I dumped my work stuff on the floor, took off the stupid name badge and lay on my bed, exhaling. The crappy job I've had for two years was exhausting, but it was easy and nearby, and my only source of income, so I keep going back. I could hear people moving about on the landing, but only footsteps on creaking floorboards, no voices. I wasn't even sure who was home. I hadn't seen a car outside, but Mum sometimes stayed in while Dad was at work. Danielle was probably out; she'd only finished her first year of college a week or two ago and was still in the celebration stage, where parties were abundant. I never joined her. Not because I'm a social reject; I can get along with pretty much anyone, but I never liked seeing the guys who crowded round her, desperate for attention and trying anything to get with her. Danielle's got an easy air about her, where nothing really fazes her too much, and she quietly knows she looks good; that's why she keeps getting invited. Straight blonde hair, a good complexion and a well looked after body tick all the right boxes. She was difficult to stop looking at, even for me.
I sat up, breathed in deeply and noted that after working a day shift, I needed a wash. Grabbing my towel from its hook and turning the hifi on for when I got out, I headed to the bathroom. The door was shut, but as the air con in the house was on most doors are shut, to keep the house cool.
I pushed it open, to see Danielle sitting on the side of the bath facing me, head down in concentration, legs spread with a razor in one hand, the other on her groin. She was wearing just a white vest, the bottom set of clothes piled in the corner. There was a small amount of shaving foam above her hand, where it hadn't been removed. I stopped dead and swung around, hearing her gasp and stand up, telling me to get out. No need to ask, I was getting out of there. I rushed through the door, calling out my apologies, and headed to my room. I heard the bathroom door close again, and the sound of the lock just reached me. I just stood there, breathless. The image of her on the bath flickered over my vision, and I shook my head to clear it away, but it was burned on. Her blonde hair falling over her chest, her vest hugging her body, her legs spread wide... I'd never seen her in such an open position, and the thought of trying to picture it had never occurred to me. I threw the towel down and after making sure Danielle was still in the bathroom, I went down to the kitchen to get a drink.
Ice cubes clinking in the glass, I mulled over the earlier few minutes until I heard the bathroom door open, and after a pause, footsteps descended. Danielle walked slowly into the kitchen, fully clothed now, wearing the vest and a pair of jeans. She glanced at me and then quickly walked over to pour herself a drink. I knew that this could easily develop into an even more uncomfortable situation unless someone spoke soon. But I couldn't think of anything that didn't seem either trivial, sarcastic or stupid, so silence ensued.
Danielle turned towards me, and quickly said, "I'm sorry - ", while upon seeing her open her mouth I'd already started apologising as well, leading to two tangled conversations colliding. She started saying how it was stupid of her not to lock the door, and I was there explaining how I should have knocked in case, until we'd both run out of apologies and just stood there, sipping. She turned to me again.
"Brian?"
"Yeah?"
"You stink."
We both laughed. "Well Danni, if you remember three minutes ago I had been going to correct that problem," I said back. "Anything else you need to do, or am I free to shower?"
She blushed slightly, smiling. "Nope, it's all yours. And if I remember, I owe you an embarrassing situation." She walked out, heading back up to her room. I drained my glass slowly, and headed up to shower.
Hot water and vague, foggy thoughts washed over me. Images of her flickered over my eyes again. I went through all the normal moves, soaping and washing, but always with an ear cocked for the sound of the door. It was locked, but I wanted to check in case Danni tried to come in and embarrass me. She wasn't going to. She wouldn't, that would be too much.
Turning off the jet I stepped out, wrapped a towel round my waist and checked myself in the mirror. Definitely wanted to lose a bit of blubber... I used to be a real podge, but since I'd discovered an untapped skill in basketball I'd wanted to really work on my body. After weeks of careful eating and exercise, I was nearing my goal; I'd toned up a lot, with muscle starting to show through. A definite hint of abs were being revealed, and that was a small victory in itself. Running my hands through my brown hair, I opened the door and walked out. Heading to my room I started undoing the towel, when as I closed my door I saw Danni squatting next to my CD collection. She turned round as I caught the loosened knot of the towel.
"Whoops!" she cried out, turning round. "Sorry Bri, I thought you'd be longer. Just getting some music." She grabbed a CD and edged past me, back to hers.
Was that deliberate? I had had a quick shower, and it wasn't like she was hiding to peek on me, waiting to jump out. I got changed still wondering. A knock on the door was followed by Danni, who peered in.
"You want some eats?"
I realised I was famished, and it was late. "Sure. What we got?"
"Mum got us some chicken bites, she said they might be home late. Wanna eat them up here with a movie?"
"Sounds good. I'll sort the movie, and then help out downstairs."
She nodded, and walked off. I went and put on a fresh pair of boxers, some loose shorts and a t-shirt. Running my eyes over the DVDs I picked out a light comedy, something to relax to and have a laugh with. As I was flicking through the menu on the screen, Danni returned with two plates covered in nuggets. We sat down on the bed, leaned back against the far wall, and started the film.
"Bri?"
I nodded awake. The film was still running, but I had started to slip off into sleep.
"Hmm, yeh?"
She turned towards me. "I just want to say again, I'm sorry about earlier. I thought you were finishing work at 9."
I gave a little laugh, and said, "Really, don't worry, it wasn't a big deal. Kinda nice to see after a long day."
Her eyes widened. Oh shit, I was still half asleep. "No, no, not like that," I corrected, sitting up. "I just mean that, you know, it was a long day, and I was just making a joke to lighten what happened..."
She smiled. "No, Bri, what I heard you just say was that you enjoyed what you saw."
Gulp. "Not enjoyed. Well, kinda, but -"
She was grinning now. I was turning beet red, and trying to find some way to get out of this trap.
"You enjoyed seeing me like that?"
I just stared at her dark eyes. She was loving my embarrassment. And then I understood.
"This is my embarrassing situation, isn't it?"
She laughed, saying "Yup! And I'm enjoying every second." But then she looked more serious. "But what I was really thinking was that you didn't know I was just embarrassing you, and you really meant what you were saying."
"Well, yeah. You're a good looking woman Danielle, of course I mean these things. I've just never seen you so... much." I ended lamely.
The film was still running, but we weren't watching it anymore.
"Thanks Bri. And for the record, when you walked in after your shower, I was tempted to pull your towel off, to even the score. But I didn't think it would be cool."
"I was worried you would. But only half worried, if you know what I mean."
"Yeah. I was tingling so much after you left the bathroom the first time."
I looked up. "What do you mean?"
Now it was her time to blush. Her cheeks turned a pinky hue, and as she was still wearing the white vest from before, it was easy to see the colour change.
"I mean my body was tingling. It was... exciting. Is that strange?"
I was about to tell her it was, but then I remembered the image of her being stuck in my head, how I kept replaying every detail in my mind. She noticed my pause, and sighed in relief.
I looked at her again. And I noticed that little points had emerged on her vest, beneath her bra. I decided to be truthful.
"Danni, I thought I would be freaked out by seeing you like that, but to be honest I did like it. When I got back in my room, I couldn't stop thinking about it."
She smiled again. And with that, I realised I could feel myself stirring, beneath my shorts. Realising that her body was reacting to our talk made my body react on its own. I needed a distraction.
"So does this mean that we're now even, on embarrassment?"
"Yeah. Yeah, we're even now."
She scooted off the bed, and turned round to pick up her plate. I picked up mine, and followed her downstairs, falling behind to let my hardness subside slightly. Meeting in the kitchen, we both put our plates in the dishwasher, and I poured myself a glass of water for the night, hugging the counter so she didn't notice.
"Well, I'm off to get some sleep," she announced. Hearing her footsteps leaving, I turned around. "G'nite," I called after her. Walking out, I turned off the kitchen light, thankful that I'd gotten away with a semi hard-on in her presence.
I saw a shadow move in front of me, and saw her face in the dark.
"Goodnight," she said, hugging me. My cock pressed into my thigh by her body.
Shit.
I felt her tense slightly. Then she let go, kissed me gently on the cheek and walked upstairs, leaving me in the dark. Her door quietly closed.
Dammit...
The next morning I only had a three hour shift, work was slow but as I finished by midday I wasn't bothered. My mind was busy anyway, replaying the night before. I hadn't seen Danni since the hug, and I was thinking about what to say if she brought it up. Walking up the driveway, I noticed a car in the drive. Either one or both parents were home, that was nice. I got on with my parents fine, they both had a good sense of humour and could take a bit of cheek, so we could all joke around fine. Stepping into the kitchen I greeted Mum, who was reading a magazine on the table.
"Heya moms, how was last night? Where'd you go again?"
She looked up, smiling. "Oh hi Brian, we went to a little place outside of town. And funnily enough, we met George and Carol, that was nice." George and Carol were old family friends, who had stayed in touch with my folks since childhood. "Yeah, they actually asked what we were doing tonight, and I was tempted to take your father to see them."
"Go for it," I replied, "It'll be nice to get you out the house."
"Ha bloody ha," she laughed back, shooing me out. I climbed the stairs to get changed.
