Plopping himself down on the bouncy mattress next to the clothes that Neela had laid out neatly for work, Ray quietly watched her slipping out of the sweatshirts and pants. Wearing only red lacy underwear, she turned to the side to pick up a black pencil skirt. His green eyes traveled intensely along with her slender fingers as they loosely held the skirt down to her feet and then gracefully slid it up, passing her legs that seemed luminous from the streetlight shining through the window, to the top of her hip where she started to zip the back zipper.
A warm palm unexpectedly hovered over her hand and another at her bare waist; the petite resident darted her eyes down at her scruffy-faced boyfriend surprised as he cautiously zipped it up from behind. At the tip of the zipper, both of his hands slithered gently around the waist to the front of her abdomen. After months of exercising, it had finally paid off. Now her stomach was nearly as flat as before the pregnancy. Ray's hands softly caressed over the skin as if the baby were still inside...
Feeling rather thirsty after a good hour nap, Neela padded groggily out of her bedroom and into the kitchen to get a cup of water to drink. She unconsciously glanced sideways at the guitar that had been leaning again the entertainment center shelf for days now. Shaking her head slightly, she wouldn't allow herself to dwell on Ray in any way, shape or form. That, however, had been much more difficult than she expected because half of the things in the apartment still belonged to him. As she slogged towards the sink, a dark, tall figure leaped out from the other side of the refrigerator.
"Aaah!" Neela yelled and jumped back a couple of feet. Upon realizing who it was, she swatted the person's arm, "Ray, what the hell? You scared me to death."
"Sorry," he murmured sheepishly.
"Didn't I tell you that I don't want to see you?" She glared and crossed her arms together
"Can't I come by my own apartment once in awhile?" Ray argued.
"Well, considering that you missed paying the rent last week, it's hardly your apartment anymore."
"I want to talk."
"I just love how karma works," sneered Neela.
"Look," continued Ray, deciding to ignore her comment, "I'm sorry for saying--"
"That I'm a slut?"
"I never said you were one."
"Yeah, and I'm feeling so much better knowing that I was only accused of acting like one instead of being one."
"I would've never said it if you hadn't kissed Michael."
"You really have a way of turning things around and making it about me."
"I'm not mak--"
"What is your problem anyway?" Neela exploded, her emotions had finally caught up with her and she no longer felt in control anymore, "I tried so bloody hard to see that day from your perspective so I could explain it to you, but did you wanna listen? Nooo, you just wanted to bloody jump into conclusions and came up with accusations that were not only insulting to me but to--"
"You humiliated me in front of him."
"In front of whom?"
"Michael! You made me look like an ass in front of him!" Ray shot back angrily.
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did. You dismissed me."
"I've done that before."
"But not because of an ex."
"What difference does that make?"
"It makes all the difference the world!" Ray was getting frustrated; he wasn't sure how to get her to understand the importance of a guy valuing his pride, "How would you like it if I did the same thing to you in front of an ex of mine?"
"Well, I'd kick both of your behinds before listening to you," blurted out Neela without thinking. Ray stared at her with amusement for a moment; he knew she had a fighsty side in her somewhere! He could just imagine a cat fight between her and an ex of his. Ahh, what a sight would that be? The hazel-eyed doctor then burst out laughing at the thought. Realizing what she had just said, Neela blushed fiercely from embarrassment. After his laughter died down, the mood between them had somewhat changed for the better. He looked at her sincerely.
"Listen, I'm really sorry for everything I said at the lounge. I was upset. I didn't mean any of them. I won't say anything like that again."
"And I'm sorry that I humiliated you. I didn't do that on purpose. I just didn't want casualties to happen right in front of the hospital. I'm also sorry I slapped you that time in the locker room," Neela softened up a little after his apologies.
"I could fight him if I wanted to you know," Ray stated confidently while the corners of his mouth curved upwards.
"Yes, I'm sure you could fight against a combat soldier," said Neela in a playful sarcastic tone, slowly advancing to him for an embrace.
They hugged each other tightly for a long moment and he mumbled into her shoulder, "Love you."
"Love you too," she muffled back.
Then, Ray remembered something. He looked down at Neela and said, "Can I touch your stomach?"
"I doubt it that you can feel anything. It's still early."
"It doesn't matter."
"Okay."
He waited patiently for Neela to lift the hem of her tank-top up to reveal her stomach. It was still fairly flat. Only a tiny bump if he looked closely. Ray gazed up at her once again with a mixture of anticipation and fear and stared down again. Raising his right hand, that he didn't even realize it was shaking slightly, he carefully tapped the warm skin as if to test if her belly was burning hot. He tenderly proceeded to place the tips of his fingers on her stomach and then gradually slid them sideways until the whole hand was covering the skin. He felt the warmth creeping from her abdomen for a second and started to caress the stomach softly while a smile took over his face...
A piercing cymbal cling shook the idling couple back to the present; they chuckled to themselves. Without warning, Ray gently yanked his half-dressed girlfriend to him from behind, swiftly positioned her on the bed, pinned her securely against the mattress, and dipped his head down to kiss her leisurely. As Neela was enjoying the sweet sensation, Ray pulled away and asked nervously, "So you aren't angry with me for buying the drum set?"
"Actually, I'm surprised you didn't get her a guitar."
"That will come later when Bela's motor skills are more developed," he grinned.
"Oh, I just had to ask, didn't I?" Neela groaned, "Anyway, speaking of presents, what do you want for your birthday?"
"You," the rocker-resident said solemnly with a slight tremble in his voice, "to have my last name officially?"
"Yes," Neela was beaming like a thousand-watt light bulb and lifted her head up to kiss him deeply.
"Wow, Brett was right," Ray whispered breathlessly after they broke apart due to lack of oxygen.
"Should I feel disturbed that you were thinking about Brett just now?" frowned Neela, pretending to be concerned.
"What? No, no, no. He was telling me how proposing shouldn't be that hard earlier, so I--"
Seeing his earnestness in trying to explain himself, Neela laughed out loud making Ray questioned confusingly, "What's so funny?"
"Oh, you're too cute," was all she said and giggled some more. He let that slide since her laughter sounded like music to his ears even though it was at his expense.
"So, do I need to ask a ring for my birthday?" inquired Neela teasingly.
"I'll get you one next time I get paid," replied Ray as he lowered his head down to kiss her again.
Suddenly, a series of knocking startled them. He got up quickly and Neela frantically put on her shirt. Ray opened the door and saw Brett holding a fist-sucking Bela at his arm length. Before Ray could open his mouth, he knew what was wrong. A smell of poop was coming from Bela. The brown-eyed doctor behind him saw this as her perfect chance to get away. She snatched her purse off the nightstand, gave her boyfriend and daughter a kiss and a quick "be good", and rushed out of the door.
Ray was holding the baby carefully in his arms and sighed dramatically while looking at her, "Guess your mom bailed out on us. Well, let's get you changed! Brett, could you get a towel from that top drawer? Brett?" Before Ray could turn his head around to see where his band-buddy went, he heard a loud slamming sound of his front entrance door. "Well," Ray smirked mischievously at a cooing Bela, "Now I know a perfect way to get rid of Uncle Brett fast."
The End.
