Heather bonked her head as she started to sit up, remembering too late that she had gone to sleep beneath her bed. As she took stock, she felt grimy with dirt and dust all down her naked back and legs and butt where she'd been lying on the floor, and knew her hair must also be quite filthy. What the heck had she been thinking, going to sleep under her bed instead of on top of it like a normal grown-ass woman.
Oh well, she thought, too late for that regret. She'd just have to deal with the consequences of her bad decision. She pulled herself sideways out from underneath the bed, then stood and collected her bathrobe from where she'd dropped it by the door. She shrank away a moment from putting it on, but then shrugged and decided that she'd just have to wash it after using it today. Peer out in the hall for roommates on conflicting schedules, then into the bathroom and start her day. She lingered in the shower for a long time, but eventually felt clean enough and moved along with life.
Whatever the strangeness of the night before, Heather's day was absolutely normal, just putting in her time cleaning teeth and chatting with her dentist boss and other co-workers. Cooking and sharing food with her roommates, laughing as they appreciated a bad rom-com together. At bedtime, she only varied her routine in that she did not attempt to fix or replace her night light. She just felt so happy and powerful that she could handle the darkness now, while at the same time feeling silly that she felt that way. She didn't call Cam though, and he didn't call her either. In a mixture of emotions, she settled down on her bed and embraced the darkness as she went to sleep.
In fact, she didn't see Cam for several days. It was only on Saturday afternoon that they next got together, Heather coming up to his baking hot top-floor loft to catch up and hang out a while before they were going to head off to a party with their friends together. His windows were all open, but that was basically just futile in the summer Houston heat. Without a fan on either, the humid air seeped sluggishly around, resentfully refusing to even sop up sweat properly.
As she came in, she saw that Cam was sitting up on his dirty blue couch with his head thrown back against the cushion, arms draped out to either side, shirtless and glistening with sweat. "Hey, babe," he said, turning his head as she came through the unlocked rusty metal door, "How's it hanging?"
"Hey, Cam," she replied, "I'm good enough. You wanna blow this place?"
"Naw, not yet," he grinned, "I'm getting my sauna time, you know. Clears the toxins right on out of my system."
Heather shook her head and came to settle next to him. She didn't share her boyfriend's enthusiasms or convictions, but she could respect it and she could take the heat. His refusal of both air conditioning and fans was one of the key reasons that they didn't share a space together yet, despite their long-time dating status. Maybe they'd figure it out someday, but for now she tolerated his convictions, and for his part he'd stopped trying to convince her to join him in his quest for ecological purity.
For now, though, she didn't mind the opportunity for a little more bare-chested boyfriend time. And since she'd known what she'd be facing, she'd dressed light as well, a thin white linen button-down and matching shorts. She popped the buttons open and exposed her trim belly and beige sports bra. Such a total white girl, she thought, looking down at herself, but not unpleasantly, just recognizing that was who she was.
They sat there in companionable silence for a little while, Cam breathing slowly and gently in a meditative way, while Heather grew gradually sticky and unpleasant feeling. And then he asked her about her week, and they chatted comfortably a while, just working back together after their few days apart. Heather felt grateful sometimes for Cam's laconic approach to life, which balanced out her more intense approach. He didn't bring up their last night together, and she didn't either, figuring that "least said, soonest mended" was a reasonable way to move past that time of awkwardness.
In fact, she was feeling generally appreciative of him right then, and enjoying the trim solidity of his wiry hairless chest. As a bicycle messenger, Cam spent all his workdays working out, and it really showed on him. She was reasonably athletic enough, but mostly she was thin just because that was her body type. He, on the other hand, really worked for it, and she liked the way it made him look.
Cam caught her looking at him that way and smiled, "You checking out the goods?" At her nod, he said, "You know, I'm half unwrapped already. You don't have to look when you can touch."