A lean brown foot kicked the grate cover loose. The metal square fell from the ceiling to clatter against the floor. A moment later, Abed lowered himself through the opening, dropping the last foot or so.
Annies' face appeared above him, "Where are we?".
Abed glanced around at the little room, noting the recliner chair and mini fridge amongst the mops and spray bottles, "One of the custodian's secret nap rooms, I think."
"Nap rooms?!" she squeaked.
He shrugged and held his arms up to her, "It can't be easy to be a janitor at Greendale,".
Above him, Annie's face disappeared and he could hear the faint sound of her turning her body in the vent so she could come down feet first. He could also hear her muttering something about misuse of her tuition payments. A pair of tiny feet lowered themselves into his view. Curved and creamy like two perfect sea shells. He fought the urge to cup them in his hands, to run his fingers and palms over the arch of them, along the delicate bump of her ankle bones and farther along the curve of her calves under the silky material of her pajama pants.
Annie wore a matched set- soft pants with a buttoned top in deep blue with a silvery white pinstripe. He had thought this would be the least attractive of her possible sleeping outfits but there was something tantalizing about the firm curves of her body hidden by the thin material. Her pajamas were similar in style to his, though hers were satin not cotton. He imagined Annie wearing his-
Her legs came into view between his outstretched hands and then her waist. The bottom two buttons had come undone on her top and as she lowered herself, he could see the milky expanse of her stomach and the fold of her belly button.
He wanted to hold her in place, to put his mouth on her stomach. To slide his tongue into her navel.
He was sure she could feel the heat coming off him, his skin felt like it was on fire.
"Help," She exclaimed, feet kicking as she tried to estimate the fall. A shock ran through his body as he remembered where they were, what they were doing.
Abed took her by the waist, "You can let go."
She did, tumbling into his arms with enough force to rock him on his feet. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on her, to keep them both from falling.
"Oh!" Annie exclaimed. When she blinked up at him, several strands of her hair had become tangled in her eyelashes.
Lifting a hand, he brushed it away gently.
Time, the thin air, the fluorescent light- everything went soft and gooey, like taffy. Time seemed to stretch. The whole world smelled like Annie, like coconut soap and cherry lip gloss. He leaned over-
The room shook. The lights flickered. They both glanced up.
This wasn't the time. Or the place. There would never be a time or a place for this. He had accepted that, right? When would his thoughts be his own again?
Abed stepped back and Annie seemed to stiffen. She pushed her hair behind one ear and tugged at the edge of her pajama top.
"We need to find the others," she insisted, swallowing heavily.
He tilted his head, considering and then glanced down at his watch, "Everyone who lives off campus is gone. We don't have to worry about Jeff, Britta, Pierce, or Shirley."
She asked in a small voice, "What about Troy?"
Troy. Troy had betrayed him twice in as many days. Troy-
He said, "We need to understand what's happening. What if all of this is an elaborate ruse?" Ridiculous. This wasn't Troy's style.
"Pfth-" Annie dismissed the idea with an eyeroll and a wave of her hand, "We both know ruses aren't Troy's style. Something bad is out there and so is our friend. We need to help him."
"What do you suggest?"