A/N: whoooaaa I've had such awful writer's block, and this chapter took soooo long to write. Sorry :O. Sometimes I get stalled out plot wise, but I think I've gotten back on track. For better or worse, here's the next chapter, it's a bit of a transitional one. As always, I find comments and suggestions really encouraging.
It was like an incessant humming, the low tone of Garibaldi's voice as he clicked through slides, almost hypnotic in its droning. Her eyes fluttered, blinking rapidly to wake herself up. Thank god the lecture hall was drafty, the constant chill in her fingertips the only thing keeping her awake as she clutched at her pen.
Her eyes dropped down to her notebook, a few notes scribbled here and there about substitution reactions of alkyl halides. A clear contrast to the ornate and painstakingly drawn script nestled between the hastily jotted chicken scratch. Little flowers and hearts floated between the pale blue lines of her college rule paper, the pen in her right hand adding yet another unnecessary curlicue to the D in Danny.
She scanned the paper, embarrassed at the sheer amount of doodles covering its surface. Setting her pen aside, she yanked the paper from the spiral note book, crumpling it into ball before shoving it in her bookbag. She could feel the blush heating her cheeks, grateful for Garibaldi's sudden reliance on something as archaic as a projector that necessitated such dimness.
Her current pastime wasn't exactly her fault. She already had the material down, and it was some horrid form of cruel and unusual punishment to test her willpower like this. Focusing on the paper in front of her was the only thing that kept her gaze from staring at Danny and daydreaming about things far more interesting than organic chemistry.
Hiding her relationship with Danny hadn't been easy for her from the beginning. She'd been bursting to tell Maggie every little detail about their first time together, eyes sparkling as she'd skipped through the door to their room. She'd barely stopped herself, getting out. "Oh god, Mags, I have something JUICY to tell you."
Of course, she was quick on her toes and swiftly steered the conversation into another channel, making up some outlandish story about her designer kicks getting stolen at the campus gym. Maggie had eyed her somewhat suspiciously, questioning the "juiciness" of the story, the existence of said designer kicks and even whether or not Mindy had ever set foot in the campus gym. As with most things, Mindy used her unrelenting enthusiasm to browbeat Maggie into believing the obvious lie.
And it wasn't logistically hard to keep this under lock and key, opportunities to reveal their relationship few and far between. Since the snow had been cleared away, they'd spent every moment they were both free basically locked in his bedroom, Danny doing an obscene amount of "research" for his future manifesto on the art of female orgasm.
Mindy smiled to herself, the lid of her pen tapping against the front of her teeth as she recalled the latest chapter that had been added to his outline. Her cheeks heated, flames licking at her insides as she recalled his slow yet persistent movements accompanied by the cacophony of inelegant curses she'd let escape in the throes of passion. She'd definitely be getting her own page in the acknowledgments. It was hard to believe she'd been tucked into his embrace merely hours before, absorbing the furnace-like heat of his skin as she panted against him.
They'd developed quite the routine too, Mindy popping over every Friday night for cooking lessons that always seemed to devolve into kitchen table make-out sessions, and impossibly long and drawn out games of Truth or Dare, the latter giving her a surprising amount of information about Danny's family.
Mindy always picked truth, and Danny rewarded her with beautifully unguarded vignettes of his childhood. He painted a picture when speaking, an innate storytelling ability bubbling up, his memories peppered with sensory descriptions easy to get lost in. Sometimes his answers started off loud and confident, puffing out his chest in a display of Staten Island machismo only to peter off into surprisingly soft spoken words about his island friends, a sheepish smile chasing across his face as he admitted to testing his mother's cooking sherry with his best friend when he was fourteen.
The only thing that put a damper on their dreamlike Friday nights was the cold reality of Saturday mornings. They would shuffle around quietly, making coffee and eating toast, before slipping out the door. A faint, and Mindy would dare say almost imperceptible feeling of awkwardness hanging in the air around them. This morning hadn't been any different.
Danny had driven her to campus, dropping her off in the parking lot behind the chemistry building. "I'm gonna be working late tonight for Garibaldi... so..."
He had trailed off, leaving her to put together the implication. "No hanging out tonight?"
He nodded, a regretful little frown pull in at the corners of his mouth as he put the car in park. She always tried to brush away the niggling irritation in the back of her mind, but she was pretty sure this morning it had showed in her body language. Why else would Danny have slipped his hand in the crook of her arm, stopping her from exiting the car?
"You ok?"
Looking down slightly, she'd thrown him a weak smile, nodding in response. He'd kissed her so gently, sighing deeply when her lips had parted, granting him full access. No one else had ever kissed her like that, one hand cradling her face, the other at her throat, his thumb seeming to seek out her pulse.
His voice was slightly hoarse when he released her. "Yeah?"
She'd nodded a second time, wordlessly exiting the car and walking toward the building. In her mind, there was a countdown to the moment when they would reveal that they were dating. She firmly believed it was merely a matter of weeks, the end of the semester looming closer with each passing day. She'd take her finals, go home and visit her lovely parents for Christmas break, and the third week of January this vow of silence would finally be lifted. She even had an app on her phone that crossed off the days as they passed.
That was enough, really, to allay the minor feeling of trepidation she felt each time Danny dropped her off, far away from his usual parking spot. It even helped with the tiny tendril of fear that uncurled in her stomach each time he didn't walk her up to her room.
And the doodles in her notebook? Well, lately when her minded started to wander, it always seemed to find a path to him, and trying to thwart that tendency only made it worse. He was sitting mere feet from her, hunched over a pile of paperwork while Garibaldi clicked through the interminable slideshow. In the darkness all she could really see was the bluish glow reflected off his hair, the thick locks parted on the side, ruffled only slightly from running his hands through it repeatedly.
Her fingers itched to comb their way through the dark mass, to slip down to the nape where the hair tapered into a point. She'd noticed it was getting longer, twirling it between her index and thumb while she kissed him lazily.
The lights flicked on, and Mindy squeezed her eyes shut in surprise. Had it already been an hour and a half? The time had a way of zipping by when she was thinking about certain things. Blinking, she attempted to regain her focus, snatching her bag up and shoving her books into it.
This was the worst part of Saturdays, turning away from Danny and shuffling out of the lecture hall. Today it was significantly harder, since they weren't even meeting up later as usual.
There was always a small group of students who stayed behind, some vying for the attention of Garibaldi, questions about grades or the syllabus jumping anxiously from their mouths. Others waited patiently to ask Danny to explain different substitution and elimination reactions. Mindy rolled her eyes at the thought.
Her steps slowed as she got closer to the exit, impatient classmates brushing unapologetically past her. Glancing over her shoulder, she peered at the little group around Danny, wondering if there seemed to be more simpering co-eds than usual. She shook her head, surprised at the sudden hot flash of jealousy. It wasn't something she had a lot of experience with, and she didn't like the decidedly unevolved urge to scratch out the eyes of another woman.
She'd almost shaken off the unwelcome emotion when a confidently tall woman strode up to the group, parting the way like Moses at the Red Sea. She was willowy, the alabaster skin of her shoulders continuing in a long graceful line down her arms. Mindy could only see the back of her head, a shiny golden bob accentuating her delicate neck.
An unstoppable surge of jealousy pulsed through Mindy as the mystery woman leaned forward, placing one pale hand on Danny's arm, squeezing with her slim fingers. But it wasn't the action alone that triggered this unpleasant sensation, it was the look on his face. He immediately went slack jawed, eyes wide with surprise, brows shooting up as the woman chattered brightly.
There was so much familiarity in her body language, leaning in close as she smiled through her words. As if sensing they didn't belong, the small group of students dispersed, leaving the two alone.
Mindy spun on her heel, nearly knocking down an overdressed young man standing in the doorway. He glared at her balefully, picking up the books he'd dropped. "Watch where you're going, princess."
Embarrassed, she hurriedly tripped through the door, wincing as the sunlight cascaded down on her. She could feel the queasiness stirring, the swirling sensation surrounding her.
She felt like she'd been blindfolded for the past several weeks, participating willfully in such an obvious game. The sudden clarity engulfing her was sickening, and she struggled to dash across the campus to her dorm.
Whipping out her phone, she texted Maggie.
Where are you?
Much to her relief, a reply came through within seconds, phone buzzing against her fingers as she speed walked.
The aspirin bottle hit the edge of Mindy's desk with a little more force than she'd intended, white pills rattling in the clear bottle like a poor excuse for a maraca. Maggie glared at her from across the room, pressing two fingers gingerly to her temple. "Keep it down over there."
Stomping heavily over to Maggie's bed, Mindy held out her hand, offering the tiny white aspirins as an olive branch. "I need to talk to you, and you're… ugh."
Maggie snatched them from her palm, tipping up a tall glass of water. She chugged it, fighting of the remaining vestiges of dehydration. She didn't look back at Mindy until the last drop was gone. "Trouble in paradise?"
"What?" The question threw Mindy for a loop, confusion drawing her brows together.
Squinting unpleasantly at the sunshine filtering through the blinds sending shooting pains through her skull, Maggie cursed under her breath.. She snatched a pair of Ray-Bans from the dresser, peering at Mindy behind the tinted lenses. "I assume your secret boyfriend is being a major league douche-nozzle, since you've finally come running to me. You've got that I'm-about-to-gag look on your face."
"It's not... He's not- wait, how…?" Mindy sputtered, the urge to gag triggered once again by Maggie's reference to it. Her fingers darted to her throat, the airway feeling suddenly constricted. She swalloed. "I don't have a look."
Maggie rolled her eyes, somehow managing to look exasperated in her clammy-skinned hungover state. "What did you say at the beginning of the semester, Mindy? You wanted to..." Maggie closed her eyes in concentration, plucking the exact verbiage from her memory. "... experience the collegiate portion of your life with the fervor and zeal of Nicki Minaj picking a wine to attach her name to... Or something like that."
"So?"
"So, what have you done? Rushed a sorority? Joined any student organizations? Led any protests? Have you even met any new people?" Maggie shifted to her knees, scooting on the mattress until she was facing her friend. Grabbing Mindy's shoulders with her unusually strong fingers, Maggie continued. "No, you haven't. You disappear every day after your classes, spend the weekends with this mystery guy... I'd be an awful friend if I didn't notice what was happening."
Mindy stood in stunned silence. Having her total lack of a social life spread out before her was like a slap in the face. How had this happened? The semester was almost over, her 'Freshman Year To-Do' list laying forgotten in the top drawer of her desk.
Mindy plopped down on the bed, leaning into her roommate. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Maggie looped a consoling arm around Mindy's shoulders. "I don't know, Lahiri, you seemed happy enough, I assumed there had to be a good reason you were hiding it from me." Maggie swallowed, adding, "But I'm saying something now. You look miserable. Spill the beans."
"He wants to 'be cool' and I'm having a hard time with it." Mindy accented the phrase with weak air quotes.
Maggie wrinkled her nose, a clear expression of disgusting curling her lip. "Be cool? What does that even mean?"
"We're keeping us a secret..."
Maggie scoffed. "Ugh, frat boys and their stupid slang."
Mindy ignored her comment. "But sometimes it doesn't feel like we're keeping our relationship secret... It's..." She struggled to articulate the sick feeling that washed over her at the oddest times. "It's more like I'm the secret." She sighed. "I don't know... It's not like he doesn't have a valid reason, but..."
"How convenient."
The ire in Maggie's words surprised Mindy, and she pulled away to get a better look at her friend. "What?"
"I'm sure his excuse is 'valid,' but it's playa 101 to keep a relationship secret... opens up a whole new field of opportunities. Especially if the excuse is real. How many girls has he said that to? How many girls is he saying that to right now?"
Mindy was aghast. Everything Maggie said made perfect sense, logically, but her heart didn't want to believe it. It didn't seem possible that Danny could kiss her so warmly, look at her with such soft vulnerability in his eyes, and then... do that with someone else.
Her mind rebelled at the thought, but a tiny voice whispered to her about wispy blondes with long graceful legs. She shook her head, willing the thought away.
Maggie grabbed her, pulling her from the swirling vortex of doubt. "Hey, relax..." Racking her brain to think of a solution, her eyes lit on the crudely drawn flyer on her nightstand. Snatching it up, she waved it in front of Mindy's distraught face. "Let's do something tonight, my friend Pete is having a kegger at his house, and-"
Mindy snatched the paper away, staring at it in horror. "Peter Prentice?! Peter freaking Prentice is having a party at his house and you know about it, but I don't?!"
"Um, we have classes together..."
Grinding her teeth, she pointed at the address on the flyer. "He's Danny's roommate, Maggie."
Maggie slowly took off the sunglasses, a look of sympathy on her face. "It's Danny? Short, quiet dude?" She contemplated this new information, putting two and two together. "Huh. That must mean you're the 'spicy little dish' Pete was talking about."
Mindy jumped up and tossed the paper to the floor, irritation building inside of her until she was pacing between the twin beds. "Oh my god, you're right… I'm a side dish."
"That's not what-"
She nodded vigorously, worrying away at her thumbnail as she moved back and forth. "She must be his girlfriend."
"She?"
Mindy stopped, skidding slightly against the carpet as she whirled back to face her friend. "The ethereal grecian goddess putting her dirty paws all over him after class today. You should have seen his face. I thought he was surprised, but now I think having us in such close proximity was making him nervous."
The words were pouring out, all jammed together as Mindy's panic crescendoed. Maggie was more than a tad bit alarmed. She rose from the bed and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Mindy, stop, you're spinning out of control. We don't know if any of that is true. Let's just go to the party tonight and you can ask him. I could be wrong."
She nodded, wide eyes narrowing in an all too familiar way. Maggie immediately regretted her suggestion, but it was too late. Mindy had already dove into the closet, her chirpy voice carrying out into the bedroom. "Of course… yes.. and then I can give him an ultimatum. I'm not being his secret mistress any longer. It's not as glamorous as Marilyn Monroe made it seem. And he's no Kennedy!"
"The party isn't for hours…" Maggie trailed off, knowing that at this point the events of the day were like a runaway train, nothing she could say or do would change anything. Mindy was on a mission.