The hangers grate against the metal rod as I pull the shower curtain to the side. “No, I’m not busy at all. Please come in,” I tease.
The joke lands flat, and Sofía blinks, scanning left and right, like she can’t believe she’s barged into the bathroom while I’m showering. Her thoughts are plain on her face, panicked and unsure.
Cold water pelts my back, cooling my skin from the long day.
“Oh, god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to crash your private time.”
She spins on her heel to retreat, but I whip an arm out and snag her wrist. “You can stay, I was only teasing you. I don’t mind the company.”
“You want me to stay?”
There are times when she’s the most confusing puzzle on the planet, and a cat has stolen half the pieces I need to solve it. She came into the bathroom, heated about something, panicked when I teased her, and now she’s shocked I want her to stay?
“Well—” I pause, lifting a brow. “You could join me. That’s an option, too.”
Her cheeks turn ruddy, and I leave her to decide, retreating behind the curtain. I’ll never pressure her or force her to make a choice she’s not fond of. I think she’s had enough of that in her life. What kind of person would I be if I added to it?
My heart pumps in my chest, unsure if she’s on the other side of the fabric or if she’s retreated to safer territory. “What can’tyou let go?” I ask, trying to temper the hope that she’s still with me.
A beat passes before she squeaks, “Sorbet isnotas good as ice cream.”
I almost slip in the shower from laughter. That’s why she barged in here? I have to respect the hill she chose to die on, but she’s wrong. No matter how pretty she is or how the crinkle in her brow often dissolves my argument, I need to stay strong.
Ice cream is her hill to die on; sorbet is mine.
“You’re right,” I reply, tilting my head back to wet my hair. “It’s not as good. It’sbetter.”
The curtain unceremoniously rips to the side, and Sofía leaps into the shower, screeching when the cold water hits her skin.
Holy shit, I didn’t think she would take me up on the offer.
“You evil monster,” she screams, crumpling in on herself as she cowers in the corner where the water can’t touch her. “This was your plan all along.”
I block the stream and turn up the heat to a more tolerable temperature, laughter wheezing out of me. Cold morphs to skin melting, and when steam forms, Sofía straightens and the humor fades. The minuscule space between us evaporates, and water cascades down her hair, over the planes of her skin, each droplet teasing me as they glide down her body.
The way I want her…it was never like this with Grace. This all-consuming need to be beside her, to hear her opinion on matters, to coax out that soft giggle she offers when she’s shy.
“My plan?” I croak, the words like sandpaper on my throat.
“Get me naked, then freeze me to death to win your argument.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say—”
The rebuttal fizzles on my tongue when she presses into me, arms curling around my neck to drag me down into a tender, slow kiss. There are fissures in the shell Sofía uses to protectherself, deepening every day. She’s breaking out, fully stepping into the confidence I know she possesses, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness.
Her hands roam down my shoulders, along my back, and land on my ass, where shesqueezes. A surprised huff escapes me before she captures it in another kiss, her lips shaped into a pleased grin. There’s no rush, no frenzy for more, and the gentle intimacy drags me deeper.
This is all I’ve ever wanted—a connection with someone on every level.
To have safety and support and offer the same to someone else.
Days full of laughter and quiet nights enjoying each other’s company.
I thought I wanted that with Grace, but I realize now my relationship with her was a fraction of what I have with Sofía. Grace was the beginning of the road that was leading me here. I could have been happy with her, I think, if it had ended differently, but I never would have felt like this.
Before Sofía waltzed into my life, I was half a person, and now I’m whole.
Her hands continue to explore, fingernails dragging over my abdomen to graze my cock, hard and pressed against her stomach. My breath hitches, and she huffs a laugh.
