Private Finished Just A Little Nibble

He didn't bite her right away. Maisie had been expecting Ash to bite her right when he asked if he could, rather than asking and hanging her out to dry--which was exactly what he'd done. Ultimately, she had decided to shrug it off and forget about it, telling herself that it was probably some question that he'd meant to tease her or embarrass her with rather than an actually serious request.

It had also seemed that Ash had learned how to tease her through walls. She was shampooing her hair when she heard his voice, and she huffed; she'd never be able to escape him in this dorm. "You better hush your mouth before I come out there and beat your butt!" she'd call back, other times she'd thump her fist on the shower wall that separated them in response.

Maisie shut off the water and hopped out of the shower. She quickly wrapped a towel around herself and rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting to warm up. And it was during her wait that she looked around and realized she'd forgotten to bring a fresh change of clothes. With a quiet groan because she knew she'd never hear the end of this, she went to open the door with the towel wrapped securely around her body; with how short she was, she was lucky that the towel managed to cover her down to her knees.

And of course, she wasn't expecting the bite--bites, actually. She'd expected a speedy walk of shame to and from her wardrobe and straight back into the bathroom, but here she was with her roommate's arms around her and his teeth on her neck instead. A shiver ran down her spine and she bit back a noise of surprise (and that of enjoyment), her face blowing up into a deep red blush.

"Ash," she breathed as her fingers gently rubbed the spot he'd bit. Then, after a moment of thought and making sure her towel wasn't going to fall off anytime soon, she took a step forward and hugged Ash in return. With a small laugh, she said, "I didn't actually expect you to do that--thank you. You're mighty strange, y'know. ...And you attacked a poor, under-dressed girl, you horndog. How do you feel about that?"

The feel of his fingers on her neck made her shiver again, and she snorted and laughed. "You're weird, Shortcake. Maybe I should give you a good kick every once in a while, keep you on your toes," she said, bapping his hand away. Even though her towel was tied securely, she still held it closed with one hand as she pulled away and bounded over to her closet. The heels of her feet didn't touch the ground in her attempt not to let her feet get too cold.

"I did no such thing! It ain't on purpose that I forgot my clothes; I bet even you'd forget your clothes once in a while. It's a mistake anyone can make," she huffed as she rifled around her closet. She pulled out a sweater and a pair of her classic jean shorts, then went to retrieve her underclothes.

"You ain't that poor, either. You can't even appreciate a good body--I bet you're one of them homosexuals I'm always hearing about nowadays! If so then there's no problem with me running around showing off what I got, and there ain't no way I can tease you 'cuz you wouldn't be up and bothered by it." Maisie gathered her outfit in her arms and turned to head back towards the bathroom, shivering now from the cold against her damp skin.

Maisie stuck out her tongue at Ash as she passed him. "You got stuff to show off?" she said jokingly just before she closed the bathroom door behind her and tossed all her clothes on the ground. And then decided that might not've been the best idea if the ground was wet. "I'm just kidding, Shortcake. If you go around 'showing everything off' then at least I'll make sure to tell you if I appreciate it or not."

She started to get dressed, but the process was a bit slow when she was distracted with talking. "Well, being cold sure does wake me up. It's like this weird blanket all over your skin, gently pressing on you from all directions. Sometimes it makes my eyes dry and I have to squint a lot. I've actually broken some of my hair off in the cold, y'know? That's why you never go outside with wet hair. It's so odd going to brush your hair over your shoulder but you come back with an icicle instead."

The sweater was next--well, her shorts should've been next, but the sweater was closer to her hand. And, when she pulled it on, it got stuck over her head. She grumbled and tugged on it, hoping Ash wouldn't be able to somehow use some psychic vampire powers he no doubt had to find that out. "Makes you feel small, too, being cold. Least it makes me feel a little smaller. Makes me feel a lot more aware of myself, I guess is more accurate. Everything gets a lot quieter when it's cold, a lot more peaceful. Some people would say it ain't peaceful though and it's more like death, that it makes you numb and unable to feel anything. Those are the same people who are too coward to stick their tongue to a pole."

Maisie finally pulled the sweater over her head with a huff and a relieved sigh. She wasn't going to have to stand there and ask for help after all. Ash had gone quiet just as she started to pull on her shorts, and she considered saying something for a moment before deciding not to; he was probably just thinking about something. The conversation was fairly serious after all; he hadn't teased her yet, not even once.

"Yeah," she said through the door. "You're warm. Not too hot, but very cozy and comfortable. It reminded me of sitting inside on an autumn evening with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and a nice mug of hot apple cider in my hands. So...nice, to say it in a way that don't give you a clue what I'm talking about. Makes me wanna hug you again, if you ask me."

Maisie used her sleeve to rub away the moisture in one spot of the mirror so she could see herself. She pulled her hair out of her sweater and over her shoulder, grabbing her brush to give it a quick run through while it was still damp. "I know you don't know what it's like to feel cold or hot, but can you feel if something or someone's hot or cold? Like me?" After a moment of silence, she sighed and laughed, "Sorry, stupid question. I just asked if you can feel cold if you can't feel cold, how dumb is that?"

Maisie looked herself over once more in the mirror now that her makeup was done. Then, she turned and headed outside, just barely spotting Ash stand up from where he'd been sitting, and suddenly his arms were back around her. It took her a moment to shake the surprise, and she wrapped her arms around him and gently rested her cheek on his shoulder. "You're welcome, Shortcake."

"Just as cozy as I remember, even though I'm not wearing just a towel this time. Careful, or I won't be able to let go." Maisie pulled back, smiling up at Ash. She turned and strolled just a few feet further, glanced around the dormroom like it might've somehow changed while she was gone, and then hopped on Ash's bed and flopped face-down.

After a moment of her face being buried in the sheets, she propped herself back up with a strange, confused look on her face. "You don't smell like anything, do you? I should've known when I was hugging you, but this is a little strange. . .Oh well, doesn't matter much. Do all scents just disappear when they're on you? Like, if I use that really nice pricy fabric softener on our clothes, does that just...go away?" She sniffed the sleeve of her sweater and 'hm'd lightly. "I can smell the fabric softener on me, at least."