Invite Tracy to stay at my house

I break away from Heather’s obvious attempts to flirt and get Tracy’s attention. While the other girls are talking among themselves, I whisper, “I have a better idea than you having to wear earplugs to get some sleep. Why don’t you stay with me this weekend?”

Tracy looks at me with some surprise, and I wait for a couple of heartbeats, wondering if I just overplayed my hand. Much to my relief, she answers with a smile and a quiet, “I think that would be wonderful.”

We quickly finish our meal, and I try not to encourage Heather, whose foot seems to “accidentally” brush against mine under the table on several occasions. Our haste is not unnoticed, however, and Sue asks, “What’s your hurry? The way you two are scarfing down your dinner makes me think you’re late for an appointment or something.”

Tracy seems to be considering some kind of cover story, but then abandons the idea and simply says, “Sue, you and Bryan can have the room to yourselves this weekend. Jeremy invited me to stay at his place.”

The other girls look at each other, wide-eyed, and with barely-suppressed smiles.

Shannon offers a diplomatic response. “Sounds like your internship requires some extra work this weekend, huh? It’s a good thing you have such an accommodating boss.”

Heather is less tactful. “Can’t wait to hear how you report this weekend’s ‘extra compensation’ on your tax return.”

Sue suddenly jumps as the phone in her pocket vibrates. She pulls it out and says, “I’ve got to run. Bryan is over at the room right now, and I need to let him in.”

“You might want to open the door before you ‘let him in,’” says Heather, with a wink. “And you might as well grab some food for both of you; with Tracy out of the way, I suspect we won’t be seeing either of you again until Monday!”

Sue extends her middle finger to her friend, but she laughs as she does so, and she hurries off to meet her boyfriend and no doubt quickly burn off all the calories from the meal she just consumed.

“So, Tracy...” asks Heather, “do all interns get invitations to spend the weekend with the boss, or are there certain things you have to do to earn that privilege? Because I have some kneepads back in my room that I could dust off, if I need to work my way up the corporate ladder.” She asks the question of her friend, but she looks at me intently the entire time. There’s no doubt about what it is that she wants, and to be honest, it wouldn’t take a lot of persuasion to talk me into giving it to her.

I think of a few things I could say, but I decide to stay out of it; Tracy has let me know that she is protective of her privacy, but she clearly does not have as much difficulty sharing intimate details of her life with these three friends. My hunch is confirmed when she says, “You might as well get those kneepads dusted off, girlfriend. I hear you’re in danger of flunking Algebra, and you might need them to earn some extra credit with the professor.”

Heather scoffs. “Professor Jenson? Please! I don’t need kneepads with him. I just have to unbutton the top two buttons of my blouse, go without a bra, and let him stare down my shirt while I lean over his desk, asking him to explain once again why I can’t divide by zero. Each time I do that, my grade goes up five percent!”

As we finish our meal, Heather makes one more attempt. “You know, Tracy, if you really have that much work to do, I’d gladly come over and help you.” She looks meaningfully at me and says, “Four hands can accomplish so much more than two.”

Tracy nods, placatingly, and says, “Thanks, Heather. I’ll keep that in mind if I get in over my head.” She picks up her tray and walks away, missing out on Heather catching my eye and seductively inserting a banana into her mouth, running her tongue all over it as she does so.

I hastily adjust my crotch before standing up and following Tracy to deposit our trays and dirty dishes on a counter.

As we walk to the car, Tracy suddenly pats her pockets and says, “Damn. I was hoping to avoid having to go back to the room. It’s always so awkward walking in there when Sue and Bryan are going at it. I know that shouldn’t freak me out, considering that I spend my day around people who are screwing on camera, but it does. Anyway, I’m afraid I left my car keys there. You didn’t happen to pick them up, did you?”