Knock and see if she's O.K.

I knock gently on the bathroom door. "Sara are you all right?" I ask.

I hear the water turn off and few seconds later Sara opens open the door a few inches and looks out. I can see that he only thing she has on is a towel that's wrapped around her body. Tiny bits of the shampoo lather are dripping out of her hair.

"What is it Whisper? Is something wrong?"

"No nothing's wrong. I just thought I heard some something and that you might be in trouble. I guess not."

Sara blushes and then gives me a bemused look. "Trouble in the shower? Well, thanks for your concern, but I'm just fine." She shuts the door and I hear the shower start up again.

I walk back to the kitchen table and curse myself for a fool. All the years of watching people hurt each other must be making me paranoid. The noise probably came from the pipes. I sit down and curse myself again. I can't tell her how I feel now. Who knows what she's going to think about me if I tell her I love her after rushing her out of the shower. What can I say now?

As I sit and brood over my predicament, Sara finishes showering and sits at the other side of the table. She toys with a cup of coffee and says, "The storm was really something last night."

"Yeah it was bad." I reply.

"Kind of unusual for this time of the year."

"That's true."

I can't think of anything else to say. Damn it! Now we're both uncomfortable. I think that I should leave when Sara suddenly says, "Whisper, I can see you're uncomfortable, and I think I know why."

Oh great, I think to myself, why did I knock on that door? Throughout this conversation, if it can be called that, I have done my utmost not to look at Sara, out of fear of getting some look of reproach. (I'm never this unsure of myself. How this woman has gotten to me!) But now, I risk a quick look up at her. To my astonishment, her head is down and her cheeks are bright red.

I hear her mummer, almost to herself, "I can't believe I'm saying this...." She then raises her voice, but not her head. "You did hear something from the shower. It was me. I was...when a woman hasn't been with a man...well...oh god, this is so embarrassing..."

Like a scarlet thunderbolt, I feel blood rush to my face as I realize what she is trying to tell me. "Oh...uhh...I think I understand what you're trying to say, Sara."
I fumble around for the proper words.