Extra Credit | Complete

33

Calista

The dorm building was silent when I got back from Lincoln's place. The sun was still below the horizon, asleep like most of the students who lived on campus. I wandered through the maze of Winter college, exchanging a brief greeting with one of the resident assistants who was exiting their room.

Ella didn't have any morning classes on Wednesday. With any luck she'd still be in bed and I could slip in the room without being detected. I slinked towards our door. If anyone had been watching me there's no doubt that they would have probably thought I was breaking in. I slipped the key into the lock. The sound of metal on metal reverberated through the hall causing me to wince. Once the key was in I paused for a moment, listening for any movement coming from inside. But there was nothing.

I turned the key and it clicked in response. Pushing the heavy door open, I peered towards Ella's side of the room. I took a cautionary step inside. Where was she?

The one thing I had learned about Ella was that she was not military-neat like Harper. Her bed was usually left unmade, clothing left out, or spilling over the side of her hamper. I didn't mind it. I wasn't the tidiest person to live with either. But now I was left with a problem. One of two things could have been possible at this moment; Ella could have stayed out all night at a friend's (which wasn't unusual for her) or she was already up for the day. The issue with the second scenario? She would have noticed I didn't come home last night.

I was left in the middle of our dorm room, considering all options, when the door behind me opened.

"You're going pretty in depth with these anatomy lessons, aren't you?" Ella's cheerful tone sounded from behind me. That did not sound like someone who had just woken up.

Spinning towards her I said, "Good morning to you too." Heat sprung to my cheeks. I placed my bag down on my bed, giving her my back so that she couldn't see how right she was. "What are you doing up so early?"

"You know how much I hate waiting for the showers first thing in the morning," Ella reminded me, patting the towel on top of her head. Then she sighed. "That is one thing about living in a sorority house. At least there I only had to share a bathroom with three other girls instead of half of a dormitory floor."

She was right, I did know that. I still didn't understand what kind of person showered before going to the gym in the morning, but that person was Ella.

Ella fanned her flushed skin, no doubt having used up the entire dorm's hot water for the morning. An oversized t-shirt draped over her lean figure as she flopped back down on her bed. "So..." she started. "Stop trying to derail the conversation. Tell me why you are sneaking into your own door room at 7am."

"I'm not sneaking in."

Ella hummed, regarding me with knowing eyes. I was deflecting and she knew it. "Why were you out so late?"

"Nothing crazy," I said while removing my jacket. "We just lost track of time."

"You two studied all night? Must have been some really interesting content."

"Anatomy is a really interesting course," I said after clearing my throat.

Ella picked her phone off of the nightstand. "Is it? What chapter were you guys covering, the reproductive system?"

The tips of my fingers froze over my bag, my brain short circuiting. As I stated earlier, I was a horrible liar and Ella knew that. There was no way around this. I let out a breath before turning and plopping down onto my bed so that I was facing my roommate. "Maybe."

Ella squealed, flipping onto her stomach and tossing her phone. It bounced onto the mattress by her feet. She propped her head up in her hand. "You don't think I would recognize your after-sex-glow? What kind of best friend do you think I am? Tell me everything."

A giddiness vibrated through my body. "I don't know where to start."

"Start from the beginning. Does this mean you guys talked about everything? Are you two exclusive?"

I couldn't contain the smile that fought its way onto my face.

Ella screamed in response. Slapping her mattress she shouted. "You're exclusive?"

I shushed her. "You're going to wake up the entire floor."

"My roommate tamed the Lincoln Pierce. Unbelievable."

Breathing out a laugh I said, "He's not a wild animal, El."

"You're telling me he isn't a little wild in bed?"

The images of Lincoln caressing my body flashed into my mind. "He was perfectly gentle."

Ella clapped her hands together in rapid succession. "Go on, tell me more."

I stood, moving towards our conjoint closets. "I have to get ready for practicum."

She groaned. "No, come on. I need details!"

"You'll have to wait until I get back," I replied. I had never been so happy to say that. Practicum was finally making itself useful for something. I needed time to digest what had happened between Lincoln and I before I shared the details with anyone else.

"Ugh, fine," Ella said. "But at least tell me if you guys are official."

"We're not official as of right now," I admitted as I retrieved my scrubs. "But he made it clear that we're exclusive before I left his house this morning."

"So this isn't unrequited love like you thought it was? Did he tell you he has feelings for you?"

I brushed imaginary dust off of the blue material. "Not explicitly... but he did say he doesn't do casual relationships."

"Can't say I'm surprised," Ella manoeuvred herself to sit up, legs crossed. "He didn't seem very interested in those girls from the sorority that I would watch his fights with. I just figured he had a very specific type, but no casual relationships? The guy could be swimming in sex if he wanted to."

I laughed at that last sentence. I had said the same thing to Lincoln before we had sex. We were rubbing off on each other.

"I guess boxing takes up a lot of his time," I said as I reached for my toiletry bag and made my way towards the door. "Will you be here when I get back?"

"Probably not," Ella said as she let her hair down. "I promised Harper I'd meet her at the on campus gym in ten minutes."

"Alright then." I reached for the handle. "I'll see you tonight then."

For once, I was excited to head to placement. While he wasn't able to respond to me, the time I spent with Hans was the highlight of my day. I'd spend most of my breaks with him, reading him the daily news or one of Ella's less raunchy romance novels. The odd time I'd tell him about classes or the drama I was experiencing with Lincoln. It acted as therapy, but also made me feel like I was doing something.

There had been no change in Hans brain activity or signs that he would be waking up anytime soon. But it made me happy to know that at least he wasn't alone during the time I was there with him. And part of me liked to believe that he knew that.

The door was barely ajar when she spoke again. "Cali?" I paused, peering at her over my shoulder. She was still cross legged on her bed, a subtle smile graced her lips. "I'm really happy for you. I hope this thing with Lincoln works out."

I sent her a grateful smile in return. "Thanks, Ella. I hope so too."

* * * * *

author's note:

Thank you so much for reading! I have a question for you all regarding your favourite kind of book merch. I'm definitely not in the position to launch anything right now, but it's a good thing to start thinking about. What kind of stuff do you like to collect from contemporary romance books? Book marks, art, signed copies, clothing (i.e. jerseys, sweaters), candles that smell like the love interest? Any and all ideas are welcome!

Have an amazing weekend!

PS Chapter 34 is available over on Ream.