"Neela, what happened to you?" Ray tried not to laugh as his roommate stumbled through the front door.
"I don't want to talk about it." She replied. "Besides, you should see Abby if you think this is bad."
"You're… red. How did you manage to get that burnt?"
The two girls had planned a beach day on their day off as the end of summer was nearing.
Neela hung her head. "We sort of fell asleep. Now, can you please help me get out of these?"
Ray laughed but nodded. "So, how many guys were after you guys today?"
"Ray!" Neela exclaimed, attempting to take off her light pink tank top without touching her sun burnt shoulders and back.
"What? I meant that in a good way!" Ray defended, helping her ease out of her top, revealing a black triangle bikini top. "I mean, you guys wear these bikinis and shorts like those." He gestured to her dark blue denim short shorts that were already unbuttoned, "Any guy would be stupid to not look!"
"First of all, this is Abby's suit, not mine." Neela said, referring to the bathing suit. "And second of all, it's 98 bloody degrees out there! Did you expect me to wear pants?"
"No, of course not. I'm not complaining. It's just different… in a good way, of course." Ray struggled with his words and decided to try to change the subject. "How burnt is Abby?"
"I'm surprised she could walk." Neela replied as she waddled towards her room, stepping out of her shorts as she went.
Ray's eyes nearly popped out of his head at Neela. "Definitely Abby's suit. I wonder how long she'll keep that for…"
"Ray! Will you grab the Aloe off my shelf?"
"Huh? Oh… sure." Ray shook his head quickly and went into the bathroom. "Uh, Neela?"
"Second bottle in." Neela responded, already knowing that he wouldn't find it.
"How do they do that?" He grabbed the bottle and headed toward her room. "How do you do -." Ray stopped dead in his tracks at the sight off Neela. Dressed in just the bikini, she was standing in front of her mirror, twisted around, inspecting her red back.
"What?" She straightened herself out and took the bottled from Ray's outstretched hand.
"Oh, never mind. Need anything else?"
"Uh, I hate to ask you this but I'm not going to be able to reach…" Neela blushed. "I mean, if you don't -."
"It's fine, Neela. Don't worry about it." Ray tried to sound sure of himself but he had a feeling Neela knew what he was thinking. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." Neela turned to face him, still gently rubbing the aloe on her shoulders.
"Are you made at Gallant for going back?" Ray knew this probably wouldn't end well but he had to get it off his chest. "I mean, is that why you said no?"
Neela didn't respond as she handed him the bottle.
"I… uh, he… we…" Neela struggled with her words.
Even with her back to him, Ray knew she was picking at her cuticles, brown furrowed and cheeks flushed. It was the stance she always did when she was flustered or embarrassed about something.
"Here, I can't do it this way." Ray said, realizing the height difference may be a problem. With one hand on the small of her back, he led her over to her bed where she indistinctively laid down on her stomach, still lost in thought. "You don't have to answer, if you don't want to, Neela. I was just wondering." Ray told her, gently rubbing the lotion onto her back.
"No, I want to…" She replied. "I guess I'm not completely sure… As honored as I was, I'm not meant to be a soldier's wife. I knew he wanted to go back to Iraq and I didn't want to be married to a memory. I just – I couldn't marry someone I didn't know or someone who didn't know me. Michael didn't know about my love for Celebrity Poker or that I like extra anchovies on my pizza or that horror movies don't scare me as much as I let on…"
Ray had finished with the aloe by now but his hand still rested on the small of her back. "They don't?"
"No, they don't."
"Then, why…?"
"Don't ask that question." Neela rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow, looking up at Ray. "I realized that he didn't know me the way he should. Only one person knows me that way and well, I think I might… kind of, sort of be falling for him."
Catching onto Neela's hint, Ray smirked. "Really? When do I get to meet this guy?"
Neela said up, only inches away from Ray now. "I think you actually know him quite well already." She whispered.
"Oh yeah? Does he work at the hospital?"
Neela bit her bottom lip and nodded. "He works in the ER actually, has a way with the nurses… good with kids, good -."
Neela was cut off when she felt Ray's lips on hers. Apparently, their conversation was over, as Ray deepened the kiss and gently pushed Neela back down onto the bed. He felt her tense up as he followed her down positioned himself above her, not breaking the kiss once.
"Mmm, sunburn… Ray…" She said against his mouth and tried to shift away from the pain. "Ow..."
Ray smiled and, in once expert move, rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Careful to avoid her burn, he pulled her down towards him, stopping just before their lips met again.
"So, when can we get you a bathing suit of your own like this?"