This is the part where the two MCs meet and how the guy mistakes her for a guy...
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"Picking up a donut, Chris licked the powdered icing off her fingers, savouring the sweet taste before she took a bite into the ring. Pondering for a moment whether or not she should take another, she gave up and took the entire box with her, placing it upon the coffee table."
c "Crud."
"She looked over at the flashing light on her landline and wiped a hand upon her hoodie before pressing a pudgy finger on the button of the answering machine."
$ char = "Answering Machine"
n "{i}Christabel honey it's me Adele. Your mother. It's been three months since you've moved out; don't you think that you've stewed over this long enough? Keith isn't worth this barrier that's forming between us sweetcheeks.{/i}"
c "She thinks I'm like this because of Keith? Think again mother."
"Keith was her fiance. {i}Was{/i} being the key word. Chris had ended it a little more than three months ago since she managed to pull herself ass first out of the silly fairytale dream and figured that he had only wanted one thing from her; the assests that her grandmother had left her in her will."
"She popped another donut into her mouth, chewing vigorously on it in frustration as she thought back to how he hadn't even tried to deny it when she confronted him."
n "{i}He was obviously too much for a sweet girl like you to handle...{/i}"
c "So basically he was out of my league..."
"She thought back to how he was a Oxford graduate with his fancy first degree and compared it to her own second degree; which she had barely managed to achieve."
n "{i}and he was way too ambitious for a man of his age...{/i}"
c "I wasn't good enough to support him in whatever he wanted to do..."
"She had wanted to move to a quaint, countryside home once they had married. Keith, on the other hand, had wanted to stay in the bustling city and connect with companies overseas in real estate with Nelson, her stepfather."
"Chris snarled bitterly when her mind reminded her of her wonderfully snide stepfather. Nelson was nothing but a stuck-up, selfish man who wanted nothing but to rise up in the eyes of society. Why her mother had married him she had yet to find out."
n "{i}and he was too handsome for his own good; he would never have managed to keep his hands to himself.{/i}"
c "He was too handsome for someone looking like I do. Got it mother."
"The rest of the message went on with Adele going on about how Chris wasn't the type to live by herself blah blah blah. Nagging stuff. When the message finally finished with her saying she would call again, Chris heaved herself off the sofa, brushing sprinkles and crumbs off her sweats."
c "Right. Guess I'll cheer myself up with a pizza then."
"She shuffled towards the kitchen worktop where she picked up the pizza menu and the handheld phone that was never too far from a takeaway menu. Dialling off the number by heart, she waited patiently for the guy on the other end to pick up. Once she had ordered, she shuffled back into the living room, almost tripping over a load of trash that had built up."
c "Ouch! Frickin' hell!"
"She hobbled to the arm of the sofa and perched on it, rubbing her poor toes. She gave the room a quick survery before sighing, walking around picking up pieces of trash and various bits of clothings, placing them where they should have been."
c "Urgh. This is working up a sweat."
"She padded into her room and changed into a clean hoodie, grabbing a bobble on the way out of her room and tying her bob cut hair into a tiny ponytail. She sighed, thinking back to when she had her long, straight blond hair. Sure it had been a hassle to maintain, but it was the one thing that she liked about herself."
"Chris thought back to when he biological father was still alive and how he used to plait it for her calling her his little princess. Of course, Lydia, her older sister, had disagreed and disliked the fact that no matter what she had done with her own hair it could never match up to Chris'."
"Yet, apart from the hair Chris had always felt inferior to the rest of her family. Being the middle child, her mother often neglected her, making up with materialistic items which Chris didn't particularly need. Jessica, her younger sister, was doted upon by the whole family; she had bright blue eyes and honey blonde hair which hung around her, enveloping her in a golden sheen."
"One blink of those eyes and a swish of her hair, she had the whole family eating off her feet. What was even more sickening was how she was constantly slim, no matter what she ate and how much of it she consumed. On the other hand, Chris would just bloat by sniffing a biscuit."
"{i}Ding dong!{/i}"
c "Already? That was quick."
"Blinking out of her reminiscing, she walked towards the door, swiping the money from the coffee table on the way to answering the door."
c "Ok ok! I'm coming already! But I have to say Pedro my man, you've sped up a lot more than- woah."
"She stopped midsentence and gave a low whistle when she took in the sight before her. Standing there, with nothing but a pair of low swung, unbuttoned jeans, was {i}the{/i} hottest guy that she had ever seen. Sure he had imperfections, like the odd bits of blemishes and spots upon his face and the visible scar just above his pelvis, but {i}damn{/i} she could get over them anyday."
"She gulped, resisting the urge to run her fingers down his bare chest or press her lips against the partly-opened mouth of his. Either the pizza place was working on their sales with a new tactic - minus the pizza she realised later - or her eyes were deceiving her."
$ Peter = "???"
p "Hey there. Sorry if I was interrupting anything but is it alright if I borrow your shower? Mine broke down on me just before I went in."
c "Motherofgodsendmeasignifyou'remessingwithme."
p "I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that."
"Chris shook herself out of her trance, staring with wide eyes up at the God before her."
c "Pardon?"
"Her voice came out as a squeak, surprising both the guy and her. She cleared her throat before speaking again."
c "I mean, sorry could you repeat that? I was, er, a bit, er, distracted..."
"She trailed off as a slow grin crept across his face and he folded his arms in front of her, enhancing his muscular arms. Chris sucked in her breath, praying that he would stop moving before she pounced on him and tried to have her way with him there and then."
p "It's alright man. I understand."
c "You...you do?"
p "Yeah. I mean, it's not everyday you get someone asking to borrow your shower right? Especially a complete stranger."
"She nodded unconsciously, not quite knowing what he was on about."
c "Er, yeah."
p "So...about that shower?"
"Chris almost jumped out of her skin when he gestured inside her apartment with his arms coming close to her."
c "Shower. Right. Of course, er, come in...sorry it's a bit of a mess..."
"She bit her bottom lip as she stepped aside so he could steer himself in without bumping into her large frame."
p "Don't worry about mess; you should see my room. It would give you a heart attack!"
"He walked into the living room, looking around whilst Chris closed the door behind her. Inside, she was hyperventilating - there was a guy in her apartment! Someone willing and not a family member!"
p "Woah, your room is a bit..."
c "Bit what?"
"She walked towards the bathroom, mystery guy following closely behind."
p "Well it's a bit...girly? I mean, look at the flowery curtains and the twirly mug."
"Chris' eyebrows furrowed. What was wrong with a girl have girly things? True, the things he pointed out were a bit much, but still."
c "I got them from my grandmother so..."
"His face lit up with realisation and he nodded as though he understood what she was on about."
p "Don't worry. I got it. Can't bear to not accept the things your old grammy give you eh? I'm the same man, I'm the same."
"Chris opened the door at the back of the room."
c "Here's the bathroom. The shower should be the same as the one in your room and if you need a towel feel free to just use one of the spare ones hanging around the place."
p "Thanks bro."
"He brushed past Chris and, all of a sudden, began to pull down his trousers. Chris' face flushed instantly and she whipped round, her mind replaying the moment when he stepped out and she saw those muscular legs of his, not to mention the particular area at the top of those said legs."
p "Hey er..."
c "Chris. Name's Chris. What's the matter?"
"Chris turned around to find herself face to face with the guy. Her breath hitched when she realised that there were no jeans, nor underwear, to block the instrument between his legs."
p "Do you have any towels that are less...fluffy? And less pink?"
"Chris' mouth opened and closed as she tried to get something to come out. A raspy sound came out before she remembered what was below her eyes and she blushed furiously."
p "Are you ok?"
"He took a step forward, forcing Chris to take one back. Chris shook her head and attempted to look everywhere but down yet it was proving to be a difficult task when it almost brushed against her."
c "I'm f-f-fine!"
"She turned around and hurriedly scurried away, waving her hand in his direction."
c "I'll bring back a towel and place it in front of the door!"
"... ... ..."
p "Ahh that was a blast!"
"Chris peeked over her shoulder to spot the man with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Either he didn't mind showing his body off or he was like this all the time, Chris had no idea. One thing she knew though, was that {i}she{/i} certainly wasn't going to complain about it."
p "Anyways, thanks for letting me use your shower. I'm in your debt man."
c "It's nothing. Say...when did you move here?"
p "Oh just last week. I was going to introduce myself to the neighbours but I never got round to doing it but still..."
"He suddenly sauntered over to where Chris was sitting. Surprised, Chris backed away from him but he didn't seem to notice."
$ Peter = "Peter"
p "...better late than never eh? Speaking of late, I didn't introduce myself did I? The name's Peter Arkens, but feel free to call me Pete."
c "I'm Chris..."
"Peter suddenly began to laugh. He did this for a few minutes before slapping Chris playfully on the back."
p "You're one funny guy you know? I mean, I known a few guys that are slow, but you're just downright innocent aren't you?"
c "Innocent?"
p "Yeah you know, with all the flowery items and pink towels and whatnot- wait a minute."
"Peter suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in realisation."
p "Aw man. I've hit a sore spot haven't I? I guess I should have known when I saw the bobble in your hair and when you were almost drooling at my body, but then I just assumed..."
"Chris furrowed her eyebrows, screwing her face up in confusion. What on earth was this man talking about?"
c "Should have guessed what?"
"Her tone came out a little more accusing than she expected, but Peter brushed it off."
p "Well...you're gay aren't you? Not that I have anything against gay people oh no. You see my brother is gay so..."
"Chris didn't hear the rest of the explanation as she blocked out what he was saying and tried to get everything in her head straight; so he thought she was gay...but she wasn't a lesbian! And what would be wrong with a lesbian having girly items anways?"
p "Hey bro you alright there? You look a bit pale."
"Then realisation hit her."
c "Hey Peter, Pete, whatever. What...what the heck?!"
p "Woah calm your balls! I mean, I just guessed but then my brother's gay friends always drooled around me as well so...anyways this place is pretty neat. I mean, it's larger than my place for sure..."
"Chris' mind drowned out his appreciation of the room with the same phrase continuously again and again."
centered "{i}'He thinks I'm a guy...'{/i}"
He even practically admits he liked having his brother's gay friends drool over him. "Calm your balls?" No, Pete. You need to cover your balls. That's sexual harassment and indecent exposure all rolled into one. They put people on lists for stuff like that....
