Chapter 1
"Neela, Are you ready yet?"
"Give me another minute, Ray; I'm looking for my boots."
Neela turned back from her bedroom door and resumed scouring her closet for her favorite black boots. Why on earth did I agree to go with him to this party? She thought to herself for the tenth time that evening, getting on her knees she took a quick look under her bed. There they are. Neela reached under the bed to retrieve the shiny leather boots.
Quickly putting them on, Neela began to wonder whether she should just tell Ray to just go without her. How much fun was she really expecting to have at a party surrounded by Ray's rocker pals? You promised him, you'd come this time, Neela. The little voice in the back of her mind reminded her. Sighing she got up and mentally ran through all the excuses she had given him in the past. Work, too tired, work, washing her hair, work, the Apprentice…..
Resigning herself to the fact that she would just have to suck it up, Neela quickly reapplied her lip gloss and headed out of her bedroom.
"Finally," Ray groaned as he heard his roomie walk out into the living room.
"Honestly, what is it with women and taking five hours to –" He stopped abruptly, taking in Neela's off the shoulder form fitting blue top and dark denim jeans. Her hair had been left in dark waves that fell across her shoulders, eyes lined with black liner and dark eye shadow, making them look large and smoky.
Whoa. Ray's mind went blank momentarily, shaking his head. "Looking good Neela, I'm going to have to beat the ambush of guys back with a stick." he smirked.
"Ha Ha, Ray, very funny, ready to go now?" Neela replied trying not to smile at Ray's compliment. She took this opportunity to give him a quick once over, only Ray could make a sleeveless navy tee and worn jeans look sexy. Neela mentally kicked herself, stop it, this is Ray you're thinking about.
"Sure thing, Dr Neela, I know a couple of guys who were practically begging me to bring you tonight," Ray teased as he opened the door and ushered his roommate out.
00000000000000000000000000000
"Hey, Ray over here!"
Having just stepped through the doors of the house jam packed with people, Ray turned and saw Bret heading towards him and Neela.
"You made it, dude, I was beginning to think you guys weren't coming," Bret called out over the blast of music coming from the stereo in the corner. "Hey, Dr Neela, glad you could make it," He added giving her a big grin.
"Yeah, we almost didn't thanks to Neela, here, who decided we couldn't leave without her damn boots!" Ray responded, earning a well deserved jab in the ribs from Neela.
"Ray!" Neela glared at him, threateningly. "You know, I could just go home now."
"No way, you're not going anywhere Neela," Bret cut in. "You guys only just got here and I have a couple of ice cold beers here with your names on them. Just ignore Barnett; we all manage to do it pretty well." He winked at her, handing her a beer.
"Thanks," Neela responded accepting the beer, figuring if she steered clear of Ray for rest of the evening she may actually have a shot at having some fun. "See ya, Ray; I'm just going to go…mingle," She finished, taking a sip of her beer and heading off into the crowd.
00000000000000000000000000000
Watching her push her way through the throng of people, Ray took a sip of his own beer and turned to Bret, "I'm beginning to think this may have actually been a bad idea."
"Why do you say that, man, she is just here to have some fun, no harm there," Bret stated steering Ray towards the back porch. "Incidentally, she is looking amazing tonight, blue is very good color on her."
"No reason, just a feeling I guess." Ray responded choosing to ignore his friend's observations about his roommate.
"Well you stay here and do your thing; I think I see Erica over there, trying to catch your eye." Bret gestured to the petite blonde, making her way towards them. "Me…..I think I'm going to go see a doctor about a cough I've had, damn thing just won't go away." He started pounding his chest lightly faking a cough. "Have fun." He slapped Ray on the back and headed back inside to find Neela.
"Right," Ray frowned into his beer and watched as Erica strolled up to him with a definitive "I want you" look in her eyes. Trying not to think about what Neela and Bret might up to, Ray gave her a smile. "Just the lady I was looking for."