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Chapter 1
Julie, AKA Constance
It was a tense situation that awakened Bethany to the horror of the sight of him lying at an awkward angle at the bottom of the stairs.
I could’ve sworn I had moved that box to avoid this kind of complication and possible injury. There were so many things going on at the same time that I might have plum forgotten to do it.
He was lucky to not have any permanent injuries.
We had rushed him to the hospital and they found no broken bones or internal injuries. He had received several stitches to the back of his head, which explained all the blood on the floor.
I remembered pacing back and forth for a couple of hours. Bethany was with me, trying to keep me from losing it. They finally proclaimed that he could go home after one night of observation.
I heard the pounding and was amazed that he was already hard at work at the crack of dawn. It was only a few hours and he had shown no adverse effects of falling down the stairs.
He didn’t blame me for the accident. He was glad that it was him and not me.
Rousing from my slumber, I stretched my limbs with my toes pointing to the bottom of the bed. It felt good to feel all of those muscles stretch at the same time. Sliding out from beneath the sheets and onto the floor, I tiptoed over to the curtain to look down at his chiseled body gleaming in the sun.
“You have to be very careful. I heard some of what was going on upstairs. I’m not one to judge but why did you stop when it was obvious that you wanted to do more?” Bethany asked at the door while holding a cup of coffee with both hands wrapped around the black mug.
“I didn’t think it was appropriate for us to mix business with pleasure. I’m not opposed to extending an offer for physical comfort after what he has gone through. It just doesn’t seem like a good idea when thinking clearly without the distraction of his fucking body in my face,” I explained with a bald-faced lie to keep her from learning the truth about my connection to Cameron.
“I see nothing wrong with having a little bit of fun. Pleasure can be its own reward. He likes you a lot, and you summarily dismissed him. I’m not sure that I would have that kind of willpower to callously walk away from a good thing. I’m going to get an early start. I would say don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do but that would be too broad a statement to make.” She turned with that tight white argyle sweater hanging down over her unmentionables.
The sleeves were too big for her arms and gave her that cozy feeling of being in a warm blanket while standing there in front of me.
“I have business to conduct for the next few hours. My door will be locked from the inside to prevent any further interruptions. He has been given his marching orders, and I expect him to follow them to the letter,” I stated emphatically to make sure there was no mistaking the words coming out of my mouth.
It was getting chillier in the evenings, which explained why she had replaced the white men’s shirt with something a little warmer to ward off the elements. I had one of those shirts, but I was reluctant to wear it. It would bring back those painful memories all over again.
Being barefoot on the floor made me understand the importance of radiant heat underneath my feet. It was just another thing to add to the list of renovations. It was a luxury but something I could afford to splurge on for my continued comfort when the weather dipped below zero.
“He might just be what you need to get over that certain somebody. You don’t have to feel guilty. That chapter of your life is closed. Don’t live in the past. Embrace the present,” she suggested with a backward glance over her shoulder encouraging me with a wink of incentive.
There was no telling what she would do in my shoes but I had a feeling it involved far less clothing than I was currently wearing. It did feel nice to wear something from my childhood when I was a teenager buried in some adventure book. The Mickey Mouse nightshirt still fit like a glove with the material stretching over my chest in a not-so-subtle way.
“The only thing I ask is that you don’t use all the hot water. We still don’t know the capacity of the hot water heater downstairs in the basement. I would like to conserve as much as possible by limiting our showers to 10 minutes. I’m going to tell the same thing to Cameron and mention picking up his towels after he has finished,” I replied while lifting my shirt over my head to expose my naked body to the glaring scrutiny of the mirror in front of me hanging on the back of the door.
“I could never keep my hands off of such a specimen. I know you have been through a lot, and that is the kind of pain that I wouldn’t want to wish on my worst enemy. You don’t have to walk around in a zombie trance. Take advantage of something that would make most women happy. There is no shame in showing some initiative,” Bethany advised with her footsteps receding and her voice becoming softer with every step.
“I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work. This is strictly a business transaction, and I would like to keep it that way,” I called out when inside I was begging for the chance to touch him again, but all things in due time.
“Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated,” she snickered with words from when I was interested in everything that was science fiction, including Star Trek.
“I don’t appreciate you using my favorite show against me. Some things are better left unsaid. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you know me. What you see is not necessarily what is going on inside of me. I have many layers. That’s the one thing Bryan didn’t understand. He learned the hard way that he could push me just so far before I was going to react,” I barked down the hallway with her waving her hand with a white towel grasped between her fingers before disappearing into the bathroom.
She did me the courtesy of using the one down the hall. It made me sigh with contentment to walk into my private home away from home. The claw tub was sitting by the window with half the glass frosted to afford me some privacy when I was bathing alone.
It brought to mind an intimate experience with bubbles. I had a man in mind for some scrubbing and loving.
The man in question was outside climbing a ladder to the roof where there was a very steep pitch. Cameron had ice water running through his veins, but I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
I saw his bare chest and then strong legs in tight jeans moving past the window with a disarming smile on his face. He was carrying two loads of asphalt shingles. It was a debate whether I was going to go the conventional route or try something unique like using steel. The price was significantly lower by going with the asphalt shingles, but I did absorb some of the expense by getting the ones that would last for over 50 years.
I opened the window to let in the fresh air but also to praise his virtues. Every man’s ego needed a little bit of stroking. His was no different than anybody else.
Those steel-toed combat boots gripped each rung of the ladder with amazing traction.
