Discount Chocolate Day (Watermelon part 4)

•February 15th•

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Dria woke up with lines from Laura’s sweater pressed into her cheek. Laura was still asleep, slumped against the arm of the couch. Dria rubbed her eyes. The movie they had been watching had finished, and now the little screensaver was bouncing around on the TV screen. Dria pushed her half of the blanket onto Laura’s lap and went to turn it off. She stepped through the kitchen doorway to check the time. The clock read 2:44 AM.
    She went into her bedroom to get another blanket and a pillow, then settled herself back on the couch.
    Laura woke her up about five hours later. Dria looked at her and sat up sleepily. Laura’s blond hair was crumpled and stuck up a little in the back, and there were black smudges around her eyes from yesterday’s makeup. Dria supposed she didn’t look much better. She ran her fingers through her bangs.
    “It’s discount chocolate day,” Laura announced.
    “We got chocolate yesterday,” Dria said. She stood up and let her blanket fall into a pile on the floor. She started towards the bathroom to brush her hair.
    “But it’s cheaper today,” Laura countered, following her. Dria turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face.
    “You can’t tell me you don’t want chocolate.”
    Dria shut off the water and wiped her eyes. “You have the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I know,” she said.
    “So?” Laura said. “Let’s go to Walgreens. We haven’t done anything cute and romantic yet.”
Dria dried her face with a hand towel. “Why not,” she said. “But is going to Walgreens really romantic?”
    Laura nudged Dria out of the bathroom and into her bedroom to get dressed.
    She put on jeans and a sweater, and detangled the clasp of her watermelon necklace from her hair. Grabbing her hairbrush and a jacket, Dria walked back to the bathroom to brush her hair. She considered makeup for a moment, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
    Laura’s hair was still frizzy, but she had done her makeup. She was wearing a long-sleeved coral tee-shirt and a gray skirt that stopped just before her knees.
    “We should walk,” she said cheerily. “It’s not that far.” Dria shrugged and picked up her purse from the table. She handed Laura a banana.

    “I can’t believe you’re wearing a skirt,” Dria commented, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. “It’s 38 degrees out here.”
    “I don’t mind it,” Laura said. She stepped over a crack in the sidewalk. “Anyway, I’m walking.”
    “You’re from California,” Dria said disbelievingly. “I don’t get it.”
    Laura shrugged. “I’m not cold. What else is there to it?” Dria put an arm around her, just in case. She laid her head on Laura’s shoulder. She didn’t feel cold.
    Dria held Laura’s hand when they walked into Walgreens. She tried to stop and look at the nail polish bottles, but Laura tugged her towards the Valentine aisle. Predictably, the shelves were filled with candy and trinkets. A sign on one shelf read, “All Valentine items 40% off.”
    “What kind do you want?” Laura asked, looking at the candy.
    “I don’t want any,” Dria said. “I already have some.”
“If you’re sure,” Laura said. Dria let go of her hand and turned around to investigate the rest of the shelves.
    A flash of pink fur caught her eye, and she looked up. On the top shelf was a giant pink bear with a heart stitched onto its chest. Dria’s eyes went wide with excitement, and a mischievous smile crept onto her face. As soon as Laura turned her back to pick out the chocolates, Dria stood on tiptoe and nudged the bear off the shelf. It fell onto her head, and she had to step back to catch it.
    Laura turned around, holding two heart-shaped boxes and a bag of Hershey’s Kisses.
    “What is that?” she asked, inspecting the bear.
    “His name is Nathan,” Dria said. “He’s my new best friend.” Laura made a concerned face.
    Dria smiled. “I’m joking.”
    “Put him back,” Laura said. Dria glared at her.
    “No?” She set Nathan on the floor and put her hands on her hips. “If you can have your chocolate, I can have a giant bear.”
    Laura rolled her eyes. “I need to remember not to leave you unattended in the stuffed animal section.”
    “But he’s soft!” Dria protested. She grabbed Laura’s hand and placed it on Nathan’s head. “Here, feel him.” Laura stroked the bear’s ear and her face lit up.
    “Nevermind,” she said. “I want one too.” Dria grinned.
    “I told you.” Laura picked out a smaller bear, and Dria hauled Nathan over to the checkout counter.
When they got home, Dria brought the Nathan over to the line of giant stuffed animals at the foot of her bed. She carefully placed him between the cat she had gotten last Halloween and the unicorn Grace had given her for her birthday.
Laura sat down on the bed. “You have a stuffed animal addiction.”
“It could be worse,” Dria replied. “I could be addicted to buying batteries or something.”
Laura laughed out loud. “Batteries?”
“They’re kind of expensive.”
Laura threw a Hershey’s Kiss at her. “Whatever you say.”
Dria stood up and sat down next to Laura. “We have matching stuffed animals now,” she said. “Is that cute and romantic?”
Laura nodded. “I think so.”
“You are too,” Dria added. Laura snorted.
“What?” Dria said. “I’m just trying to be cheesy here.”
Laura smiled. “This is why I love you.”

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One of these days I'll have a post up on time.
I hope you enjoyed! What do you want to see next from Dria and Laura?
Until later,

Lanie ♡