4

Since Ann and I have become officially friends I've been able to go over at whatever time I pleased, even at 11.35 pm.

I rang the doorbell and waited. I wasn't sure that she was awake but I wanted to take the risk of finding out, this was an important thing I had in my hands.

As soon as she opened I held out the thing I had in my hands and gave it to her while pushing my way inside.

At her questioning look I just shrugged and led the way to the living room indicating for her where to drop the thing, just in front of the TV.

And the thing was a console. Specifically my PS3 or more like my little brother's since I didn't use it at all lately and he kindly offered to not let it feel lonely.

Before she could start asking questions I looked at her with the most pleading expression I could muster and just said "Play with me".

She sighed, as she usually did around me, and then said. "It's past 11pm, Cam. What in the hell are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything. I'm just standing here waiting for my friend to grant my wish."

Another sigh. "Your wish? What, are you dying or something? I have to inform you that I was sleeping."

For the first time since I came in I noticed that she was barely wearing anything. An old grey t-shirt that seemed a little too small for her and nothing else beside her underwear, not even her usual shorts that she wore to sleep. And it's not like I still had a crush - because, let's be real, I had little to no chance with someone like her - but more than anything I wasn't used to seeing people I actually found attractive in tight t-shirts and panties. So obviously I might have stared a bit if said attractive person was in front of me in that state and my stare must have been obvious to the point of causing said person to blush and try to cover herself.

She did in fact. As she granted her consent for me to set up the console, she went to put on a pair of shorts and to change her tight t-shirt in a large oversized one.

"Can I ask what made you think that I would play videogames, of all things, with you, on a Thursday night at 11 pm?"

I turned around to look at her sitting on the couch and waiting for me to finish setting up. "Well, for one, I know you can't resist my charms."

She scoffed. "Yeah, right. Don't you have other people to charm?"

"I might, but they don't live next door to me. It's such a hassle to drive at night in this hot weather to go play videogames with someone, you know? So I thought, why not visit my neighbor? She'll be happy to play with me, right?"

I smiled broadly, hoping to not annoy her any further. I knew that I'd overstepped my boundaries today by coming so late for no big reason but I just wanted to and I did.

"Oh, so it's a distance thing? You chose me only because you don't have to drive to come here?"

"Actually I chose you because I like you. But the fact that I don't have to go far is an added bonus."

"Shut up, I'll remember this when you ditch me for someone your age. Now, what are we playing?"

"Tomb Raider"

"How can we play that together though?"

"We can't. You can watch me play and then I'll let you try if you want."

She looked at me incredulously. "Go ahead. I'm gonna get something to eat."

And with that she left for the kitchen. I set up the console and just started the game as she came back with popcorn.

She sat down next to me on the couch and started eating.

"I want some too!" I said and extended my left arm to grab some popcorn for myself but she took them away. I then tried to grab it but she turned around and didn't let me so I started tickling her sides but she didn't budge.

"I thought you knew I'm not ticklish." She said still turned around.

"Really?"

"Do you see me laughing?"

Well, I didn't. But that gave me the opportunity to try touching her elsewhere. So I moved my hands higher near her armpits but it still didn't work. I then moved them lower to her feet trying to tickle her underneat them and unbelievably she still didn't laugh.

"See? I told you I'm not ticklish." She was now facing me again with a triumphant smile on her face.

"What about here then?" I tried my last chance moving my hands up her calves to the back of her knees making small movements with my fingers in a way that made everyone squirm. And finally she felt it as she bolted upright and tried to slap my hands away. "Aha!" I was the one smiling triumphantly now as she was glaring at me while trying to get free.

"Okay, okay! Stop it! Stop!" She screamed and I let go of her legs.

"Give me popcorn now."

I took the controller in my right hand and with the left tried to grab some but she still didn't let me. "You play, I'll feed you."

I gave her a questioning look but she just shrugged and indicated for me to start playing. As I was finally starting the game she said. "Say 'Ahhh!'"

I opened my mouth only to let it be stuffed with a handful of popcorn that almost made me choke. I looked briefly at Ann to see her smiling innocently and sweetly at me.

"Oh, is this a new Lara Croft?"

"Yeah, she looks better than the one from your times, right?"

She slapped my arm. "At my times she didn't have this kind of big boobs made only for the men to ogle at."

Or for lesbians to stare at too. I almost said it but thought better of it. "It's marketing, they gotta do what they gotta do."

"Yeah, I mean look at them! Bouncing up and down in that tanktop. You'd think she'd wear something warmer in that cold weather, right?"

"You can actually change costumes." I said and did so at the first campsite I found in the game, making Lara wear a camouflage costume. "Do you like this one better?" I grinned at her.

"Definitely. It's more credible. This way the enemies won't see her."

I shook my head at her logic and continued playing until I heard her yawn while leaning her head on my shoulder. "Are you sleepy? I'm gonna leave-"

"No, no, stay." She said mid-yawn and as she was leaning on my shoulder she wrapped her arms around my waist sinking more into me. I felt my stomach do a little jump at her touch and wanted a distraction.

"Do you want to play Fifa? I have another controller."

"Fifa?" She asked looking up at me from my shoulder.

"Yeah, football. It's easy to play, I'll teach you."

"I know what it is, you won't believe it but I actually watch some games from time to time."

"Perfect then."

And so we started Fifa on the console and I gave her the other controller.

"What team do you want to play as?" I asked.

"Barcelona!"

I snorted, typical choice. "Don't tell me your favorite player is Messi."

"No, it's actually Cristiano Ronaldo, he's hotter."

I made a disgusted face and mimicked puking. "Eww."

"Who's your favorite player then?" She asked mockingly.

"I don't have one."

"Right. What team did you choose?"

"Bayern München."

I won the first game 4-0 and then we played another one because she was sure she could beat me but I won again 3-1 and on the third game I subtly let her win 2-3 so she would be happy about it.

"See, I told you I could win!" She let go of the controller and jumped up off the couch throwing her hands in the air.

She turned around to look down at me.

"Who's the loser now?"

"You won only once, sit down." I smiled at her and grabbed her hand pulling her down to sit.

"If I wasn't this sleepy I would beat you again." She said patting my cheek.

"Right, we'll see next time." I got up. "I better leave you to sleep since you're this sleepy." I looked at the time, 1.40 am.

"Why don't you stay to sleep here?"

"I live next door Annie."

"Annie? I could be your aunt, you can't call me that."

"My aunt is 45."

"Well-" she thought for a while, "you still can't call me that."

"Okay, LeeAnn. I better go though, it's pretty late."

"I mean it, you can stay."

"If you keep saying it I might."

"Please do."

"But I'm taking the bed." I smirked, certain that she would refuse.

"I'm not sleeping on the couch."

"Then I'm going home."

"No, wait. We can both sleep on the bed."

I looked at her, surprised.

"What? It's a double bed and it's definitely more comfortable than the couch." She said almost defensively. "C'mon, I don't bite."

"I sure hope you don't." I grinned and let her drag me towards the bedroom. Once there she took out an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts for me to sleep in and I went to the bathroom to get changed. As I came back to the room Ann was already under the covers with her eyes closed as if she was already asleep.

"I wanted to sleep on the right side though." I said just to mess with her. She opened one eye, glared at me, and closed it again.

"I mean it, I can't sleep on the left side."

She now opened both her eyes, scoffed and rolled on the other side of the bed.

"Thanks." I said and got into bed too. I was actually a little nervous sleeping next to her and stood completely still for a while.

"Are you going to breath?"

I turned my head on the right to see her looking at me amused. "I was counting how many seconds I can hold my breath."

"I can last one minute."

I tried to control my laughter but it was stronger than me. "Good to know." I said and burst out laughing.

I could see her getting bright red in an instant. "I didn't mean it like that!" She slapped my arm and then covered her face with both her hands.

I was still laughing. "You don't have to be embarassed, the less you last the better, isn't it?"

"Shut up." She just said still covering her face. "And that's not true, I'd say it's better if you can last enough time to enjoy it."

I think I was the one getting red now. We'd never before discussed sex and I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable. "I was just trying to reassure you."

"Well, you don't have to worry. I can definitely last more, sometimes even too much."

"See? It's better to last less than not getting there at all."

"Ugh. What do you even know about it?" She asked and after uncovering her face, poked me a few times on my right arm.

I grinned. "I'm not a kid."

She stared at me for a few seconds and then asked seriously as if questioning me. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Nope. Do you?"

"No, but you knew that already."

"I don't know. Haven't you been going on dates lately?"

"Yeah, dates. But that's about it, one worse than the other."

"I'm sorry." I said and for a moment didn't know where to go from there so I stayed silent.

"Have you ever been in love?" She asked suddenly. Where did that one come from? I wanted to tell her that no, I'd never been in love but I wasn't sure about that myself. If I'd ever been in love it could have been with only one person but we'd never really been together and I'd never told her I loved her as she'd never told me she loved me.

"I don't think so." I simply said.

After a few seconds she surprised me by saying. "I've never been in love."

"Really?"

She was staring at the ceiling with a pensive expression. "Yeah. I've had boyfriends but I've never been in love with them. I can't even say I cared about them that much, I've never been heartbroken when someone broke up with me or when I broke up with someone. Sometimes I worry that I'll never find love and sometimes I just don't care."

"I've actually never got all the hype about love. Isn't it a little like a mythological entity? 'Yeah, yeah you love him/her, but are you in love with them?' Doesn't that just confuse you? Like what the fuck do I know? What is love exactly? Try asking ten different people and they'll all tell you ten different quotes they find cool and have adopted as theirs. What I mean is, maybe you won't find love just because you don't know where to find it and in what form but who cares? Screw people and all the pressure that comes with love in every relationship."

She stayed silent for a moment and then spoke again. "Relationships should be something natural, progressive, not made official with a ring on a specific date. You shouldn't wait four months to say 'I love you' to your partner and you shouldn't feel obliged to do so either. You can be together for years and never define what you've got together, and you shouldn't wait after marriage to talk about kids and settling down. I wish everything could be more simple, more free and less structured. God, how did we pass from talking about sex to this?"

"You were the one who started both, I just wanted to sleep."

She glared at me and turned on her other side. "Sleep then, kids need their sleep more than adults."

I just smiled and closed my eyes.

In the morning I woke up to an empty bed and the sun shining in my eyes. I laid there and waited, hoping that she didn't leave me alone in her house. I looked over at the clock, 7.40 am.

As she came in I looked up expectantly. "Are you gonna bring me breakfast to bed?"

She gave me an incredulous look. "Forget it."

I pouted. "Going out?"

"Yep."

"I have to get up, don't I?"

"Yep."

"I'm getting up then."

"Go ahead."

"I'm up."

"Good."

"I have to change."

"Of course."

"I changed."

"Ok."

"I go home now, right?"

"Unless you want to stay here."

"Nope."

"Yes, then."

"Will you accompany me?"

"If you insist."

"I do."

"Your videogame thing?"

"Leave it here."

"Ready?"

"Let's go."