CHAPTER 14- MASK OFF

"Phew!!! That was close," Lopez exclaimed.

She didn't want to scare the young lady without even giving her a chance to loosen up and get comfortable with her first. She chided herself for betraying the memory of Stacey and falling almost head over heels for a girl she met a few hours ago.

Instinctively, she turned towards her bed and could pick out the contours of her face in the dimly lit room. The cool breeze of the fan sent her hair covering her face and Lopez shuddered at what she could do if her hands came in contact with the face of the sleepy girl. She kept thinking about touching her face but decided against it.

She took out her textbook and then remembered she had a test the next day. She was exhausted but a timer was set to wake her up in a few hours. With that thought, she slept off.

"You have forgotten me, haven't you?" Stacey's voice filtered into Lopez's subconscious.

"How could you think such?" Lopez countered.

"I am in your head, let me remind you. I see the way you look at her and I am disgusted at the fantasies you have spelled out in your tacky mind. She'd never give you what we had, or what you think you desire. Snap out of it Pez." The voice became still as Lopez jerked awake.

It has been a long time since she really thought about Stacey, it was surprising that she had a dream about her. She missed her dearly but they were separated by miles and miles of long distance and nothing was going to work, she accepted this fate and moved on. Instinctively, she turned around to look at the girl sleeping and she was glad to find her still asleep and oblivious of the dramatic way she woke. One thing she hated was answering questions regarding her personal experience and she was willing to leave the past where it belonged, in the past.

Just then, her timer went off and she couldn't help but gasp in fear.

"Sweet Jesus!" came her response and she had to breathe to calm her nerves.

Chloe stirred in her sleep before muttering, "is it morning yet?"

Lopez almost knocked her reading lamp off the table when she heard the sexy morning voice Chloe possessed. She was thrown off balance but she had to clear her throat to hide the anxiety in her voice.

"Hey, go back to bed dear. It's just 4am." Lopez managed to say hoping she gets the cue and goes back to bed. She wasn't interested in talking, her test was on her mind.

"I'm sorry for bothering but I heard you say a name, are you alright?" Chloe asked.

"Haha, a name?" She asked nervously.

"Yes, I heard it. You had me worried." Chloe's stance remained unwavering.

"Okay okay, I remembered something that happened a while ago and I might have had a bad dream." She replied trying not to give anything away.

"I have bad dreams too, but I get better by talking about it. Do you want to talk about it sometime?" Chloe pressed.

"Hold your horses girl, I'm fine. Go back to bed. School opens in three hours. It is your first day. I can take care of myself, I have a test to prepare for. Good night yet again." Lopez said with finality while opening her thick books.

"Okay, good night." Chloe felt the need to send a message to her parents and she was discouraged when she looked at the time. Knowing her mother, she could take the nearest flight to check up on her by morning.

Indeed, the thought of her doting mum and caring dad made her smile before she fell asleep 😁

Lopez felt she owed her roommate an apology after lashing out at her, she wasn't the reason Stacey left or why she was facing whatever she was facing.

After a few pages were flipped, Lopez slept on the pile of books. She stirred awake when Chloe tapped her shoulders and asked her what time the test was.

"Are you not supposed to have a test?" Chloe said.

"It's not morning yet. I need my beauty sleep." Lopez protested.

"It's 6:30am."

"Excuse me, what??!! Why didn't you say so earlier?" She fumed.

"You told me not to bother you and I was acting on your directives." Chloe said.

"Oh, I'm sorry about last night. I was a jerk. I'd make it up, I promise. I have to run." With that, she raced to the bathroom and was out in no time.

"Will you be okay?" Lopez asked when she was at the door.

"Sure, don't worry about me. I can blend in. Besides, I'm free till noon." Chloe beamed.

"I'd meet you then. See you."

"Ace that test."

"I can definitely try."

Lopez was out when Chloe decided to rearrange the room and fix the wallpaper. She hated been idle and got herself busy. She was cleaning the dusty books on the shelf when a photograph fell. The girl in the photograph looked exactly like her save for her height; Chloe was much taller than the strange girl. She started to ransack Lopez's closet. Her heart was pounding loudly, for she had no idea what she was looking for or the slightest idea what she was going to do with what she found. She knew it was wrong but she still continued digging.

Lopez was at the door fumbling with the keys, trying to get into the room. Chloe had locked the door before her frantic search began and her heartbeat intensified when she heard the rustling of the bunch of keys owned by Lopez.

"Oh my goodness 😮. I need to put this place in order in less than a minute. I need to be snappy about this." Chloe thought.

She raced to get her headphones as an excuse for not hearing Lopez at the door, she grabbed the broom and returned the photograph to a random page in the book and returned to dusting and scouting for cobwebs. She sighed and prayed nothing was out place.

Then, Lopez walked in. "Girl, you were here all along?"

"I have been cleaning, I'm sorry. How long were you out there?" Chloe mustered enough courage to look her in the eyes and she couldn't wait to uncover the secrets in those green orbs.

"Long enough to have ice cream and waffles." Lopez sighed and plopped into the nearest bed.

"Oh wow, that is definitely a long time. I'm sorry."

"Let it go girl, it's forgotten. Let's step out for breakfast before moving to get your letters submitted at the admission office."

"Right, I need to freshen up. How was your test?" Chloe winked.

"Haha, it was splendid." Lopez was very nervous but she did well enough to conceal it.

Lopez didn't know what to say, she swallowed hard when Chloe took off her clothes and donned her white towel before tying her hair in a messy bun.

"I'd be right back."

"Of course, you will." Lopez laughed nervously.

She was grateful she had a little time to breathe because, she had been cutting off her oxygen supply since Chloe mentioned the bathroom. Lopez started to fantasize yet again, she already created beautiful scenes in her head and that voice stole a spot to speak.

"Lopez, you don't need this now. Take it easy, she just got here." Her inner voice chided her. "Besides, you have to make her come to you and not the other way around. Breathe."

Chloe had dressed up in the bathroom and it was a relief for Lopez who wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to cup those beautiful breasts without seeming offensive.

"Ready, we can go now?" Chloe giggled excitedly after carrying all necessary files needed for submission.

"Of course. Let's go to the diner first then, we sort you out." Lopez locked the door behind them. Chloe was awed at the setting of the breakfast bar and voiced it. Lopez couldn't help but love her the more. The way she appreciated little things made her feel even more drawn to her and she was very protective of whoever caught her eye. They both ate breakfast hurriedly before reaching the administrative block.

Chloe went in to get herself registered as a full-time student of Honeybloomers Dance Academy and she knew a lot was expected of her when she got a glimpse of her schedule for the semester. She couldn't wait to get to the peak of her dancing career. They just threw the ladder her way, she was going to make the most of it by climbing the rungs dutifully.