Clearly liquid courage was her phrase of the moment.
Right, wrong or otherwise, an hour later, we sat laughing while the empty wine bottle floated in the bubbling water. My eyes had made several trips to the butterfly tattoo that was strangely familiar and a bit eerie.
“That was some good wine.” Her cheeks glowed soft pink.
“See, you don’t have to spend serious coin on alcohol. This is my new favorite.”
She touched the scar on my hairline. “Where did you get that one?”
“That was a hockey game in college. Threw fists with a dude and somehow ended up with his skate in my head.”
“Ouch.”’
“What about the one under your chin?”
I laughed. “Now that was bar fight where your brother ended the evening by plucking glass from a broken beer bottle out of my face.”
“So you’re clearly his partner in crime.” She leaned her head back. “He is pretty amazing when it comes to taking care of people, huh?”
“You’ve had a lifetime of overprotective Dave taking care of you. He gets worked up when people he cares about are hurting.”
“Oh yeah. You should’ve seen him when I had cancer.” She leaned forward, and my stomach dropped, seeing the long, thick scar on her back.
“Fern.” It came out in a whisper.
“It seems weird that they’d go through a person’s back to get to the esophagus, right?”
I ran my finger over the scar. “Yes.”
“But they got it all, and I’ve had a clean bill of health since.”
She sat back up, and I pulled her close. “Well, clearly, Fern’s won the scar contest. Damn you.”
Her mouth opened as her hands shot in the air. “You’re right! I’ve never thought of it that way. Yes, I am the winner of the scar contest!” She gave me a cocky nod. “Finally, the cancer paid off.”
We climbed out of the hot tub, and I reached for the towels in the corner. I turned back around as she stood looking out the window. Her hands were across her chest, but my laser sharp eyesight took in the light pink bra she wore and the high cut lacy panties. She was so perfect. How could one person be so perfect? It almost seemed unfair to the other 3.95 billion women in the world. (Yeah, I recently Googled. Nice to be able to use that stat.)
Her wet hair was slicked back, showing off her facial features. I’d never thought about features before, but her cheekbones and lips were off the charts sexy. I walked over and handed her the towel.
“Thanks.” Her eyes looked up, and I was under her spell.
“Sure.” I knew I should move or do anything but stand next to the nearly naked woman I was slowly becoming obsessed with, but I couldn’t. I also was aware I should say some words, any words really, but they seemed to be on hiatus. Say something. Anything! Offer her a snack in the kitchen. Come on, jackass!
“Ho-Ho?” Her eyes were saucers, and I wanted to punch myself in the throat. “I mean I have some Hostess snacks if you’d like a little treat.”
She dried her arms. “I’ll have a Ho-Ho if you’ll have a Ding Dong.”
We laughed like twelve-year-olds for a solid minute, including a snort laugh from her that I didn’t expect, but it would now be my goal to get her to do it again. It was clear we were on the same maturity plane.
Once inside the cabin, it was a tornado. Hands were everywhere as he kicked the door shut behind us and he pushed me through the kitchen, into the living room, and toward the stairs. Clearly, the Hostess snacks were not happening.
At the bottom of the stairs, he pressed my back against the wall while his hands slid down my arms to my wrists. My stomach clinched as he took them in one of his hands and held them over my head while the other traveled.
His lips crushed mine as his hand slid to my neck then over my bra. I squirmed as his fingers circled while his whiskers grazed my neck, causing every nerve to jump.
I yanked my hands, trying to get free. I needed to touch him, but his grip was delightfully tight as I was reminded of his strength. My mind melted as sensations I’d never had filtered into my blood at the same time his hand glided down my stomach, sending goose bumps trailing up my spine.
“Please—”
