Flashback – Carmen

I needed to chill out a little, after that call.
Well, much more than a fucking little.
I went jogging for almost two hours thinking why in the world my big day had been practically ruined.
Why in the world the cool-boxes weren’t where they were supposed to be.
Why in the world my client was calling me every five minutes, shouting and telling me to fix things up immediately.
Why in the world there were only a few hours left until his – my – meeting.
Why in the world.
I came home breathless and covered in sweat, a damned Saturday morning that was destined to be a blast suddenly become one of the worst days of my life.
I climbed up the stairs and took a long, hot shower.
And now, after almost a hour, I am starting to feel better.
Physically, at least.
But I am pissed as hell and I wanna know what’s happened to my appetizers and my cakes.
Shane is taking one of her saunas.
I reach for her in the basement and open the door of the steam room.
“Have you seen my cool-boxes?”, I ask her, in a flat tone.
She’s sitting on the wood bench, dripping sweat from every inch of her fuckable body, her dark, wet hair covering her forehead and eyes.
A white towel wrapped around her waist, her elbows resting on her knees, head bent, staring at the floor.
And, for a second, I have to banish from my mind the image of me fucking her right on that bench, right now, furiously and feverishly.
She looks up just for a second, her pale face contrasting with those green, intelligent eyes.
“Are you talking to me?”.
I purse my lips.
“What did you do with my stuff?”.
She blinks her eyelids, totally expressionless.
“You’re letting the heat out”.
I can feel a furious anger growing on me.
“I know something happened. Instead of playing this game, what happened?”.
Shane slowly tilts her head, a serious look into her eyes.
“You ruined your catering, Carmen”.
I narrow my eyes.
“What?”.
“Yes. One damn Dalmane and your fucking cakes will be at your client’s place”.
I close my mouth, feeling a sudden shiver going down my spine.
“I had to get up in the middle of the night, looking for Sominex, and I backed out the…”.
“That’s supposed to scare me? Is that some kind of retroactive threat?”, I chime in, silencing her.
“You deserved that”.
Shane gets up and moves some steps in my direction.
Still, I have to forget for a second how sexy her sweated, almost totally naked body is.
Before she gets any closer, I slam the door, furiously.
She is observing me from the small window.
She is observing me as I grab a hammer and a couple of wedges of wood.
Her eyes are still completely clueless when I start blocking the door.
Bam, bam, bam.
The hammer slams soundly on the wedges.
Shane’s eyes dilate in surprise and she tries to open the door, frantically turning the knob.
It doesn’t work.
Saying nothing I start wedging the second piece of wood in the doorframe.
Shane starts pushing the door with her shoulder, unsuccessfully.
Who’s scared, now? Huh?
Bam, bam, bam.
The hammer.
Bam, bam, bam.
Shane’s shoulder against the hard surface of the door.
When I am sure she is completely blocked inside the steam room, I stare at her, coldly, through the small window.
She is watching me, angry and worried, sweat covering her face.
“If you are looking for trouble, Carmen, you found it!”, she yells.
“What do you expect? You ruined my job! You’re making me nuts!”, I shout back, throwing my hands in the air.
“Fuck you, Carmen!”, she growls, “Can you hear me?! Fuck you!!! Goddammit!!”.
I don’t reply.
I just turn around and climb up the walls.
I go back to the kitchen, frantically pacing back and forth between fridge, counter and oven.
There’s no much time left and I have to cook everything again if I don’t wanna lose my meeting.
There’s no much time left and I am alone in my hyper-technologic kitchen trying hard to prepare brand new sets of appetizers and cakes in zero time.
As I grab knives, and forks, and turn the appliances on, I glance at the clock.
More than a hour passes and Shane is still stuck in the steam room.
I think I’ll let her "relax" for another half hour.
As a minimum.
When the oven rings and I know that the cakes are finally ready, I slowly go down the stairs.
I can’t see her through the small window on the door.
Quickly, I remove the wedges of wood and open the steam room.
The heat coming out from it is unbearable, so I step aside.
When the steam eventually dissolves, Shane appears in my field of view.
She’s laying on her stomach, on the floor, completely out of breath.
She slowly, tiredly lifts her head and stares at me, panting.
Her green eyes are surrounded by dark circles, her face is sweated and pale.
I am towering over her.
“I am asking you to leave”, I say, simply.
She ducks her head and the corners of her mouth lift in a sarcastic smile.
“Go to hell. This is my house, and I am going to stay”.
I grab a fresh, new towel and throw it at her.
“Frankly, I am concerned about you, Shane. You look haggard”, I mutter, before leaving her alone in the room.

End Flashback