When I rub my thumb over the arch of her foot, she lets out a small laugh and pulls her arms off her eyes. “Sorry, I fell asleep but that tickled.”
“That’s okay. I do have something in that bag that you might be interested in, especially if you’re feeling a bit run down today.”
She pulls her feet off me, and I take a few short strides to the kitchen counter and grab the bag with the haul I brought over.
“The lady at the store said you guys like this kind of stuff? I don’t know much about it, but the label said it was good forrelaxation and sore muscles. You put it in your bath?” I show her the bag of Epsom salt. It has lavender and eucalyptus in the mix to help aid recovery and relaxation.
“You bought me stuff for a bubble bath?”
“Yeah, I just figured after working all day you might feel a bit run down.” I shrug, hoping it was the right thing to do.
“That is so thoughtful.”
“It’s nothing. I’ll go run your bath really quick, and while you soak and relax, I can make you something to eat.”
“Rhett, why are you doing all of this?” she asks, her face bunching up in confusion.
I blink slowly, trying to decide whether what I am doing is wrong and how to answer. “Well, it’s my job to take care of you right now. There’s not a lot I can do, but if I can make just one part of your day a bit easier, then I did my job that day.”
Her eyes twinkle as she looks at me, shining with something I can’t quite identify because she’s never looked at me like this before. I give her a half smile before averting my eyes and heading to the bathroom to run the water.
I heard it shouldn’t be over ninety-nine degrees; whether that’s a hard and fast rule, I don’t know, but I’ll keep it comfortably warm without teetering on hot.
Aspen creeps up behind me, scaring the shit out of me.
“Little jumpy tonight, are we?” she asks, humor lighting her eyes.
“No, you’re just good at slipping in unnoticed,” I joke.
“Whatever, you still jumped out of your skin.” She sticks her tongue out at me and looks entirely too fucking cute for her own good. Her cheeks are stained a pretty shade of pink from her cat nap.
“I’ll be out here when you’re done.”
“Will you stay and talk to me?” she asks.
I level her with a look. “You and me naked in the same room is how we got into this mess.”
She slaps my arm. “Not like that, I just miss talking to you is all.” She ducks her head as if the statement embarrassed her. The last thing I want is her to feel embarrassed for missing me. Because I miss her too, fuck I miss her now and she’s right here. But I can’t have her the way I want her, at least until that test result is back.
I make a show of sighing heavily. “Call me back when the bubbles are covering you.”
She blushes. “Okay.”I take a few seconds of free time to run to the kitchen and fill her pill organizer. It’s nothing fancy, just some vitamins I read are good for her and the baby, and her prenatal with an extra boost of folic acid.
Sorting through one of the bags, I snag a protein bar. These are the good ones that don’t taste like cardboard dog shit. Since she’s not going to give me time to make her a meal, I at least want to help feed her while she bathes.
“Okay, I’m decent.” Her voice carries into the living room.
I walk down the hall, then turn into the bathroom, and seeing the bubbles almost completely engulfing her has a chuckle coming out.
“What?” she asks, her deep brown eyes batting up at me have that flutter in my chest happening again. I do my best to ignore it, like I always do.
“You look like you’re being baptized by bubbles.”
“Remind me to run a bubble bath for you one day, so you can understand its greatness,” she teases as she wiggles bubbles between her perfectly polished toes.
“You know, I think I'll pass on that offer, but thanks. Feeling better yet?” I ask.
“Yes, my feet and back were just hurting. It was the last of my three-day shifts this week; I always feel like ass after the lastone.” She does what I assume to be a shrug; it’s a bit hard to see it under the bubble brigade.
