still on good terms with their ex’s. Just ignore me,” he smiled and gave her knee a little squeeze.
Mia looked down where his hand rested on her knee. The warmth of his hand on her skin was radiating up her body and a flush spread across her cheeks. She looked away quickly and hoped that he didn’t notice her blush.
“So does that make you the jealous type?” she asked as he lifted his hand back off her knee.
Jesse smiled at her question and noticed the glow on her cheeks. Not wanting to let go he took her hand in his instead, stroking his thumb over her knuckle.
“I’m not usually like this. Maybe it’s just with you.”
Mia smiled back at him, tucking her free hand into her sweater pocket. She fidgeted with her fingers knowing that his hand on hers was causing her heart rate to increase. Then she remembered how she felt earlier that evening when Hilde flirted with him.
“I think the feeling is mutual,” she added hesitantly. “I kinda suggested to Hilde that I heard a rumour you were gay so she would back off a little. I don’t know what came over me. Sorry.”
Jesse looked a little shocked but the burst into laughter straight away. He pulled Mia towards him into a hug as his laughter died down. Mia removed her hand from her pocket and placed both of them behind his back.
Oh God that could have been so bad. I’m glad he has a sense of humour.
“I’m not worried. She obviously didn’t believe it by the way she nearly shoved her boobs in my face tonight.”
“You don’t think I’m mental for getting that worked-up about it? It’s not as though we have went on a date yet. I mean, we’re not really anything yet.”
Jesse traced his fingers down Mia’s chin and tilted her face so she looked up at him. He leaned over, his hazel eyes gazing into hers and placed a soft kiss on her lips. It was so tender, but mixed with the knee squeeze and the hand stroke it left Mia with a longing for more.
“It’s fine Mia,” he said while tucking her hair behind her ear. “I already feel a little possessive about you. To be perfectly honest I kinda felt that way a while ago. Can you blame me? What’s not to like about you Mia: you’re stunning. And the best part is that you agreed to go out with me.”
Mia wrapped her hands around his neck and gave him a jubilant kiss. She felt no urge to restrain her feelings anymore. Her tongue was in his mouth flicking his and she ran her fingers through his hair. She licked her tongue over his top lip which urged Jesse to lift her over his lap so that she was straddling him.
Tilting Mia’s head back, Jesse kissed softly along her jaw and down her neck. His lips and stubble against her neck felt like fire spreading through her skin. It wasn’t until she felt his hands on her stomach under her sweater that she realised things had moved very quickly between them.
She leaned back a little then placed her hands on top of his to prevent them moving any further north of her torso. Jesse rested his head against the back of the sofa and let out a resigned sigh aware that he should slow down with her.
“Sorry Jess, I don’t want to rush into anything or lead you on,” she apologised with a small voice.
“Hey, don’t worry. Still got plenty of time right? Plus it’s getting late; you should probably get some sleep in before Hilde wakes you up at four am.”
He leaned forward a little, giving her thighs a teasing squeeze and kissing her on the nose. She climbed off his lap and let him stand up, walking him out to the door.
“So, still on for Wednesday right?” Jesse asked standing out on the first step.
“Definitely,” she answered biting her bottom lip in anticipation, her head becoming light thinking about it.
“Great. I guess I’ll catch you later then,” he said as he stepped back up and kissed her cheek before finally walking down the path to sidewalk.
***
The next day Mia and Patrice went to the store and prepared for the return of Kris and Norah who were arriving that night. Excitedly they overspent on beer, snacks and food that appeared would last until the end of the month.
Since Patrice only got back to the apartment that morning following a dalliance at an admirer’s apartment the day before, Mia had to introduce him to the new girl that was staying with them. Mia still hadn’t made up her mind on her new flatmate; it was obvious the girl was trying her best to fit in with them.
It was dinner time when the Norah and Kris got back and Mia had prepared her signature lasagne for supper. The new girl was introduced to the others and seemed to fit in well with everyone making everyone laugh with her tales from the night before. They also had a giggle when she told them how she nearly missed her connecting flight to Boston because she got carried away flirting with a waiter at the airport coffee shop.
Hilde was boy-crazy which made her fit in well with girl-crazy Patrice. After supper the boys volunteered to clean up and Hilde was getting ready to meet up with new friends she met the night before so it gave Mia and Norah the opportunity to catch-up.
The girls headed up to their shared bedroom and Mia sat on her bad as she watched Norah open up one of her suitcases and unpack.
Fuck, so how do I start this conversation? Do I just come out with it or do I wait until she starts?
“So I guess we should get this awkward moment over with,” Norah said taking the words out of Mia’s mouth.
“I think that would be a good idea.”
Norah sat down on her bed facing Mia with an apprehensive look on her face. Mia felt like crumbling but she knew she just had to get it out.
“Norah... I’m so glad you told me what was happening with you and why you were so angry. I really appreciate that you got in touch with me. I just want to forget about how horrible we were to each other the last couple of months. That said, I need to be honest with you –.”
“- You’re going to give it a go with Jesse aren’t you?” Norah interrupted.
Mia was taken aback by Norah’s correct guess.
“How did you know?”
“I kinda assumed it would go that way when I saw he changed his relationship status to ‘single’ on Facebook over the holidays. And I saw him on my way back to the apartment with a really goofy look on his face – which I’ve noticed you’ve had since I got back too.”
“I’m sorry Norah. I really didn’t want to hurt your feelings. When you emailed me I was so confused and it made me think of everything that happened. It’s not that I’m not attracted to you -.”
“You just don’t like me in that way – it’s fine I get it,” she sniffed wiping a tear that rolled down her cheek.
Mia quickly got up and sat next to the beautiful blonde across from her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Please don’t be mad at me – I couldn’t bare it again,” Mia pleaded. “And if you want your space then I’ll move back into the other room with Hilde.”
“Awww don’t do that. I’ll be fine. Plus, I was kinda preparing myself for this. I suppose I’ll just keep looking,” she said while forcing a laugh.
“Look if there’s anything – stuff you want to talk about, literally anything – just let me know. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to me.”
“Thanks Mia.”
The girls gave each other a hug and they both wiped the tears that had been forming in the corner of their eyes.
“Same goes for you too,” Norah piped up. “If you want to ask me anything then go ahead. I won’t lie and say I’m thrilled that you chose him, but I’m happy for you.
To be fair, he seems like he really likes you. And you’ve been mad about him since day one.”
Mia nodded in agreement realising it had always been him since the first time they met. She closed her eyes and a little flutter of butterflies in her stomach stirred as she thought about their date. Jesse wasn’t giving any details away yet so she was a little apprehensive.
Norah got up from the bed and started on the next suitcase and Mia logged into her email account checking to see if there was anything new. They chatted about their holidays and their time back home as if everything were back to normal. That was until the sound of heavy synth and electro came blaring through the walls.
“What the fuck is that?” Norah asked looking horrified.
“Oh that’s Hilde playing her music,” Mia replied as though it was normal.
“That’s not fucking music – that’s awful!”
“Get used to it – we have another four months of that.”
“Oh God, kill me now!”
***
To: Mia Daly
From: Frankie Jones
Date: 12/01/2011 (17:04 GMT)
Subject: The big day is here!
Hi Mia,
Glad you settled back in ok. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. That’s one exam out of the way for just now. Really glad that’s BioChem over – I hate that subject. I think I’ve answered enough to pass - fingers crossed.
So... You’re off on a date tonight I hear. Nice one babes – I’m really chuffed for you. Where is the lovely Jesse taking you? Drinks? Cinema? Dinner?
Have you picked out an outfit? How are you doing your hair? God I wish I was there to see you before you go!
What else has been happening there? Did you get on ok with Norah after you broke the news? Hope she is feeling alright and you guys are getting on.
The new housemate sounds like a hoot! Can’t wait to hear more about her. I’m sure she’s just excited being away from home and everything.
Write back asap,
Frankie x
_____
To: Frankie Jones
From: Mia Daly
Date: 12/01/2011 (12:12 EST)
Subject: Re: The big day is here! – (FFS I’m not getting married)
Frankie,
God, that was like the Spanish Inquisition your last email so I’ll try go over everything.