Staring at his dead body, she was unsure if he deserved it or not, in the eyes of God. But she was sure that she would never stop loving him.
Chapter One
"Pink, Rin? You have to be kidding me."
"No, no Seifer! Look at this shade. Oh, this would be so cute with the rose sheets!"
Rinoa was flipping through a catalog in a plain, white room. White walls, white floors, white sheets, white decor. This was the first house she had ever owned. Well, sort of. Straight out of Balamb Garden, Seifer had asked Rinoa to move in with him...and all of his friends. Yes, there was quiet, shy Squall in the first bedroom. Selphie and Quistis shared the second. Zell and Irvine shared the third. And Seifer and Rinoa were sure to enjoy, the only co-ed room in the house. The reason for the separation of genders was primarily Irvine's lecherous ways and Zell's snoring. No female chose to sleep around that. And the men certainly didn't enjoy Quistis's nitpicking. And Squall...well he was just the lone wolf who had a tendency to separate himself from the group.
"I am a man, Rinoa. And we discussed the pink sheets. As a man, I will not sleep on pink sheets." Seifer casually plucked the catalog from Rinoa's hands, and dropped it on the ground.
"Yes, Seifer, we have discussed this. As a man, you have no say in the interior decorating of our room."She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hopped off the bed before he grabbed her hand and kissed it.
"You know, Rinoa, it would seem like a big waste to buy new sheets when we haven't christened the old yet." An eyebrow raise accompanied the sly remark.
"Seifer, we are in a house with five other people..."
"Who are all gone right now. Honestly, how many opportunities like this are going to arise? We've waited. And we have been dating for two years now, and we just moved in together. I think I proved that I love you with all my heart."
Rinoa sighed. He was right. They had waited, and waited, and waited. By now, she might just have wanted it as bad as he did. She was just so used to saying no. Maybe it was time she said yes. And that night, she did.
That was the situation that left Rinoa sinking into a hot bath. Her body ached, but felt relieved. A thin film of sweat was cleansed off her body and she smiled just to herself. There was much more of that to come now that they were living together...as long as the five other people keep going on outings. Rinoa listened as she heard Seifer rummaging around the room next to them, finding something to wear. It was agreed that they would go out to dinner tonight with the rest of the group, to toast the life of 7 cramped individuals sharing four bedrooms, three different kinds of tampons, two bathrooms, and one remote. She was newly eighteen, and ready to start the fun, uncensored, and uncontrolled portion of her life that they write movies about.
There was a knock on the door.
"Rinny, I need to get in there, NOW!" It was Selphie. The roommates were officially home, and Rinoa was betting every single one of them had to go like a racehorse and her relaxation would have to be put on hiatus for a long, long time. Hair in towel, bath robe on, she let Selphia in and returned to her room. Seifer was laying on the bed in a dress shirt and slacks.
"Why, you look dashing, Mr. Almasy." She said with a wink, pushing a strand of wet hair out of her face.
"And you look...like you are not yet dressed for the occassion, my dear Rinoa." He grinned while she rolled her eyes and took the towel out of her hair.
"So, Seifer, have you put any more thought into those pink sheets?"
"Baby, after today, you can have anything you want and more." He got up from the bed and kissed her lightly before leaving the room.
I'll hold you up to that. Rinoa thought to herself. She smiled, and picked a cream colored dress that would look lovely for this occassion tonight. Looking around the room, before she left to do her hair, she noticed it looked a little less white, and a little less bland.
________
"So are we all going to toast to something about life, or just dig in?" Zell asked. He did not look quite as classy as the rest of the roommates, his bow tie barely covered the stains on his white t-shirt.
"You pig. Of course we should toast." Quistis said, pushing up her glasses. Her red cocktail dress showed off her slender curves and she seemed to be begging for Squall's attention.
"Relax Quisty. And start us off, if you will." Irvine was wearing a purple silk shirt that seemed less cowboy and more porn star.
"Well, cheers to not having a bedroom with Zell...." She now glanced at Squall. "And to new acquaintances."
"And to all the lovely ladies I share a bathroom with. You know, in an effort to go green, we could all shower together..." Irvine was eyeing Selphie and Quistis.
"Here's to not sharing a room with Irvine, teehee. And to finally being on our own!" Selphie lifted her glass of champagne in the air.
"Here's to having you women around to clean up after me." Zell shouted, receiving high fives from all the men but Squall.
"C'mon, take this seriously guys! We have our own place now. Not a dorm, but a real home." Quistis groaned. "Now c'mon, it's your turn Squall."
"....Cheers to having a lock on my door and my own room, because this is the strangest mix of people to ever have to share a house." Squall lifted his glass in the air as well. Rinoa laughed at the little bit of character Squall just might have.
"Cheer to getting to share a room with the most lovely girl I've ever seen." Seifer was giving Rinoa the eye, just the one that gave her a couple butterflies. He did not lift champagne, but a glass of whiskey. "And you, Princess?"
Rinoa smiled.
"Cheers to whatever is going to come."
And they all touched glasses, the women sipped. Zell guzzled his champagne, seeing it as a girl drink rather than a liquid of sophistication. He ordered a round of shots for the men. Squall did not participate.
"Never touch the stuff." He muttered.
But all the roommates excluding Squall (which automatically handed him the position of designated driver) went glass after glass, bottle after bottle. Quistis found herself fond of the wine, Selphie enjoyed the martini Irvine had introduced her to. Zell was quite into any mixture you sent his way, and Seifer was only into the whiskey. Rinoa was pretty content with a daiquiri.
After sharing dark secrets, hilarious stories, and big dreams for the future, they one by one stumbled out of the door of the restaurant, Squall holding a very intoxicated Quistis, and dragging a very incoherent Irvine. When they came home, each person went into their own room, exluding Zell who could not make it past the couch. Rinoa was red in the face while Seifer was entirely giggly. They collapsed in their bed.
"I can't wait for the rest of this Seifer."
"The rest of what, Rinoa?"
"The rest of my life. The rest of our lives. I can't wait to see what happens next. I'm so happy. I don't even want to sleep."
"Then how about we don't sleep?" He had the same seductive look on his face as he did earlier.
"Twice in a day, Seifer?!"
"You better get used to it, darling." They both smiled. He kissed her hard and she could taste the whiskey. And they made love for the second time that night, and Rinoa couldn't have been happier.