Control Yourself

“Okay, so what’s the big emergency?” Shae asked. “You interrupted my class, Kar.”

“Shae, shut up!” She shrieked. “This is serious!”

“Okay,” Shae said tiredly, leaning against the front desk. “Hit me.”

“I’m freaking pregnant!” Kara cried.

Shae paused.

“What?”

“Pregnant, preggo, knocked up - bun in my freaking oven!” Kara squeaked.

“Calm down, calm down,” Shae said, twirling the phone cord around her finger. “When’d you find out?”

Kara sighed.

“Last night,” She said. “I was feeling crappy for about two weeks – just no energy, always sore, moody… And that’s when it hit me that I was late!”

Shae rolled her eyes, a small smile spreading across her face.

“It took you two weeks to realize you were late?” Shae joked.

“Shae, this isn’t a laughing matter,” Kara sighed. “I’m pregnant.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing, Kar,” Shae said, placing her hand on her hip.

Kara scoffed.

“We’re not ready to have a baby,” She squeaked.

“Does Mark feel the same way?” Shae asked. Kara sighed.

“No…” She said sheepishly. “He’s really happy.”

“Then what the hell is your problem?” Shae snorted. “There is never a right time to have a kid, Kara – you’ve got to make it the right time; that’s the joy of having kids.”

Kara sighed, defeated.

“You may be right…” She said. “I guess I just panicked a little.”

“A little?” Shae scoffed. “Kara – I gotta’ go, babe; I left my class in downward dog.”

Kara giggled lightly.

“Okay, thanks Shae,” She said. “Later.”

*

“So… hot….” Shae choked out, sprawled out next to Forrest on the living room floor of her apartment.

“He said the air would be fixed by tomorrow,” Forrest said, turning his head to look over at Shae. She groaned, resting her arms over her eyes.

Forrest chuckled.

“You can survive,” He said, gently shoving Shae’s arms. She grunted.

“But I’m hot…” Shae whined.

“Go get some ice,” Forrest suggested, staring up at the ceiling yet again. Shae grunted, turning over onto her side, stumbling to her feet. She dragged herself into her humid kitchen, throwing open the freezer, grabbing the tray of ice cubes. She popped a few out of the tray, rubbing them across her collar bone and down her arms. Once they melted, she wiped her hands off on her lacy camisole and carried the tray back into the living room with her.

She plopped down on the floor beside Forrest and began rubbing her forehead with an ice cube.

“You’re such a baby,” Forrest chuckled. “It’s a little hotter than normal – big deal.”

“It’s a lot hotter than normal, thank you very much,” She said, flicking the rest of the ice cube as well as the dripping water on her hand at him. Forrest flinched.

“That’s what you get for living in Las Vegas,” He said, playfully jabbing at her stomach. Shae groaned, shooing his hand away.

“Movement is making me hot,” She whined, rubbing another ice cube down her arms and legs. Forrest heaved himself to sitting position, pulling his cotton t-shirt over his head, tossing it onto the couch.

“Don’t you have a fan around here or something?” He asked. Shae shook her head. Forrest chuckled. “Well, there’s your first problem – want me to grab mine?” He suggested.

Shae sighed, finally nodding. Forrest grinned, heaving himself up onto his feet, pulling his shirt back on over his head.

“I’ll be back in a sec,”

Forrest left the apartment, his footsteps echoing through the hallway. Shae sighed, dropping an ice cube down the front of her shirt, gasping in shock but otherwise enjoying the cold on her skin. She returned the ice cube tray back to the freezer and headed into her bedroom, not bothering to flick on the light. Instead, she tore her damp shirt off her already moist body, standing there in nothing but a pair of short, coral pink, cotton shorts, as well as her black, lacy bra. Shae grunted, trudging over to the window, peeking through her drawn curtains into the sun setting in the horizon on the city. She sighed, leaning her head against the wall.

The apartment door opened, Forrest slipping back inside with a smash.

“Oops,” He said.

Shae, without second thought, rushed into the hall to see what had happened. On the floor by Forrest’s feet was shattered glass from a vase she had picked up for a few dollars. Shae shrugged.

“It was cheap anyways,” She laughed, retrieving a broom and a dust pan from the spare bedroom/at-home studio, heading over to where Forrest stood dumbfounded, staring at her as she knelt down, sweeping up the shards of turquoise glass.

“Just put that in the bedroom, Forrest,” Shae said, her eyes flickering up, meeting his. Once she had swept up the mess, she dumped it in the garbage can in the kitchen, returning to the hall to find Forrest still standing there.

“You okay?” She asked, waving a hand in front of his face. Forrest nodded, setting the fan down beside him. He paused for a moment, staring at Shae’s perfect body.

“You sure?” She asked, finally staring down, realizing she was half dressed. “Oh.” She said abruptly. “I’m sorry you had to—“

Forrest gently grabbed a hold of her face, bringing his lips to hers. They stumbled towards the wall, leaving Shae’s back pressing hard into the wall. At first she was startled, unable to comprehend the sudden intensity. Forrest’s hands scaled her body, tugging at her to reply. Shae finally kissed back, running her hands through Forrest’s hair.

Who cared if it was wrong?

It felt so right.