Leigh quipped enigmatically. "Girl's gotta howl sometimes..."
"If you say so," Cara replied, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the show because believe me it will NEVER happen again!"
"Never say never," Leigh couldn't stop herself from whispering under her breath to Emily who looked back with a wide-eyed expression as if to say "oh-no-you-didn't."
"What was that?" Cara asked, her head obscured by the open freezer door.
"Oh nothing! Well I guess I ought to get going..."
"Oh wait!" Cara exclaimed, "Why don't you stay for dinner? It's the least I can do for being such a chore last night."
"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Emily concurred and then added a playful "Pleeeease?" while half-mock panting and mimicking a begging dog a little all-too-well for added comic effect.
Leigh laughed. "You guys are just too much fun! Of course I'll stay."
Dinner went off without a hitch, all three devouring their juicy steaks with reckless abandon. With the addition of a few beers to the good food and good conversation, all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Dinner lead to watching a movie on TV and before they knew it, it was already pretty late.
Once the credits started rolling, Cara, who Emily made sure sat between herself and Leigh, let out an enormous yawn. In fact, all three were feeling quite exhausted, their bodies telling them to rest up for the big night tomorrow.
Leigh took that as her opportunity to head back to her own apartment and straight to bed. "Well it's been real, ladies but there's a bed with my name on it right now. I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow." The last part given with a knowing glance to Emily as she walked with her to the door and opened it.
"You can count on it." Emily responded.
Leigh gave Emily's hand a quick squeeze and winked at her before making her way down the hall. Emily longingly watched her go for a brief second, admiring her toned form from behind, before reluctantly closing the door behind her.
"Man I'm Sooooo tired!" Cara said from the couch which she was now laying across, a pillow dramatically pressed into her face. "I think I better hit the hay too. I have a long day at the library ahead of me tomorrow. I can't believe my thesis paper is almost due already." She began heading off to her room, her joints popping as she get up from the couch.
Emily froze in her tracks.
"Oh, you didn't tell me you were doing that tomorrow... um, will you be back before nighttime?" Emily called after her through the lump in her throat.
"I didn't? I could have sworn I did... anyway I certainly plan to be done by then but you know how it is once you get in there. Night!" Cara said before shutting her door.