Page 88 of Rigid

With my back to the shower head, I let the warm water sooth my tired muscles. I closed my eyes as he dabbed me with the soapy loofa.

He snuck an unexpected kiss, and the surprise caused my heart to flutter.

It dawned on me as the water cascaded down upon us that he wasn’t the man I thought he was when we met. He was simply protecting what was important to him, and sacrificing who he was to do so.

Now that we were together, his true self was shining through.

Attaching myself to Smokey was difficult. Doing so with Grayson Edward Wallace was easy.

All I had to do was open my eyes.

I opened my eyes. “I like you.”

He dragged his hands across his hair, turned off the water, and chuckled. “I like you, too.”

We got out, dried off, and I got dressed. After fumbling in the closet for a moment, he slipped on a pair of sweats and an old tee shirt.

“You look cute.”

“Cute?” He coughed out a laugh. “Thanks.”

When we walked into the living room, another blues tune was playing. Once again, I imagined him fucking me to it sometime in the near future.

I paused and cocked my head to the side. “Who is this?”

“The Heavy, Short Change Hero,” he said.

“How do you remember everything?”

He shrugged. “Mind like a vault.”

We each got a bottle of water and he kissed me on the way out of the kitchen. It wasn’t aggressive, or extremely passionate, but it was meaningful, and I’d eagerly take as many of them as he wanted to give me.

“7Horse Meth Lab Zoso Sticker,” he said as we walked into the living room.

Before we got to the couch, the front door opened.

Eddie stepped through the door, walked to the loveseat, and sat down. “Hi.”

Smokey turned to face her. “How’d it go?”

She grinned. “Perfect.”

“What did you do?”

“Let’s see. Pizza, then coffee. Sunset from the pier, then ice cream, and another coffee. Went back to the beach, walked around barefoot, and then here.”

“Glad you had fun.”

She looked at each of us. “What about you guys?”

He shrugged. “Just listened to music.”

She cocked her head to the side. “7Horse.” She nodded. “Love this song.”

“What is it with you two?” I asked.

“What?” Eddie asked.