Tom opened his eyes when his brain registered that he was awake and hearing the traffic outside. Seeing only a dim fuzzy light, he batted the heavy blanket down and off his head and rolled over onto his back. He lay there for a few minutes, savoring the ability to sleep in, and then half-remembered an odd dream heâd had. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember. His roommate Melanie had been in it, he knew that. They had been hanging out in their pajamas watching television, and theyâd been
snuggling
for some reason. He frowned. His relationship with Mel wasnât like that. Weird that he would have that kind of a dream. Finally he rolled out of bed.
The winterâs late morning light made Tomâs hazel eyes squint, as he padded down the hall and knocked on the bathroom door. âYeees?â came from within.
âHey, I really gotta go, can I come in?â
âYeah, hang on one second.â He heard the sound of the plastic shower curtain being drawn and splashing noises. âOk, come in.â
He pushed the door open cautiously, poked his head in, and saw that the curtain was indeed shut. âGood book?â he asked as he lifted the toilet seat and lowered the waistband of his boxers.
âMm-hmm. Sheâs one of my favorites,â Melanie replied, and he heard the faint scrape of a page turning. He glanced over toward the tub as he was in midstream and noticed that the curtain wasnât completely shut. It was open about three inches, just wide enough to see her feet propped up against the shower wall. They were turned slightly inward, and as he watched she flexed her toes, which were painted white with shimmery polish. The silver Celtic anklet that she never took off caught the light as she did this and flashed at him, the light slicing from the interlacing design to his furtive stare.
âSo how was your date with Amy last night?â came from behind the curtain, accompanied by the sounds of water lapping against skin and a faint popping noise of her joints as she apparently stretched.
He half-jerked out of his reverie, scratched his chest through his tee shirt, and tried to focus on what she had asked him. Amy was a girl Tom had been seeing for only a couple weeks. âIt was ok. We did the whole dinner-and-a-movie deal,â he replied absently, still tracing her feet and ankles with his eyes.
For some reason he could not stop staring at her feet. Certainly they were pretty feet, well shaped with high arches and smooth soles, but this was crazy. He had never thought of Mel that way. They had been roommates for a year and a half, and had been friends since their junior year of college, and he had never seriously thought of her sexually. But here he was staring at her feet, and he couldnât help wishing that the curtain were open further so he could see more of her. The thought of tearing his clothes off and jumping in the tub with Mel flashed through his mind, and he angrily pushed it away while he tried to understand himself.
None of this made sense. He didnât have a foot fetish. It
had
been a while since heâd slept with someone, but he wasnât in a state of desperation. And he had never been attracted to Mel before. She wasnât even his type. Yet despite that, there had been that weird dream last night, and he stood there starting to get aroused just from the sight of Melanieâs bare feet.
Mel was actually quite sexy in her own way. But Tom was generally attracted to tall, slim brunettes with curly hair, and while Mel was not exactly short at five-foot-six, she wasnât tall either. She had straight coppery red hair that reached her shoulder blades and was fair-skinned and lightly freckled. She was rounded and soft all over, but not at all fat. Then he realized that she was talking to him and quickly adjusted his boxers and his tee shirt over them.
âSorry Mel, what did you say?â
âGeez, youâre really out of it when you first get up! I asked what you were doing today.â Her head popped out from behind the curtain and she looked at him expectantly. He noticed that her hair was fastened on top of her head in a loose bun, but a few pieces of hair had come down and were sticking damply to her neck. He swallowed and cleared his throat before he answered.
âI donât have anything in particular going on. Why? Whatâs up?â
âIâm just going to bum around and watch movies. Work was pure hell this week and Iâd love to do absolutely nothing all day. I wondered if you wanted to join me in my slothful pursuit, and maybe get some takeout or a pizza later.â She grinned cheerfully and her blue eyes twinkled at him.
âSure. Sounds good to me,â he replied, while his thoughts churned. Maybe spending the day with Mel wasnât a very good idea, considering the thoughts heâd just been having. He didnât want to say or do anything to disturb their friendship. But the idea of spending the whole day with her was too enticing to pass up.
âGreat. The only thing better than doing nothing is doing nothing with someone else,â she smiled at him. She ducked back inside the curtain and Tom saw the book sheâd been reading drop on the floor outside the tub. He heard some vigorous splashing. He glanced at her feet again and saw her move them out of his line of sight. Then came the gurgle of the water draining out, and the towel draped over the top of the curtain rod slithered out of sight. He realized that she was getting ready to step out wearing only that towel, and that thought spurred him to action.
âIâm going to get dressed. When youâre ready do you want to go to the video place and see what they have?â he asked.
ââSounds like a plan. We have to stop at the grocery store too though. Iâm
so
craving popcorn and a pint of cookies and cream,â she said with a moan of longing.
âHey, why stop there? Letâs go to the liquor store too and get some tequila,â Tom suggested.
Mel whooped in delight at that. âOoooh!
Excellent
idea Tom!â She pushed the curtain back and stepped out of the tub, one smooth pale leg extended out from the towel that covered her. Tom forced himself to look away and headed for his bedroom to change.
* * * * * * * * * *
An hour later he was sprawled back on Melanieâs bed as she fiddled with the DVD player. When she sat beside him he handed her a shot glass and a slice of lemon. She sniffed the amber liquid in the glass and smiled beatifically as the tequila fumes wafted up. They both licked their hands, and Tom shook salt on hers and then his own. Raising her shot glass, Melanie said âTo a day ofâŠâ and paused, thinking.
âSheer bliss?â Tom suggested, which made Mel smile.
âSheer bliss,â she agreed and clinked her glass to his. They both did the ritualistic lick, drink, suck, and face-contorting grimace that went along with doing tequila shots.
Mel settled back against the headboard, very near to him, even leaning against him slightly, her arm touching his. He felt her warmth against him and forced himself not to tense up. He tried to keep his mind on the story line of the movie, but found himself failing spectacularly. At one point in the movie there was a very hot sex scene, and Tom had to take a couple of deep breaths to try to calm the blood singing through his veins.
This proved to be a mistake. As he inhaled, he caught the scent of Melâs skin, still fresh from her bath. She smelled sort of herbal, Tom thought, as he sniffed unobtrusively. He knew a lot of girls used herbal products, but Mel didnât have that flowery, sweet, over-processed smell that most of them imparted. She smelled more like sheâd been working with the herbs themselves. The smell was woodsy, green, sharp, and more than a little enticing. It made him want to peel her clothes off to get closer to the source of the scent, her skin.
To banish this line of thinking, Tom turned to Mel and asked if she wanted another shot. She did, and she paused the movie. âTo sheer bliss again?â she asked with a sly smile as he poured.