Page 14 of Slow Burn (Forbidden Heat 2)

“Sure,” I said. “Why not?”

“Ok,” she replied. Shelly reset the game and added it for two players, notifying the front desk. “Let’s do it.”

I unpacked my gear and we got into the game. Shelly was doing much better than I anticipated that she would, but she was still learning some of the basics and it would take a lot of practice to master them as it did for us all. I could remember playing for about a year or more before I was even remotely happy about my playing level. And I’d worked hard to improve beyond that.

Shelly was a fast learner and she was naturally athletic. I could tell that in the way she moved and improvised throughout her stance and delivery. She was able to make the necessary adjustments on the fly to correct her movements and it worked out for her a good majority of the time.

I had so much fun with her. We ordered a few beers and a pizza while we played three straight games. I won them all, but Shelly came close during the last game. The best part was that I just got to hang out with her and get to know her a bit. We had a lot in common. She even seemed familiar with some of the more obscure horror movies that I loved.

“I think you are wrong about Night Visitor,” Shelly replied. “That movie totally gets the respect it deserves in the underground horror community. They are always talking about it in the forums.”

“Right, but I’m saying that so many people complain that Shannon Tweed is only in the movie a short period of time. They expected her to be the star, or the so called ‘final girl’,” I said. “People, it’s not that type of movie. The protagonist is a guy, which is a total twist on the genre which through the whole decade had seen their protagonist being females.”

“I can see where you are coming from with that,” she said. “Shannon Tweed was amazing. So hot, and she never got the props for her acting ability.”

“I agree,” I said. “You kind of look a bit like her, but I think you are even more beautiful.”

I couldn’t believe those words had slipped out. I was tempted to let on how shocked I was, but I was almost glad I’d said it. This tension needed to be taken care of and acknowledged, or else it would eat at the both of us.

I expected Shelly to be really caught off guard, but surprisingly she was ok with it. She just smiled warmly with a little blush. “Thanks.” Her gaze lingered on mine for several moments. I couldn’t believe that this had actually happened. I’d expressed myself without any conscious effort and it felt great. It was just something that I’d felt happening to me and then suddenly, it was done. I was caught up in the moment. And then that moment was gone.

We resumed our game and drank a few more beers while finishing off the pizza. Shelly could hold her own when it came to downing beer and pizza. There was something about watching a beautiful woman eating junk food like that which really turned me on. Shelly had so many wonderful sides to her that the longer I was with her, the more attracted I became to her. I felt this strong urge to connect with her, to just show her everything, to lay all my cards out on the table and tell her that I’d been thinking about her nonstop since the moment I met her.

But of course, I did no such thing. That was the behavior of a desperate, creepy man, and I didn’t consider myself to be such a way. I had lived by choice without a woman in my life for several months already, and I was sure that I could continue this lifestyle. But there was something massively different about the way that I felt when I was near Shelly. I felt that she was a woman I could really connect with, and had connected with beyond just a mere physical attraction. This was the type of want that you felt for another person when you didn’t really have a choice in the matter. The heart loves what the heart wants. It’s bizarre really when you think about it, but I believe that when two people are meant to be together that the universe creates the dynamics necessary to make this happen. It can’t be forced. And I knew I would be a fool to ignore such a thing.

We finished bowling and I walked Shelly out to her car. It was a nice, warm spring evening. The stars were out amongst the clear, cloudless sky, and a bright full moon was looming high overhead giving light over everything.

“Well, thank you so much for the lessons,” Shelly said. “I very nearly kicked your butt that last game.”

“Oh, you didn’t come close to kicking my butt, but it was a bit of toss up until the very end. I enjoyed that level of competition.”

“Wow, you aren’t one of those sore losers, are you?” Shelly teased.

“I don’t know. I’ve never lost anything before,” I teased. “Including the games we played tonight.”

Shelly hit me playfully on the arm. I took that to be a good sign. “Yes, I can be physically aggressive when I lose,” Shelly teased.

“That’s ok. I won’t hold it against you,” I said. But I’d love if you held something against me. I tried to avoid the thoughts. But I wanted this woman so damn badly. She was becoming perfect in my eyes. She was beautiful, sweet, fun, sassy, and intelligent with a great sense of humor and playfulness. I wanted to learn everything I could about her and I would have sat by and listened tirelessly as she told me her entire life story.

“Ok, thanks,” Shelly said with a giggle. “I had a great time tonight,” she said.

“I haven’t had that much fun in a while, and with moving to a new city, it’s easy to feel pretty lonely, you know?”

“Yeah, I’ve been there,” I said. “Starting over is never easy, but I think you are always stronger after it’s done. So, I never think it’s a regret.”

She pondered my philosophical musings for a moment and nodded. “I think you are right.”

She unlocked her car and I grabbed her bag. I eased it into her backseat and as I sat it down, I happened to look up to notice that Shelly was right there with me, our faces only inches apart. I wasn’t sure if it happened by happy accident, or if it was just us being drawn together so strongly that this sort of thing would keep happening until we did something about it.

I took a deep breath as I moved a little closer. I felt the overwhelming urge coming over me. I had to move on this. It was like I had no choice. I had to try.

I leaned in and got ready to put my lips on hers. I was almost there when Shelly took a slight step back. “We can’t,” Shelly said.

I paused in the middle of the movement and then I straightened myself up. I felt awkward and a bit foolish, but I kept my composure and settled back against the side of the car. I looked at her carefully and waited to see what explanation she would give. Was she just not as into me as I was into her? Had I misread her entire attraction to me?

A hot flush fell against my skin and I began to sweat a bit. This was possibly a bad miscalculation on my part. I could now imagine how weird things were going to be between the two of us around the station. I doubted that Shelly would say anything to anyone, but it would still make for an uncomfortable workplace environment. Dammit. What had I done?

I’d followed my instincts and they’d proven wrong. I didn’t really think I should have felt any shame for this.

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