Caution! Disclaimer ahead: Fox Mulder doesn't belong to us, if he did, 
he'd be handcuffed in the bedroom. (Gizzie wrote that part!) Kate and Lisa 
belong to us. No one else would want them.

Send comments to LisaDX@aol.com or KNCookie@worldnet.att.net. 
Flamers will be intensely ridiculed. Bet that scares you.

Rating: PG
Classification: VH
Summary: It's laundry day and Kate and Lisa find a certain article
of their favorite neighbor's clothing.

Apt. 42: Spin Cycle
by Denise Bryson and Carrie Laughlin

     
     "I hate laundry day!" Lisa called up the stairs. "So,
would you hurry up? I don't want to be down there by
myself. This building is spooky enough as it is."

     Kate lumbered along with a full basket of clothes
that would have been better off at the Goodwill. "Well, we
all know I'm your second choice when it comes to someone
to be stuck in the laundry room with."

     Lisa's smile lit up the gray walls of the staircase. "As
if 42 isn't tattooed somewhere on your body by now."

     The two friends grumbled good naturedly as they
walked toward the laundry room. They found the door
blocked by a tall, lean form wearing a New York Knicks
tank top and tight, faded blue jeans. The sleekly muscled
arms were wrapped around a basket full of just washed
clothing with "Celebrity Skin" magazine perched on the top.

     "Good afternoon, ladies," came the husky voice. A 
brilliant smile lit up his face and humor danced in his hazel
eyes.  

     "It's all yours," he said and winked at the two
dumbstruck women.

     "Thanks." They said in unison as he moved away,
his long legs carrying him out of the dingy basement
laundry.

     "I wish that were all mine," Lisa said with a leer as
she admired the view of the retreating man.

     "Lisa!" Kate gasped in pretend shock at her friend.
"You're a married woman!"

     "Just because you're on a diet doesn't mean you can't
look at the menu, and I've definitely seen what I want for
dessert." 

     Giggling, Kate put her basket down in front of the
first washer and began throwing her clothes in haphazardly.
"Covering him in dessert, maybe."

     Lisa began to load the washer next to Kate's. "I
wonder why he's in such a good mood. I think that's the first 
time I've ever seen him smile."

     Kate smirked. "That petite redhead was over there 
last night and she didn't leave until late. Maybe she's the
cause."

     "Hmmm, well, I guess he's not gay then."

     Kate froze in mid-loading. "What on earth gave you
that idea?"

     "Well, you know, that older bald man comes around
a lot. He and the redhead were arguing that one night. It
just made me wonder if  something was going on, that's all.
But if the redhead was there last  night, then I guess he's
with her. Or maybe it's one of those unbelievable platonic
relationships between a man and a woman." 

     Lisa shrugged and grabbed the soap powder in her
basket. She stopped as she spied something black and shiny
in the dryer. She reached in and pulled out a pair of black
boxer shorts, waving them in front of Kate's face like a flag.
"Oh my God! I wonder if they're his."

     "I know they are," Kate grinned smuggly as she
stuffed three quarters into the washing machine's slot.

     Lisa stopped flailing the soft garment. "Wait a
minute! How do you know?" 

     "I've had the good fortune of seeing him in them."
Kate bragged.

     "No way!" Lisa yelled. "You're lying." Lisa shook
her head.

     "No I'm not," Kate laughed. "One morning last
week, I went out to get my paper, and he just happened to
be coming out of his apartment at the same time.  He was
wearing those black boxers, and that was all. I thought I
was still in bed dreaming for a moment. Nearly choked
trying to say Good Morning."

     Lisa's mouth dropped open as she imaged how he
would look first thing in the morning, hair tousled,
unshaven, the black silk caressing his thighs...

          She shook herself out of her fantasy and admonished
her friend, "All you could get out was 'Good Morning?' The
least you could do was strike up a conversation, so I could
live vicariously through you! You are intelligent and single,
but sometimes I think you need a brain transplant."

     "What am I going to say? Excuse me, would you
read my thesis on Freud in Melville? What would an English
grad student have in common with a guy who reads UFO
magazines?"

     "Does it matter when the guy wears these?" Lisa
held up the black boxers then set them aside, carefully
folded, and finished her load. "Anyway, he leaves a lot more
down here than those. I should have guessed immediately
that they were his."

     "Have you found other things?" Kate looked
surprised.

     "Oh, a few things. Some very small red speedos for
instance." Lisa's eyes danced with mischief. "It was fun
returning those and seeing him blush."

     "You're kidding."

     "Nope, then there was those shirts with the red
stains and holes that were soaking in the washer one day.
That was close to the time I saw those two men fighting in
the stairwell."

     "I found an Indian feather in the dryer once. I
wonder if that was his, too."  Suddenly, there was a loud
thump and crash. Both women stopped, then relaxed as they
saw the water man go down the hall, past the laundry room
door with new tanks.

     "It was only Ralph." Lisa plopped down in the only
chair. "Around here, you just never know anymore. You
know Sally in #24? Her apartment got ransacked recently.
Didn't you tell me #42 had the same problem?"

     Kate nodded. "I'd swear it happened a couple of
times, but I haven't seen not one cop show up yet." She
shrugged.

     "I thought I saw his window plugged with a bullet
hole, but the next time I looked, it was fixed. I wish I knew
if we had any security guards or some kind of secret agent
that could keep an eye on things."

     As they talked, the long, lanky object of their
discussion silently entered the room. "Ladies, did you
find..."

     Lisa held up the boxers. "These? Are they yours?
We just didn't know who they could belong to."

     Kate tried desperately to keep a straight face, even if
it was pink with embarrassment, as he took the boxers from
Lisa's grasp. "Yeah, mine. Thanks." He started off down the
hall.

     Both women peeped around the door jam, watching
him leave.

     When he was down the hall aways, Kate whispered.
"I'm surprised you didn't ask him to try them on for us, so
we could make sure they were his." She poked Lisa in the
ribs.

     His voice filtered down the hall. "I might have."

     With a gasp of surprise, Lisa and Kate jumped back
into the room. "Boy, he has good hearing," Lisa commented
as Kate put three more quarters into the washing machine
and started her load of clothes for another cycle.

     "What are you doing? You just washed those. Have
you completely lost it?"

     As the machine began, Kate hoisted herself up on it.
"I think this is necessary." She sighed.
     
     Lisa laughed climbing on her machine, her cycle not
finished. "You know, I believe you're right!"

The End.