Chapter 5

"Just a bad dream..." Allison responded half-heartedly with a lack of conviction that was painfully obvious.

Kaija rolled her eyes in disbelief. "That must've been one hell of a scary dream," she speculated. "What happened anyway?"

Allison shrugged to buy some time before she answered. "It was about school." She eased into her explanation tentatively as if waiting to see if Kaija was going to buy it. When she heard no objections, she continued. "I was flunking this one class that would keep me from graduating, and I freaked."

If anyone but Allison had given her such a lame excuse, she wouldn't have bought it for a second. But it was Allison. And Kaija did believe her roommate's explanation. Kaija's worried expression dissolved into a grin. "Like that'd ever happen to you," she giggled, rolling her eyes. "I was afraid I woke you up when I came home last night or something," she fished. "I always have bad dreams when I get woken up in the middle of the night..."

Allison was a lousy liar and would have made an even worse poker player. She bit her tongue in an attempt to maintain an even look. She shrugged. "Didn't hear a thing," she lied, leaving a set of tooth marks on her tongue.

Sighing in relief, Kaija glanced at her watch. "Well get your butt up then, it's time for breakfast!" She wandered over to her desk and began packing her books in her backpack for the day's classes. "You comin' or what, sleepyhead?" she asked over her shoulder.

Somehow Allison managed to hide the cringe that nearly escaped from within her. After seeing what she did the night before, she wondered if she could survive having a meal with Kaija so soon. And heaven help her if Barclay showed up...

"Yo, did you go back to sleep?"

Oh how she wanted to, but it had absolutely nothing to do with being tired! Allison threw the covers off of her and shuffled over to the closet to get her shower caddy. "I'm comin', I'm comin'..." she mumbled as she shrugged into her terry cloth bath robe.

As the steaming spray of water beat down on her back, Allison recalled the events from last night. The sensations she experienced in the dream were so realistic, the mere thought of it made her shiver. But why in the world was she having such an explicit dream about her roommate's boyfriend? Sure, she saw them get it on, and yeah, he had put the moves on her in psych class once, but still... it seemed so wrong!

Allison's hands roamed her body, leaving a soapy trail in their wake. But it wasn't her hands she felt; it was Barc's. His muscular meaty palms lingered over her breasts, probed her belly button, and made their way to her warm, moist core. Stop it, stop it, stop it, she scolded herself. She tapped her forehead against the tiled wall of the shower as if to rattle the nasty thoughts out of her brain. It wasn't working. Frustrated, she turned the water off with a single twist of her wrist and began putting her toiletries back into the caddy.

Fine. If she couldn't get her mind out of the gutter, she was going to go back to her room, throw on some clothes, and get ready for breakfast. At least she had a quiet day ahead of her. Just a quick meeting with Professor Salinger about her writing assignment, and Allison was done for the day. Thinking she'd have time to squeeze some reading in, Allison made sure Kaija wasn't watching her, and then she put the romance novel back into her backpack. After her hot dream from the night before, she could hardly wait to see what the book had in store for her.

After zipping the backpack shut, Allison slid it over her shoulders and walked out the door with Kaija. Mercifully, the dining commons was nearby. As they yanked open the heavy glass doors, the mouth watering smell of freshly baked caramel rolls hit them head on. Spicy cinnamon... caramelized butter... Allison couldn't wait to sink her teeth into such a decadent treat! The line attendant swiped her card, then she grabbed a tray and gathered her breakfast-scrambled eggs, sausage links, cantaloupe wedges, and of course a hot caramel roll with gooey topping oozing down its sides.

So where is the dog food kids always joke about colleges feeding them? From the looks of her tray, Allison was going to be a cool half ton before Christmas break! I'll worry about that later, she thought, shrugging off the worry. After all, she did a lot more walking here than she did at home.

The dining commons was extra crowded for once. Given the menu and tempting smells, it was easy to see why. Kaija managed to spot a table for four that had just been vacated. Fortunately, the occupants weren't total slobs, so the table was tolerable. Kaija zoomed in like a magnificent vulture and placed her tray on the table just as the last person grabbed their tray. Allison smiled. Maybe having breakfast with Kaija wouldn't be so awkward after all.

The girls dumped their backpacks into the empty chairs and got down to the business of eating. Both girls moaned their approval as they bit into the sweet roll. Kaija look upwards as if thanking the heavens for such a treat while Allison eagerly dug in for another bite.

"So what's on your agenda today, roomie?" Kaija asked, using her napkin to wipe off the sticky caramel residue on her face that her tongue couldn't reach.

Allison finished chewing before responding. "Just a meeting with Professor Salinger about my first writing assignment." Kaija looked surprised. "Somehow I managed to cram everything into Monday Wednesdays and Fridays."

Kaija snorted. "Lucky you. I have Music Theory, String Techniques, and Band," she groaned, cutting off a bite of sausage and popping it into her mouth. "Where ya meeting Salinger?" she asked as she finished chewing.

"In his office." Kaija looked uneasy. "Why?" Allison didn't like the look on Kaija's face. "Why?" she persisted.

Kaija put down her fork, glanced around to make sure the coast was clear, and then leaned in to the table and lowered her voice. "I've heard things about him, Ally."

Allison smiled at Kaija's concern and her use of a nickname they hadn't even discussed. "Like what?" Allison asked, raising her eyebrows with the question.

"He likes to take advantage of sweet, innocent girls like yourself," Kaoja explained.

As always, Allison had to turn it in to a joke so she could laugh at it. "Sure, Kaija, you just wish you had a class with the hunk," she grinned.

"Nah, I'm too street wise for him," Kaija said, stabbing the scrambled eggs with her fork.

With an annoyed look on her face, Allison leaned back in her chair. "What do you mean? Are you saying I'm not street wise and that I'm actually quite gullible?" She folded her arms across her chest, further accentuating her offended state.

"Ally, I love ya dearly," Kaija began, "but when it comes to men and college, you have a whole lot to learn."

"I do not!" Allison responded belligerently.

"You do too," Kaija insisted, "and I can prove it."

"Oh yeah? Go ahead and try," Allison dared. They weren't exactly arguing, but Allison resented being treated like some naive child.

Kaija bit into a melon wedge and thought for a moment. "Okay... What would you say if I said, 'Barc came on my stomach the other night'?"

Allison laughed, waving away her question. "Duh, that's easy!" She shifted in her seat as she prepared to answer. "Everybody knows it's virtually impossible to make love in a bed without getting close to each other and touching stomachs, so of course he had to come on your stomach!"

Kaija choked on her mouth full of milk, thanking her lucky stars it didn't shoot out her nose as she laughed.

"Well I guess he didn't have to come on your stomach," Allison conceded with a shrug. "I mean if you guys did it in a different position or something..."

Tears streamed down Kaija's face as she clutched her cramping stomach. She thought she'd die laughing. But if that was the case, what a way to go! It'd be almost as good as dying while having sex, she thought, wiping away the tears of laughter with the back of her hand.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Allison demanded.

Kaija reached across the table and pinched Allison's cheek. "You're just too cute," she giggled.

Allison razzed Kaija and threw a crumpled napkin at her face. Before long, they were both laughing hysterically, but only Kaija fully understood what was so funny.