Chapter 20

Within five torturous minutes, Allison had lost everything she had eaten within the past twenty four hours. She leaned up against the door of the stall, trying to catch her breath. Surely this all had to be some awful nightmare, Ally groaned as she rubbed her achy, perspiring forehead. She felt light headed and dizzy at the thought that the professor could be gone.

Then there was Ben... Ally hadn't really paid much attention to him in class. He was one of those guys who just sort of blended in with the crowd. Why, then, did he take it upon himself to 'rescue' her last night? And why did he seem so interested in her relationship with Barclay?

As odd as the situation with Ben seemed, her mind immediately went back to Professor Salinger. She had to pull herself together and see what she could find out. Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, she exited the stall and splashed cold water on her face hoping to regain focus. When she finally left the restroom, she found Barclay standing right outside the door.

"There you are!" he said, his expression brightening. "I was getting worried about you. If you hadn't come out in the next couple of minutes, I was going to send someone in to check on you. Either that, or go in myself."

Ally grinned at the thought of Barclay barging in to the ladies room, but her spirits didn't remain lifted for long. "Is your car over at your place, Barc?"

"Yeah. Why?" He had a sinking feeling he knew what was coming next.

"Would you mind driving me out to Professor Salinger's a second? I just want to make sure he's okay." She could feel his protests coming. "I don't even need to go inside; I just have to see if his lights are on or his car is there."

Barclay tucked a stray strand of hair behind Ally's ear. "I really think you should hold off on that," he advised, not wanting to get her any more upset than she already was. "Let's just see how things look in the morning."

"Can we at least walk by the English building on the way back to the dorm? Somebody there might know something..."

Barclay would have done just about anything for her--except that. He shook his head, immediately eliciting a pout from Ally. "I don't think it's a good idea. Besides," he said, glancing at his watch, "it's getting late. We really should head back to the dorm." He placed a hand on the small of her back and led the way to the door.

Ally didn't remember much about the walk back to the dorm. She was literally numb from the intensity of her emotions. Despite her distractions, she still managed to invest some energy into match making, or at least trying to patch things up between Kaija and Barc. "You have to come up for a Coke," she insisted. "It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me today."

He agreed reluctantly, even though it meant he might run in to Kaija. Barclay would have to learn to deal with the awkwardness sooner or later, because if things went the way he was hoping they would, he'd be spending a lot more time with Allison. And since Ally and Kaija were roommates, he was bound to keep seeing Kaija like it or not.

The room was empty when the arrived as usual. Ally flipped on the various lights around the room, and then offered Barclay his Coke. Since seating space was limited at best, they both took a seat on the edge of Ally's bed.

Barclay never pictured himself sharing a bed with Ally. Okay, maybe that was a lie, but this wasn't quite the scenario he had in mind. If it weren't for the possibility of Kaija coming back at any moment, he might have tried to make another move on Ally. But even though he didn't see Kaija in 'that' way, he still couldn't bear the thought of her walking in on them in a compromising position. As tough as it was going to be, he needed to talk to Kaija first, and then worry about Ally later.

But sitting on that bed so close to Ally he could smell the light strawberry scent of her shampoo, Barclay had never wanted a woman more. He felt like such a louse going out with Kaija even though he had feelings for her roommate, but damn, the sex was incredible! Since that's what Kaija seemed to value most about their relationship too, he didn't see any real harm in it.

"How are you doing?" Barclay asked, popping the top on his Coke. "Are you settling down a bit?"

Ally nodded. "I think so, but I'm still pretty upset." She was feeling so drained and vulnerable after the craziness of the day, she might very well have responded to Barclay had he suggested a kiss now like he did at the ice cream shop. In fact, she had to admit that she'd have welcomed it. If only she had the guts to initiate it... I'll bet he'd love that, Ally grinned to herself.

Just then, they heard Kaija's keys in the door. Her eyes literally lit up when she saw Barclay. "Hey, baby," she greeted, running over to him. "How are you doing?" She planted a juicy wet kiss on his lips and then crawled on to his lap, locking her arms around his neck so she wouldn't slide off. The gesture practically screamed, 'He's MY man!'

Kaija popped the top button of his shirt, giving her better access to his sexy hairy chest. She twirled her fingers through his chest hairs as she gazed in to his eyes. Not easily intimidated by public displays of affection, Kaija closed in on his mouth, probing his lips with her demanding tongue.

Ally blushed at being so close to the action. After all, usually she was asleep by the time things got that heated!

"Knock it off, Kaija," Barclay protested, gently pushing her off his lap.

She stood up, smiling devilishly. "I had no idea my man was so shy! We may have to do something about that..." Kaija refused to believe he could resist her charms twice in a row. But then again, she found him in her dorm room with Ally--the newly reinvented Ally. What was all that about, she wondered. Forever the optimist, she decided that maybe Barc had come to surprise her, and he and Ally were just chatting to pass the time. Kaija clung to that thought. While she wanted nothing serious from Barclay, life without him would truly suck. He was always so willing... so passionate... so playful... She smiled at the memories as she decided she'd do whatever it took to make him hers. At least until she graduated!

Barclay practically snarled, "I'm not shy! Listen, Kai." He looked down at his shoes. "We really need to talk."

Not today, Ally thought, feeling squeamish again. Not on top of everything else! "Why don't you guys talk later," Ally suggested. "I'm really beat and need to get a good night's sleep before class tomorrow." Of course she knew deep down she wouldn't be in class; she'd be solving the mystery of Professor Salinger's whereabouts. superlative

"Maybe she's right," Barclay conceded, a bit drained himself. "But Kaija, this can't wait much longer. We really need to talk about our relationship."

If his ominous words weren't enough to clue Kaija in to the impending doom, then his sedate departure was. No kisses, no hugs, not even a smile. Kaija's heart sank. Yep, she needed to become very proactive now...

As the girls lay in bed that night in the dark, they found themselves talking as they got ready to drift off to sleep. Kaija decided to use the darkness to encourage Ally's disclosure of her time with Barc.

"So Barclay came over to find me?" Kaija asked tentatively.

There was a long silence. "Not exactly," Ally replied.

Kaija grew frustrated with Ally's cryptic response. "Then why was he here? I mean he sure rushed off in a hurry when I got back..."

"I know," Ally said. "He sort of helped me keep it together today."

When she desperately wanted to ask what they did all day, Kaija decided kindness and empathy would get her farther in her quest for information. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Things went from bad to worse," Ally said, her voice catching as she spoke.

Now Kaija was truly intrigued and admittedly a bit relieved. Surely a budding romance between her and Barclay wouldn't cause that kind of a reaction, would it? Unless... No. Kaija refused to think about it. She and Ally had become great friends. If Barclay managed to turn her head, it was his fault, not hers.

"It's Professor Salinger," Ally went on, amazingly without any prodding from Kaija. "He was suspended, probably as a result of what happened with me the other night."

"And let me guess," Kaija said, "you feel guilty about it, right?"

"It doesn't really matter at this point anyway," she sniffled, starting to cry. "There was a horrible car crash and..." Her voice trailed off. She couldn't say another word.

"Holy shit," Kaija whistled. "Are you sure?"

"I went to his office. There was a note posted saying no office hours today."

"That makes sense if he was suspended," Kaija offered, not sure why her roommate was making such a leap in conclusions.

"Yeah, but think about it. He's been drinking a lot and he just lost the only thing in life that matters to him-his work."

"But Ally, you're not even sure he was in an accident." Kaija could tell Ally was getting worked up, and she didn't want to see her suffer.