Housemates

Chapter 62

Ellie went inside and took off her shoes. The shoes spoiled the dramatic arrival slightly, she thought, but there wasn’t much to do about it.

Mia and Tasha were both watching her. Tasha was grinning, but Mia actually looked a little embarrassed.

Ellie looked at Mia, while she tugged at her shoes, and tried to decide if Mia was upset. She suddenly wondered if she’d taken her new confidence a little far.

She’d thought before she said what she had, but only for a moment, and not very hard. Perhaps not nearly enough.

Maybe she shouldn’t have said it, she thought. She didn’t want Mia upset or embarrassed. Worse, she didn’t want to be embarrassed herself, which she probably would be, when her confidence wore off in about five minutes time.

She ought to be more careful.

Probably it wasn’t okay to just say things like that, without knowing how Mia felt about her blabbing. Without knowing how well Mia got on with her housemates, say, and what Mia thought was their business. Without knowing whether Mia had even actually told people she liked bringing girls home. It seemed like Tasha knew, but Ellie was starting to realize that didn’t mean she just should assume. She should probably never just assume, about any of this.

She felt like she had a lot to learn. She wondered if she should apologise, even though she wasn’t quite sure what for. Being rude, she supposed. Being obvious.

She tugged at her shoe, almost embarrassed now, trying to hold onto to her confidence. Trying to keep being who she’d thought she was, just a few minutes before.

Tasha was still grinning, though, to Ellie’s relief. Whatever Ellie had just done wrong it couldn’t be all that bad.

“I like her,” Tasha said to Mia, after a moment.

“Yeah,” Mia said. “Me too. Mostly.”

“Hey,” Ellie said to Mia, a bit startled.

“You started it,” Mia told her, which Ellie supposed was true.

Ellie finished with her shoes, and went over to Mia, and kissed her quickly. She’d have kissed properly, kissed for whole minutes with her mouth wide open, but Mia didn’t seem to want to. Mia pecked, while looking over Ellie’s shoulder at Tasha, which Ellie took as a fairly obvious hint.

Ellie looked at Mia and tried to decide if Mia was upset. Mia seemed something, perhaps slightly in a bad mood.

“I’m sorry,” Ellie said. “I should have.”

“Shouldn’t what?”

“That. At the door.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Mia said. “Not ever.”

Ellie was surprised. She didn’t know what to make of that.

“I mean it,” Mia said, and smiled, and was herself again. “Just don’t.”

Ellie nodded slowly, and almost kissed Mia again. Then she remembered Tasha, and thought to glance around. Tasha was still watching them, still grinning, still seeming amused.

“Bye,” Tasha said suddenly.

Ellie was confused.

“You two look like you need to be alone,” Tasha said.

“Oh yeah,” Ellie said, looking at Mia again. “I think we do. I do, anyway.”

Mia just stood there.

“I really do,” Ellie said to Mia. “I mean it.”

“So go,” Tasha said. “Bye.”

Ellie looked at Mia, and Mia simply shrugged, helpless. “Come on,” Mia said, and went towards her bedroom.