Debt

28: Be Mine

When Larielle entered her dorm, she found Evan sitting on the lounge in her front room, smiling. She smiled and immediately ran into his arms.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, giddy with excitement.

"Well, did you know that there is a whole day dedicated to mushy, annoying, couple shit? I happen to know we're a mushy, annoying couple," he joked, leaning down to kiss her.

"Agreed," one of Larielle's roommates, Julie, agreed, filing her nails. "But I got five bucks and a box of sympathy chocolate to let him in and wait on you, so I'm good."

"Sympathy chocolate?"

"Yes. Be sympathetic toward the dateless, Larielle. Sheesh." Julie rolled her eyes, putting down her file and beginning to put oil on her cuticles.

Larielle shrugged and shimmied up to Evan, snuggling into his warm chest. "You gave her chocolate?"

"She needed it more than you."

"Yes, you get to go out and have a good time with a hot guy. I get to give myself a spa treatment and watch telenovelas like my grandmother. The plight of being a too attractive Italian. I got so many date offers I had to turn them all down."

Larielle believed that. Julie was really pretty and busty. She got hit on all the time. By all sorts of guys. So her being dateless was likely more by choice than force. She probably was just too overwhelmed with all the options to choose one.

Julie had once confided in Larielle that men were only recently beginning to like her and that she didn't feel very pretty in high school. Or wanted. So she liked the attention she received now. Even with a little feeling of overwhelm.

"Alright, Sympathy Chocolate. Those was meant for my lady, but you clearly need them more. Bye."

Evan pulled Larielle out the door, waving goodbye to her roommate and taking Larielle to his car.

He kissed her, putting his hand on her hip before he let her get in his car. She looked up at him. "I can't believe you gave my chocolate to Juliana Italiana."

"Sorry. It was the deal for me to wait for you inside. And I'll get you some better chocolate. Okay?"

"Godiva chocolate," she told him, shaking her fist playfully.

"Well don't you got expensive taste?" he teased, kissing her again, putting her in the car.

She giggled as he got in the car and drove away from her dorm building. She tossed her bag into his back seat and laid back, letting him lead the way. He glanced over at her.

"Put on your seatbelt, Larielle. You know better."

Instead of being the wiseass she was going to be, she decided he was right and she buckled up.

Evan took Larielle to Godiva and got her more chocolate. Two boxes, since he had given her first to the Italiana as she put it.

After obtaining her chocolate, they just walked around the mall for awhile, holding hands. He put a hand in her back pocket as they walked towards the movie theater. "What are you doing for Easter break?" he wondered.

"I'm doing whatever you're doing, querido," she told him, standing up on her tippy toes to kiss him. He smiled, stroking her hair back.

"Don't you have a mother running around here somewhere?" he teased.

"Believe me, she comes to visit too much. I am not in a rush to spend my Easter with her. I went to visit her last weekend, and she told me to bring my laundry. Apparently she misses doing it. Oh, and then she made a five course meal on a Saturday. Just a plain Saturday."