their face and called them a liar.
+++++
CHAPTER FOUR
The morning after the initial awkwardness of arriving in Providence, Reagan woke up early. It wasn’t unusual for her to wake up at an early hour, even on the weekends. She had her routines and her body obligingly stuck to them. She lay in Allison’s bed for a few moments, just waking up and listening for any telltale sounds that people were up and moving around in the house. She had yet to meet Allison’s roommates, but she was honestly a little nervous about it. What kind of people would Allison-version 2.0 be living with?
When she finally exited Allison’s bedroom as quietly as possible so as to not wake up anyone in the house, she found Allison already awake, drinking coffee and sitting at the kitchen table with the morning newspaper. She wore black, rectangle-framed glasses, and her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. The tip of her tongue was just barely visible, peaking out between two pale pink lips as she worked on the morning crossword puzzle. Reagan thought it unfair that anyone could still be so attractive in glasses and slightly disheveled from sleep.
“Morning.”
Allison looked up and smiled warmly when she saw the brunette. “Morning,” she returned the greeting. Her voice sounded deeper than usual. “Sleep okay?”
R eagan scratched at the back of her neck self-consciously and nodded. She had thought about changing out of her pajamas, but felt relieved that Allison appeared to still be in hers – a light blue Henley top and cotton pants with a drawstring. She wondered how she’d gotten them since she’d taken over her bedroom. “How about you?” she asked. She still felt guilty that Allison had slept on the couch, but she didn’t really know what protocol was for adult sleepovers.
“Good,” Allison confirmed. Her eyes fell back down to her newspaper. “If you want coffee, there’s some extra in the machine. Mugs are above the microwave.”
Reagan padded over to the coffee maker and made herself a cup, black and strong. She cupped the ceramic mug in her hands and let it warm her. Allison’s house was old, and therefore a little drafty. She was used to the muggy heat of her residence hall in the mornings, the result of so many women all taking hot showers at the same time. She sat down in the spare chair at the kitchen table and silently observed Allison for a moment as she continued to work on the crossword puzzle.
“What would you like to do today?” Allison asked without looking up. “I gotta warn you. Providence isn’t that big, plus it’s winter.”
“Does Brown have an ice rink?”
Allison looked up at the unexpected question. “I think so,” she said. Her fair eyebrows were still knit together. “I’m pretty sure we have a hockey team. Why?”
“It might be fun to go ice skating,” R eagan said, drawing invisible patterns on the table with her fingers. “It seems like an appropriate winter activity,” she added self-consciously. “I usually go skating with my dad on Christmas day, but we didn’t get to go this year. Too many other things to squeeze in while I was home.”
Allison seemed to let the idea marinate for a moment before responding. “I’ll call the rink and see if that’s something we could do today. I don’t know if they let students skate there or if it’s just for hockey.”
“Could you ask if they have skate rentals, too?”
Allison nodded. “Good thinking. That would probably be important,” she said with a quiet chuckle.
Now that a tentative pl an had been made for the day, Reagan felt more at ease. If they had something concrete to do, there was less chance of her embarrassing herself or babbling endlessly and annoying Allison. “Do you have your own skates?”
Allison shook her head. “I’ve actually never gone skating before,” she
+++++
CHAPTER FOUR
The morning after the initial awkwardness of arriving in Providence, Reagan woke up early. It wasn’t unusual for her to wake up at an early hour, even on the weekends. She had her routines and her body obligingly stuck to them. She lay in Allison’s bed for a few moments, just waking up and listening for any telltale sounds that people were up and moving around in the house. She had yet to meet Allison’s roommates, but she was honestly a little nervous about it. What kind of people would Allison-version 2.0 be living with?
When she finally exited Allison’s bedroom as quietly as possible so as to not wake up anyone in the house, she found Allison already awake, drinking coffee and sitting at the kitchen table with the morning newspaper. She wore black, rectangle-framed glasses, and her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. The tip of her tongue was just barely visible, peaking out between two pale pink lips as she worked on the morning crossword puzzle. Reagan thought it unfair that anyone could still be so attractive in glasses and slightly disheveled from sleep.
“Morning.”
Allison looked up and smiled warmly when she saw the brunette. “Morning,” she returned the greeting. Her voice sounded deeper than usual. “Sleep okay?”
R eagan scratched at the back of her neck self-consciously and nodded. She had thought about changing out of her pajamas, but felt relieved that Allison appeared to still be in hers – a light blue Henley top and cotton pants with a drawstring. She wondered how she’d gotten them since she’d taken over her bedroom. “How about you?” she asked. She still felt guilty that Allison had slept on the couch, but she didn’t really know what protocol was for adult sleepovers.
“Good,” Allison confirmed. Her eyes fell back down to her newspaper. “If you want coffee, there’s some extra in the machine. Mugs are above the microwave.”
Reagan padded over to the coffee maker and made herself a cup, black and strong. She cupped the ceramic mug in her hands and let it warm her. Allison’s house was old, and therefore a little drafty. She was used to the muggy heat of her residence hall in the mornings, the result of so many women all taking hot showers at the same time. She sat down in the spare chair at the kitchen table and silently observed Allison for a moment as she continued to work on the crossword puzzle.
“What would you like to do today?” Allison asked without looking up. “I gotta warn you. Providence isn’t that big, plus it’s winter.”
“Does Brown have an ice rink?”
Allison looked up at the unexpected question. “I think so,” she said. Her fair eyebrows were still knit together. “I’m pretty sure we have a hockey team. Why?”
“It might be fun to go ice skating,” R eagan said, drawing invisible patterns on the table with her fingers. “It seems like an appropriate winter activity,” she added self-consciously. “I usually go skating with my dad on Christmas day, but we didn’t get to go this year. Too many other things to squeeze in while I was home.”
Allison seemed to let the idea marinate for a moment before responding. “I’ll call the rink and see if that’s something we could do today. I don’t know if they let students skate there or if it’s just for hockey.”
“Could you ask if they have skate rentals, too?”
Allison nodded. “Good thinking. That would probably be important,” she said with a quiet chuckle.
Now that a tentative pl an had been made for the day, Reagan felt more at ease. If they had something concrete to do, there was less chance of her embarrassing herself or babbling endlessly and annoying Allison. “Do you have your own skates?”
Allison shook her head. “I’ve actually never gone skating before,” she
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