Disclaimer: Thought I'd bought it on EBay, but it never arrived. Man is that guy getting bad feedback.
He'd heard the door open from his room flew out of his room to investigate.
His panic at possible intruders was quickly replaced by panic because of the person in front of him.
"Neela wh…" He stumbled out her name stopped by the disappointment on her face; he looked at the floor shame filling him. She deserved better he should have talked to her first.
"Off somewhere are we?" Her sarcasm bit out at him harshly. He knew it was her way of masking the hurt he had thoughtlessly delivered but he still felt annoyance at her, She suddenly cared what he did after not giving a damn, so he had explain himself?
"Were you gonna even call?" She added hurt and disappointment pushing his gaze back to the floor.
"Neela, I was going to call later" He hadn't wanted this, didn't want to see her hurting.
"Before or after you'd RUN AWAY" She shouted her hurt disappearing beneath a shield of venom. She had a nerve accusing him of running away, that was her forte.
"I'm sorry…" He bit back coldly "…I didn't realise you held the monopoly on running away…" He was closer to her now. Could see the repressed rage brimming over in her tense stance and the angry glare she shot him. Maybe this would be easier than telling her the truth, make her hate you, she won't want to be friends, you won't have to be happy when she gets on with her life.
She slapped him hard and he knew from the burning of his face that there would be a perfect Neela sized handprint on his cheek. He grabbed her hand pinning her to the door behind. She was so close he could feel the heat radiate from her, her fury so blatant in the rich eyes that he couldn't tear his gaze from.
He wanted to kiss her more then than ever before wanted to crush his lips to hers and show her how wrong she was about him.
She didn't get it, still after everything.
"You still don't understand do you?" He asked frustrated that the Neela that knew him better than he knew himself didn't know what he felt for her. Didn't understand that he had never felt like this about anyone.
That he never wanted to feel like this now
She met his gaze wearily.
"I love you, Ray" She said brown eyes staring at him expectantly.
"What? " She couldn't love him; he dropped the hand he had forgotten he was holding. This was what he wanted so why was he so unsure of her words now.
"How…Why?" He tried to spit out the heavy words, how had she come to love him, Ray Barnett, she was too smart to be fooled by his cocky little boy act. Too sensible to love him.
Why the hell would beautiful, Sexy, smart Neela love a loser like him.
"But you left, you wouldn't talk to me?" He was suddenly so uncertain was now when she said 'oh no Ray I mean as a friend I love you as a friend'. Was she just trying to make him stay by offering what she knew he wanted so desperately?
"I was scared…I was married, I didn't want to betray Michael" She said it. She had wanted him.
He thought she had left because his feelings for her had become transparent not because she had wanted him as much as he had wanted her.
Everything suddenly made so much sense.
He was stunned; he'd been so stupid so blind.
He knew her, knew that she protected herself by creating distance but he had never once considered that she was protecting herself from her own feelings.
He stared down at her in amazement, this incredible woman thought he was worth loving and the uncertainty and fear in her eyes told him she didn't know that he felt the same about her, how could she doubt it?
He kissed her tenderly willing it to convey everything he felt. Unsure that it was sufficient, he broke away again and cleared up any doubt.
"I think I been in love with since the moment you moved in" He confessed.
She crushed her lips to his in a passionate plea that told him she wanted him with the same fire that consumed him.