Coffee Beans

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The overbearing scent of coffee flooded Vivian's nostrils as she took a single step into the puny dorm, her nose wrinkling up in disgust. How anyone could stand the bitter taste was beyond her. Within the entryway, there was a barely decent kitchenette, where the ceilings curled with the steam that seeped from an ajar door. Barely furnished, the room hardly concealed the pitter-patter of the running shower.

With a distinct thump, Vivian set down a certainly overpacked suitcase, burly plastic bulging from the seam of the zipper. The absence of sound startled her from her daze, the roaring trickle of flowing water coming to an abrupt start. It was several seconds later before a head full of espresso curls poked its way out of the steamy bath, soaking wet strands pinned down against the new figure's scalp.

"Hiya, sorry I didn't see you come in earlier," her saccharine voice was all too familiar, a faint murmur telling of fourth-grade summers spent whisked away underneath shady elm trees, of frigid playgrounds in second grade winters, of late nights spent gazing at ceiling fans, uttering hopes and dreams under whispered breaths.

Her skin was the color of steaming mocha, droplets sloping down her nose, face directed to where her damp feet hit the carpet. Rosy lips parted as she began to speak again. "I guess we're rooming then- I'm-"

"Jade." Vivian's voice was hardly more than a murmur, a soft prayer to the precious girl that stood before her. Chocolate eyes met Vivian's own, deep emerald eyes, with a look that could have melted the ground she walked upon.

"Vivi?" Calm november skies, leaf piles and then snowball fights, lemonade stands and forgotten promises of staying in touch. A soft smile spread across Jade's face, genuine bliss evident across rosy lips.

Vivian hated the way her eyes drew down across the pale towel wrapped around hazel curves, tantalizing, dripping flesh. A guilty blush spread across her face, yet the latter paid no mind and quickly lurched forward and struck Vivian into a longing embrace.

Jade, with her dark curls, buried her face into the girl's collarbones, prompting the taller's breath to hitch unconsciously.

It is wrong, Vivian thinks, that her pale arms slowly find their way across the smaller waist, freckled fingers splayed across the curve of her back, pressing into the towel, wishing that the fabric would simply disappear. They were far too close for comfort, far too close that Jade could easily hear the rapid pounding of her chest.

Sinfully so, it is that Jade's thin wrists find their way into golden hair, pressing a blond head into her umber curls.

The same smell of freshly ground coffee beans that has before contaminated the dorm now overwhelms Vivian's senses, the bittersweet taste lingering on her tongue. Too strong, too sour for the girl who sips sweet cream with her hot chocolate, yet the sensation is almost pleasant to the blond's nose.

It was disgusting, really, that this americano infused girl before her could tear her down like this, destroy her, make her melt down into a puddle on the floor.

Milky skin quickly ripped away from its place against Jade's waist, recoiling as if the contact burned to the touch. Maybe it did, with the way it poisoned Vivian's stomach, repulsed her to her utter core the way the intimacy had utterly wrecked her. Friend's don't act like this. This is wrong.

Jade nearly immediately shot away, returning to her downwards gaze. "I- sorry."

The lump within Vivian's throat prevented her from responding then. Instead, with a quick nod, she rushed her gaze back upon her toted belongings, stuttering a soft rebuttal. "I- you're fine, really. I- I should unpack."