Popcorn Love (16 page)

“
The Silence of the Lambs
.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“Of course. It’s a classic.” Vivian laughed at
Elena’s disgusted expression. “How did Allison talk you into
watching that movie?”

“She simply asked me,” Elena said with a light shrug
of her shoulders. She took a sip of her water and ran a hand
through her short, dark locks. “I
can
be adventurous,
Viv.”

“Uh-huh. Sure you can, babe.”

The glare she received only made Vivian laugh harder.
She reached across the table and patted Elena’s hand. “Oh relax.
I’m only teasing.”

“I know.” Elena squeezed her hand. “It seems that is
something you and Allison have in common.”

“What? Teasing you?”

“Teasing in general. She has quite the sense of
humor. In fact, she is incredibly entertaining if you spend a bit
of time with her.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I can see why Lucas loves spending time with
her. There is rarely a dull moment.”

“So, you like her?” Vivian slipped the question in,
hoping it didn’t sound too suggestive.

Elena frowned. “Yes, I suppose I do quite like her.
It’s strange, really. Don’t you think?”

“Why would it be strange?”

“She is so different from me, so free and
relaxed.”

“Mm,” Vivian said, watching her friend closely.

“She is unrefined and sometimes has the mouth of a
sailor, and she wears tatty jean jackets and fuzzy socks, for
goodness’ sake.”

Vivian smiled as she saw how her friend’s gaze darted
all over the surface of the table, how her breath quickened as she
spoke; it made Vivian’s heart swell.
This is ridiculous,
she
thought. But Elena’s obliviousness to her growing feelings was
overwhelming and if Vivian was being honest, somewhat adorable.

It made Vivian feel like a teenager again, just
observing it made her want to shake Elena and scream,
kiss her
already!
She couldn’t bring herself to disrupt the organic
development that seemed to be occurring between the two women,
though. Sure, she would do everything she could to help nudge them
in the right direction, but she wouldn’t intervene on a grand
scale. She knew this had to be natural, and Vivian honestly had no
doubt that it would come to fruition on its own. She just hoped it
would happen sooner rather than later.

If anyone deserved happiness and love, it was Elena.
Vivian believed that.

“We could
not be
more opposite, but yes. I
can’t explain it, but I
do
very much like her. She makes me
laugh. She makes me laugh all the time.”

“That’s nice,” Vivian whispered. It was an important
moment, a moment in which Elena Vega began to open her heart to
someone who was beautifully both completely wrong and completely
right for her. It was a moment that Vivian knew would change
everything.

“Yes,” Elena muttered. “It is.”

She looked up at Vivian then and smiled warmly. “I
think I’d quite like to be friends with her.”

Vivian returned her smile. “Good,” she said. But then
she couldn’t resist sticking her tongue out at her. “Despite how
utterly
jealous I am of your budding new friendship, it’s
true that you can never have too many good friends. And I, for one,
think it’s wonderful that you’re both so different. It’s good for
you to branch out a bit. Your entire life revolves around being
proper. Maybe Allison will loosen you up a bit.”

“Alson!” Lucas’s mouth remained still halfway wrapped
around his straw while he scribbled with his crayons.

Vivian’s shoulders bounced with her laughter, and
Elena just shook her head and ran a hand through her son’s hair.
“That’s right,” she said. “Allison.”

“Alson likes dinosaurs.”

“What else does Allison like, buddy?” Vivian
asked.

“Um…” His eyes widened and a smile stretched his
lips. “Me!”

* * *

Allison barreled through the door of her dorm,
tripping over her feet and tumbling to the ground. Grunting with
the force of the fall, she crawled back to her feet. She was
instantly greeted by her roommate and best friend’s confused
expression as the other girl lay in bed, drinking a beer and
watching TV.

“Um, did someone die?” Macy asked in her thick
Australian accent.

“No, why?” Allison tossed her backpack to the floor
and began stripping.

“Because you just flew through the door like someone
set your fuckin’ pants on fire? Or am I the only one of us who
noticed that?”

Allison laughed as she yanked her shirt over her
head, left standing in only her green bra and bright blue boy
shorts. “Just in a bit of a hurry. I’ve got to babysit
tonight.”

“Oooooh, that explains it then.” Macy smirked. “Hot,
rich, and fabulous calls, and you can’t wait to get outta here.
Does she know about your weird food obsessions yet? I’d wait a bit
until she falls for you properly.”

“You’re one to talk.” Allison rolled her eyes. “I’m
surprised your dates don’t run screaming when they find out about
your obsession with Vincent Price. Besides, it isn’t like that.
Elena and I are just—”

“Just what? Just friends?”

“Yeah, we’re
friends
.” Allison changed into a
fresh pair of skin-tight jeans and a three-quarter sleeve blue and
green button-up. “And it’s a job. You know I need the money.”

“Uh-huh.” Snorting with laughter, she took another
sip of her beer. “Sure it is.”

“It
is
.” Allison stuffed some snacks into her
backpack and removed a few of her textbooks.

“Whatever you say, mate. A tip though: when you
finally bed her, don’t be wearing the fuzzy socks. It’s a
moodkiller.”

“
Anyway
,” Allison hissed. “I’m late, so that’s
why I was running. I had Professor Rockford, and you know she
rambles.”

“That’s the understatement of the year.” Macy
snorted. “The damn subject is twenty-first century American
fiction, but the woman goes on about her fifteen cats half the time
like she’s a few roos loose in the top paddock, if you know what I
mean.”

“Nope, actually.” Allison laughed. “I don’t have a
clue what you just said, but yeah, she rambles.” She slung her
backpack, which was much lighter now, over her shoulder and headed
for the door.

“I’m headed out, but I shouldn’t be home too
late.”

“Right, yeah. Best get a wriggle on then. You don’t
want to keep fancy pants waiting.”

Allison rolled her eyes and waved before heading for
the elevator.

* * *

“Uh, Elena?”

Allison had knocked on Elena’s door several times but
received no answer, so she had finally checked the knob and saw
that it gave easily. She pushed the front door open just a crack
and poked her head in.

She slipped inside and closed the door behind her.
“Elena?” she called again as she took hesitant steps through the
house. “Your door was unlocked, so I’m like, inside the house and
stuff.”

She walked cautiously toward the hallway, mumbling.
“Please don’t think I’m a robber and like jump out and shoot me or
something.”

Slinking down the hallway toward Elena’s bedroom,
Allison tapped on the door. “Elena?” she called through the wood
but still heard nothing in reply. She slowly opened the door and
poked her head in.

With a wave of relief, she heard the rushing sound of
a shower. She was about to shut the door and head back toward the
living room to wait for her employer when something caught her eye.
She giggled as she realized what it was.

Lucas was fast asleep and sprawled out on his stomach
on Elena’s bed, halfway beneath the covers and halfway beneath one
of Elena’s pillows. Allison smiled as she darted over toward the
bed and sat down. She reached over to rub small circles in the
boy’s back.

After a few minutes, Allison slowly stood up again
and bent down and pressed a kiss to the bit of Lucas’s head that
was sticking out from under the pillow.

In that exact moment, Elena padded out of her
bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a fluffy red towel. Her eyes went
wide, and a screeching yelp escaped her as she saw someone bending
over her bed. She grabbed the nearest thing to her, a bottle of
perfume from the bathroom counter, and chucked it at the intruder.
“Shit!” Elena exclaimed, clapping a hand over her mouth. The small,
yet heavy perfume bottle smacked Allison square between the eyes
with a sickening thud.

“Unnh,” Allison groaned, her hand shooting up to her
forehead as her eyes rolled back and she crashed to the bedroom
floor, unconscious.

* * *

Dark blonde lashes fluttered slowly open, and Allison
let out a deep groan, her head throbbing with a fury. She barely
got her eyes open before she felt tiny hands press at her cheeks
and then saw wide honey eyes hovering over her face, close enough
to make her cross-eyed.

“HI!” Lucas shouted in her face.

Allison tried to laugh but it only caused her head to
throb harder. “Hi,” she croaked. Her side felt damp. Had Lucas peed
on her?

She gently reached up and moved Lucas out of the way
a bit. She was lying across Elena’s lap, her right side pressed
against the woman’s body, which was still wrapped in a bath towel.
That explained the dampness.

“Hi.” She looked up into Elena’s shimmering eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” Fingertips rubbed gently at the space
between Allison’s eyes. “You are already beginning to bruise.”

Allison’s brow furrowed, which of course hurt like
hell. “What, uh, what happened?”

“Momma tacked you with a fume bottle!”

“Lucas, don’t sound so pleased about it.” But a smile
pulled at the corners of Elena’s lips.

“Say what?” Allison smiled back up at her. “You
attacked me?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I didn’t know you were here. I
came out of the shower, and there was a person leaning over my son.
I suppose I just acted on instinct.”

“And did what exactly?”

“Threw a perfume bottle at you.” A vast amount of red
flooded Elena’s face. “I apparently have terrible aim, because I
was aiming for your back as you were bent when I threw it, but then
you turned around and it somehow hit you in the face. You blacked
out.”

“If you thought I stunk, Elena, you could have just
offered
me some perfume, you know? You didn’t have to throw
the whole bottle at me.”

Elena laughed and pinched Allison’s side. “Always
making jokes.”

Reaching up, Allison cupped a hand around Elena’s
cheek. “Keeps things fun, don’t you think?”

Elena’s breath hitched in her throat at the look in
Allison’s eyes, and she nodded against the blonde’s hand.
“Indeed.”

Allison, realizing what she was doing, cleared her
throat and quickly dropped her hand. She tried to sit up. Elena
moved to help her, though she had to keep one hand tightly pressed
to her towel to keep it from falling open. Allison wobbled a little
even in only a sitting position.

“Whoa.” She groaned. “Dizzy.”

Elena frowned as she watched her. “Perhaps we should
make a trip to the emergency room?”

“No, no way.” She hated hospitals. “I’m fine. Just
got a bit of a headache.” That was a massive understatement, but
Allison didn’t want to make Elena feel any worse about what
happened, given that it was really
her
fault for sneaking
into the woman’s bedroom without her knowledge. Plus, she didn’t
want Elena worrying too much over her.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, yeah.” Allison waved her off. “Could I
just have some aspirin or something?”

“Of course, yes.” Elena jumped to her feet. Allison
couldn’t help but stare at the woman. Water droplets slipped over
her bare shoulders and down until they became lost in the fluffy
material of the red towel. Anyone with functioning eyes would be
unable to look away from
that
.

“Let’s get you up on the bed, and then I will get
some aspirin for you,” Elena said, helping her to her feet. Allison
wobbled again and quickly dropped down onto Elena’s bed. The
blankets were all pulled back from where Lucas had been sleeping,
so Allison couldn’t help but breathe in the scent from the exposed
sheets.

Elena returned from the bathroom with a small bottle
of pills tucked between her teeth and a small glass with water.
Allison swallowed two pills and drained the glass. “Thank you.”

Lucas crawled up on the bed and practically lay down
on top of Allison. “Let her breathe, munchkin.”

Lucas looked down at Allison. “Can you breathe,
Alson?”

“Yeah, little man. I can breathe.”

Sticking his tongue out at his mother, he collapsed
on top of Allison once more.

Allison’s hand moved to Lucas’s back as he laid his
head on her chest. Her eyes then locked onto Elena, who was
watching them both. Silence and stillness filled the room as they
stared at one another for a long moment before Allison’s gaze
slipped down to the fluffy red towel and back up again.

Flushing crimson, Elena cleared her throat roughly.
“Well, I suppose I should dress myself.”

Allison smirked. “Yeah, I suppose you should. You
won’t want to keep your date waiting.”

“Oh Allison, no. I can’t possibly continue with the
night as planned. I should cancel and stay here to monitor you. You
could have a concussion, for all we know.”

Tingles buzzed lightly on Allison’s skin at the
concern in Elena’s tone, but she just shook her head in response.
“No way. I’m fine. You can’t possibly miss this date.”

“Oh?” Elena asked. “And why is that?”

“Because what if this guy turns out to be your Prince
Charming or something?”

Elena snorted at that.

“He could sweep you off your feet and like, I don’t
know, wake you up from a sleeping curse or something.”

“Allison, really. I think I should stay. I’m worried
you might need to see a doctor.”