My Kind of Woman

9. Mrs. Right

Jackie's thin arms came up above her head, raising her tight top against her tan stomach, and her hips began to sway rhythmically. I was envious of her ability to dance so effortlessly, yet so sensually. I felt Jackie was good at everything sometimes. I let my legs hang over the edge of the bed, watching her swing her hips and move her arms.

"I hope you're not trying to be sexy." I said.

"What? Can't hear you unless you dance, Fish!" She called, pretending the music was too loud to talk over.

I rolled my eyes, but stood up and eventually joined her. I linked our fingers above our heads as I tried to copy her movements, laughing when I realised I couldn't in quite the same way. She encouraged me all the same though and whooped as I put my all into dancing with her.

The album felt like it lasted forever, every song melting into one another as we danced for hours. I was surprised no one came up to complain at the floor bashing or the loud laughter over the music. But once it ended, Jackie switched off the CD player at the plug and flopped down into her bed beside me. We were breathing heavily and exhausted. We giggled for a few minutes before I felt her breathing becoming more patterned, and I looked over and saw that her eyes were closed and her thin pink lips were parted. She was falling asleep on my arm. I shifted, but she only rolled closer to me. And with no complaints then, I fell asleep too.

With no dreams, no thoughts, no disruption. For an hour or so. Then I awoke.

The light was still on from where we'd forgotten to switch it off after passing out. My body was wide awake, my throat was dry, something in me was telling me to get up and move. The house was massive, so I told myself getting up in the night would be no deal. The kitchen was so far from the bedrooms.

I slowly slid my arm from under Jackie's neck and shuffled off the bed. I crept up to the door, switched off the light and slipped out of the bedroom into the dark hallway. Every door was closed and behind them, the lights were off. With the central heating turned off for the night, the house felt colder and in my bed shirt and shorts, my skin felt cool to the touch. I made my way downstairs, my feet padding softly on the carpeting. Nearer to the bottom though, I saw that faint light was glowing from further downstairs. I froze up on the last step, thinking what I'd do if I ran into Jackie's dad - what I would say. But I felt I'd come too far to not commit to getting my glass of water.

Straight in front of me, sitting on the loveseat to the side of the television, was Mio - half bare legs crossed over and a book in hand. Her hair was tied back loosely away from her heart-shaped face and her body was covered by a white nightgown and a dark robe. A tall lamp beside the loveseat was angled over her head, bathing her scalp and body in ethereal shine. She looked like an angelic apparition in the night, a figment of my dreaming mind.

But, she looked up slowly from her book and caught my studious eye, tucking a strand of her black hair behind her ear. I swallowed.

"Norah, what are you doing up?" She spoke across the room in a hushed voice, closing her book and placing it on the coffee table.

I took slow steps towards her, preparing to go back up to Jackie's bedroom if told. "I couldn't sleep." I told her.

"Me either." She said softly. "You want to sit?"

I sat down beside her, tucking my legs under my body, hiding their thinness. I watched as she pulled her robe closer to her, folding it over her chest and crossing her arms over the top. I hadn't seen her in that type of clothing before and honestly, I found it so shocking to see so much of her skin. It was a change from her usual blouse and long skirt, or long-sleeve and sweats. Of course, she had to sleep in something but I hadn't expected it to be such pretty bedwear. It made me feel childish in my slightly large top and loose bed shorts.