Duel In The Hallway

I turned the corner and almost walked into her.

Lisa.

She was leaning against the wall in the hallway with her arms folded, one foot crossed over the other, relaxed and casual, as if she had been waiting there for hours. But she had probably only been standing there for a few seconds, waiting for me. With her, it was hard to tell.

Her gaze fell on my bare legs. Then she looked up again. She glanced at my hoodie, the zipper still open down to my belly button. She didn't let on what she was thinking. Poker face. I knew what was coming.

“Did you and David have a nice little chat?”

I held her gaze. Squinted my eyes. “You tell me.”“

She grinned. ”He looked agitated when I watched you through the window. Either you scared him or he liked what he saw.“

I shrugged. ”You'd like to know, wouldn't you?“

”I already know." Lisa stepped away from the wall, slow as a streching cat. Her eyes were narrow, lurking.

“But that hoodie?” She pointed at it, contempt dripping from every syllable. “A little shabby, don't you think?”

I tilted my head and shot back angry glances. “Better than licking his ear in the hallway. Yuck!”

She laughed briefly and sharply. “Touché.”

We looked at each other. I said nothing. She said nothing. Silence. Stalemate.

Who would make the first move to break the deadlock?

Her fingers found the top button of her blouse. She undid it. Without haste. Then the second. Continuing inch by inch, she revealed her soft skin. The delicate lace of the bra she wore underneath. It wasn't a striptease. It was a message directed at me.

“Some of us don't have to wear the old stuff that made us look embarrassing even as kids,” she said in a velvety voice, with a thousand sharp blades lurking beneath.

I smiled. Now it was my turn.

I put my hand on the zipper of my hoodie. One pull down. Two. I didn't take it off completely. I only opened it enough so that she could see unequivocally that I really wasn't wearing anything underneath.

“I don't have to take my clothes off to win,” I hissed quietly.

“But you will anyway. You'll stand there naked and exposed. With nothing left to hide behind. And you will... lose,” Lisa snarled.

Neither of us blinked.

The air in the hallway suddenly felt warmer.

We stood nose to nose, no more than five inches apart. Neither of us wanted to back down. Neither wanted to take the first step. The silence between us hummed as if it were under high tension.

Then Lisa leaned forward, her lips meeting mine. She placed a hand on the back of my head. Her kiss was firm and passionate.

Taken by surprise, I let it happen. I didn't kiss her back, but I didn't pull away either.

After what felt like an eternity, she pulled away from me and whispered, “You're not the only one who knows how to play, Nele.”

Her smile was now more than smug. She turned around. Giggling maliciously, she walked away.

I just stood there. Breathless. Speechless. My heart was pounding. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. My skin tingled.

But I knew: the gloves were off now.