Neighbors

Scene 21:

She slept peacefully, relaxed and happy. She had gone upstairs and after brushing her teeth had climbed into bed reliving the reality of what had happened between them tonight. She smiled to herself and hugged her pillow to her, thinking about him and how shy he had become with her at the end of the evening. She felt desire course through her again, knowing that he wanted more from her than just a roll in bed.

When she woke up the sun was already coming through the window and she realized she had forgot to set her alarm. She raced out of bed throwing on clothes and grabbing her car keys, no time for a bike ride this morning. His car was already gone. She walked in to the all faculty meeting late and tried not to make eye contact with anyone, specifically choosing a seat across the room from Jeff. Lunch came before she knew it and as she sat at the table with two of the other women from her department she wasn't surprised when Jeff came and sat down next to her. She had been thinking all morning about what she would say to him.

"Did last night turn out alright for you?" he asked a little snippy. The other women at the table had heard the rumors about Abby and Jeff and noticed the exchange between them.

"Yes, thank you." She smiled at him, hoping, with other people at the table he would drop the topic. But he didn't.

"Is it serious between you two?" he asked quietly.

"Jeff, can we talk about this later?" she tumed, her voice a little louder than she planned.

He repeated his question, reaching over to touch her hand with his.

"Yes..." she answered as casually as she could, not looking at him, and moving her hand to her lap.

"I see." He sat still. Noticing the other ears turned towards them. He dropped it for now, but he decided he'd pursue it again later.

The women at the table exchanged glances wondering what was going on.

Abby tried to make light conversation through lunch, not directed her remarks at Jeff. By the end of lunch he was stewing and left without saying goodbye. The rest of the day was uneventful. She didn't hear from Oded, but assumed she would when she got home.

Besides her run in with Jeff at lunch time she was relieved today was very uneventful. Classes started on Monday, all of her orientation meetings were done, her lab was up and running, now she could relax and enjoy the weekend, blushing as she thought about her date with Oded.

She went home a little early and after dinner spent some time E-mailing friends and family. Trying to figure out a way to casually tell them about meeting Oded. In the end she decided to keep him a secret a little while longer, and would think about telling everyone after the weekend, when she hoped she would have a better idea about what was happening between them. While she was on the Internet she decided to do a little searching. She started by looking up a Hebrew dictionary and tried to figure out what the pet name Oded kept calling her meant. She smiled when she found xatixa meant 'babe' and decided she might start calling him xatix, which was the male version of 'hunk'. She looked up a few other phrases to surprise him and bookmarked the site hoping to figure out later the meaning of some of the things she would catch him mumbling every now and then, usually in exasperation with her, especially last night, she thought.

After that she sat in front of the computer for a long time, not typing, the same thought running through her mind, trying to get her nerve up. Finally she typed his name into the search. She hit return nervously. She had certainly expected to find something, after all, he had been in a couple of movies, but she was shocked when the results came up, web site after web site with his name in it. She had told him she had been tempted to rent the Mummy movies this week, but had promised him she would wait. She sat staring at the list, then she made up her mind and quickly she turned off her computer without opening a single site, thinking that reading what she found would be unfair. He had definitely underplayed how famous he was, and now she felt foolish, realizing she didn't have a clue. She tried to get control of her breathing. She sat in front of her now dark computer screen trying to decide what to do, when her phone rang. She looked at it, letting it ring three times before she grabbed it.

"Hello..." she answered cautiously.

"Hi Doc," she heard his warm voice soft as velvet on the other end. Her heart started to race again and she felt the heat start to work it's way to the edges of her limbs.

"Hi." She answered again, this time warmly.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine..." she offered, "what are you doing?" she asked.

"At this very moment? I'm talking to you on the phone." He teased her, repeating to her what she had said to him on the phone the other day. He was in a great mood and she could hear the sexuality in his voice.

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, taking the bait of his tease. "Yeah, yeah... you know what I mean."

He chuckled, "We are between shots, I'm just calling to see how your day was. I've been thinking about you..."

She beamed at the meaning behind his words. "My day was uneventful...I'm so glad it is Friday" she answered, not wanting to talk about her lunch run in with Jeff.

"Me too," he sighed, "it's been a long week... But we have all weekend." His voice tinged with that sexy accent of his.

'My he is in a good mood' she thought to herself. Her fears about what she found on the Internet easing off her mind. "Mmmm... yes indeed we do." She answered him.

"Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be home early enough this evening to get to see you tonight..." he said, his voice more serious and less sensual.

"Maybe that's a good thing," she offered, a little disappointed, but also a little relieved. "It might be better to wait until tomorrow, when we can spend more time together."

"Yeah, I suppose... but I'll still miss seeing you tonight." He almost whispered.

" 'ded, don't start... you're the one who decided last night..." she began.

He cut her off, "I know... I know... believe me, I know..." he groaned. "Abby, I've got to go, they're calling for me... I'll see you tomorrow, I promise... I just wanted to call and say hello."

"Go... go... " she replied, " I understand... I'll see you tomorrow... I was about to head out for a swim anyway."

"Oh sure, leave me with that thought in my head," he moaned, "just what I needed."

She giggled. "Sorry...you know, I think I'm the only one around here tonight, I was debating about skinny dipping..."

She heard him curse in Hebrew again. "Not fair!" he answered finally in English. "I've really got to go," he said quickly.

"Okay... go... I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye Doc, I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up.

She sat still thinking about their conversation for a few moments. She was glad she had decided not to open up the web sites. Whatever was there could wait. She would let him tell her when he was ready. She chuckled a little, realizing that for all the conversations they had this week he never really talked about being in the movies or the business. He talked more about his childhood and family. Maybe tomorrow, when she could finally get him to show her the movies she would get him to open up about his career.

She headed out for her swim, then showered and climbed into bed early, expecting, or maybe hoping that tomorrow would be a late night.

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Neighbors - Chapter 22