All She Can Take

T H I R T Y - F I V E

College - Junior Year - Three Years Ago

Sid gasped as her back pressed into the metal shelf. The plates and cups rattled on it but the sound was drowned out by Aiden's lips on hers. Sid was dizzy trying to keep track of his hands as they roamed all over her body. She wanted to ask him to slow down or find out what had gotten into him but it had been so long...she was cautious not to say anything to ruin the moment. Aiden's body pressed into hers and her back met with the metal shelf again, this time causing a tin pan to crash to the floor. But no one could hear. They were wrapped in darkness. The loud bass from the DJ's speakers just a few feet away drowned out everything. 

Their expansive dining hall had been transformed into an eighteen and over club for their Spring dance. Sid and the rest of her culinary class spent the better part of the day preparing hors d'oeuvre's and as exhausted as she was she managed to squeeze herself into skin-tight jeans and a black bustier. Earlier that week she took a trip to the mall with Tomi to buy black stilettos with a pointed toe. She spent the rest of that week practicing until she could take a step without her ankles quaking. About an hour ago strutted into the party with confidence. Aiden seemed to notice.

His eyes took in her curves several times during the evening. It was thrilling for her because she felt worried before. Like maybe they were drifting apart. She couldn't blame Aiden for being surrounded by a gang of people all the time, most of which were girls, but she could blame him for not taking her out on dates as often and forgetting to tell her that his parents were going out of town to visit family this past Thanksgiving. He left her to deal with her mother for an entire week and her anger still flared every time she thought about it. But right now the only thing that flared was the temperature in her body. Her body ached low and deep as he worked her jeans down over her hips, spun her around, and bent her over a stack of industrial-sized aluminum foil.

They both wore shit-eating grins as they made their way back to the party later. Sid clung to his arm and bumped her hip playfully into his.

"What was that about?" She looked into his eyes and ran a hand over a new beard that was starting to fill in along his jawline. Before their little rendezvous in the kitchen, she had been dancing with him, enjoying the night before he left to go get them drinks. When he came back drinkless and pulled her toward the dark recesses of the cookery, Sid was pleasantly surprised.

"Just saw you from across the room and...you look amazing." Sidney's lips twitched into an embarrassed smile as he spoke. He pulled her deeper into the snug spot in his arms where she fit so perfectly. They made their way through the thick crowd of students towards a familiar figure dancing in a strange swaying tree style in the middle of everyone while French Montana's Unforgettable blared. Sid joined hands with Tomi and swayed along with her.

"Still want that drink?" Aiden asked, his lips brushing her ear and sending tingles down her arms. She smiled and nodded before he took off. Tomi smiled.

"Ya'll look better." Tomi acknowledged the closeness that she witnessed between the lovers who she had begun to call 'estranged' as a joke. But Sid began to fear that it was becoming real. They were like two ships passing in the college night. Aiden spending copious amounts of time with his new friend group and her spending copious amounts of time in the kitchen and her room and with Tomi. They weren't exactly growing apart— they still spent hours late at night watching American Vandal and laughing until their stomachs hurt— but they weren't growing intimately. Sid feared at times that her relationship with Aiden was starting to look a lot like her relationship with Tomi. Best friends who loved spending time together but never touched one another beyond the occasional hand-holding. 

But last night he showed up at her room with ice cream and a pirated HD copy of Jumanji. Tomi was back in the city with her parents for some mandatory soiree and the room was all hers. Kevin Hart had not even been dropped into the middle of the jungle yet before Aiden was all over her. They had breakfast together in the dining hall and spent the entire afternoon together before Sid had to leave to help prep the food for the event. She wanted to ask where his crew was but decided not to rock the boat. It was nice to just enjoy that time with him.