A Moment Longer [Chaelisa] [COMPLETE]

15. The withstand

That night, I went straight to my room and didn't come out because I couldn't trust myself around her. Was she really serious? A small part of me wondered if she was just pulling my leg with that proposition. Maybe this was some grand plan to punish me for hurting her a decade ago... entice me to succumb to her sexual charms, then tell me it was all a joke

Tossing and turning, I weighed all the pros and cons and concluded that, while sex with her would be fantastic, it would only end in my being hurt. It would also jeopardise our second chance at friendship, which was still new and shaky.

At the same time, I was completely turned on, my panties soaked from the way she spoke to me. The mere thought of being with her was driving me nuts.

I must have dozed off somewhere in the middle of the night while ruminating. It was after 11 a.m. when I awoke the next morning. I hadn't slept that late in a long time.

My bedroom window's sheer white curtains were letting in the light. Was my last night's conversation with Lisa a dream? It occurred to me that Bea was missing from her crib.

I dashed downstairs to find Lisa, who was sitting in the living room.

"Where is Bea?" I inquired, somewhat nervously.

"She's right here. Look at this." Bea crawled towards her as she enticed her with a new stuffed animal. The squeak came from a long rainbow-colored stuffed caterpillar.

"Come on, Bumblebee," she encouraged her. God, I lover her nickname for Bea.

Bea was getting closer. It was her most impressive attempt at mobility yet.

"She's crawling up to you!"

"I know. We've been practising since the morning."

"Where did you get that toy?"

"I got it for her the other day from the downtown toy store."

"Did you come in here this morning and take her out of the crib?"

"No, Roseanne, she walked downstairs herself," she joked. "Of course not, duh. I peered in on you because you never sleep that late, and I wanted to make sure you didn't pass out from thinking about me last night."

"No, not quite. Despite the fact that you were on my mind."

"Anyway...She was just sitting in her crib, staring at me, as quiet as a mouse while you snored. So I took her downstairs so you could continue to sleep. We finished the pumped bottle you had in the fridge." She lowered her gaze to Bea. "She's now my breakfast buddy."

"Thank you for doing that."

"There's no problem."

Our gazes locked, and I felt compelled to break the ice. "Lisa, about last night..."

She abruptly rose from the couch. "Don't worry about it. I had crossed the line. I went a little crazy because I was jealous."

I was surprised at how quickly she'd changed her tune. "Really?"