Surrendering Affair

Chapter 6

For the rest of the week, Ricky stayed clear of me. I came home from work one night to find him checking his mailbox. When he noticed me in the foyer, he quickly squeezed the envelopes in his hand and jogged up the steps.

If I stood in the hall around the same time he was going up to his apartment, he'd bow his head to avoid looking at me. With his eyes staring at his feet, he'd slowly make his way up the steps.

I wondered what went wrong. As I sat in my apartment, all that flooded my mind was our moment together. To clear my head, I decided to begin a new project. In my bedroom I set up my painting easel and placed a stool in front of it. Throughout the days before and after work, I'd slowly work on the painting.

At first I didn't know exactly what I was making. The abstract mixing of colors didn't make much sense. I just allowed my wrist to curve with the waves of my emotions. The more I thought about Ricky, the more he haunted me. No, it wasn't as if I was in love or anything. I was far too advanced for feelings such as love.

But the idea that I couldn't get him rocked me. One specific night that week I sat in front of my canvas totally naked. Various shades of red was spread across the canvas. It reflected the fiery desire I that had me wanting Ricky between my thighs once again. My painting was interrupted by the loss of light.

My whole apartment went dark with a flash.

With a sigh, I walked around as I tried to find my way to my bedside table. I yelped as my naked hip bumped against the wood leg of my bed. To catch my balance, I bent over onto the mattress. Then slowly I kept my hands on the bed as I inched my way toward the headboard. My legs pressed against the side table, and my fingers gripped the cold metal handle.

My fingers landed on an array of miscellaneous items. A make up compact, a mirror, a hand radio... until finally they landed on the waxy texture of my candles. Right next to them I kept the matches, which I felt as well.

I lit a candle and placed one on my bedside table, then I lit another and walked back toward my painting. Slowly I moved the easel from the middle of the room so I wouldn't stumble on it in the dark.

There was a knock on the door.

I let out a sigh of relief. The electricity going out was common in this building. The wiring dated back to the turn of the century. Every time we lost lights, Regina would come upstairs to wait it out with me. Going into my closet I got out my robe. After placing my thick candle onto the floor, I attempted to place it on. It was hard to see without the candle light, but feeling it out was sufficient enough.

After picking up my candle, I walked into the living room and headed for the door. "Honey, I can't believe..."

I went silent.

Slowly I lifted the candle to the person's face. It was the same boy who'd pretended to not know me this whole time. Ricky's blue eyes were illuminated by the flicker of the flame. He seemed flustered, as if he wasn't sure how I'd react to his presence.

"I— I was just wondering if the lights were out in your apartment too." He finally let out.

I lowered the candle toward my chest. "It's usually the whole building when it happens."

"I don't know how to get them back up..." He pushed his hands into his pants. He wore a pajama set. He looked carelessly handsome. His hair was a bit messy, you could tell he may have already been relaxing in bed. His oversized pale blue pajamas almost looked as good as a tux would've looked on him.

All I could think about was taking them off.

"Usually Hector downstairs takes care of it." I informed him. He quietly stared at me without saying a word. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't just leave. "Will that be all?"

"That— yeah. It's just that... I'll be going." He began to walk off. Something in me truly didn't want him to leave. I was only so harsh because of his leaving me the other day.

I stepped out into the hall, cupping my candle in front of my chest. "No, what's on your mind?"

He slowly turned toward me, hands in his pockets still. His eyes were staring particularly at my breasts.

"Come on, it's not like we've anything else to do. No radio... no television." I smiled at him. Once again I found myself pining for him. Wanting him to open himself to me. His eyes continued looking down. When I looked down at the candle, I finally saw what he saw.

When I put on my robe, I didn't do it well at all. One of my breasts seemed to have been exposed. Even though I closed my robe and wrapped the belt around the cinched waist, one side still appeared to be open.

I grinned, slowly covering my breast. My skin was sticky from the summer heat. I stepped toward him, and as I got closer the light illuminated him more. A light sheen of sweat covered his face. It was sexy, as if he'd just made love. Something tells me it wasn't all from the heat.

"Would you like to come inside?" I offered. "Usually I spend dark nights light this with Regina, but it seems like she isn't coming up. I guess she and her fiancé are occupied."

"Sure thing." Ricky nodded, almost too eagerly. It seems as this little exercise was just an excuse to get inside of my apartment.

The fans in my apartment shut off with the lights. The ice box no longer provided relief. The windows were open, but they only let in more heat.

He followed me into my apartment, my robe flowing around me. Awkwardly he stood at the doorway. I bent over at my coffee table, setting the candle down. When I stood up he still stood at the door. "You can shut the door."

He nodded, as if he felt idiotic at my pointing that out. I sat down on the couch, stretching my arm across the back of it. He quietly tried to walk over, but in the process he hit his shin on the table.

"Fuck." He cursed. When he realized what left his lips, he quickly fell onto the couch, only half of the shock on his face being illuminated by the light. "I'm sorry— I never curse in front of a lady."

"Don't you dare worry about it." I placed a hand on his leg. I rubbed my thumb along his thigh, and slowly he moved his knee so it pointed more toward me. His cheeks became flushed at my touch, but both his hands were behind him as he sat on the couch.