“What about them?”
“You have the same look you had yesterday. When you were blabbering about my eyes and the way I sound and smell.”
“Do I?” My voice sounds a little squeaky and I clear my throat to try to get a little more composure. “I’m—I mean I wasn’t thinking about that now.”
“Call me intrigued, then. What is going on inside that mysterious brain of yours?”
I scoff awkwardly.If he only knew…
“I’d hardly call my brain mysterious.”
His chest moves again in silent laughter, and I turn my face away so he doesn’t see me blush.
“I’m gonna take this shower and I’ll head home to get ready,” I say,turning around and taking a step back to put a little distance between us.
His eyes widen and his throat bobs before he turns his face away from me.
“Uh, yeah. I’ll let you get to it. I’ll be out for a run, so just… Leave the shirt in the laundry basket. I’ll meet you guys at the restaurant.”
And with that he hurries out of the bathroom, not sparing me a second glance.
Did I say something wrong? He went from a little flirty to almost running away.
I take a step outside the shower and catch my reflection in the mirror.
Okay, I get it. And I’m back to being mortified.
At least now, we’re kind of even… I mean, I felt his cock hard against my ass for three hours, and now he basically saw me naked. Maybe notnakedbut this soaked white tee-shirt doesn’t leave anything to the imagination. My cold—hence, hard—nipples clearly visible through the fabric, and I’m just glad the bottom part didn’t stick to my skin to reveal the absence of my underwear.
Which was nowhere to be found this morning and I can’t seem to remember much besides the fact that I wanted to be naked under that damned shirt.
I wish I could drown in that shower.
Because even though Nate Reed, the object of my latest fantasies, told me he was done avoiding how he felt about me, he ran out of the room the second he saw my breasts through my tee-shirt.
It could simply mean he didn’t want me to feel embarrassed and decided to leave before I noticed. But it could also mean he didn’t like what he saw, and maybe now he’s not so sure about it anymore. But what could be wrong about my boobs for him to run away?
When I manage to limp back to the house, Jack is standing in the kitchen, holding himself to the counter while he waits for the espresso machine to bedone pouring.
I stop for a second while he hasn’t spotted me. Jack is standing. I almost forgot how tall he is. All long and lean limbs. Wide shoulders but not much muscles. His hair is up in a messy bun, and he’s wearing one of his usual flannel shirts and old jeans.
Seeing him up like this hurts. It hurts so much that I want to yell and cry at the universe for putting him in his wheelchair in the first place. He doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him. He doesn’t deserve to be in so much pain, no matter what our father says. Jack should be happy. He should be able to go hiking and take walks on the beach with Ikram. He should be allowed to make plans for his future, to smile and actually think about it when someone asks where he sees himself in five or ten years. Instead, whenever someone mentions his future, there’s this bland face and fake smile. The dullness of his eyes. The quiet resignation.
“Hey, Jack,” I say softly, and he turns with a surprised look and kind smile on his face.
“There you are! I was starting to think you decided to move out,” he taunts as I stop next to him, grabbing a cup to pour myself a coffee. “Sorry about last night. I placed the tie thinking you would enter prepared and with caution. I didn’t think you’d spend the night somewhere else.”
“No worries. I was actually a little too drunk to think much about it. How did it go?”
He shakes his head slightly, turning around to grab some sugar. “We didn’t. Have sex, I mean. The date was amazing though.”
“Then, why not—”
“Ikram wants to take things slow. Get to know each other better before we… try to.”
Try to. Sex became difficult for him by the end of his previous relationship. But Ikram knows. And Jack seems to be feeling better…
“Sure. I guess it makes sense, if you guys are serious about it.”
