Ray sat unmoving on Neela's bed, waiting for her sickness to cease. His eyes were closed, but her expression moments before was uncontrollably engraved in his eyelids. Regret stormed through his body.
She was drunk. I tried to take advantage of that. Of her.
He continued to sit motionless, listening to her throwing up a second time. After a few minutes, Ray slowly lifted himself from the bed and headed towards the bathroom.
Neela was curled up miserably against the wall. It broke his heart to see her like this. She was usually so composed, so together. So not like this.
Ray stood apprehensively at the sink as he filled a glass with water. He slowly lowered it toward her, trying desperately to avoid eye contact.
Watching her absorb the glass seemed to last for hours. He wanted to say something, anything,but he couldn't. He was terrified of making the situation even worse.
His eyes were glued to her, so much in fact, that when she stretched out her arm handing back the empty glass, he didn't even blink.
Neela casually attempted to clear her throat, startling Ray and forcing the embarrassment of the situation to consume them both. He quickly grabbed the glass and set it back down on the sink.
Her legs were pressed against her chest, but her gaze was on him expectantly. He prayed he looked less awkward then he felt; clearly he didn't, since she was relishing in his discomfort.
"Feel better?" he barely managed above a whisper.
"A little." Her smile was faint but visible.
Ray breathed deeply, extending his arms out, "Come on."
She hesitantly grabbed hold of his outstretched hands and was quickly pulled off her feet.
"Woah." Ray barely caught her in time, her face still stumbling directly into his chest.
"Oops." Neela's voice came out muffled from being pressed against his shirt.
"Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely worried.
Neela giggled briefly, "You smell nice." her voice sounding foreign to even herself.
Ray's eyes widened with doubt. "Thanks… I guess."
Neela's face was still pressed against his chest, making him hesitant to move. His arms lay awkwardly at his sides, his hands searching for some place to rest.
"Are you okay?" he asked again, trying to break through the uncomfortable silence.
Ray's shoulders tensed as he felt the girl in his arms cling even tighter. He barely acknowledged the words flowing from either of their mouths.
He could feel her speaking, but his own throat burned, making it difficult to articulate. Her lips were so close to his neck, her breath so hot on his skin.
Sensing she wasn't going to move, Ray tentatively gripped her waist. "Neela…" his voice reflected how undeniably tortured he felt.
An embarrassed wave of laughter washed over Neela. She slightly lost her balance, causing Ray's protective arms to grip her tighter.
The intense contact shot a shiver immediately through his entire body, causing all the blood to rush from his brain to his…
Oh shit.
"Your heart is beating so fast…" she mumbled into his neck again.
Becoming painfully aware of slight tightening in his pants, Ray quickly spun her around to face the opposite direction.
"What the bleeding hell was that for?" she said, agitated for being twirled around so fast.
He responded carefully, not wanting to alarm her, "You should get to bed." he instructed her back towards her bedroom, silently cursing himself for reacting so strongly.
Ray stood nervously behind her, watching her grudgingly crawl into bed. His smirk grew as she unsuccessfully tried to pull the covers over herself.
Without thinking, he moved forward to help her, sighing and running his fingers through his own hair.
"It's late." Neela said, glancing at the clock.
"Yeah." Ray gently grabbed the edge of the blanket and tucked it at her side, "And we both are on in the morning."
She made little noise, but he could see her head slightly nod with a yawn, before closing her eyes.
He studied her for a moment, about to speak, but suddenly remembered the development in his southern region.
Ray quickly dropped to his knees, resting his arms on the edge of her bed. "Neela…"
"Hmm?" She spoke, but did not open her eyes.
He opened his mouth to speak, to explain himself, but decided against it.
"Good night." He whispered, and slowly reached up to turn off her lamp, but was stopped by a warm hand reaching out to him.
"Wait…" Neela's voice was thick with exhaustion, "Thank you." Her smile sent a hunger through his stomach. A hunger for something that wasn't his, something he couldn't have.
Ray nodded, trying to smile back. He gently took her hand in his, and grazed his lips over it, laying a gentle kiss on her warm skin.
He shut off her light and journeyed back to his own room, hoping for a sleep full of dreams. The one place he could have her, for at least a little while.
Author's Note: I hope this didn't seem too OOC for Neela (Ray as well). I rewrote that ending 3 times, trying to decide how I wanted her to act while drunk. Anyway, it's late, so no rambling for me. Thanks again for all the (past and hopefully future) reviews.