Chapter 9

Adam woke up with an unusually heavy presence on his body. He looked down, still half asleep, to see a sleeping Aisha.

It wasn't a dream, he thought.

They had fallen asleep on the sofa, wrapped in his soft green blanket. The light, floral scent of her perfume floated around the two of them. He gently lifted her face to kiss her forehead.

"Aisha, I need to get up," he said, gently.

"Hmn…?" she fluttered her eyes and moved to the side, releasing the soft pressure from his body.

"You don't have to get up. I'm just going to the bathroom," he said, covering her with the blanket as he stood.

"Okay," she mumbled, turning back to the pillows.

Adam was still in shock. As he walked through the hall toward his bedroom and to the adjoining bathroom, he thought about the last four years. How could he not have noticed she had the same feelings for him? He thought about the times she came to visit after her parents moved back stateside to Sacramento. He thought about his trips to visit her. Was it just the stress of balancing Ranger duties with life? He looked into the mirror of the bathroom and leaned on the counter as his mind wandered.

Rocky. His mind rested on his best friend. How am I going to tell him about this? He let out a heavy groan and turned on the faucet.

Aisha was mostly awake. She looked up to the popcorn ceiling and let her mind replay their conversation as they drifted to sleep. Adam was always open with her about his feelings or even his fears. The two of them had fallen asleep countless times watching the eccentric science fiction thrillers they would pick out for random movie nights. He would call just to complain that Rocky needed an explanation of the difference between Picard and Sisko.

But this is different, she thought. Even when they hung out last weekend, Kim, Rocky and Billy were there.

I didn't know last weekend. But what does this mean? Are we even together now? Do we label what we just confessed?

"Hey, I thought you went back to sleep," Adam said, breaking her train of thought.

He sat down as she sat up leaning against him.

"I was just…sort of lost in thought," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"About what," Adam said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I guess the last few—," she stopped and sniffed his face, "Hey, you smell minty!"

Adam blushed as she leaned in closer to investigate. "I just brushed my teeth. I, um, wanted to get closer…" his voice was barely audible as he let the last sentence trail off.

Aisha suddenly pulled away and leaned down, reaching into her bag, "Well, I was sleeping just as long."

She rummaged through the side pockets until finally taking hold of the items she wanted. "I'll be right back," she proclaimed as she jumped up from the sofa with her toothbrush and travel toothpaste in hand.

"Aisha! Wait, your breath is fine!" he said, amused by her slight need for perfection.

I'd kiss you after a thousand years asleep, he thought.

He decided to surprise her and went back to his room. He stood by the bathroom door and waited until he heard the water turn off. He crouched into position, anticipating his next move.

Aisha opened the door and Adam jumped from the corner.

"Hey!" he shouted.

"Ah—Adam!" she shrieked.

Adam laughed and embraced her as she slightly protested.

"You are never going to grow out of that, are you," she smiled up at his kind, dark eyes.

"I hope not," he said, looking into her beautiful, deep brown eyes. He held her like that for a moment, just glad to see her eyes filled with warmth and happiness again.

Aisha realized they were in his room and pulled away from Adam, abruptly.

"Adam, maybe we should go back to the sofa," she said nervously.

Adam noticed her sudden change and backed away.

"Aisha, my hormones may be all over the place for you, but I can control myself," he said, playfully.

Aisha exhaled slowly and sat down on the edge of his bed. She looked around the room at his black and green choices of mismatched décor. Then she looked over to the picture of Rocky, Adam and her from high school. It was from their first week in Angel Grove. Kim had taken the picture of them the night before Trini, Jason, and Zack left. They had gone to a movie to celebrate that night and give a send off to their Ranger predecessors. She thought back to how their lives changed after that night and those months adjusting to Rangerhood. She thought of how her feelings had grown through the near-death battles with Rita and Zedd. How they both lost their faces trying to protect each other from Face Stealer. Then she thought of how he was the one to visit her when she first left. How he teleported after a late phone call, visibly fighting tears and emotion as he stood in the courtyard of her home on the edge of Accra.

Adam sat next to her on the puffy comforter and reached for her hand. "Aisha, what is it?"

She slipped her hand into his, still in thought.

"You know I won't ask you to do something you're not ready for," Adam paused, "I'm not even sure I'm ready for."

She looked up at his face and saw the nervous and confused expression across his handsome features.

"You're not the issue…on your own," she said, leaning on his shoulder. "It's me. I think I'm just a little nervous about us."

Adam rested his arm on her shoulder, letting her sink into his embrace. "Aisha, we really should define what our relationship is going forward."

She looked up to him, surprised and tense. "You need a definition after kissing me as many times tonight as you have?"

"I think we both need a definition after finding out we're in love with each other," he said, softly. Adam could feel Aisha tense more under his arms as his words echoed in the quiet room. "I really don't want to lose my relationship with you to have romance."

Aisha broke away from his embrace and turned to face him. "So, you don't want to date me? You don't want me as your girlfriend?" her voice was quiet and shaking.

"Are you kidding? Aisha, I want you as my girlfriend and more! But, I—well," he stopped.

"You what?"

Adam took a deep breath before his next statement. "If I'm your boyfriend, you should know I'm still your friend in that title."

Aisha looked away from him, slightly perplexed. "I'm not following where you're going with this."

"Think back to all the times alone we've spent together. I've never moved things further, right?"

"But, did you have the same feelings then?"

Adam let out a quiet chuckle, "Oh yeah. You have no idea."

"Adam, I would have never guessed you…," Aisha let the last words fade and looked up to Adam.

He had the mischievous smile that she had only seen once when they were sworn to secrecy about Rocky's middle name. "Exactly," he whispered as he kissed her forehead. "I want you to be comfortable and I don't want us to change how we interact with each other. If anything, we should become closer. I don't expect anything from you that we didn't already do together…well…except kissing." His face was slightly flush after his last sentence. "But I don't want to lose what we have right now, either."

Aisha kissed his cheek, "You won't. I'm just in my head right now. I've imagined being with you for so long—"

"Really?" he interrupted, intrigued.

"Adam!" she lightly slapped his arm.

"Aisha, I can wait for you physically. After tonight, I'm just glad to be able to express how I really feel about you. I can hug you a little longer without worrying if you'll think anything of it."

"I wonder what Rocky is going to say about all of this," she said, looking back to the picture.

Rocky.

"How are we gonna tell Rocky?" he said, falling back across the bed.

Aisha looked down as he rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"We just tell him," she said, slowly, confused at the frustration in Adam's voice.

"No," he said with his palms covering his face, "he's gonna be so upset. I'm gonna have to move in with you and Kim."

Adam turned to look at the time. How was it already three? At least he had a few more hours.

"Rocky used to tease us when we hung out together without him. He even used to make jokes in middle school about us getting married. Why would he kick you out for dating me," Aisha asked, leaning across the bed next to Adam.

"I'm not supposed to tell you that part," Adam said, looking up to the ceiling.

Aisha placed her head and one hand on Adam's chest.

"You don't have to tell me. I think I know why," she said.

"You know? How?" he said as he interlocked his hand with hers.

"I think I figured it out from this conversation."

"I think he has feelings for you, but I'm not sure what's going through his head. Even Tommy said it sounded confusing."

"Tommy himself is a walking paradox," Aisha laughed softly.

"Yeah," Adam smiled, "I don't know if I buy his monologue about working through his feelings."

"But Rocky having feelings for me is really surprising," Aisha said, her voice serious and solemn. "We've barely hung out in the last few months."

"I do think something else may be going on but getting Rocky to talk is like pulling bricks out of a solid wall. With school, the dojo, and now he suddenly decides to join a fraternity? He barely wanted to tell me about you because he said I would let it slip."

Aisha looked at Adam, "Which you did."

Adam looked back up to the ceiling. "I already feel bad for going behind his back and telling you how I felt first. What if this tears our friendship apart?"

Aisha held Adam's hand close to her heart. "I don't want to hurt him, Adam."

Adam tenderly caressed her cheek. "I know, neither do I."

"What time is he coming home?" she asked, closing her eyes.

"Probably not before ten, if at all. He said he would meet us at Kat and Tanya's depending on how the night went at the frat house," Adam said, circling Aisha's hairline with his fingers. "Aisha, don't think about it. I'll tell him. I may lose a roommate, but he should find out from me."

Aisha opened her eyes and looked across the room. Sadness had settled into her warm eyes and Adam followed her gaze towards the picture of the three of them.

"It's going to be awkward. I don't want to lose a friend in Rocky," Aisha stared at the wall, letting her thoughts surround her.

"We won't. Rocky is tough. And our friendship has taken tough hits over the years," he stopped before adding, "It may be awkward for a while. But it will be okay over time."

Aisha blinked away a tear that escaped from her eyes. She hadn't shifted her gaze from the picture on Adam's dresser.

Adam noticed and pulled Aisha closer to him.

"I don't regret telling you how I feel," he whispered.

Aisha looked into Adam's eyes and leaned in to kiss him. He held her closer, losing himself in the depth of their kiss.

"Adam," she said softly as she gently pulled away to face him, "we should go back to the living room."

Adam could feel her heart racing under his hands, or maybe it was his own.

"I think I agree with you," he said, still holding her as she looked into his eyes.

She smiled, "What happened to control?"

"I'm losing that fight." Adam said.