Chapter 2
Annoyed at the fact that he was freezing and that he had basically killed any image of manliness that he had because he was unable to fix the heater, he stood up and gave the heater a kick for good measure. When that didn't work, he dropped the tool that he had in his hand back into the toolbox and he sauntered over to the couch. He picked up the remote control off the coffee table, turned on the television, and began flipping through channels. He settled for an old horror movie from the early 80's that had only started a half hour before. He didn't care that he missed the beginning. He had already seen the movie twice before. Or was it three times? No matter how many times he saw them, though, old horror movies never failed to entertain him. There was just something about the bad special effects like the blood that looked more like ketchup, and the overacting of the young acting hopefuls that made him chuckle and kept his interest.
Ray put his feet up on the table and got comfortable on the couch. Realizing just how cold it was, he pulled Neela's blanket off the back of the couch where she had left it and spread it over him. It was too short to cover his entire body, but he managed well enough, and the blanket kept him warmer than if he had no blanket at all.
That, and it smells good, he thought, smelling the blanket. He tucked it around him, ignoring the movie and concentrating solely on how wonderful the blanket smelled. It smelled just like her, a mixture of wild flowers and apples. It was a scent that was all her own and it tantalized Ray. He was so used to having male roommates that never smelled good, that he couldn't help but notice Neela's unique, sweet smell from the moment she moved in. That was one big difference between having a male and female roommate. Female roommates definitely smelled better. That, and he had never been attracted to a roommate before. Nor had he ever spent so much time, or any time at all, picturing his male roommates naked like he did with her.
You need to stop that, he said to himself. I should have told Neela to take up all the hot water she wanted. At this rate, I'm going to need a cold shower.
"What are you watching?" She asked, walking up behind him.
He was startled, but he tried not to show it. As he quickly looked back at her and then at the clock on the TV, he realized that a good fifteen minutes had passed and he hadn't even noticed. He was too busy thinking about her.
"Just some old horror movie," he answered.
She walked around the couch and flopped down beside him, sitting closer to him than usual. It's for warmth, she told herself. When she had gotten out of the shower, she had tried to put on as many layers as possible. She had on a long sleeved shirt, a turtleneck, and a sweater, as well as two pairs of pants and two socks. She had tried her best to dry her soaking wet hair, but it still remained damp, which made her head cold.
God, she looks sexy, he thought. With her hair still damp and wavy, it perfectly framed her angelic face. There's just something about a woman who just got out of a shower. Or maybe it's just that there's something about her.
"What is it with you and cheesy horror movies?" She interrupted his thoughts.
"They're American classics," he quickly stated, hoping that she hadn't noticed that he had begun to daydream about her.
"Are you sure it's not that you enjoy watching the half naked teenage girl running around while she's being chased by some serial killer?"
"Yeah, well, that's an added bonus."
"There should be plenty of hot water left," she stated.
"What?"
"For your shower," Neela answered.
"Oh, yeah, thanks."
Taking a shower was the furthest thing from his mind. He wanted to just sit there and stare at her.
He stood up, reluctantly pulling her blanket off of him. She grabbed it from his hands and quickly wrapped it around her body. Despite the number of layers she was wearing, she still had a bad chill.
"Here," he said, pulling his sweatshirt up over his head and handing it to her.
Since when did he start sleeping in a shirt? Neela asked herself, disappointed when she saw that he was wearing a T-Shirt underneath his sweatshirt.
"What's this for?"
"You look like you're freezing. Besides, it's only fair that, since I stole your blanket, you get to steal my sweatshirt."
Really, I just want to see how hot you look in it, he thought.
She smiled sweetly at him and clasped the sweatshirt to her chest. He walked away towards the bathroom as she snuggled up with his sweatshirt. Why did he always have to smell so good? She pulled his sweatshirt over her head, and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to conserve the warmth that her body was creating.
Having no interest in the movie that was playing, she picked up the remote control to change the station. As she was about to turn to the discovery health channel, her favorite among all the channels, she watched as a man dressed all in black swung an axe over his head and cut a man's body in two.
"Oh come on," Neela said aloud to herself. "That was so fake."
She put the remote control down and settled in to watch the movie.
Twenty minutes later, totally engrossed in the film and on edge now that she learned that the person who was the obvious killer wasn't the killer at all and she realized that she had no idea who the killer might be, Ray stepped out of the bathroom, wearing as many layers as Neela was. He laughed to himself when he heard her gasp as the killer took yet another victim.
And I thought she didn't like horror movies, he thought.
He tiptoed over towards the couch. Just as the main character was being hacked to death with an axe, Ray shook Neela's shoulders and she screamed.
"Damn it!" She yelped, standing up. The blanket slid to the floor in a big heap as Neela brought her hand to her heart, which was pounding heavily.
"Afraid of a…what did you call it…cheesy horror movie?" Ray asked, grinning.
She does look hot in my sweatshirt, he said to himself, looking her quickly up and down. One day he counted how many times he checked her out in on hour. He lost count after fifteen. She was just impossible not to check out even if she was wearing multiple layers of clothing.
"I'm not afraid of a cheesy horror movie," she retorted.
"You looked afraid to me."
"You just startled me."
"You screamed."
Okay, yes, she thought, you did scare me half to death. But I wouldn't mind it if you put your hands back on my shoulders…or anywhere on my body for that matter.
She sat back down on the couch and pulled the blanket up over her.
"Just for that, you're not getting your sweatshirt back."
Keep it, he wanted to say out loud. It looks better on you anyway.
The credits began to roll on the movie with eerie music playing in the background. Neela grabbed for the remote as Ray hopped over the couch and reached it before she did. He snatched it from in front of her face and flopped down on the couch.
"There's a marathon of horror movies on," he told her, holding the remote above his head. She stretched for it, but he held it higher, just out of her grasp.
"We are not watching another one of these stupid movies."
"You seemed pretty engrossed in it when I was watching you."
"Oh? And exactly how long were you watching me?" She asked with a smile. What am I doing? She asked herself. It sounds like I'm flirting with him. I'm not flirting. I'm not flirting.
"We're watching another movie."
She ran her hand over his arm.
"You just want me to be scared so that you'll have to hold my hand."
Okay, now I'm flirting, she thought.
Even through the cloth layers that covered his arm, he could feel her touch and he wanted her to do it again.
Seeing that he was totally distracted, Neela grabbed the remote out of his hand. There's nothing like flirting with a purpose, she thought, triumphing in her victory. Does he always get that look in his eye when I touch him? She asked. No, she dismissed the thought, he only thinks of you as his roommate. Stop making it any more than what it is.
She began to change the channel.
"We are not going to watch another discovery channel special," he stated.
"It seems to me that you lost control of the remote. Therefore, you have no say in the matter."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
Ray threw himself on top of her. He pinned one of her arms at her side and the other above her head. She struggled below him, trying to hold tightly to the remote control, smiling all the while. Using just his fingers from the hand that held her wrist above her head, he tried to pry the remote from her hands.
"No!" She screeched, smiling.
Ray let go of her hand at her side and used it to tickle her abdomen.
"That's not fair!" She giggled, trying her best to maintain her composure and hold on to the remote at the same time.
"Alls fair in remote control wars," he replied, grabbing the remote out of her hands. Even when he had it, he didn't stop tickling her. It wasn't even about the remote anymore. It was about their bodies so close together.
Kiss her, his brain commanded. Their faces were only inches apart. It would be easy to close the gap and finally taste her for the first time instead of imagining what she tasted like.
As he loosened his grip on her, all consumed with the thought of what it would feel like to press his lips against hers even for a brief second, she used all of her strength to push up against him until he fell onto his back with her on top of him.
"Hey!" He yelped as she tickled him.
He dropped the remote out of his hands and it fell to the ground. As they both dove for it, the eerie music that had still been playing from the TV stopped and the television suddenly went blank.
They both stopped what they were doing and stared at the television. She had one knee leaning on the couch, across his hips, while her other leg was on the floor, keeping her from falling off the couch entirely. Her right hand was resting on his chest and her left was just inches from the remote. Ray, on the other hand, was lying down on his back, half on the couch and half off. His right hand was on the remote and his left was around Neela's back. The only thing keeping him from falling off the couch completely was that Neela was still straddling him.
"You broke the TV," she accused.
"I broke the TV?"
"Well, you're the one who dropped the remote on the ground."
"Dropping the remote has nothing to do with breaking the TV."
Neela shifted so that she was no longer on top of him and Ray caught himself before he felt completely to the floor.
God it's warm in here, she thought as she sat back on the couch with her legs beneath her. She knew immediately that the temperature in the apartment hadn't changed at all, but that it was the body heat that was created between them that suddenly made her warm.
Ray sat up beside her, holding on to the remote. He pointed it at the TV and hit the power button. Nothing happened.
"I told you, you broke the TV," she said.
"I did not break it," he insisted.
He hit the power button again. Again, nothing happened. He slammed the remote against the palm of his hand.
"That didn't work with the heater," Neela stated. "What makes you think it'll work with the remote?"
"How do you know I hit the heater?"
"If I recall, you kicked the heater," Neela corrected.
"You were in the shower when I did that. Unless, of course, you were watching me."
"I was not watching you."
Okay, she thought, I was watching you, but you don't need to know that.
Neela looked down at the cable box, trying not to meet his eyes. She had never been a good liar when it came to having to look someone in the eye. As she stared at the black box, hoping that he wouldn't press the issue that she had been staring at him, she realized that the green numbers that usually displayed the time weren't on.
"We didn't break the TV," Neela realized.
"The power's out," Ray said, coming to the same conclusion.
He stood up and walked over to the light switch that controlled the overhead light in the living room. He flicked it on and off, but nothing happened.
"Great. We're snowed in and we lost electricity," Neela grumbled.
"The wind probably knocked the power lines down."
"What are we supposed to do without a TV?"
I can think of something, Ray thought.
"You know, for someone as intelligent as yourself, you sure do have a dependence on television for entertainment."
"When I'm at work, I'm a doctor, but when I get home, I just want to relax." With you, she added.
"We should find some candles and flashlights for when it starts getting dark. Especially with all of this snow, it'll get dark early."
"And then what do we do?"
Besides make passionate love, her mind suggested.
"Play monopoly?"
"Monopoly?"
Author's Note: First off, I want to say thank you so much to all of you who gave me such amazing responses. I don't think I've had so many responses to the first chapter of a story before. I just hope that the rest of the story doesn't disappoint (especially since I haven't exactly decided what I want to happen yet). The whole idea behind this story came from the "wrestling" scene in this chapter. I know it's not even that long of a scene, but it really started the whole thing off and it was fun to write. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and keep those comments coming!