He didn’t sound distracted at all, though, when he said, “Only you want to go check on him.”
“Like the merest phantasmagorical presence.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Fox.”
“Rude!”
“And I think you need to give theDungeon Master’s Guidea break too.”
“Robert Mai!”
(Not his real name, but I liked to use it when I yelled at him.)
He grinned as he bent to dry his legs. He’d missed a spot on his shoulder, and a few drops of water glittered there, next to a constellation of freckles that were almost impossible to spot unless you really, really looked. The curve of his spine was like a horizon. And have I ever mentioned he has cute ears?
“I know you’re worried about him,” Bobby said as he stepped out of the tub. He kissed me, and his nose wrinkled (adorably, of course) at the mintiness of the toothpaste. “I’m worried about him. But let’s give him one night—how about that? We can check on him tomorrow.”
It wasn’t an unreasonable request. Bobby was never unreasonable. So, eventually, I nodded. And I got another kiss for my good decision. Then Bobby tugged on my tee and said, “Are you going to shower tonight?”
“Yes,” I said.
That big, goofy grin splashed across his face, and Bobby looked me up and down with something like a leer. I gave him a boyfriendly shove into the bedroom and shut the door.
One of the things I’d learned about Bobby, now that we were a few months into a relationship, was that Bobby had zero qualms (is qualms the right word?) about nudity. Like,ze-ro. I mean, he wasn’t going to step outside for an air bath (nightmares of Ben Franklin), but—well, the shower was a great example. He didn’t even wrap the towel around his waist. He returned it to its hook (neatly and perfectly, of course) and sashayed out of the bathroom, with everything hanging out there for God and the angels to see. I blamed the pernicious influence of Sports, with a capital S.
You get one guess at how comfortablethisguy was with, you know, flaunting it.
I sincerely apologize for sayingFlaunting it. I immediately regretted it.
Anyway, I guess I was lucky that Bobby found it quirky in an endearing way rather than quirky in a let’s-see-a-therapist-about-it-way. Mostly, as a matter of fact, he seemed to find it amusing. Hence his big grin as I shooed him out of the bathroom.
It wasn’t that Icouldn’tbe naked with him. I mean, trust me, there were times when I was very happy to be naked with Bobby. But nudity has its place. And its place is in bed. Under the covers. In the dark. Oh, and you pull all the curtains extra tight, just in case.
He was polite enough to wait until I was splashing merrily away in the shower before he came back into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
“Do you really think he’s going to be okay?” I asked.
Bobby made an affirmative noise as he brushed diligently (eight little brushstrokes per tooth—yes, he’s insane, but I lovehim). He must have sensed something in my silence because he said more clearly, “Wait, you don’t?”
It was the same sense I’d had—God, when had it been? Earlier that day? The day before? It seemed like ages ago. The sense that I could grasp an outline of the problem, but not quite put it into words. And since my whole job (in theory, at least) was putting things into words, that annoyed me, and I found myself groping for a way to say what I was feeling.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess—I guess Idon’tthink he’s going to be okay. Or maybe I’m not sure. Did you see how he acted tonight?”
A beat passed.
“I’m sorry he hit you,” Bobby said. “I should have been faster, but I honestly didn’t expect—”
“No, not that. I mean, not only that.” Although I would have been lying if I said it didn’t hurt that he’d struck out at me, and then only moments later, he’d let Fox hug him. “With Millie.”
“I was trying to keep a handle on Louis.”
“It was…it was soweird, Bobby. It was like he didn’t know her. Or like he’d totally shut down.”
For several seconds, all I heard was the water raining down on me.
“Are we talking about Keme getting arrested?” Bobby asked. “Or Millie dating Louis?”
“First of all, she’s not allowed to date Louis. I’m the closest thing in her life to a father figure—”
