Housemates

Chapter 30

Mia stopped outside Ellie’s house. She put the ute’s hand-brake on, but left the engine running. Ellie wondered if that was some kind of hint. That they could talk, but only for a moment.

“Turn the engine off,” Ellie said. “It’s wasting petrol.”

She wasn’t sure why she said that. She didn’t care about Mia’s friend’s petrol.

Mia looked at Ellie, and did, and then Ellie started wondering what that meant too, because if the engine being on had been a hint, then if being off must mean something as well. Something better, although she had no idea what.

She was thinking too much, she decided. Over-thinking everything again.

She had to stop.

Mia was leaning on the steering wheel, looking sideways at Ellie. Looking at Ellie almost as if she’d missed looking at her, for the last little while, while she driving.

Ellie started staring back at Mia, and after a moment she got horny again. Because she was looking at Mia. As far as she could tell it was that simple. She had looked at Mia, so she wanted Mia. She wanted Mia, right here. She wanted Mia in her shorts. With her legs. In a ute.

Ellie made herself stop doing that too.

They were both quiet. Neither of them were speaking.

There was an odd feeling between them. Ellie wasn’t sure if they were having some kind of a fight, or if Mia was upset, or if Mia thought Ellie still was, or quite what. Ellie was worried Mia might be annoyed about the things Ellie had been asking her while they were driving. Mia was being quiet, but Mia was often quiet, and Ellie couldn’t always quite work her out.

Ellie wasn’t upset. She was terribly frustrated, and still a little confused, and that seemed to be making her act oddly. She wasn’t upset, though.

She didn’t want Mia thinking she was.

She didn’t want Mia being upset with her, either.

In the end, Ellie did the easiest thing she could. She said, “Are you okay?”

Mia nodded.

“Are we?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Ellie didn’t want to just leave things like that, a bit up in the air. It didn’t seem like a good idea. She decided to be honest, mainly because she didn’t know what else to do. She should probably always be honest. With Mia, and probably with everyone else in the world too. But especially right now, and especially with Mia.

So she was honest.

“I want you,” Ellie said. “Badly.”

Mia grinned. “Me too.”

“I want to feel like I’m special as well,” Ellie said. “To you.”

Mia looked surprised. “You are,” Mia said. “Shit, Ellie. You really are.”

“Honestly?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t do this with everyone?”

“What’s this?”

“This,” Ellie said, helplessly. “This here. What you’re doing with me.”

Mia looked at Ellie for a moment, then leaned over and kissed her. Kissed her gently, and touched Ellie’s face, and looked at her, almost worried.

“I do this with hardly anyone,” Mia said. “I told you, I don’t like…”

“Romance and shit. Yeah.”