Love is a Losing Game

LIALG - Chapter 18

"Uma!" Evie exclaimed, swiftly yet gracefully removing herself from me and standing next to the bed. "I'm sorry; I didn't expect to see you there!" she apologized politely, quite different from the girl who was just two seconds from ripping my clothes off.

"I live here?" Uma replied, making it sound more like a question than a statement.

"You're back early," I noted, sitting up and turning to face my roommate to better gauge her body language. I figured that there would be yelling by now. Evie must have, too, because I felt the comforting pressure of her hand on my lower back. But Uma looked calm sitting on the edge of her bed with one boot unlaced – maybe even a little timid.

"Yeah, it's just that, uh, Christmas felt...wrong without you," she admitted, her eyebrows knitting together and her gaze on her hands as she unlaced her other boot. "And I know Night of Fire is your favorite holiday, so I decided to come back so we could...spend it together," she sighed, clearly upset that things wouldn't go as planned. She must have also assumed Evie would be spending winter break with Doug.

"Oh," I responded, too surprised to come up with more.

"That's really sweet of you, Uma," Evie pitched in, sounding genuinely pleased with the other girl's sincerity.

It seemed as though none of us knew what to say after that, and the room quickly became tense.

"I'm going to go get dinner ready and let you two catch up," Evie decided. "Uma, you're not a vegetarian now, are you?" she asked.

"Uh, no," Uma replied, looking equally shocked that Evie would make her dinner and at the concept of being a vegetarian.

"Great! Then I expect to see both of you in the girls' common room in about two hours! And don't be late; empanadas are best hot!" she said with a smile, taking her leave from my room.

With just the two of us left, it wasn't as painfully awkward anymore, but it was still tense. We hadn't spoken in weeks, and Uma could hold a grudge for an eternity. I knew we were best friends, but I still didn't expect her to be the first to try to make up.

"So," she drawled, casually throwing her boots by the door. "How long has that been going on?" she asked, nodding her head at me.

My eyebrows drew closer in confusion, but when I realized she was staring at my neck, and the hickeys Evie had left along it, I put two and two together. "Beginning of break," I answered carefully, still not sure how she would react to the news.

"You look like a gecko," she commented, leaning back to rest against her headboard, her hands behind her head.

"What?" I asked, taken completely off guard.

"You know, like a leopard gecko. Because you're covered in spots," she explained as if it was obvious.

I just sat there, mouth agape for a few seconds before responding. "Out of all the spotted animals on this earth, you went with gecko?"

"Well you're too tiny to be a giraffe or a cheetah, that's for damn sure," she reasoned.

"You're so stupid," I responded, finally earning an amused smirk. We would be okay.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm prettier than you, bug eyes," she countered.

The pillow nearest to me went flying in her direction, hitting its target with a boof . "You love my bug eyes," I stated, recalling the many times she lovingly compared them to the sea when we were back on The Isle.

"Yeah, and you love my sass," she rebutted, repositioning so the pillow was behind her head.

I couldn't argue with that. "I missed you," I whispered.