Not Wasting the Day

STILL the same disclaimer…And the clubs/lounges/bars/restaurants I mention here are made up, except Ike's, which I didn't make up but it belongs to the ER writers not to me. I am not familiar with Chicago in the slightest. The people at the restaurant are mine. Ray's friend Brett who I mention is also not mine.

A/N: This is a shorty…but the next chapter is long… :)
Thanks to all who reviewed, it's much appreciated!

"Ray?"

"Hmm?"

"What time is it?"

"Umm," he looked for a clock, after looking at his wrist and realizing he wasn't wearing a watch. "Three thirty."

"What?!" She lifted her head, and looked at the clock. "How did it get so late?"

"Well, we didn't go to sleep until somewhere between six and seven o'clock. And then we were talking for a while. And we've been sitting here for a bit."

"I think we should get up."

"Why?"

"Because we're wasting the day just lying in bed."

"We're not wasting it. We're relaxing. It's good to do that sometimes. And besides, we're sitting, not lying." She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Do you want to go relax over a bowl of cereal?" He smiled.

"Hungry?"

"Yes, a bit."

"What do you want?"

"To eat?"

"Yes that's what I meant…though I suppose you could tell me what you want for your birthday…or what you want in life…or what you want to wear…or…"

"Shut up, Ray." He could hear her smile in her voice. "At any rate I want to get out of bed."

"'k." He kissed her on the top of her head and pulled her tighter to himself before letting go. She kissed him on the cheek and got up. "Let me know when you're done in the bathroom." She nodded. After a few minutes, she returned to the room.

"Done."

"Thanks." He squeezed her shoulder as he passed her. When he finished in the bathroom, he found Neela at the table, having cereal. "Neela?" he asked sitting down across the table from her.

"Yes?"

"You know you're beautiful, right?" She quickly dropped her gaze. "Neela," she looked back up at him. "You are." He smiled. "You're beautiful." She dropped her gaze again.

"Thank you," she answered quietly. He stood up to get food for himself.

"We're both off tomorrow too, right?"

"I know I am."

"Ok. Tonight, we're going out. You and me."

"Ray…"

"No," he cut her off, "we're going, and you're going to enjoy it." He sat back down at the table.

"Where are we going?"

"You pick."

"I don't want to go out—" he cut her off.

"Then I'll pick. We're going out."

"Umm…I'm kind of sick of Ike's… Eclipse is nice, but expensive…I don't know."

"Have you ever been to The Midnight?"

"The name sounds familiar, but no, I've never been."

"My friend works there, we can get in for free." He smiled. "What do you say?"

"Fine," she answered resigned, knowing she would lose to his insistence.

"Try to sound at least a little excited. It'll be fun." Neela gave him a weak smile.

"What kind of place is this?"

"I think it is technically a 'lounge,' so there's a restaurant part and there's dancing, and a bar."

"Are we going to be eating dinner there?"

"Do you want to?"

"How expensive is it?"

"It doesn't matter. You're not paying."

"Yes it does matter, because yes, I am paying."

"Neela, I doubt you'd be paying if you went alone." She looked at him, confused. "Men are going to be buying you drinks and stuff." Her confusion changed to doubt. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He smiled.

"I'm not that type of girl."

"What type is that?"

"The girl who sits at the bar with a barely existent shirt, and has men buy her drinks all night."

"Neela, you could go wearing that," he nodded to her shorts and oversized t-shirt, "and you'd get free drinks. Why don't you just forget about the money bit, ok?" She sighed.

"What is the dress?"

"It depends what you are looking to get out of tonight." She eyed him suspiciously.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Are you coming as my friend, who may perhaps be bringing someone home? Or are you coming as my date?"

"I'm not bringing anyone home. I will go out, but I really don't feel like being social."

"Then you're my date?"

"Looks that way." She paused. "So that means proper attire would be…" her voice trailed off waiting for him to finish the sentence.

"Uhm, business casual, kind of. Not formal, but definitely no jeans."

"Ok."

"Now that we have that figured out. Do you want to have dinner there?"

"Seriously, how expensive is it?"

"It's," he paused, "it's not expensive," he lied. He decided price shouldn't influence her choice, and a little white lie never hurt anyone.

"Sure then, I don't think we have much here, so yeah, let's eat there."

"Great." He stood up and got his phone. "I'll call my friend, make sure we're on the list, and get preferential treatment." He grinned. She shook her head and smiled. As he waited for his friend to pick up, he noted, "it's good to see you smile, Neela." Before Neela could respond, the other party picked up. Neela sat and listened to the half of the conversation she could hear. "Hey, it's Ray…I'm doing well enough, how about yourself?...Now why would you assume that?" He laughed. "Yeah, you're right, I am going to ask a favor…Could you?...Come on now, you owe me." He laughed again. "Did you really think I'd forget?...For two…Dinner…Talk to who, Mark?...Oh, Marcus…ok…I appreciate it…Yeah, thanks…That's probably a good idea, her name is Neela Rasgotra," he began to spell it out, but was interrupted after the 'l.' "Yes my roommate," he smiled at Neela. "See you later…and thanks again."

"How does this guy know who I am?"

"Neela, everyone knows who you are. I have a female roommate. My friends give me shit for it all the time."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that," she replied playfully, but serious.

"They only know good things." He smiled. "Most actually don't know anything about you, except that you are my female roommate who's also my coworker. Unless Brett is the first one to mention you…in that case all they'll know is that you are my," he put his fingers up, in air quotes, "'hot roommate, Dr. Neela.' In his words." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Scott said to be there at about five if we want to get a good table for dinner, unless we want to eat in the back room—"

"The what?" she interrupted.

"Scott is the Associate Manager, so he could get us one of the back conference room things, where they usually have private parties and stuff. Someone apparently just cancelled their reservation of the room before I called…"

"That would be weird. There are only two of us."

"I kind of agree, but he offered it, so I just thought I'd pass on the information."

"Ok."

"So, we should be there about five, and not talk to anyone but Marcus."

"Ok."

"Oh, and it can get pretty hot, so I'd suggest something short, or light."

"I think I'll have to go with light." He saw her jaw clench.

"Right," he whispered, mostly to himself. I'm so glad I thought through that comment, he reprimanded himself sarcastically.

"I'm going to go get ready."

--o--

An hour later, Neela emerged from her room, ready to leave, and Ray was waiting for her in the kitchen, flipping through a magazine. He was wearing black pants and a jacket over a white shirt, which was not buttoned all the way up. He looked up when he heard her door open. She immediately caught his eye. She was wearing long black pants, and a silver-grey halter top. It was cut just low enough to be very sexy while remaining perfectly decent. He could just barely hear her heals clicking on the floor over the pounding of his heartbeat.

"Damn, Neela," he managed to get out. "Are you trying to make things difficult for me?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You are wearing that," he looked her up and down, "but say you don't want to be social? I'm going to have to spend the night pulling people away from you."

"Not if they know I'm your date." He stood in front of him, and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck. He looked up at her and smiled. She ran her fingers up his neck and through his hair, before dropping her hand.

"You ready?" She smiled, giving him a silent affirmative. He stood up and took her hand.

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