Through The Fire

EPISODE 3

There's a few moments of silence between the two of us after that playful exchange. I still have my back on her while I finished the cigarette in my hand. I can feel her eyes on me, and it's making me nervous for no reason.

What are you guys doing in here? It was Anne who broke the silence.

Nothing. Just getting some air. Gail quickly answered while smiling at her.

Well, there's still few cans of beers left so let's go back inside? Anne asks.

We both agreed and made our way back to the living room.

It's around 1 o’clock in the morning when we decided to call it the night. Anne suggests that we all just sleep in the bedroom, she has an extra mattress that can be place on the floor which can fit two people while her bed is big enough for three people. Everyone agreed on that, and we all get ready for bed. I was the last one to use the bathroom to freshen up. As I enter the bedroom, I saw Faye and Mich already dozing on the floor. Then it hit me, I'm going to sleep next to Gail and Anne on the bed. f**k. I wanted to go out and just sleep in the living room, but the idea of being alone in there doesn't suit me right. I hesitantly made my way to the bed. Gail is in the middle while Anne is on her right side. I'm not sure if they are already sleeping, but their eyes were both closed. I carefully move to the left side of the bed and lay down gently to avoid any kind of noise. Thankfully, the bed is big enough, so I made sure that there's enough space between me and Gail.

I've been in bed for quite some time now, but I still can't fall asleep. My eyes are close, but my mind is overflowing with different thoughts. Gail's presence beside me is making me uncomfortable. I kept my eyes shut to avoid looking at the person peacefully sleeping beside me.

Just when I’m about to drift off and fall asleep, a feeling of someone stroking my hand woke my senses. I hesitantly opened my eyes and realize that it was Gail's hand laying on top of mine! Her eyes were closed though, so I assumed she's still sleeping. She probably thought that she's holding Anne's hand or maybe her hand just landed in there accidentally. That simple contact already made my heart beat so fast. I look at everyone, and they are all passed out. I move my hand away from her carefully and attempts to go back to sleep, but after a few moments, I felt her hand on top of mine again! I look at her to see any signs that she's awake, but her eyes remained closed.. This is crazy! Her mere presence is already making me insane, and these accidental contacts are just too much for me to handle. I made a move and turned my back on her this time, I made sure that I kept a safe distance from her. I try to convince myself that it was all just an accident and Gail will remember nothing tomorrow. I have no plans of bringing it up to her as well because that would be awkward. Thankfully, it never happened again, but I hardly get any sleep that night.

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I woke up with a slight headache due to lack of sleep. I grab my phone to check the time, and it's already 8 o'clock in the morning. I noticed that Faye and Mich were no longer in the room, while Anne and Gail are still soundly sleeping beside me. Gail looks like in angel even after a rough night. I decided to get out of the room already before I admire the person beside me even more.

I saw my friends sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee in their hands. I decided to make one for me too before joining them. We just talk about random stuffs while sipping our coffees.

So, what are your plans today? I asked them both.

I'm going to meet Kyle later this afternoon to help him buy a gift for her sister's birthday. Faye answered, referring to her boyfriend Kyle.

I'm just probably gonna stay home, I need to finish some work stuff. Mich said. She works as a real state agent.

Are you bringing Steph in your family dinner tonight? Mich asks me.

Steph is the girl I'm seeing for about a month now. We get along so well especially in bed, but that's just it for us. No commitment, no expectations, no strings attached, just two consenting adults having fun together.

Nope. I answered. You guys know the deal between us, right? I said with a sly grin.

Yeah. You guys are just f**k buddies, we get it. Faye quipped, which makes us all giggle.

We just continue chatting while we are waiting for the other two to wake up. I still can't stop myself from thinking about what happened last night in the bedroom. Gail is drunk, and she doesn't even know what she did, or maybe she knows, but she probably thought it was Anne's hand she was touching. I decided to just forget about it for the sake of my own sanity, we will all go home later anyway, so I won't be seeing her again for a period of time. Everything will go back to normal after this.