Thanks for the reviews. I tried to make it clearer who was speaking this time – thanks for the suggestion, navycorpsman.
Ray was shocked into speechlessness. Shit, shit, shit. This is so bad. I have the worst luck. This is the first time I have had a yet-to-be-named girl over in forever. And she has to show up. Jesus, she's looking at me like I'm something she just scraped off her shoe. Say SOMETHING, you idiot! "Hi Neela, this is……" Oh, crap, SHUT UP, you idiot!
Rebecca said, "Hi, I'm Rebecca."
Rebecca – still not ringing any bells, Ray thought. He said, "She was just leaving." Now Rebecca was looking at him like he was something she scraped off her shoe. This just keeps getting better.
Ray figured he'd better go change into something a little less revealing because pretty soon everyone was going to know what looking at Neela did to him. It was getting obvious. She is so beautiful, what was I thinking? I am such an idiot. No more tequila. Ever.
Neela steeled herself to look at Ray. Do not look anywhere but in his eyes. Jesus, he's wearing a towel for God's sake. Don't look down, don't look down. STOP LOOKING DOWN! Neela forced her brown eyes up and looked into his hazel ones. He looked embarrassed. Well he should. This just goes to show me that I was right in pushing him away. Looks like I interrupted round two. Well, let's get this over with. "I need to talk to you Ray."
"Just let me get changed. Don't leave, please, Neela." Ray went into his room to change and Rebecca left in a huff. Neela looked around at "their" apartment. It looked the same. Maybe a little cleaner.
Ray came back dressed in jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt. "I'm sorry." Okay, why am I apologizing? It's not as if I have heard from her in a really long time. She made it clear she didn't want my sympathy or my company. "Neela, this isn't what it looks like…."
"You mean you didn't just have sex with a girl whose name you can't even remember? You are pathetic, Ray."
Ray kept his temper even though it was difficult not to rise to her bait. "Did you need something, Neela? Why are you here?" He said, a little ungraciously.
"I wanted….Abby's lease is up, and I wanted…..I wondered if I could move back in with you. She said you don't have another roommate, yet."
Ray was thrilled but refused to give her the satisfaction of knowing it. "I guess so." He couldn't stop himself from adding, "I've missed you."
"I can tell." She said sarcastically.
Neela moved back in the following week. In some ways it was as if she never left because they knew each other's routine so well but in others everything was different. They no longer felt at ease with each other. The words she had said to him on the roof still stung – and he was hurt that she hadn't needed him for anything until she needed a place to stay. Ray thought he had meant more to her than a rented room. Neela's words on the roof still haunted her too. She had meant them – but not in the way he took them. She needed him to stay away from her because she didn't trust her feelings for him. And because of the guilt she still felt when she looked at him.
And look at us now, Neela thought. He acted out with booze and a girl and I am hiding myself away from him and the rest of the world. We are a pair of idiots. God, I hope we can get past this and be friends again. I'd settle for that.
Ray wanted things to be the way they were. Why are we so uncomfortable with each other now? Why can't we be friends again? I'd settle for that. Maybe it'll just take time.