The total stranger Ami will be living with for the bulk of the coming year.

The room wasn't empty. Dammit.

The setup was symmetrical: a twin bed on either side, already dressed with the school's complimentary linens, a wardrobe, and a desk facing the windows. Standing in front of the wardrobe on my right, considering her reflection in the full-length mirror on the inside of the door, was a tall Black girl with long dreadlocks pulled back in a loose ponytail. As I stepped inside, she turned and gave me the kind of smile that made my stomach do somersaults. Chiseled cheekbones, fluttery eyelashes, straight teeth, pillowy lips...Jesus, she could've been a model. She was in uniform minus the blazer, with semi-sheer thigh-highs. Everything I could see of her body was tight and toned, but her hips still had the kind of curves that always held me transfixed. She wore a trimmed patch of hair above her labia with everything below shaved smooth; I could see the tips of her pink inner lips just peeking out.

"Oh, hey! Amelie?"

Fuck, I was staring at her crotch. Why couldn't she have been out when I got here? No, bad social anxiety. Roommate good. Roommate friend.

"Uh...y-yeah, hi," I managed after way too long, wrenching my eyes back up to her face. "You must be Sionna?" She wasn't a total stranger, really. We'd emailed a few times after the college had told us we'd be rooming together. I hadn't managed to gather the confidence to talk much beyond hellos, though. I did know she was a sophomore, which I wasn't quite sure what to think of. It might be nice to have someone around who was already used to Drexel and could help me get adjusted, but if she was starting out fully in the swing of things, would I feel like a total dork next to her? I sure did right now....

"Yup!" She was still smiling; I couldn't imagine she'd missed me ogling her, but if she minded, she didn't show it. Striding over on those infinite legs, she offered a hand to shake, which I managed to accept with less delay. Her grip was firm, but her skin was soft and warm. "You want any help unpacking?" She gestured to my suitcase. "I'm already all set up."

"N-no, thanks, that's okay." Grateful for the exit opportunity, I wheeled my suitcase over to the left-hand wardrobe. With Sionna's still open, I could see the set of uniform blouses and blazers neatly hung up inside. The knowledge that more just like them were waiting behind the door of my own wardrobe sent a chill down my spine. To drive the thought from my mind, I set to work moving my own clothes into the drawers attached below. It helped a little.

I didn't see what Sionna was up to behind me, but the silence told me she was lingering by the door. After a moment, I heard her pad over to her bed and take a seat. She wasn't saying anything...why wasn't she saying anything? Was she waiting for me to talk? Fuck, what was I supposed to say? "I, um...I like your stockings." Ugh, come on Ami, really? That was the best I could do? Well, I guessed it was better than saying something about her vulva, even though I was acutely aware that if I just turned around, it would be right there, just out without a care in the world.

"Oh, thanks!" Again, if Sionna thought there was anything weird about my remark, I couldn't tell. "I think these ones are from...Nordstrom? I'm not sure. I love your jacket!"

"Oh...thanks." It was black suede, something I'd found at a thrift place in high school. Getting a little worn out now, really. Still, the compliment made my stomach do another little flip-flop.

Silence descended again, broken only by the sounds of my unpacking. Just as I was scraping for some other inane comment, Sionna saved me. "So you're a freshman, right?"

"Yeah." Thank God, something easy to talk about.

"How're you holding up?" Sionna's voice was softer, sympathetic. "I remember it was...a lot, when I first got here."

Well, never mind easy. "It's...." Oh, hell with it. "Yeah, it's an adjustment."

"Totally." Even without seeing her face, I could tell she got it. "Listen, everyone here was right where you are. You get used to it, I promise. I feel like it took me, like, a month to stop noticing no one had pants on."

In spite of everything, I couldn't resist a chuckle. "I'm...not sure it'll be that easy for me."

"You'd be surprised." I heard a soft rustling of fabric from Sionna's direction. "I've got my legs together if you wanna turn around." There was a hint of laughter, but I could tell she wasn't making fun.

I was actually done unpacking my suitcase, so that excuse not to face Sionna was swiftly evaporating. Screwing up my resolve, reminding myself that she was clearly making an effort to make this easy and it would be rude of me not to try, I stood up and went to sit on my own bed, kicking off my sneakers on the way. True to her word, Sionna was sitting on the edge of her mattress with her legs firmly closed. Unfortunately, that was of limited help, since I could still see her pubes above where her thighs met, an unmistakable reminder of how naked she was. Cheeks burning, I **** myself to look up at her face again. "Sorry."

The smile she gave me was a warm hearth fire to the sunrise of the last one. "It's okay. I mean it, I know how it is. And I don't mind you looking anyway." I was surprised how much that actually helped. I decided on the spot that I liked Sionna a lot.

She seemed to see me relax, her smile broadening. "So tell me about you."

Aaand there was the panic again. Fuck. "Uh, I'm gonna need that narrowed down," I stammered, though I managed a smile of my own—this was an anxiety I was familiar with, at least.

Sionna chuckled. "Okay, what's your major?"

Better. "I'm still deciding between anthropology and linguistics."

"Yeah? Why those two?" She sounded genuinely interested.

"Uh, well...I mean, I love ancient history stuff, I like learning about other cultures, y'know." All true, although it might have also had something to do with the fact that I watched Atlantis: The Lost Empire way too many times as a kid and had giant crushes on both Milo and Kida. But Sionna didn't need to know that part.

"Yeah, that sounds cool." Was that a little bit of knowing amusement? Nah, come on, I was being paranoid. "You from Connecticut?"

I shook my head. "Andover, Mass. How about you?"

"I'm from Bridgeport. Studying communication sciences—I'm trying to be a speech therapist eventually."

"Oh, that's awesome!" My respect for Sionna rose another couple of notches. "Is that why you came here? I know they have a great program for it."

"That was part of it, yeah," Sionna confirmed, a small smirk playing about her lips. "'Course, the uniform and the SCP were also big draws."

I felt my cheeks reddening again. "SCP?"

"Sexual conduct policy. 'S'what most of us call it."

"Oh...right...." Silence stretched. My tongue felt thick in my mouth, while my heart was beating a tattoo against the inside of my ribs.

Sionna's smirk softened into another of those sympathetic smiles. "Hey, it's okay. I mean, that's why like 90 percent of us are here. 'S'not like there's another school like this anywhere else."

I managed a nod. "Yeah...yeah, I get it."

She raised an immaculate eyebrow. "I'm guessing that was part of it for you too?"

Fuck. Not even an hour on campus and I was already getting called out? I pushed down on that line of thinking. Sionna was right: obviously, almost everyone here would've chosen Drexel for basically the same reasons. I mean, what, was I supposed to pretend I'd come to a college where everyone went bottomless and could masturbate and have sex anywhere they wanted just for the academics? "It was...definitely a factor."

Not a hint of mockery or judgment showed on Sionna's face. "So do you like girls, or is it just, like, a personal freedom thing for you?"

I squirmed a little on my mattress. "Both, I guess." It wasn't like I was ashamed to admit I was into girls—I'd been out at home since high school, and my family had always been cool about it. If only my problems were that straightforward.

Sionna seemed to sense my discomfort; her face fell. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry. You get used to talking about that stuff here."

"It's okay." Deep breath. Sionna clearly wasn't judging, so I might as well be honest. "I'm not embarrassed about being bi, it's just...I guess I've never really been that comfortable with sex stuff in general. I want to be, though, and I thought...maybe coming here would help."

Sionna beamed; heart go pitter-patter. "Totally. You came to the right place."

This time, it was a lot easier to smile back. "So is everyone here queer?"

"Not everyone," Sionna said with a chuckle. "Just most of us." Oh God, by "us" did she mean...not now. Her face softened again in a way that told me she'd definitely noticed me clamming up. Damn, she was perceptive...that, or I was just being incredibly obvious. "For the record, if there's anything at all you want to ask me, please don't be shy. I'm an open book."

Fuck. Could I...no. Not yet. That was still way too much. Baby steps. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." With that, Sionna scooted forward and stood up off her bed. For the second time, I was faced with the sight of those little pink lips peeking out between her incredible thighs. My face burned, all my comfort evaporating. I realized with some surprise that I'd actually almost managed to forget she was bottomless over the course of our little chat just then. There was no ignoring it now, though.

"How 'bout I give you a campus tour?" Sionna suggested, showing no sign that she noticed my eyes darting away from her and toward the window. "Show you the cool spots the admissions people don't know about."

I couldn't manage a laugh. "Um...y-yeah, sure, that...that sounds nice."

"Cool." For the first time, Sionna actually seemed to hesitate for a split second. "In that case, here's my advice: put on your uniform now. Seriously, I know it's a big step, but you're way better off just ripping it off like a Band-Aid."

Ah, fuck.