First, we want to thank everyone who reviewed the last two chapters! Every author loves to hear that his or her work is appreciated, and we appreciate everyone who reads it. Here is the next installment for those of you that have been waiting! Thanks again and enjoy!
JF&KMA
3
Ray cooked breakfast, much to Neela's embarrassment. She sat and watched as he stirred and flipped and juggled everything as if he belonged in a kitchen.
"I can't understand why you eat that diabetic nightmare when you know how to cook," she said sullenly.
"I like it," he said with a shrug, his eyes on the stove. "Besides, if I ate your cooking…"
"I get the picture," she snapped irritably. He only smiled over his shoulder at her, making her heart jump in her chest. "I was on my own for a long time. I got tired of take-out."
She sipped her coffee, swallowing back a nasty retort with the bitter liquid. If you're so tired of take out, why did I just throw away an icebox full of leftovers? she thought to herself.
When he had stacks of fluffy pancakes on the table, Neela fetched Emily from her room.
"What, no cereal?" she asked, clearly disappointed.
"Hands off my cereal," Ray warned her.
As they ate, Neela listened to the good-natured banter between them and was relieved. After all that had happened to her, Emily would bounce back. So long as she felt safe, she would recover. And she could see that Ray was overjoyed to have his sister near him again. Watching them reconnect was amazing, and she was grateful that they allowed her to be a part of it. When it came time to clean up, however, the two of them disappeared, leaving Neela with the mess. Not that she minded. It gave her time to think.
She was still spinning from the kiss he had given her. Even the thought of it sent her pulse soaring and a blush to her cheeks. And she had kissed him back. She couldn't fool herself into believing that it had simply been a reaction. She had wanted to kiss him. In fact, she had wanted to for a very long time, had even dreamed about it. What was it about him that stirred her so? They had been roommates for a year. Sometimes, she felt that she knew him better than he knew himself. He certainly knew more about her than any other living soul.
She sighed and put the last dish into the drainer to dry. She could no longer deny that she had feelings for him. Neither could she lie and say that he could not possibly have the same thoughts about her. No one kissed like that without feeling something deeper than just the physical. Warmth burned across her cheeks and spread through her body. She had never been kissed like that before, as if their entire lives had been leading up to that soul searing contact.
She groaned and pushed away from the counter. She was driving herself crazy with this. She had to know. She had to know what it was he felt when he looked at her, when he kissed her. She refused be another notch on his bedpost. She wanted something real.
With a determined step, she headed down the hall toward his room. His door was open, so she poked her head inside and lightly rapped on the wood.
Emily was nowhere in sight, and Ray was stretched out on the bed with his hands behind his head. At her soft tap, he opened his eyes.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah. I'm just trying to take it all in."
She slipped through the opening, glancing around.
"Where's Emily?"
"In your room," he said, closing his eyes again. "I gave her my IPod to listen to."
Neela nibbled her lip, debating about whether or not she should do this.
"Ray? Can we talk for a moment?" she asked, throwing caution to the wind.
His eyes opened wide at the tone of her voice. He studied her for a long minute, before patting the spot next to him on the bed.
"Have a seat," he said carefully. "What's up?"
She sat down, perching on the very edge of the bed, and Ray felt his heart contract painfully. This was the part where she told him that she didn't want him to kiss her again. She didn't care for him like that. That she regretted what she had done and said. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, waiting for her to say those things and break him.
"What's wrong, Neela?" he asked when she simply twisted her hands together and stared at the floor.
"It's nothing really…" she began.
"Come on," he urged. "You don't have trouble letting everyone know what's on your mind any other time."
She shot an annoyed look in his direction, and he settled back with a smile.
"Well?"
"What's really going on here?" she asked bluntly.
"What? You mean Emily? Listen, I'm sorry about my sister…"
"This has nothing to do with your sister, Ray."
He frowned.
"Then what is it about?"
"Well, you kissed me!"
"And you kissed me. Twice."
Her mouth dropped open in shocked realization.
"Actually three times if you want to count this morning in my bed," he added. If the smile on his face was any indication, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"You were awake?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes, I was."
She rose slowly to her feet, feeling humiliated. She was such a fool…
He pulled her back down with his arms around her waist, and stayed as close as breath.
"Are you going to tell me that you didn't want to kiss me?" he asked softly, his breath tickling her ear. Bollox! She couldn't think with him so close.
"I didn't say that," she said faintly. "It's just…"
"Just what?"
She closed her eyes as his fingers tangled in her hair.
"What does it mean, Ray?"
He stopped touching her and gave her a look of confusion.
"What does it mean?" he echoed, and then smiled that crooked, little boy smile. "I hope that it means that you care about me."
Neela turned to give him a piercing look.
"That's not what I'm talking about," she said irritably. "I've made my feelings quite clear."
The impact of her words hit him full in the chest, and his breath slammed from his lungs. He had not been sure, no matter what she said now, but he was now. She cared about him, and not the way friends feel about each other. The joy he felt almost overshadowed the hurt that her next words brought up.
"I just…I don't want to be another of your conquests," she said, her cheeks stained red. "I want more than that."
He sat back on his heels, staring at her in confusion. Is that what she thought of him? That he was a love-em-and-leave-em kind of guy? Sure, he had been with his share of women, but it wasn't as if he was with a new one every day. She didn't have any right…
Then, it hit him and he felt like an ass. Of course she would want to know that he cared about her. Neela was the type of woman who settled with one man. She needed to know that her feelings were not one sided.
He reached out and turned her with his hands on her shoulders before pulling her into his arms. She melted against him, proving his suspicions correct.
"I've wanted you for so long," he murmured into her hair. "I just didn't know how to tell you." He laughed softly. "You aren't the easiest person to talk to, you know."
"I know," she whispered against his chest. "And I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," he said, giving her a squeeze. "You drive me crazy that way."
She laughed at that.
"You were crazy already. I had nothing to do with it."
He grinned and kissed the top of her head.
"Come on," he said, pulling away. "Lay down with me for a while. Neither one of us got much shut eye last night."
It was strange to feel him wrapped around her, but when she settled beside him, there was nowhere else that she wanted to be. Spooned up behind her, with one arm across her chest and the other around her waist, it was as if the world outside did not exist. There was only this moment of calm and quiet.
"What are we going to tell everybody?" she asked.
There was a long pause before he answered.
"I don't want to tell anybody, Neela. Not yet. I don't want to share this yet."
She smiled and closed her eyes. She didn't want to tell anyone at all. She saw the way that everyone at County seemed to feel that it was his or her right to know everything that went on in people's private lives. She saw the looks that were exchanged whenever they saw something that seemed odd. She didn't want that scrutiny aimed in their direction.
"That's fine. We'll keep this between us for now."
"I'll let the world know that you're my girl when we're ready."
She couldn't help but giggle at that. Just the idea that she could be anyone's "girl" was amusing. It was even stranger that she would be Ray's "girl". She laughed again and felt him smile against her hair.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"That phrase, 'your girl'," she answered. "I never thought it would be associated with you and me."
"Well it is, so get used to it." Then he laughed. "Just think of what everyone will say when we let the cat out of the bag."
That brought on another burst of giggles, and Neela couldn't help but feel how right this was. Love should be like this, she thought, and the laughter died in her throat. Where had that come from? She quickly pushed the thought away. Love?
"What are we going to do about Emily?" she asked to cover her unease.
"I'm not sure yet," he said. "I'm still trying to get around the fact that she's here."
"Well, I don't think we should let her go back to that situation."
His arms tightened around her, and she felt him nuzzle her neck.
"I like it when you say 'we'," he said with a growl, and laughed when she gave his arm a light slap.
"Stop being silly and focus," she chided. "We have to come up with something. We cannot simply keep her in hiding."
"I know," he said with a heavy sigh.
"And if things are as she said…"
"It wouldn't surprise me," he bit out. "Trust me. My dad is a nightmare."
Neela was silent for a moment.
"What if we found a way to let her stay here?" she asked slowly.
He froze, and then propped himself on his elbow to look down at her.
"You wouldn't mind?" he asked.
She smiled up at him. He had such beautiful eyes. And the way he was looking at her now, she wanted to melt. She reached out to touch his cheek, and he turned his head to kiss her palm. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, sending little surges of electricity shooting through her.
"Why don't you ask me?" came a voice from the doorway.
Neela sat up so quickly that her head connected with his chin. Through the pain, she heard his teeth click together and wondered for a moment if he had bitten his tongue. She felt her face heat up as Emily began to giggle, and Ray grabbed his mouth.
"Oh damn! Are you all right?"
He grimaced. "I think I'll live," he said dryly and turned to glare at his sister. "Didn't anyone teach you to knock?"
She covered her mouth to stifle her giggles and shook her head.
"Go figure." He gave Neela a look of concern and pulled her hand away from her head. "You're gonna have a good bump," he said, and kissed the spot. "We'll finish what we started later," he murmured in her ear, and Neela's stomach fluttered.
"Well, now that you're here you might as well come in," he told Emily. "Then maybe we can figure out what to do with you."
She frowned, pouting at his choice of words.
"I don't see why anything has to be 'done' with me," she said peevishly, dropping onto the edge of the bed. "Why can't I just stay with you?"
"Well, for one thing, Mom is probably worried sick about you."
"Don't bet on it," she muttered, examining her nails. "I guess that next you're going to say that there's not enough room here." She scowled at them. "I thought that you were only roommates."
Ray and Neela looked at each other with slow smiles.
"We're kind of new to this," Ray said slowly. "But I wasn't going to say that. There are just a lot of things to consider here, Em."
"Like what? I don't see the problem. Dad hits me. Mom doesn't care. I don't want to go back. Ever." She shot him a hurt look. "Unless it's that you don't want me here."
He shook his head and gave her a hug.
"That's not it at all," he said adamantly. "I want you to stay here, Em, but you have to be sure. You'll have to leave your school and all your friends…"
"I don't really have any," she said quickly. "And that school is a joke. They don't care about you unless you're in trouble."
So things haven't changed much, Ray thought. It had been like that when he'd gone there too. He knew exactly what she felt. Back then, his temper had ruled him, and had gotten him in trouble more times than he could count. He was still convinced that his grades would have been better if the teachers hadn't hated him. There were two times he knew of when he had gotten the right answers and the teacher had counted them wrong. Not that his grades had been bad. He never would have gotten a scholarship if they had been, but it still pissed him off when he thought about it.
"We'll see what we can do," he told her finally, pushing those thoughts away.
"What matters right now is what's best for you," Neela said kindly, lacing her hand in his.
For a second, Ray thought his heart just might stop. Once again, she had reached out to him, and Neela was not the type to reach out to anyone for any reason. It touched something deep inside him that she would do so with him.
"First," she continued, giving him a questioning look, "I think you should call your mother so she won't worry."
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Emily said, cringing at the thought.
"Let us take care of it," Ray said. "I'll do everything I can to make sure that you're safe."
Emily nodded, clearly not satisfied.
"But first, you need some clothes, a toothbrush…" He glanced at Neela. "Would you mind taking her shopping for a few things, babe?"
She smiled, her face going crimson.
"I think I can manage," she said. "I think I like you calling me that," she added shyly.
"That's it! I'm out of here!" Emily said and quickly left the room.
"I think you embarrassed her," Ray said, laughing.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"You started it," she accused, squealing when he pulled her into his lap.
"Now this is more like it," he said in a low voice. "If I wasn't on duty tonight…"
He left the rest hanging, making clear with his kiss what he would do if he didn't have to work. Just the feel of her slight weight in his lap was enough to drive him nuts. And the taste of her on his tongue made him lose all reason. Her arms around his neck and her fingernails lightly grazing his scalp made him think of other things he could do, ways he could…
With a groan, he pulled away, knowing that if he didn't, he would stay with her all day, and that was not something he could do right now. He smiled down into her flushed face and brushed a stray lock of her hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. There would be plenty of time for this later, and he intended to use every minute. He wanted to take his time with her.
"We'll have to finish this later," he said, his voice husky with need.
"Promise?" she asked promptly and bit her lip.
He pulled her close, laughing at the frustration that was showing clearly in her eyes.
"You can bet on it," he promised.