Nancy Reed woke up in her now most favorite place in the world; in the loving embrace of Maura O'Halaran. Nancy and Maura had been college roommates for four months. They had some rough times at the beginning of their tenure as roommates. And it was true that it was sex that had been the catalyst for their current relationship. But it had become about more than just the sex.
They had repaired their friendship after a frightening incident where Maura was being attacked and Nancy had jumped in to save her. But there had already been a sexual vibe between them that had been growing. The attack seemed to put the sexual tension on the back burner as their friendship renewed. However, as the friendship strengthen, sex came back front and center and for the last 5 weeks, they had been lovers as well.
They admitted to each other that there had been some type of immediate attraction the very first day as roommates. However, some early quarrels had them at odds. And just as they had gotten past the early conflict, the attack on Maura occurred. Nancy had received a concussion while struggling with Maura's attacker and so there was added time needed for her to recover. Then, the initial spark which had ignited at that first meeting finally roared into a blazing inferno of love and lust.
Now their first semester at college had come to an end. They would be going home to stay with their families for the semester break. And while they had made plans to spend a few days together at each other's home, they would be apart for the first time since they had become lovers as well as roommates.
Nancy lay on her side, snuggled closely back into Maura's body. Since Maura was a few inches taller than Nancy, Maura was usually the big spoon when they slept that way. Nancy woke up first and as she turned so she would be facing Maura. The movement woke her roommate. When Maura opened her eyes and saw Nancy right there before her, she gave Nancy a kiss.
"Good morning beautiful." Nancy smiled but her smile quickly diminished. Maura said, "What? Morning breath?" as she put her hand to her mouth.
"Well, yes. But that's okay. It's just we're leaving today."
"Nance, I love you. But this is starting to get a little annoying. It's only for a few weeks. And we will see each other twice over that time. Plus, they have this amazing new invention now. It's called a cell phone."
Nancy punched Maura's upper arm. It had become their thing when Maura would tease Nancy and Nancy would punch her arm. One might consider this a strange token of affection, but such was their relationship. Maura just smiled back and gave her another quick kiss before saying, "Okay, let's go. Your parents will be here soon enough and if you're not ready to go they'll probably blame me."
Since Nancy was injured protecting Maura from a boy who Maura had originally planned to hook up with, Nancy's parents had been wary of Nancy's friendship with Maura ("
Thank God they don't know about us having sex."
Maura thought.
"They'd probably want to kill me
."). She had been a little hesitant to even accept the invitation to go to Nancy's house over the semester break. But Nancy was coming to her house and it would mean going longer before seeing Nancy again if she did not go. And while Maura had pretended to be angry that Nancy kept bringing up the separation, it was actually at the top of Maura's mind as well. She had decided she would rather face Nancy's parents then not get to see her that second time over the break.
Both girls were showered, packed and ready to go when Nancy's parents arrived. Nancy's family lived much further away and Nancy's parents would drive out the night before if they were picking her up and stay at a hotel. Then leave early the next morning so that they could still get home at a reasonable hour. Maura's family was close enough to make the trip both ways in one day, but it also meant her parents would be there later.
The greeting between Maura and Nancy's parents was cordial, although Mrs. Reed did say in a somewhat disapproving tone, "I notice the beds are still together."
Nancy replied, "Yeah Mom. It really was better space use that way. We could do yoga in our room to help clear out minds during all the studying for finals and we've being fine sleeping next to each other."
Maura thought, "
Up against each other would be more accurate."
But she said nothing.
When it was time for them to leave, Nancy and Maura hugged each other. They were very close and hugged for longer than seemed like roommates would hug. Especially roommates who would be seeing each other in ten days. They broke the hug and fought the urge to kiss and Nancy and her parents left.
A few hours later, Maura's parents arrived to pick her up. Her mother noticed that Maura's eyes were a little bloodshot and puffy. Maura had been crying recently. But she was all smiles from the moment her parents arrived and so her mother said nothing.
That night Nancy and Maura spoke on the phone. They talked for over an hour about nothing in particular. As the were hanging up from the call, they both whispered, "
I love you
." to each other so that they were not overheard.
On Christmas morning, Maura had a soft bag, hastily wrapped in her stocking. The handwritten tag said, "Don't let Mom see this." and inside was a quarter inch drill bit and four one-quarter by one-inch bolts with nuts. Her father had given her the hardware to bolt the beds together.
Just as she was hiding the hardware under a sweater so her mother would not see, she heard "Ho ho. Just what I wanted." She looked over to see her dad holding the cordless drill one of Maura's bothers had given him. Her mother seemed perplexed. "You already have a drill."
"Yes, but this is a new cordless one. That is an old plug one. That's more of a starter set tool. Maura, you should take my old one. I don't need it anymore and maybe you can use it for decorations at some party or something."
"Thanks Dad. Maybe I will find some use for it." Her Dad looked at her and winked.
When the weekend Nancy was coming had finally arrived, Maura woke up very excited. Maura's parents were driving to a nearby town to meet the bus that Nancy was taking to get there. They made a point to remind each other during their phone call the night before not to kiss each other when they met. They agreed a long hug would be okay. The irony was that both mothers had already noticed the signs and had an idea that the girls were already more than just roommates. Maura's father seemed to have an inkling as well.
Nancy was like a rockstar to the O'Halaran's. After having literally jumped in to save Maura from an attacker, they had a very high opinion of her. Thus, they had no reservations about a deeper relationship between their daughter and Nancy.
When the bus pulled in, Maura went right up to the door. When she saw Nancy turn to come down the stairs, her knees went weak. Nancy barely had both feet out of the bus before Maura wrapped her up in the sanctioned hug. With her mouth near Nancy's ear she whispered, "
I sorry, Nance. You were right. It's been so hard not having you next to me even if it's only been nine days.
"
Nancy replied, "
Nine days, four hours and about twenty-seven minutes, but whose counting. I'm here now
." They squeezed each other even harder, before realizing their hug had probably been a little longer than it should have been. Nancy collected her carry-on and then went over to say hello to Mr. and Mrs. O'Halaran and take the ride to Maura's house.
They got back to the house and the girls regaled Maura's parents with stories about the semester and classes and the dorm life. They left out all the sex stuff and there was no mention of the assault, so it was a fun-filled afternoon.
