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He took a seat next to her. “Are you going to be okay?”
She tried to answer him but couldn’t. Her mouth watered copiously. She swallowed quickly, hard, and audibly several times before lifting her head from her hands. Swinging her gaze around the kitchen she looked for something within reach to puke into. Dizziness prevented her from lunging toward the wastebasket. His gaze was on her. She shook her head.
Joe sprang from his chair and reached for the decorative ceramic bowl that sat on the opposite end of the island. Immediately as he turned to hand it to her, she threw up, missing the bowl completely...but making a direct hit to his shoes. In her mind, she begged God to strike her down and put her out of her misery. When nothing happened, she buried her face in her hands.
Through the gap between her fingers, she watched Joe as he stood there staring at his shoes, and the unwanted substance on them. A few beats passed before he let out a little chuckle. He slipped his feet out of his shoes and rummaged through a couple of cabinets before returning to her with a garbage bag and a pair of rubber gloves in hand. If she had known what he was looking for she could have saved him some time, but she was too embarrassed at the moment to stop hiding her boiling hot face in her hands to ask him, nor did she have the energy, or strength, at present, to lift her heavy head.
Without a word, he slipped on the gloves, tossed his shoes into the bag, and cleaned up the mess.
“Elizabeth, do you think you’re going to be okay now?”
“I think so. I need to brush my teeth and go to bed,” she replied as she lifted herself from the stool using the counter for support. Her wobbly legs nearly gave out. He reached out and wrapped his large warm hand around her arm. She leaned toward him; steadying herself with the use of his firm body.
“I take it your bedroom is upstairs?”
She managed a nod.
He guided her up the steps toward the master bedroom and bath. Embarrassment rippled through her. “This is exactly why I don’t normally drink that much. It makes you look like an idiot,” she mumbled quietly.
The sound of her own voice startled her. Did I really just say that out loud?
She shot a sideways glance at Joe to find the corners of his mouth turning upward. She did not find this whole vulnerability episode amusing at all.
He led her into the master bathroom. “Here you go, now brush your teeth and go to bed young lady,” he said with a fatherly grin on his face.
She fumbled with shaky hands to put toothpaste on the toothbrush.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked.
“Yes, I feel much better since I...you know, puked.” Her face heated. Why couldn’t she just stop talking? This was such a nightmare, a horribly, embarrassing nightmare.
She could hardly focus enough to complete the simple task of brushing her teeth with Joe standing there watching this extremely weak moment in her life. Additionally, she wasn’t quite sure how to process the overpowering attraction she experienced for the nice, gorgeous man, standing next to her. His warm gaze caught hers through the reflection in the mirror. Perhaps she should consider shifting gears with her plan. Maybe having someone around, who cared enough to help her through these awful moments in her life, wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
“I’ll be right back,” Joe said as he spun on his heel and left the room
She stared at her horrid looking self in the mirror. Though she wondered where he went, her mind just couldn’t think any longer. She needed sleep.
On the way from the bathroom to the bed, she unzipped her dress and let it drop to the floor, then she peeled off her panty hose, and climbed into bed. She’d just about fallen asleep when she heard Joe’s footsteps nearing the bedroom. Through the narrow slits in her eyes, she caught a glimpse of him as he passed by her and entered the bathroom. A couple of seconds later, he emerged from the bathroom with a bottle of pain reliever and a bottle of water in hand. He set them on the nightstand. She glanced up into his kindhearted gaze.
He shifted his gaze to the bottle of pain reliever and pointed. “I have a feeling you’re going to need those.” He spun and took a couple of steps toward the door.
“Joe.”
He stopped and turned back to look at her. “Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied as he turned to walk away again.
“Joe.”
He stopped and spun to face her. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry about your shoes.”
He smiled softly. “That’s okay. I didn’t really like that pair anyway.”
She called after him a third time.
