My Dirty Laundry

“What are you doing here?”

Hearing the annoyingly familiar voice as she stepped into the room, Anna sighed and dropped the huge basked of her dirty clothes on the floor. “I don’t know TJ,” she said dryly as she turned to look at him. “Maybe it could be because I need to do laundry?” she asked obviously as she looked down at the pile by her UGG-covered feet. “That is usually the reason why people actually come here,” she pointed out. “Or wait, maybe it’s been too long since I saw your lovely face,” she glared at him.

“Real cute sweetheart,” TJ smirked, sitting comfortably on top of an unused dryer.

“Actually I have a name and it’s Anna,” she felt like spelling it out. “And I thought I already made it clear: I am not your sweetheart,” she insisted, kicking the heavy and over spilling laundry basket towards the empty washer only to groan as she saw the out-of-order sign taped on top of it. She – well her parents and her scholarship – was paying thousands of dollars in room and board every term, and they couldn’t even manage to supply more than a few working machines in the dorm’s only laundry room.

“Ouch Anna, that hurts.”

She shuddered at the sound of his voice and his hot breath against the side of her neck, just below her ear. Turning, she found that he was mere centimeters away from her face, completely invading her personal space. Being so close she couldn’t help but look into his striking eyes, they were an intense combination of green, blue and hazel, completely opposite of her own generic blue ones.

Regaining her senses, she placed her hands against his firm chest and gave him a surprisingly hard shove, pushing him away from her. Going back down that road again wasn't a good idea, and she would be the first one to say it. But there wasn't any denying it, the attraction had been there between them since the first time they met. But she had found him to be a rather physical being, thinking more with his downstairs head than the one upstairs and she had no desire to be just another plaything…at least not again.

“What do you think you are doing?” she questioned.

“Well, I think it’s very clear that I’d like to do you,” he replied with a cocky grin across his baby-faced features.

“Oh, Teej, you really know how to get a girl in bed,” she said sarcastically as she moved away from him and towards another machine. Opening the lid she found that it was already filled and slamming it shut again, she jumped on top of it. The person who the clothes belonged to had exactly ten minutes to come get them before she got them out and threw them on the floor.

“Well, it worked on you before,” he pointed out smugly. “It doesn’t hurt to try again.”

Twisting slightly, she looked over at him in disgust. How could he be so…so…so…she couldn't even decide on the right word to use; jerk, pig, scumbag…well you name it really.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she stated frankly. “I mean, are you lonely?” she questioned as she continued to glare at him. “What did you think? That I’ll just crawl back in to your bed, let you use me and then when you're done, we’re not going to talk about it at all,” she went off. “And then we can awkwardly meet in the laundry room a few weeks later and just do it all on repeat?” she asked annoyed as she turned away from him, suppressing the urge to go over and smack him.

Watching her, his usually so confident smile faded from his features.

He knew he shouldn’t push her buttons, he was only pushing her further away. And any further away and he might never have a chance with her again.

It wasn't just about the sex, that wasn't why he needed another chance with her. It was because there was something about her that was so intriguing to him. Something that made him think about her at the most inconvenient of times during the day.

There was the way the tiny gold fleck in her blue eyes sparkled when she was angry at him. the was she had looked when she was sleeping next to him in his bed, her copper blonde hair spread out around her head, contrasting against the blue bed sheets.

But most of all, it was her infectious laugh and the way she always seemed to have something interesting to say, not simply wasting space and time with brainless babble.

The sort of funny thing was that he never admitted having those feelings to anyone, barely even to himself, and especially not to her. Watching her from the corner of his eyes, he knew he would have to take a chance if he really wanted a chance with her. Ever.

He took a deep breath, “Look, I’m sorry.”

“For being you?” she asked, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow in his direction. “Wow, I never thought I’d live to hear that,” she smirked at him.

Walking over to where she was sitting, he places his hands on either side of her and leaned slightly against the machine. “Yeah, I guess I am sorry for being a jerk,” he nodded slightly. “I'm sorry about what happened before; I guess I should have shown you a little respect.”

Hearing the words he was saying, Anna gasped slightly, was she really hearing right? “What?”

“I'm a jerk,” he admitted frankly. “But I really like you.”

“Wait a minute, is this the part where you confess your secret love and I'm supposed to let you take me right here, right on top of my dirty laundry?” she asked pointedly, sarcasm dripping from her every word, her only defense mechanism against him. She had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth, or if it was yet another tactic of his to get her back into his bed for the night.

Lowering his head, TJ shook it back and forth. “No, it’s not like that,” he disagreed. “I'm really into…I mean, I like you,” he stated. “And not just because of how amazing we are together.”

“You think I'm amazing in bed?” she asked softly, a small smile spreading across her plump lips.

“I think you’re amazing in general,” he said, raising his eyes to meet hers again, only to start laughing when he realized what he’d said. “I'm sorry I didn’t mean that to sound so cheesy.”

“That wasn't a bad line,” she said slowly. “For most girls it would probably have done it. They would be falling right into your arms,” she continued, leaning forwards slightly, closer to him as he was still leaning against the machine.

“But you're not like most girls, are you?” he asked huskily, leaning slightly closer to her too.

“I like to think I'm not,” she said evenly, leaning backwards and putting distance between them once again.

“You're definitely not,” he stated under his breath. “So are you saying I have no chance with you?” he asked, looking her straight in the eye.

“I'm saying that you have no chance of getting me into your bed tonight,” she stated, pushing him away and hopping down from the machine, heading towards the door.

“That’s not the chance I'm asking for Anna, I swear,” he said seriously. “I’ll prove it to you,” he added, sounding almost desperate.

Looking back at him, she took in the more than sincere expression across his chubby features and nibbled her lip slightly as she was thinking. “Well,” she said slowly, “then I think you might just have to do that.”

“I’ll do anything,” he stated seriously. “Just be my girlfriend, please,” he almost pleaded.

“We’ll see,” she tilted her head to the side slightly. “But how about you start by doing my laundry,” she suggested smirking. “And after you’re done, bring it up to my room and we might talk about a possible us,” she grinned cheekily as she backed out of the door and headed back up to her room, the smile not leaving her face for a moment.

Swallowing hard, TJ looked down at the large pile of clothes in the basket. He wasn't really sure if washing her clothes was a good idea. But if that was what it took, he’d do it. For another chance to talk to her, to really get a chance with her, he’d do pretty much anything, including a good old batch of dirty laundry.