Neighbors

Scene 16:

Her day was just like Monday. Full of meetings. She had taken more appropriate clothes with her to change into after riding her bike into work, and was antsy to get out of the nylons she had on. Jeff had invited her to coffee again, and this time she said yes. They explored the student union and he bought her coffee from the cart vendor. She had tried to pay for it herself but he had insisted. They had talked more about growing up in Minnesota and had started to compare notes about the gossip they had picked up at UBC. They ran into another faculty from the orientation who made a comment Abby didn't hear about how she and Jeff must be the first new faculty romance on campus that year. Jeff didn't correct him, and wanted the rumor to spread to prevent anyone else from asking her out. He was going to stake his claim now if he could and let it be known she was not available.

He had insisted that he walk her back to her lab when they were done, feigning interest in seeing what she was working on. He had plans when he got her alone to test the waters with her and see how she responded. As he opened the door for her from the union, he consciously put his hand on her lower back as she walked in front of him. She turned to look at him, intending to say something, but he looked over the top of her and waved to another Professor to come over for an introduction. She politely shook the hand of Professor Flory and tried to make her excuses to get out of having Jeff walk her over to the science building, now very uncomfortable with the idea of being alone with him. But he would not be dissuaded. He had seen the look on her face when he had placed his hand on her back and knew he would have to tread lightly, he guessed she would have admonished him had she had the chance. So he'd back off a little he thought, at least in private, but he would make sure everyone else knew he was interested in her when they were together in public.

She remembered the roses as she opened the door to her lab and panicked. He followed her in and immediately saw them on the lab bench. "Who are the roses from?" he asked, irritated immediately.

"A friend..." she answered.

"Mmmm... " he smirked at her. She moved them out of his line of sight. 'They are white,' he thought, 'can't be too serious, or he would have sent red, besides he must be back in Minneapolis, no real threat.' He smiled at her sweetly. "They are lovely."

"Thanks," she answered, not looking at him directly. "Well, here's my lab." She gave him the whirlwind tour, trying to get him out quickly. He really seemed like a nice enough guy, but she just got the feeling from him that he had other intentions. She had been uncomfortable with how he had touched her leaving the student union and thought again about saying something to him. But as they walked through lab he kept his distance, and he seemed interested enough in what she was telling him that she started to second-guess herself. Maybe she was over reacting, she thought. She relaxed a little and spent more time explaining things. After a few more minutes of chatting Jeff realized he was late getting to a departmental meeting and reluctantly excused himself. He felt like she had finally started to relax around him and he wanted to encourage the comfortable conversation they had started. But he had to go, so making his apologies he left, promising that they would talk again tomorrow and that he would save her a seat at the morning retreat they would both be at.

After he left, she changed back into her sweatshirt and jeans and went to spend a few more hours in lab. She didn't give Jeff another thought, but she did think about Oded. Her mind started to imagine what might happen tonight when he came over for dessert. She got a little short of breath at the idea that he might assume that they would pick up where they left off on his couch on Sunday, as the heat in her stomach started to build. She blushed as she realized it was highly unlikely that he wouldn't assume that, it wasn't a 'might' she realized, it was more of a 'when'...

Then an image popped into her head. She laughed at the idea that maybe Oded would actually be the dessert, or perhaps he was thinking she would be... depending on the perspective. She had to get up and get a cold drink of water at the image of Oded holding a can of whipped cream, with a smile on his face. 'He wouldn't do that', she chided herself. They hardly knew each other, and besides she still didn't really understand his attraction to her. She wasn't ready to sleep with him, although the image of him lying in her bed danced before her eyes. She shook herself. "Enough of this," she said out loud.

She went to her office to work on her class and try to stop imaging things that weren't going to happen. She finally gave up around 6:30 and headed home, grabbing a few more rose blossoms to take with her.

He wasn't there yet, but she hadn't expected him to be. The first thing she did was crush one of the roses and dissolve it. It smelled heavenly. She quickly misted some of the scent on her hair and neck, not knowing when he might arrive.

Heading back downstairs, she grabbed some fruit and crackers, then turned on the evening news, glancing out the window constantly. By 7:00 she was starving, and frustrated looking for him. She headed for the kitchen and threw together some spaghetti. Her mind very aware of the possibility that he could come home anytime. She started to anxiously putter around the house. Debated about changing her clothes, but didn't know what to change into. She didn't know what to expect and now getting frustrated standing in front of her closet she opted instead to go swimming. She needed to burn off some of this nervous energy, and she knew if he got home while she was in the pool, he could definitely find her there. She headed outside as the phone rang. She never heard it. She didn't know that it also had rang just before she had come home, and that now she had missed two of his calls.

She swam for what seemed like forever, with no sign that he had come home. Finally tired and cold, she headed back inside to clean up. It was well after 9:00 when she got in the shower, and once again, she didn't hear the phone. She stood in the hot water for a long time trying to warm up her body, then suddenly panicked that maybe he had come while she was in the shower and she hadn't heard the doorbell. She turned off the water and grabbed her robe. She flew downstairs and looked outside. No sign of his car, and his place was dark. She frowned, it was getting late and she was anxious.

She went up to get dressed. Standing in the bedroom she pulled on sweat pants and a T-shirt. At this point she was starting to loose hope and decided she would pretend he wasn't coming, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't deny, however, the fact that before getting dressed she had walked her body through a mist of the rose scent she had made for him. She climbed onto the couch and grabbed the book she had fallen asleep reading the night before. Her stomach was starting to growl again. She hadn't had much dinner, saving room for whatever he would bring, and after all that swimming she had worked up a huge appetite again. She stood in the kitchen now, staring into the refrigerator, finding nothing interesting. She frowned. She wanted something sweet; it had been in her head all evening waiting for him. She had absolutely nothing sweet in her house, and an apple wasn't going to cut it. She looked at her watch, 10:30. He wasn't coming, she decided, disappointed. Even if he did, now it was too late to spend any real time together. She grabbed her car keys and headed for the grocery store. She left him a note on the door in case he did get home while she was gone.

"Oded , Gone to the store. Be back soon. Abby."

As she got in the car, she missed the phone again. She bought a bag of Oreos at the store and ate four in the car before she got home. She pulled up, everything still dark at his place. She turned on the TV and watched Letterman, munching Oreos on the couch. Sometime after 11:00 she fell asleep, Oreo cookies in her lap, her cat lapping at the milk in her coffee mug. She didn't hear the phone ring.

"Damn it! Where is she?" He had tried to call her all evening, and she never picked up. She had said she would be home. She was supposed to be there waiting for him! He grew more and more frustrated as each hour passed and he couldn't get a hold of her. He would buy her an answering machine tomorrow, he swore, and a cell phone, and a pager. Technical glitches with one of the special effects for the show had hung everything up, and with the cost, they all had to wait to get the shot. It was 11:30 before he could leave.

He almost ran to his car. Starting it, he wondered if he should actually stop and get some dessert. If for some reason she was still waiting for him, he had told her he would bring something. As late as it was, another 10 minutes wouldn't make any difference he thought. He pulled into the grocery store lot. He had wanted to stop for cheesecake at this local restaurant he had been to, but they were closed. He wandered around the grocery store finding nothing interesting. The bakery was picked over; he didn't like ice cream. He finally grabbed something and headed for his car.

He pulled up in front of his place and could see lights still on in her living room and the TV. He sighed, it was midnight when he looked at his watch, but he assumed she must have waited up for him. He smiled; hopeful that at least he would get to see her, but he knew it would be short. He knocked on her door, but there was no answer. He tried the knob and found it open. Walking in, he called her name, but again there was no answer. He saw the note she had left him on the hall table. She had gone to the store at some point, which would explain why she hadn't gotten at least one of his phone calls.

He found her asleep on the couch, the Oreo bag still in her lap. He smiled and looked down at the bag of Oreos he also carried. He had at least made a good choice, although he was too late to share them with her. He turned off the TV, and leaning down next to her, he touched her shoulder. She turned on the couch, but didn't open her eyes. He leaned closer to her, and could smell the roses in her hair. His heart beat faster. She smelled like his roses. He felt like crying. He was tired, and was so disappointed at having missed out on spending any time with her this evening. He knew she must have wondered where he was, and hoped she wasn't mad that he was this late, but he had tried to call.

She opened her eyes and saw him above her. "Oded," she whispered, sleepily.

"I'm sorry I'm so late. I brought Oreos," he chuckled, "but you didn't wait for me." She swung her legs down on to the floor and sat more upright. He sat down next to her, putting his arm on the back of the couch, and stroking her hair which had fallen out of the clip she had it up in earlier.

"What time is it?" she asked, still half asleep. She wasn't even sure she wasn't dreaming.

"It's after 12:00... I'm sorry, we ran really late. I tried to call, but you don't have an answering machine." He offered, leaning closer to her to kiss her neck.

"It's broken... I never heard the phone, I was here all night..."

"Well, somehow you kept missing my calls," he whispered into her ear as he kissed her earlobe.

Now she was fully awake as what he was doing to her made her heart beat faster. His hand tangled in her hair, pulling her face closer to his as he leaned towards her kissing her lips gently with his own. The smell of the roses on her skin was overwhelming his senses.

He hadn't planned on this, he only meant to wake her up and apologize for being so late, send her up to bed and head home himself. But finding her so peacefully asleep on the couch had immediately aroused him. She reached her hand out to touch his face.

" 'ded?" she pulled back a little. "What's all over your face?" her eyes sparkled questioningly.

He laughed a little, he had forgotten about the makeup. That would explain why the clerk at the grocery store had looked at him the way she did. He still had smoke streaks from the last shot they had done. He looked a little scary, he guessed.

"Sorry, I forgot to wash it off." He quickly stood up from the couch to go wash up. "Do you have any make up remover upstairs in your bathroom?" he asked.

"Actually, no... " she answered, a little embarrassed. "I don't wear..."

He smiled at her remembering she was not the typical type of female he had dated. "How about soap? You do have soap, don't you?" he teased her.

"Yes..." she followed him upstairs to the bathroom. Handing him a bar of glycerin soap and a washcloth she sat on the toilet lid to watch him.

He scrubbed at his cheeks and forehead, looking at her occasionally in the mirror to see her expression. She watched him, a little smile on her face, one foot tucked up on the seat with her, her hands around her knee.

He turned to face her. "Better?" he asked, scrubbed clean.

"Ummm... " She stood up and touched his cheek with her fingers. He turned his face to kiss them as she reached up. He took her hand in his and wrapped her arm around his back, pulling her against him as he did so. He wrapped both of his arms around her and leaned down to kiss her deeply. She tasted like chocolate cookies. She hugged him tightly as they stood in the bathroom, locked in such a tight embrace she almost couldn't breathe. He bent down and picked her up, her knees over one arm. Before she could respond he had taken the few steps from her bathroom to her bed and was laying her down on it. He pulled himself on top of her and pressed her down into the bed as he renewed the kiss he had broken. She could feel his weight on top of her, his tongue in her mouth and she fought to clear her head. She had her hands in his hair, and could feel his fingers pulling on the bottom of her T-shirt trying to move under it. He had parted her legs when he pressed her onto the bed, and she could feel his hips between hers, his erection pressed against her upper thigh. She started to panic. She didn't want to sleep with him like this. It was too fast, how had they ended up here? She had followed him up to the bathroom... what should she have expected?

She tightened underneath him, tensing her body. He felt it immediately and stopped. His hand on her rib cage, the other holding his weight on his elbow, he looked down at her. He could see the conflict in her eyes, even a little fear. He almost growled in agony as he rolled off of her and onto his back, his hands covering his face. "Abby, I'm sorry... I got carried away."

She took a deep breath, still lying next to him on her back. She rolled onto her side to face him. He still had his hands over his face. She reached out to touch his arm. "Oded... please... it's just too fast." She blushed as she sat up on the bed. "It's not that I don't want..."

He uncovered his face, and looked at her. His passion ebbing. "No, it's okay, I know... you are just soooo beautiful. The way you looked at me, I didn't stop to think..." he sat up and put his hand back in her hair. "And damn it... you smell like roses, you have no idea..." He leaned over and kissed her again, almost roughly, his hand tangled in her hair. Then he let her go, and climbed off the other side of the bed.

She climbed off the bed and hurried behind him down the stairs to the living room. "Oded... wait."

"Abby, I should go, I'm tired. It's late... we shouldn't have... " he turned away from her, the ache inside of him sucking away all his energy.

"Okay..." she answered flatly. He turned to look at her. She was looking at him, hurt in her eyes.

He took a step towards her, and reached out for her hands. He pulled her close, and rested his head on top of hers. He felt her relax against him and sigh. "I'm sorry I was so late," he whispered into her hair.

"That's okay. I'll get my answering machine fixed..." she hummed against his chest.

He chuckled. "I'm buying you a new one tomorrow." He pushed her back away from him, touching the tip of her pert little freckled nose with his finger. He leaned down to kiss her goodnight. They stood together, tasting each other's mouths, holding each other for a long time. Finally he stood up straight. Kissing her forehead, he turned away from her and opened the door. "Tomorrow... we'll talk. Do you actually have my cell phone number? Or did you loose it?" he admonished her.

"No, I have it."

"Then use it! If I can't answer, my assistant will, just leave a message telling me where you are, and I'll call as soon as I can... okay?" he hugged her again.

"mmmm... I promise." She snuggled against him for another minute.

"Abby, you should get to bed... it's really late."

"You too." She pulled away from him, and this time he stepped outside. She stepped to the door and leaning against the frame, she called after him. "Good night. Have sweet dreams!" As she said it, she blushed. She must have been tired, that was what her mother always used to say to her before bed.

He turned to look at her, and smiled his million-dollar smile. "Oh Xatixa... you have no idea!" Then he turned and walked away, waving over his shoulder.

She didn't think she could blush any deeper than she did when he had said that. She closed her door and sat on the floor, her back against it. She giggled. She pulled her legs against her and hugged her knees. "Oh my" she thought. This evening had turned out differently than she had expected. She went upstairs and pulled off her sweat pants. She could still see where the two of them had rumbled the covers and she blushed yet again, thinking of what had almost happened. For a moment she regretted that she had stopped him, thinking of what they would have been doing at this very moment if she had said 'yes'. But she shook her head, climbed under the covers, glad she had stopped them. She lay there thinking for a long time, wide-awake after the way he had touched her. She wanted the first time they slept together to be incredible, not a mad dash for a bedroom, or a moment lost to uncontrolled passion. 'This weekend' she thought. She fell asleep awash in the memory of what it had felt like to have his weight on top of her, his hips between hers.

He flung himself down on his bed still dressed. Frustrated by what had just happened. He had wanted her so badly he had almost lost control with her. She had smiled so sweetly at him, and she had looked so soft and tousled, her hair down and loose around her shoulders, it was the first time he had been able to see her and touch her that way. He burned inside for her. He ripped off his clothes and climbed under the comforter, punching at his pillows. He lay on his stomach; his arms wrapped around a pillow, his head almost buried under the covers. His entire body ached. He thought about her, thought about the feel of her underneath him and he squirmed wanting her there again. He could still smell the roses from her hair on his hands, and he stuffed them deeper under the pillow trying to drive them away. He fought the lust he couldn't control. They had known each other only a few days; most of this attraction had to be lust he told himself. He didn't want they're first time together to be about lust. He felt almost nauseous. "Why did this matter so much?" he wondered. He had other relationships that had started and ended based on pure physical attraction. But this was different, and he knew it. He would have to keep his distance from her the next few days. Until they had more time to be together. He fell asleep, dreaming of her and woke up in a sweat.

He debated about going out to swim, but decided against it. He was in a foul mood and he needed to clear his head. He decided he should get away this morning without running into her. He took a shower instead and went down to eat some breakfast. He didn't even look out his window, afraid she might be in her kitchen. He ate his cereal and bananas in front of the TV this morning, watching Katie Couric on the today show. Ready to go, he headed out, in a grumpy mood, his eyes deep and his brow furrowed, mumbling to himself in Hebrew.

All day he was in a bad mood. He had Cheryl, his assistant go out and buy a new answering machine for Abby and then debated about how to get it to her. Knowing he couldn't leave, he finally broke down, and with as little explanation as possible he sent Cheryl to her house to drop off the gift on her doorstep. Bethany overheard her talking to someone else about the mysterious instructions. "Yeah, I don't know what the heck is going on, but he's sending me over to his neighbors to leave this answering machine..." 'His neighbor?... Abby was his neighbor?' Bethany smiled to herself, well at least she had more information, 'now what should she do with it?' she wondered.

The day dragged, and by middle afternoon it was obvious that it would be another late night. He tried her phone in her office and got her voice mail. "Abby, this is Oded... I don't know if you'll get this message... I had hoped we could talk sometime today... if you get this please call me... it looks like we will be here late again tonight, so ... so, I guess we better not plan... don't wait up for me." He hung up the phone.

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Neighbors - Chapter 17