Amber."

“Mm-HM!" E-Beth managed to giggle through her humming.

“So Prince

Charming has come to flirt with my roommate?"

“What? No, no, nothing like that. She just didn't show up to class and

I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

“Aww, too bad. She's been peppering me with questions about you for the last two days straight. But I'll go see if she's here." E-Beth turned and headed up the stairs. You'd think my ex-girlfriend wouldn't have been joking about me flirting with her roommate. But E-Beth actually seemed to relish the idea.

I wandered into the Living room and greeted Phyllis and Diane, who were studying there.

“Hey girls."

“Hey," Diane smiled and then went straight to her books. Phyllis made small talk with me for a few minutes before E-Beth came back down.

I could immediately see that my ex-girlfriend's cheery bubbliness was now gone. She looked at me a Little funny. "Uh, she's in her room. Just give her a minute to make herself presentable,“ E-Beth informed me flatly, then gave me an odd look.

"So, David?" E-Beth affected a forced kind of casual air. "You seeing anybody?"

“Me? No, not exactly.”

“What's that supposed to mean?"

“Well... nothing romantic..."

“Not yet?" E-Beth could read me Like a book.

I grinned and thought about the sexual chemistry between me and Maria.

“Not yet..."

She sighed, “Well, good luck with that. Hope she's a nice girl. You can probably go up now." E-Beth turned and went into the kitchen.

I made my way up the stairs and knocked at the door to Amber's room.

“Come in," she called.

She was in front of the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her makeup. I found this a little strange, since she'd already been perfectly made up when we got coffee this morning.

“Hey, uh, missed you in class."

“Yeah, didn't feel like going anymore. I think I'm going to drop that class." She came out and sat on the bed casually.

I paused for just a moment, looking at her intently. No amount of makeup could cover the redness in her eyes. "You okay?"