AN: So I'm posting two chapters at once since it's moving slowly. They're really just filler chapters. I'm trying to figure out how to end this story. And again, sorry it's moving so slowly. I promise something interesting will happen.
Chapter Six
It was almost six thirty when Neela awoke.
"Ray." She whispered into his ear. "You're going to be late."
"I'll call in." He replied without opening his eyes.
"You can't do that. Weaver will have your ass if you miss another shift." Neela rested her chin on his chest. "Besides, I need to get over to Abby's. I'd promised we could have a girls night."
"So, I'm not gunna see you tonight?" Ray finally opened his eyes.
"Ray, you're working all night." Neela laughed. "I'm on at five. I'll see you then."
"Promise?" He asked.
"Promise." Neela smiled.
"Okay, then, I guess I'll have that to look forward too." Ray said, right before kissing her.
Neela broke the kiss a few minutes later, laughing. "Ray! Go!"
"Oh, all right. Have fun at Abby's." He pouted.
"I will. Bye." Neela replied as Ray crawled out of bed.
Once Ray was gone, Neela reluctantly got out of the warm bed. She pulled on the shoes that she was wearing earlier, grabbed her coat and headed to the El station.
Twenty minutes later, she was walking into Abby's apartment.
"Abby?" She called out.
"Be right there!"
Neela made herself comfortable on the couch and flipped on the TV.
"So the popcorn is in the microwave, and I rented us some movies. I'm not sure about drinks now that I think about it. Sam is on her way over right now." Abby said, walking out of her bedroom with two DVDs in her hand. "We got The Descent and The Break Up."
"Well, you already know my choice."
"That's true." Abby laughed. Neela wasn't the biggest fan of horror movies and Abby liked to tease her about it. "We'll just wait for Sam to get here."
"Knock knock." Sam said, walking into the apartment. "The door was open."
"Hey! We were just trying to decide a movie." Abby held up the two DVDs. "The Descent or The Break Up?"
"Mmm… The Break Up." Sam said. "It's definitely not a horror movie night." She gestured to the rain that was starting to fall outside.
"All righty then. The Break Up it is." Abby slid the DVD into the player and pulled the popcorn from the microwave. "Um, we have a few beers in here and, oh, there's soda, too. Want anything?"
"I'll have a beer." Neela told her.
"Yeah, me too." Sam added.
After grabbing three beers and the bowl of popcorn, Abby kicked the fridge door shut and walked over to the couch. Neela had already made herself comfortable at one end of the couch, her feet pulled up underneath her. Sam was at the opposite end with a blanket covering her. Abby handed the girls their beers and settled down in between them. She hit play on the remote and made herself comfortable, using Neela as a pillow.
"Thanks." Neela and Sam said in unison.
Forty-five minutes later, Sam and Abby had fallen asleep. Sam was at one end of the couch with her feet up on the coffee table and her head resting on the armrest, a blanket lying across her legs. Abby was curled up in a ball, sharing a blanket and leaning on Neela, who had her legs pulled up next to her and her head resting on her arm on the armrest.
Staring at the screen, Neela silently watched the movie. It was good, but Neela's mind was elsewhere. She just couldn't stop thinking about Ray. Feeling Abby move, she looked down at her.
"Neela?" Abby opened one eye. "Did I fall asleep?"
"Yeah, you and Sam." Neela replied.
"Oh, sorry. Graveyard shift is catching up with me, although I did sleep most of the time."
"No problem. I was just thinking, I couldn't concentrate on the movie."
"Oh yeah! Tell me what happened today!" Abby sat up a little bit, careful not to wake Sam.
Neela blushed. "Well, we went to Ike's and talked about work a bit, but I felt like everyone was staring at me so we went for a walk."
"And…?" Abby smiled.
"And we found a bench to sit on. I told him about my feelings for him and he… kissed me."
"Ahhh!!" Abby squealed. "Are you serious?"
Sam shifted at the other end of the couch, waking up slightly.
Neela nodded. "Yeah, and then he said he felt the same way so we went back to our apartment to talk some more. That's when I sent you that text. He asked me to be his girlfriend and everything. Then, we went and took a nap together before he had to work."
"That's so awesome! Did you tell him about, you know?" Abby asked, realizing that Sam had woken up completely now.
"Hey, did I fall asleep?" She asked sleepily.
"Yeah, but so did I." Abby laughed.
"What time is it?"
"Almost eight." Neela replied.
Sam put her head back on the armrest and closed her eyes. "I have to work in a couple hours. It's gunna be so boring."
"Last night was dead." Abby told her. "I slept for most of the night."
"Yeah, today was very busy either. Maybe you'll get lucky."
"I hope so. So, what did I interrupt? You guys looked very into the conversation about Neela and some guy?"
"Oh, it was nothing." Neela told her.
"Don't hide it, Neela. The whole ER is going to know by morning anyways." Abby pointed out.
"What are you talking about, Abby?" Sam was quite confused.
"Well, I, uh, me and –." Neela struggled with her words.
"Neela and Ray finally hooked up." Abby said bluntly.
"Abby!" Neela exclaimed.
"Are you serious?" Sam sat up. "That's awesome! I'm so happy for you guys. I knew you'd end up together eventually."
Neela started blushing again. "Thanks."
An hour later, Sam was leaving the apartment and Neela was the one sleeping on the couch.
Yawning, Abby walked back over to the couch and covered Neela up with a blanket. She knew she had to work at five and didn't want her to be late because she was too cold to sleep.
"Goodnight, Abby." Neela said softly, not moving an inch.
"Goodnight, Neela. Don't oversleep."
"Mmm." Neela moaned and rolled over.
Abby silently laughed and walked down the hall to her bedroom.