A squeak tells me he does exactly that, then he clears his throat. "I asked if you were OK?"
“I’m more than OK. Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed baths. The shower in my camper is tiny.”
He chuckles warmly. “You’re welcome to use my tub any time. How’s the water?”
I smile as I sink further into it. "Heavenly. I’m starting to feel so much more like myself. Thank you for coming to rescue me..."
"You're very welcome," he says, his voice so much softer than it normally is. There's definitely a change here. “I…I want to take care of you, Millie.”
Tears prick behind my eyes as a beautiful warms fills my chest cavity from my heart, making its way through my body with thick, curling tendrils that somehow make me feel lighter. “I’d like that, Dylan,” I say, clasping my hands against my chest as the realization that my dream is coming true—the man I want with all my heart wants me back. It’s a feeling I wasn’t expecting today, and it becomes so overwhelming that it’s more than my body can contain and I start weeping.
“Millie?”
“I’m OK,” I gasp, trying to wipe my tears away with wet hands. “I’m just…” Words escape me as the tears come again, and before I know it, Dylan is stepping into the bathroom, his hand covering his eyes.
“Are you fully submerged?”
“Yeah. You can open your eyes. You won’t see anything,” I sniff—not that I’d mind if hedidsee something. Ever since I met Dylan, I’ve been dreaming of the moment he’d look at me and tell me we belonged. And now that it’s here, I’m more than ready to give everything I have to him. I want us to be one.
“You’re crying again.” He lowers himself so he’s sitting on the small box step at the side of the tub. The high walls of the basin make it so I can only see his handsome face. I’m not sure how much of me he can see, but I’m guessing he sees my whole face above the opaqueness of the milky water.
“Not from sadness.” I place my hand on the edge of the tub, and he wraps his fingers around mine.
“Then what?”
“Joy.” The word comes out as a whisper and I give him a wobbly smile. “Not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’ve kind of had a crush on you since we met.”
A smirk quirks the side of his bearded mouth. “I’ve had more than a crush on you, sweet girl.”
“But you thought your age and your history were a barrier,” I state, and he nods.
“You’re young and you have so much life ahead of you. I didn’t want you wasting it on a recluse like me.”
“Not sure if you noticed, Dylan, but I kind of chose the reclusive lifestyle myself. It can be hard keeping hold of your joy when the world doesn’t seem to be joyful.”
“It saddens me that someone like you knows anything of the harsh reality in this world.”
“Well, my dad was a cop, my brother is a cop, my mom works in city hall, and I run an online community and business. Do you know how many people online make it their mission to try to make you break down? If it’s not about my weight, it’s an attack on my personality. I’ve been called everything from a bitch to a whore, and I find it hurtful when all I want is to help other people love themselves and love the world they’re in. Some days, it feels like everyone wants to be unhappy and I’m fighting a losing battle. But then I remind myself of all the actual good out there and I keep filter that negativity out to keep going. But it gets to you, you know?”
He leans in and presses his lips to my knuckles. “Yeah, sunshine. I know.”
“Of course, you know. You’re up here for the same reason—peace and escape.”
“Yes.”
“And has it been worth it?”
“It’s brought me you. So, definitely.”
I turn my eyes to meet his, a deep internal longing urging me to reach out and grab hold of him, never to let go. My heart thunders in my chest. I want that so much, but I’m nervous about making the first move.
“Dylan?” I whisper finally.
“Yeah, sunshine?”
“Could you…could you hold my towel out for me?”
That sexy, familiar rumble rolls through his chest as his green eyes seem to darken. He nods once, then releases my fingers, standing to collect the towel, shake it out and hold it up for me.
