Rena: Code 143

1.9

It's been at least two hours and the storm showed no signs of stopping. Nick and I were casually drinking coffee, but we had moved a table in front of the fireplace. We now sat across from one another playing a card game. "Uno out!" I danced a little in my seat after slapping down my last card. Nick sucked his teeth and placed his cards down. I had to say, he was horrible at this game. I had won five times in a row and my ego was rising with each win. Nonetheless, Nick held a smile on his face as he watched me shimmy in excitement.

"What is with you saying Uno out when winning?" He asked with a chuckle. "You just say Uno when you have your last card."

"No no no, Mister! It's Uno and then it's Uno out so your opponent feels even more defeated." I told him grinning.

"Well, consider me beat," We laughed and it felt good. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Not with friends or my husband, yet I was enjoying the company of a stranger. We had talked to one another for a while about the crazy storm and how we had no way to go home. Earlier Nick explained that he too was dropped off by a friend and decided to stay late. He didn't realize how bad it had gotten until he heard me pounding on his door. By then the cell service was out and he had no ride home. Two strangers stuck together equals playing Uno until the storm dies down.

"I'm starting to think you're letting me win intentionally. There is no way you can be this bad at a child's game," I told him as I gathered all the cards on the table.

"Well, there is a storm outside." He said as if that explained why.

"That-how does a storm correlate to a game of Uno?" I asked him brushing my locs to the side with my hand. I'm sure they looked a mess after being damped by rain. Although it's been an hour or more I can still feel the water in my hair. I focused back on the cards as I awaited an answer. Once secured in my hands I began to shuffle. Still not receiving a response, I glanced up to see Nick's greenish-blue eyes trained on me. Our eyes clashed and for a brief moment, I became hyper-aware of the man before me.

The rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, the budge of his adam's apple as he swallowed harshly, and his pink lips begging to be kissed. Sucked on, trapped between my teeth as we-No, no, and no! I am a married woman. Breaking the trance by removing my gaze I sat the cards down. "Um-I'll be right back," I told him as I got up from the chair deciding to head to the bathroom. He cleared his throat and nodded. As I walked toward the restroom, I could sense his eyes on me. It took all of my willpower to not look back at the man who stirred foreign feelings inside of me.

Practically running inside the restroom I went towards the sink. Turning it on, I lowered my hands to collect water before wetting my face. I did it once, twice, thrice just so I can get the image of Nick out of my mind. He was dangerous in a way I wish he wasn't. I wasn't thinking with my head, clearly. At this point, I couldn't tell if my panties were wet from the rain earlier or from my reaction to Nick-no Nicolaus. Everything about him was exquisite and he made me laugh. Me! It's been close to a year since I've found something-no someone to laugh with. It was nice for a change. Something I longed for and hadn't realized.

A drop of water fell onto my right hand causing me to look up. Moving my eyes up from the sink to the mirror I took in my appearance. Still dressed in Nick's clothes I looked warm. I felt warm and sad, but warm. I hadn't even realized I was crying until I saw a tear streak and another tear falling beside it. Why am I crying? Is it bad that I don't know the reason for my own tears? I'm a therapist, I should know, right?

Three knocks on the bathroom door had me wiping away at my eyes quickly. Nick's voice called out to me, cautiously. "Hey, Rena. The rain has died down and my phone has cell service so...I figured you would want to make that call to your husband." He said. I couldn't help but detect Nick saying husband in an odd tone. However, I chose to ignore it since I had bigger things to worry about. Such as facing Kenny when I had to leave, knowing I didn't want to.