Chapter 8

Hailey parked in Phil’s number spot and walked up the stairs and down the balcony to knock on the door to Apartment 12.

“You have the key, you know,” Phil said from the neighboring doorway. Hailey looked down at what she carried and back up at him.

“Crap, that was stupid of me,” she said.

“Yeah, you ripped them right out of my hand before I could protest,” he said with a laugh. He turned back to the other apartment and spoke to someone inside. “Thanks for letting me visit with you, Mr. Shalett. I appreciate it.”

Hailey heard a mumbled reply as Phil came out and closed the door behind him.

“Do you plan to unlock the door so we can go in?” he wondered. Hailey quickly thrust the keys in his direction but his hands were full of books and his backpack.

“It’s the one not shaped like a car key,” he said. Flustered, Hailey fumbled a bit before she managed to unlock the door and push it open.

“I didn’t even think about you not being able to get in,” she told him.

“Me either,” Phil replied. “At least until I reached the door and watched the taillights disappear down the street. It’s no big deal. Mr. Shalett is a nice guy and I went over there to study. Did you get Molly delivered safely?”

“Nope, I pushed her out halfway there and told her to hike it,” Hailey countered. “Of course I got her home safely.”

They spread their books out on the table and Hailey took a moment to look around. The apartment wasn’t grand by any stretch but it was a lot nicer than the places she’d partied at in the recent past.

“Pretty cool,” she said. “It’s a lot nicer than a dorm room. Are there a lot of college kids here?”

“Just me,” Phil said. “The only reason it was available is because the rent is too high and the landlord doesn’t accept deferred student loan payments. It’s a year’s lease with first and last month’s rent upfront. That pretty well keeps college kids from living here.”

Hailey nodded her agreement and took in the full kitchen.

“Are you going to live here next year, too?” she wondered.

“I haven’t decided,” Phil told her. “I like the quiet and everything but it is a little isolated.”

“It’s only three blocks from campus,” Hailey pointed out. “It’s only isolated because you’ve made it that way – or rather I made it that way for you.”

“This isn’t all your fault,” Phil said. “I could have fired a comeback at you and evened the score a little. I had one ready. It wasn’t original or clever but any cutting remark would have served the same purpose. Instead I just rolled over like a whipped puppy and took it.”

“That’s not who you are,” Hailey said in a sad voice. “I think I knew that and that’s why I was so harsh. I could have accomplished the same thing by just telling you in front of everyone that I didn’t want to go with you. It probably would have been better because then everyone wouldn’t think I’m some heartless bitch. Instead I had to give you my best sneer and ask you why in the world you’d think someone like me would go out with someone like you.”

She shook her head and wiped away a tear.

“I was such an asshole,” she continued. “God, why did I have to be such a stupid cunt about things?”

“It’s over,” Phil said gently.

“Do you really think that?” Hailey asked bitterly. “I just spent 20 minutes urging a woman to go out with you and the whole time I was biting the inside of my lip to keep from shouting at her that I wanted her stay the hell away from you so I could have you. Until it stops coming to my mind every time I see you or think of you, it’s not over.”

Phil let out a long breath and closed the book he was supposed to be studying.

“Let’s not talk about it,” Hailey said quickly. “You have an exam tomorrow. We’ll study for a while and then decide if we want to eat together or if I should just go the hell back to the dorm.”

Phil ignored her and shook his head.

“Do you know what I liked best about you the first time we met?” he asked.

“My tits?” Hailey asked, returning his grin.

Again, Phil let the comment go.

“I liked the first 15 minutes,” he said instead, “when it was just you and me getting to know each other. You were so excited about college. I watched your eyes dance as you talked about your classes. I could tell you were happy to get away from your hometown. We were so alike because I wanted to get a chance to start my life, too.

“You said something last night. You said I owned the room. You’re wrong, you know. I didn’t own anything. We owned the room. At the dinner, we led the conversation. It flowed through you for a while and through me for a while. When we were mingling, you were as much a part of making everyone comfortable as I was. You got them excited to be at Heilman.”

Hailey sat across from him, looking at him intently.

“I liked the fact that you could hold your own. You didn’t let me steamroll you. You didn’t try to steamroll me. We were equals, Hailey. That’s a problem I’ve always had. People either defer to me because of who or what I am or they chase me like crazy because of what I might represent for their future.”

“The Barracuda,” Hailey said.

“She’s a good example,” Phil admitted. “The kids at the party were another example.”

“The Children of the Cornbread!” Hailey laughed. “That is so funny. I still laugh whenever I think of it. That’s awesome. But I see what you mean. They were in awe of you.”

“It’s been a problem,” Phil confirmed. “But the fact that you and I were so much alike is what first struck me about you. Oh, and your tits.”

Hailey’s smile lit up her face.

“I only had on a light bra under my blouse,” Hailey reported. “I didn’t realize that they were going to feed us in a refrigerator. My nipples were hard for six freakin’ hours of rubbing against silk.”

“Like I didn’t notice that!” Phil rejoined. “I thought you were just happy to see me.”

“I was,” Hailey said with a sigh. “I put my hand on your arm at dinner to get your attention and I felt a spark. That didn’t help my situation any. If I had known you had an apartment, I’m pretty sure I would have tried to get you to take me home with you.”

“I’m pretty sure I would have agreed,” Phil admitted. “Your nipples weren’t the only thing that was distended all night.”

“Like I didn’t notice that!” Hailey repeated in the same tone Phil used earlier.

“We had a real chance to be good friends, at least,” Phil said, drawing the conversation back to where he wanted it to be.

“We had a real chance to be a lot more than good friends!” Hailey insisted.

“Maybe,” Phil agreed. “My point was that we still have that chance. Nothing really has changed in the last few months. You’re still excited about being at college and away from home. We still have a lot in common – more now than we realized back then. We still have a real chance to become good friends. We’re starting, I think. I sort of like having you around.”

“I sort of like being around,” Hailey admitted. “You go back to studying. I’ll fix supper. What were we having?”

“Just burgers and chips,” Phil said. “Nothing special. I can fix it in a little while.”

“I can fix it,” Hailey replied with a laugh. “I might need the practice.”

Phil went back his book just as his phone buzzed. He heard Molly’s lilting Irish accent on the other end.

Hailey despised the fact that she was listening intently to Phil’s side of the conversation – but it didn’t stop her.

He closed the phone and smiled at her.

“Whatever you told her must have worked,” he said. “She said she still has to babysit but she wants me to come over Saturday for dinner. We’re going to watch a movie after her cousins go out for the evening.”

“That sounds fun,” Hailey said, forcing a smile.

Phil’s exam went better than he expected. The additional studying he’d done hadn’t helped much but he knew that it hadn’t hurt either. He was sitting in his apartment on Thursday evening pondering what he could do to entertain himself.

He smiled when the idea hit him. He walked across the campus and into Hailey’s dorm. As he’d expected, Molly was sitting behind the counter. She looked up when Phil drummed his fingers on the countertop.

“Well, hello there,” she said brightly. “Here to visit Hailey?”

“Nope,” Phil said. “I’m here to visit you. Is that OK? I won’t get you in trouble, will I?”

“No, but how did you know I’d be here?” Molly asked, rising and coming over to sit on a stool next to the counter.

“You’ve got practice on Mondays and Wednesdays,” Phil said. “I knew you worked Tuesday and you didn’t work last night. I figured I’d take a chance. If you weren’t here I decided that I would just pick up something to eat and head home. I thought the odds that you were hanging out were worth the few minutes out of my way.”

“I’m glad of it,” Molly said. “I was just studying to pass the time. I’m looking forward to Saturday.”

“I am, too,” Phil admitted. “I, uh, I wasn’t sure that you were interested.”

“I was interested,” Molly said with a laugh. “I asked you out, after all. Though I was a bit worried, too. You see, I’m not planning to stay in the States. I think I have enough talent to play for a large orchestra. That requires a lot of work; it has to be my first priority in life until I make it. That’s not fair to you.”

“So what changed your mind?” Phil wondered.

“Your other girlfriend,” Molly laughed. “She told me that we weren’t talking about getting married and starting a family. We were talking about going out to dinner or watching a movie. We’re talking about spending time, getting to know each other, socializing with each other. I talked to my cousin. She’s in grad school here. She told me that I would burn out if I did nothing but practice. I have to have a life away from the instrument. Guess what? You’re part of that life.”

Her laughter filled the small area where they talked.

Phil stood with his elbows on the counter getting to know Molly Kelly as people came and went. After a while, her watch beeped. She glanced down and started to gather up her books. Phil realized it was already eight o’clock.

“Do you want a ride home?” he asked.

“That would be lovely if you don’t mind,” Molly replied. The bus didn’t pick up for another 45 minutes and it took almost an hour on the bus for her to get home. “Plus we get to spend more time together.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Phil said.

“If every night goes by this quick, I’m going to like this job,” Molly said. She took Phil’s hand as they walked out of the dorm and across the campus. He had taken her backpack as they had left the dorm.

“Have you eaten?” Phil asked as they headed up the street toward his apartment.

“I was a little distracted this evening,” Molly admitted.

“Would you like to get something?” Phil wondered. “I have some leftover lasagna upstairs or we can go out if you want if you’d rather.”

Molly looked at Phil’s apartment and back at him.

“Lasagna sounds good,” she said, blushing slightly.

They headed up the stairs and Phil heated up his lunch for Molly.

“This is good!” she said brightly. “It’s not corned beef and cabbage but it’s good.”

“We have pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s,” Phil said.

“You’ll have Irish stew on Saturday,” Molly told him. They continued their conversation that had flowed free and easy all evening.

“Do you need to call someone?” Phil wondered as he washed the dish.

“I’m usually not home until 10,” Molly told him. “But if our evening is going to continue, I should probably make a call. Is our evening going to continue?”

Phil turned around and glanced at her. She was looking at him with a trace of mischief and a trace of innocence.

“I saw you have some video games,” she said, gesturing to the entertainment center. “I would take you to the cleaner on the race track, I would.”

“Oh, them’s fighting words,” Phil said, with a bad Southern accent.

“Bring it on, then,” Molly countered. They raced around the track bumping each other off the track when they could. Phil got a lead at one point and Molly dropped her controller so she could reach over to tickle his ribs. When he didn’t falter, she pushed him over and crawled over him, continuing to dig her fingers into his midsection until he crashed. By the time she finished she was almost face to face with him, her lips only inches from his. She was smiling brightly and her eyes danced with merriment.

She abruptly pushed herself off of him and picked up her controller. By the time Phil recovered she had half a lap on him.

“Cheater!” Phil said.

“I prefer the term ‘inventive’,” Molly said with a laugh. Phil retaliated by scooping her off the couch with his arms under her knees and her arms. He found his fingers beneath her armpit and dug in. Molly squirmed and twisted, laughing all the time. She tried to keep her concentration on the television screen but finally gave up and dropped the controller.

“How dare you manhandle me?” she asked through her laughter. “I am appalled! Unhand me immediately.”

“As you wish,” Phil said, dropping her unceremoniously on the couch again. She caught his shorts on the way down and tugged him with her.

“Maybe I should call my cousin,” Molly said, looking up at him, biting her lips. Her arms were around his neck.

“Uh, yeah,” Phil said, sliding backward onto the floor. He took a deep breath and Molly repeated the gesture.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m, uh, well, that’s not where I expected this to go. I’m not unhappy, mind you, but it might be a little quick.”

“I understand,” Phil said. “I didn’t mean to push you somewhere you’re not comfortable.”

“I’d be more comfortable if we just stripped off and went to it,” Molly replied with a grin. “But I’m not sure I wouldn’t feel bad at it tomorrow. I don’t think I would but I don’t want to jump into things this quick. At least I don’t think I do. That’s the thing with you. You give me a smile and my brain short circuits.”

“Me?” Phil asked. “What about you? That little grin of yours – and that voice!”