Free Sorority Sisters by Tajuana Butler

makes the heart grow fonder.” He grabbed her hand from across the table. There was a pleasant silence.
    “Baby, order whatever you want,” Don said.
    “Okay. I sure will! I’m not gonna worry about the prices, because my man is rich.”
    Chancey ordered grilled salmon, and Don ordered a porterhouse steak. Everything was so good. They relaxed and talked about their future together and how they were going to make their long-distance relationship work.
    Instead of ordering dessert, they decided to drive back to town and rent a movie, pick up popcorn and ice cream, and spend the rest of their evening enjoying each other’s company in the privacy of Don’s apartment.
    \

EIGHT
    “Hey, Tiara, girl. What’s up?” Sandra asked, as she danced through the door into Tiara’s dorm room. One of her favorite songs was blasting from her mini stereo system that sat on top of her bureau. Sandra was carrying a small bag and wearing tight black pants that stopped and cuffed at her ankle. Her rayon blouse was wrapped in the front and tied on the side, showing her navel and just a hint of cleavage. She always dressed sexily for campus parties. The look worked for her because she never wore her hair too wild and her body was so petite that nothing ever seemed to be out of proportion.
    “I’m just trying to figure out what I’m gonna wear tonight. You’re here early.”
    “Girl, my roommate was getting on my last nerve. Mindy’s boyfriend is over, and they were blasting that Pearl Jam shit and smoking cigarettes. I hate to be smelling like cigarette smoke. And you know what? She only smokes in the room when he’s over, and she didn’t smoke at all until she met him.”
    “Umph!” Tiara responded.
    “So I got dressed as quickly as I could, grabbed my curling iron and makeup, and came straight over here. It’s okay, isn’t it?”
    “Of course it’s okay! You know that,” Tiara said. “But what kills me is when men try to be so controlling, and I hate women who change their entire lifestyles just to keep a man. If Mindy gets lung cancer, she’ll only have herself to blame. Because once her boyfriend walks out of her life, she’s going to be stuck with a nasty habit.”
    “True,” agreed Sandra, “and I hope we won’t still be roommates, ’cause I refuse to spend every day of my college life breathing secondhand smoke.”
    “But you won’t have to because you’ll be getting a private room next year, right? You did know they were available for second-semester sophomores in January. Why didn’t you apply then?”
    “My parents were so insistent on me having a roommate, at least during my first two years. I guess they figured I wouldn’t get in as much trouble with a roommate. Like that makes sense. Anyway, I envy you and Gina . . . sophomores with private rooms. Why can’t I be so lucky?”
    “Girl, all you have to do is apply for a single in the fall. This year is almost up and next year it will be your decision. Right?”
    “I hope so, but you know how my parents can be. They try to control me from home,” Sandra complained. “Believe me, there will be a message on my answering machine tonight asking me to call them as soon as I get in, no matter what time. Is that ridiculous or what?”
    “I couldn’t begin to imagine,” Tiara responded. She wanted her mother to be more responsible, but by no means did she want her to be that overbearing.
    “And if I don’t call them tonight, they will assume I spent the night with ‘one of those nappy-headed rascals,’ as my dad calls them.”
    “Nappy-headed what?” Tiara screamed and laughed at the same time.
    “Rascals, girl!” She laughed. “They call every Friday and Saturday night like clockwork. Some nights when Mindy is in the room, she’ll act like she’s trying to wake me and I won’t budge. She’ll tell them she couldn’t get me up and that I’d spent most of the night in the library studying and came home and crashed, and that she’ll be