Chapter 12:
Andy.
The next time Andy opened his eyes, the sun was already coming out. The sky was brightening slowly and the room was dimly lit. His hand automatically reached out for Raydor but she wasn't in bed. He lifted his head from the pillow to look around, and realized that he was alone. His head fell back on the pillow with a thud, but after a minute he decided to get up and look for her. The weariness from the previous day hasn't left his body yet, but he made an effort to get on his feet and look for Raydor in the bathroom. She wasn't there. The room was awfully quiet, and Andy wondered if the electricity was fixed by now.
Where the hell could she be at this early hour? he asked himself. Was it all a dream?
He opened the door and realized he was still in her room, so it couldn't have been a dream. The cold air of the early morning gave him goose bumps as he stepped outside and looked around him. He immediately spotted Raydor in the far corner of the yard, sitting on the swing seat, and started to move toward her.
As he got closer, he managed to see she was fully dressed now. It made him wish she was still in her robe, lying in the warm bed next to him. But there she was. A heavy coat covered her upper body like a little blanket, and Andy thought about the robe again.
When he was finally standing next to the swing seat, he realized that she was sleeping. Slumped on the swing with her head tilted down, resting on her left shoulder.
Andy sat next to her carefully so the swing doesn't move and startle her. He used his finger to move her hair from her face, gently stroking her cheek as he did. Her eyes opened immediately and examined him for a while in silence.
"Good morning," Andy said and waited to see if something was wrong with her.
Raydor made an effort to sit up. Apparently her back felt stiff from the way she was half sitting-half lying on the swing. He held her by the shoulders for support and pulled her to him, so her back leaned against his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes again for a few seconds before opening them back.
"What are you doing here?" he hesitantly placed his arm around her, but she didn't seem to mind.
"I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to look at the starts, but… there were only about three visible with all the clouds," she scoffed. "I guess I fell asleep at one point."
"You couldn't sleep? Is it… remorse?" he wasn't sure that he wanted to hear the answer.
"No. I don't know. Maybe. I can't help it."
"I know, I know. We broke the rules," he smiled. "But that's what rules are for, right?"
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Rules are important in so many ways."
"Yet, I can't say I regret it," his voice was low.
Raydor kept quiet for a moment and he figured she was lost in her thoughts. Then – to Andy's surprise – she said, "me neither."
"Really?" he had to be reassured, to know that he wasn't imagining things.
"Yes," in a quick movement she got up and stood in front of him. Andy watched her as she put on her coat and gazed at him. She was standing so close that their legs were touching. All of a sudden he felt the urge to grab her by the waist and get her into a lying position on this swing.
"Anyway," her voice brought him back from daydreaming, "we should get ready to leave. The car will be ready soon."
"I don't know what time it is," he looked at the sky, "but I'm pretty sure it's around 7am. So we've got time, about two hours."
"Good. Maybe you can use that time to take a shower," she teased him, using an explanatory tone that she would use on a three-year-old.
Andy got on his feet and she took a little step back, so they don't stand too close.
"Are you afraid of me now?" he smiled.
"Not more than I'm afraid of myself," she turned around and started to walk toward her room. Andy frowned in confusion, but understanding hit him quickly. He ran to catch up with her and stood in her way to get her to stop walking.
"So, basically you're saying you can't control yourself around me and it scares you," he knew it was going to annoy her, but for some reason – he loved doing that.
"Yeah, I'm about to throw you behind that bush and… do bad things to you," the sarcasm in her voice was clear.
"I wouldn't call those things 'bad'," he chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her, but she put her hand on his chest and prevented it.
"Go take a shower, Lieutenant," she made a little detour around him and continued to her room.
Andy watched her until she closed the door behind her. He didn't have a plan yet, but he knew that he had to use her inability to resist him somehow, so she'd let her guards down again and let him in.
He went back to his room, but instead of doing as he was ordered and head for the shower, he decided to go back to sleep for a while. Two hours were more than enough from him to get ready to leave. He could definitely squeeze in a much needed nap.
(***)
The warm water felt great on his skin when he finally stood in the shower and let it pour down on him. It wasn't only a physical cleaning, but he also felt his energies renewing for the long day ahead.
That extra hour of sleep helped too. Andy finally felt his mind clear enough to think, remember and do everything that a well-rested mind could do.
Yesterday's memories crept in his head like little thieves, trying to take the serenity away from him. He remembered the way he held her arm, preventing her from falling down, saving her, making her want him… then there was her body connecting with his own body, breathing heavily, moving fast, shivering in his arms…
Andy suddenly heard a noise and, for the second time that morning, was abruptly brought back to reality. The bathroom door was open, so he could hear well what was going on in the room. Somebody was opening the front door. He closed the tap and listened behind the shower curtain. For a second he heard nothing, but then there were footsteps in his room, and a moment later – a voice.
"Andy?" he sighed in relief when he heard Raydor looking for him. "Are you here?" she sounded closer now and he knew that she was in the bathroom or on the threshold. This was his opportunity. He opened the curtain, surprising her. Raydor jumped a little and looked taken aback by his lack of clothes.
As her eyes moved down his body and then back up, she said, "that's a long… shower."
Andy had to make a big effort not to laugh.
"I took a little nap before I started it," he said and she nodded without saying a word, her mouth slightly open. "If you wanted a peek all you had to do was ask."
"Your phone," she showed him something in her hand.
"My phone?"
"I found it on the floor in my room. I'll just leave it here, on the shelf," she placed it quickly next to his toothbrush and headed for the door. Andy jumped out of the shower, water massively dripping off of him, and put both arms around her.
Raydor drew in a sharp breath of surprise and froze, but he wasn't done shocking her. He took advantage of this moment of weakness and moved back toward the shower, dragging her with him locked in his arms.
"Andy, what are you -?!"
With one quick movement he opened the tap, which was now right above their heads. Water started pouring again without distinguishing between bare skin and fabric.
