Chapter thirty-two

End of an era

Elsa's eyes flitted open, and she roused herself from her slumber. It was a Monday morning – not that it mattered in the summer. Anna was also there – they'd been waking up at closer and closer times to each other. She smiled. "Morning," she said.

Anna smiled back, but her smile had a twinge of sadness in it. "Morning."

Elsa knew the reason for her sadness. "July," she said.

Anna nodded. "July."

July 1, in fact – a week before July 8. They'd received the text from their parents a couple weeks ago, and the ramifications of this supposed good news had slowly crept from the back of their minds to the forefront ever since.

It wouldn't be all bad. Anna, at least, was happy that she'd be seeing them again, and Elsa…well, she was happy that Anna was happy. But on the other hand, as soon as their parents' plane touched down, they both knew that things would change. They'd have to.

Even before the text, Elsa had been mentally preparing for this next phase of their relationship – the secret-keeping phase. She'd successfully drilled Anna on a few of the things they'd have to keep in mind – strict control of the PDAs, managing who knew what, the strict criterion for letting even a close friend in on the secret, etc. – but somehow, the fact that their parents were going to be coming home before college started up had slipped both of their minds. And of course, when it came to secret-keeping, there was no part more important than keeping it from their parents.

No longer would their house be the safe zone, where all pretense could fall and they could fully savor their own relationship. Now, it would be the tightest place of all. Sleeping arrangements would be relatively okay, provided they kept the volume down, but the second they reached the first floor, they couldn't be anything but sisters. For the first couple of weeks, it would no doubt be maddening, and after that it'd just be depressing. And all of this was before they went to college.

Anna had gotten accepted to Kent State almost immediately. There had never really been any doubt she would (though that didn't keep them from celebrating). But once they got there, it would be a hundred times more complex. Careful management of conjugal visits. Well-planned public meet-ups. Precise schooling of vocabulary when talking with friends and roommates. They'd be lucky if they slept together twice a month. All of which Elsa had known about and prepared herself for, but part of her coping mechanism had been to ramp things up as school approached. And now that wasn't gonna happen, not easily anyway.

Way to go, mom and dad. Away when Anna needs you, but here just in time to spoil the fun. Why even-

Anna reached out and stroked her cheek. The maelstrom of feelings evaporated in Elsa's mind.

Okay, that's enough of that line of thinking. The future's in the future. Focus on what's right in front of you.

Elsa wrapped a hand around Anna's back, pulling her body into her own. Her hair was a mess, and they were both wearing eau de morning breath. But it was still Anna.

If they were going to lose their freedom in a week, then this week would be dedicated to getting the most out of that freedom, for every precious second they had together.

In layman's terms, they were going to fuck like rabbits.

xxxxxxx

They went for a walk, not a jog, around the pond. They'd spent so much time dawdling in bed that it was already getting hot by the time they reached the park, but with a couple of water bottles, not to mention plenty of sunscreen, they were good to go.

They held hands and walked at a slow, lazy pace. Anna occasionally spoke up to point out a landmark they had been going too fast to acknowledge last time, but for the most part they were quiet. They took this opportunity to practice being discreet. Whenever Elsa saw another person approaching on the trail, she'd give Anna's hand a squeeze, and the two of them would let go. After the person passed, they'd wait a few seconds, then return to holding hands. Before long, Anna had gotten good at it, and would let go even before being prompted.

It was a beautiful day, with barely a cloud in the sky, and a faint breeze helped cool them down. Yet every time their hands separated, a tinge of sadness entered both of their hearts, starting out faint but growing stronger every time. Not just because they weren't touching, but because they were slowly beginning to realize just how much time they'd spend not touching in the days, weeks, months to come.

A large oak tree sat about two-thirds of the way along the loop. They sat down in the shade, solely for the purpose of cuddling. Elsa wanted to hold Anna, and Anna wanted to be held. Anna sat between Elsa's legs, as they had grown accustomed to by now, and they looked across the pond, thinking of the future.

"How're you feeling?" Elsa asked after a while.

"Complicated," Anna answered.

Elsa chuckled faintly. "I should've guessed," she said.

Anna looked at her. "I am excited, don't think I'm not," she said. "I think college will be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to it." She squeezed Elsa's hand. "But…I'm going to miss this freedom."

Elsa smiled. "You know, four years ago, I was thinking that same thing," she said. "Minus the 'looking forward to it' part."

Anna smiled, but the joke did little to lift her spirits.

Elsa squeezed her shoulders. "I know what you mean, though," she said. "It'll be tough, having to conceal our relationship like this. I'm sure there will be days when we just want to explode, from keeping it inside for so long." She leaned forward, her arms sliding down until they met over Anna's stomach. "But just because we're hiding it, that doesn't mean we won't feel it," she said, voice getting quieter as she placed her mouth next to Anna's ear. "I love you, Anna. If I could, I'd tell you that every minute of every day, and show it to you for as long as I had the stamina to do so. But if I can't do that, I'll just have to make up for it whenever I can."

Goosebumps popped up along Anna's arms. She layered them over Elsa's and leaned back, nuzzling her body into the taller woman's. Elsa reclined as far as she could, inching away from the tree and lying down in the grass. Enveloped by the massive tree's shadows, they were virtually unseen, and so they remained undisturbed, nestled together in absolute tranquility.

xxxxxxx

Evening found Elsa in the living room, browsing the internet, while Anna relaxed on the other end of the sofa with her phone out. Anna's legs were draped over Elsa's, with the laptop on the armrest. For the most part, they could've been mistaken for platonic sisters in that position, if not for the fact that neither of them were wearing pants.

They'd phased out their pajama pants about a month ago. With the nights getting hotter and hotter, there was really no incentive to keep wearing them. Besides, Elsa had argued, legs like Anna's were too good to hide. Thus far, they'd experienced nothing but positive results from the decision, Anna in particular getting handsy in the best way.

From time to time, Elsa ran a hand along Anna's legs, often eliciting a joyful shiver in response. In return, Anna moved her legs up and down Elsa's thighs, occasionally looping a toe around her panties and pulling at them playfully. She was good at it, too – Elsa had to pull them back up twice. The sun had set, and Elsa was just starting to think she might let Anna take them all the way off, when she received an email notification.

"Oh, it's from the college," she remarked. Then, when she opened it, she spoke up louder. "Dorm assignments have been made."

Anna sat up straight and pulled her feet of Elsa's lap, much to Elsa's disappointment. "They have?" she asked, leaning in.

"Yeah," Elsa said, pulling the computer onto her lap to give Anna a better look. "Didn't even get to pick this time."

Anna put her head on Elsa's shoulder. "Then Tiana was right?" Anna asked, voice quavering on the last word.

"Well, let's see," Elsa responded. She tapped the link, which took its sweet time to open. "I'm guessing every single student got the same email at the same time, so of course it's gonna chug." She noticed that Anna seemed tense, staring at the screen intently. "Something the matter?"

"I've just got a hunch, is all," Anna said.

She didn't elaborate, so all Elsa could do was twiddle her thumbs until the site loaded. A list of the Kent State residence halls popped up after about twenty seconds. The top one read: Schuyler Hall: A through E

"Oh, yep," Elsa said, clicking on that link. "Alphabetical, just like she said."

She could feel Anna's body tense up. "First or last name?" she asked, excitement rising.

"Last, I'd guess," Elsa said. "That's how it always-"

Wait a minute.

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

Now Elsa began to shake as well. "You don't think…"

"Don't get too excited just yet," Anna said, though she herself sounded very excited. "It's still a 50/50 shot."

Elsa turned to her. "You figured this out already?" she said.

"It was just a guess," Anna said. "Even if Tiana was right, there's still a chance we miss it by one, depending on how the rooms fill up." But her body language suggested she was much more than 50% certain.

Man, how fucking long can it take for one website to load?

At last, a list of names and numbers appeared, two students' names next to each number. Elsa hit control F, and typed in her last name. Two results.

Arendelle, Anna – 117

Arendelle, Elsa – 117

"YES!" Anna shouted, jumping to her feet. "We're roommates, Elsa! We're-oh!"

Elsa had leapt to her feet as well, placed her hands on Anna's sides, hoisted her into the air and spun her around. "I can't believe it," she said.

Anna threw her arms around Elsa's shoulders. "I know, right?" she said, tears in her eyes. "G-guess we were due for some good karma, huh?"

"Good karma? We hit the goddamn jackpot on this one!" Elsa exclaimed. The ramifications and possibilities swirled around in her head, each one more wonderful than the last. "Oh, yeah," she said, something coming to mind.

"What?" Anna asked.

Elsa smiled. "We have got to work on your quiet orgasms."

Anna blushed. "Y-yeah, I guess we do," she said. "Think we can pull that off in a week?"

Elsa smirked. "Well, I'm no Elsa Schneider, but I'll try my best."

Anna's face turned serious. "Elsa," she said.

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if this even makes sense, but I…I'm glad you're not Elsa Schneider," she said.

Elsa didn't quite know how to respond to that, so she took a jocular tone. "Ah, you're just saying that because then we wouldn't have ended up in the same room," she said.

"No, I really mean it," Anna said, her voice emotional. "I really fucking mean it. I wouldn't want you to be anyone else, other than Elsa Arendelle. Does that make any sense? I feel like it doesn't…"

Elsa put a finger to her lips. "I know exactly what you're trying to say," she said. "I feel it too, so let's say it together, okay?"

Anna nodded. They looked into each other's eyes.

"I love you."