Rainbow Central Complete Series

Chapter 6

Jo

JoI had barely come home after school or I got a text from Ellie that she was on her way. Looked like she was really eager to see me, not that I minded.

A quick tidy and ten minutes later, my phone buzzed again with a text that Ellie was outside. Excited to see her, I pushed myself up from my couch to let her in.

“Hey!” I greeted her at the door, leaning in for a quick hug and two kisses on each cheek.

“Hi, hi.” She waltzed into my place like she lived here and sat down on the couch, occupying the spot I was just in. “How are you?”

“I’m good. You?”

“Good too.” She dug in her massive handbag, the one that I gave her for her birthday last year. “I brought supplies.”

“Supplies?”

She pulled a large bottle of wine from her purse and held it up by the neck. “Tadaa. A little something to drink.”

I smiled as I accepted the wine. “I’ll get us some glasses.”

Before I could take two steps to the cupboards, Ellie caught my hand.

“Wait, there’s more.” She pulled a box of raspberries from her purse and presented it to me. “I promised I’d make you your favourite pancakes.”

My heart fluttered. This was why she was my best friend. She could get caught up in her own world sometimes, but at others, she was the most considerate person in the world. My smile grew so wide, it hurt my cheeks. “Aww, you’re so sweet.”

“It’s my fault for dragging you along with the guys when you weren’t into it. I’m really sorry I didn’t realise you were having a bad time. You should’ve said something.”

A passing car honked loudly and I waited for it to pass before I gave her my reply. “It doesn’t matter. Water under the bridge.”

“If you say so. I didn’t know what you had so I just brought everything,” she said, showing off a bag of flour, sugar, milk, and even a whisk.

“Did you bring your entire kitchen?” I teased.

“No…” she replied as she guiltily put a pan on the table.

I snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Well, I know you don’t cook so I wanted to make sure I had everything.” She joined me at the cupboards with the bottle of wine and held it out to me. “Wine opener?”

I handed her the little tool and she uncorked the thing so she could pour the two of us a generous glass. The red liquid sloshed up and down as she held one out for me. “Cheers.”

We locked eyes and I could swear the temperature rose a few degrees. I ignored the strange feeling as I clinked my glass to hers. “Cheers.”

She smiled happily as she took her first sip and nodded. “Good. No bad s*x for us.”

“That would mean something if I was having s*x,” I muttered.

“Alright, no bad s*x for you in the future.”

“Yay,” I replied sarcastically.

Ellie took a sip, leaving a print of lipstick on her glass. “So, shall we go to your kitchen?”

“I’d go anywhere for your pancakes.”

“Flatterer,” she giggled. She collected all her ingredients in her magic purse again.

We made our way to the communal kitchen and I was relieved to find it empty. Not necessarily a surprise at four in the afternoon. Most people probably were still at school or not ready to cook yet.

That suited Ellie just fine. She scattered all her things over the large counter as she made herself at home. It was a good thing we had the space to ourselves. While there were easily a hundred or so people in the dorm, the kitchen could only hold a fraction. I supposed they assumed that students didn’t cook much and would never be down here at the same time anyway.

“Let’s get cooking,” Ellie announced happily. She studied the decorative cooking utensils hanging on the wall but decided against them.

Probably for the best, they’d been there when I came to look at the room and I wasn’t sure who had been using them and, more importantly, for what. It was better to just use my own stuff.

Luckily, I didn’t have to do anything right now. I’d learned over the years that it was better to leave her to it for a couple of reasons. She worked better alone and I ruined everything I touched.

I watched her work the batter, trying my best not to stare too much. The way she commanded the kitchen was just really attractive. She cracked the eggs smoothly with one hand, tossing the shells in the bin on the other side of the kitchen in one go. As she whisked the batter, her arms tensed and her chest jiggled up and down.

Quickly, I looked at my phone so I didn’t feel like a p*****t. What kind of person leered at their own best friend like that?

To distract myself, I rolled the tea towel together and with a snap of the wrist, I let it c***k as a whip. A little game we’d played many times.

Ellie shrieked and turned around to glare at me. “You startled me so bad!”

I laughed. “Ha ha, I got you.”

“That’s so unfair, I don’t even have a towel.” Ellie left the bowl of batter she was making for what it was to reach across the table and steal the towel out of my hands.

“Hey! That’s mine!” I exclaimed.

Chuckling, she ran to the other side of the kitchen. Her eyes shimmered with glee as she cracked the towel in my direction so I’d keep my distance. Maybe it was childish of us but she always looked so beautiful and alive when we were playing. Like she was really enjoying herself.

Who was I to deny an opportunity to make her smile like this?

“Oof. That was close.” I grabbed a communal tea towel hanging near the sink and weaponed myself with it. “En garde!”

Giggling and laughing, Ellie and I chased each other with our towel-whips, cracking them in the air and at each other. It was a good thing that the kitchen was empty.

A particular loud c***k gained me a lot of territory and in an attempt to regain ground, Ellie dove under the large table.

Like I was going to let that happen.

I joined her from the other side, crawling towards her.

“You won’t get it!” Ellie stuck out her tongue as she sat on the towel to protect it.

I tried pulling the towel from underneath her but accidentally pulled her to me as well. Caught under the table, there wasn’t much space as we collided. Our bodies entangled as we rolled together for the towel and victory.

Ellie’s hands snaked around my waist as she pressed me on the ground. Hovering above me, our faces were inches away from each other.

“You won’t get it,” she challenged, her dark eyes shimmering.

“Oh yeah?” I pulled on the corner again, but it wouldn’t budge. “Aww, come on.”

Before she could speak, the sound of the door opening made us freeze. Ellie’s eyes widened as she placed a finger on her lips. “Shhh.”

I nodded, moving closer to her so we wouldn’t get caught in our weird game. From underneath the table, we could see two brown shoes and the bottom of someone’s jeans.

They walked over to the sink with some dirty plates and whistled as they ran the tap.

Ellie let out a soft giggle that she smothered by pressing her face against my shoulder. Stuck in a weird but intimate embrace, we waited for the person to finish washing their dishes and leave the kitchen again.

When the door fell shut, we burst out in laughter. Ellie was so close to me, I could smell her. She was warm, soft, and so close I could kiss her.

I wetted my lips, not able to stop staring at hers. She looked so beautiful and I just wanted to bridge the gap and—

“You okay?” Ellie inquired, breaking the tense moment.

“Yeah, fine,” I replied quickly, pulling out of the embrace and climbing out from underneath the table.

“You sure? You looked like there was something you wanted to say.”

“Nope,” I lied. There was no way I could tell her what I just thought so I tried to shift the conversation. “That was fun, huh?”

Ellie gave me another suspicious look but didn’t press on.

“Imagine if that person saw us,” Ellie said as she pulled her long black hair out of her messy bun and tied it again. “We must’ve looked so weird.”

“You’re weird.”

“You’re weird.” She gave me a playful shove as she got up. “I think the batter is rested enough. I’ll make us those pancakes.”

You’reI nodded, relieved there would be a table and some distance between us. “Good idea.”

She returned to the stove to oil the pan and grabbed the bowl of batter that had a good time to rest. As soon as the mixture hit the pan, it released a lovely, familiar fragrance that made the impersonal kitchen smell like home.

Deftly, she flipped the first pancake and nodded happily. “Ooh, these are going to be good.”

My mouth watered as the first pancake came out of the pan and landed on my plate. Ellie dotted it with fresh raspberries and tossed a bottle of syrup my way. “Eat up while they’re hot.”

“Yum,” I voiced, not having to be told twice. I dug into the fluffy pancake and shoved a piece in my mouth, even if it was scalding hot.

“Are they good?” she inquired, leaning her elbows on the wooden table to inspect me.

With my mouth full, I nodded. “Mmm, so good. You’re going to be the best chef ever. Here, have a bite.”

I dug my knife into the pancake and held out a piece to her.

She leaned in even more, her eyes closed and mouth open. “Aaaah.”

I chuckled and pretended the fork was a plane as I teased her.

Ellie giggled as she caught my hand and steadying my wrist, she stole the bite from the fork. “Mmm, those are good.”

“You’re a pancake genius,” I agreed, staring at where her hand was wrapped around my wrist. She had nice, elegant fingers, something I hadn’t thought about before.

She noticed me staring and quickly pulled her hand back. “What?”

“Nothing.” I quickly shoved a big bite in my mouth so I couldn’t talk. “Mmmmm.”

A strange look flitted across Ellie’s face but she quickly turned it into a smile. “I’ll make some more.”