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Zeke
My mind had spun back in circles with my need to speak with Diane and my desire to be with Shelby. In my thirty-four years, I had never felt so frustrated. Typically, I would have written Diane off already and sent her a text that said something to the effect of, thanks for a good time, but I’m moving on.
I couldn’t do it quite so frankly since she was Shelby’s best friend. If things worked out with Shelby—and I hoped like hell they did—then I would see Diane around. I had to do this in a way that didn’t upset Diane and could be a lead into a relationship with Shelby.
A real relationship. One that grew and became something important. I could see it, could envision a future with her. I wanted that more than I could even comprehend. How I could tell that Shelby was the one to build it with was beyond me? I just knew it in my soul that she was it. She was what I had been looking for. What I had been waiting for as I’d gone through relationship after relationship.
There was only one drawback, and I’d have to speak to her about it. It could be a deal-breaker with her, but if it were, I’d step back gracefully and let her go. I just wasn’t ready to have that conversation with her yet. Not until I built something with her and made her realize that what we had was worth it.
When there was a knock at my door, I threw on my jeans and went to answer it. Maybe Diane had stopped by, and I could get this conversation out of the way.
It wasn’t Diane, but it was even better. To see the blaze of frustration and possibly a little fear in her eyes kicked in not only my desire to have her but my desire to protect her. I didn’t want Shelby to stress over this. I also didn’t want Shelby to lose her best friend in the process of our being together.
That didn’t stop my libido from kicking me in the ass. Thoughts of what we’d done crashed back over me, and I wanted nothing more than to have Shelby naked and under me as I ravaged her body as it deserved. God damn, I wanted this woman as much as I needed air to breathe.
If I couldn’t have her, I could at least help ease her tension. My sister was a massage therapist and had given me some pointers on what to do. I let Shelby head back to her apartment and went to slip into a pair of track pants that would allow me to move easier around her. Then I collected a bottle of massage oil, my keys, and my phone and slipped out of my apartment.
Shelby had said she’d leave the door open, and I let myself in. As I stood in her living room, I glanced around. What could I do to make this more comfortable for her? I eyed the cushions on the couch and grinned. I pushed the coffee table off to the side and collected the couch cushions, moving them to the middle of the floor. Then I found a soft blanket hanging off the back of a wing-backed chair and laid that over the cushions.
I turned off most of the lights and lit a few previously lit candles. I knew enough to know that sometimes candles were more for decoration than to be used. I set the candles around the room, and then my gaze drifted around and landed on a speaker. Where was the system? I opened a cabinet and located the stereo, turning it on and finding a classical music CD in the play deck. I adjusted the sound and then stood back to take in my handiwork. Perfect.
In her kitchen, I retrieved two wine glasses and located a bottle of Chardonnay already open in the fridge. I filled the glasses and took them into the living room, sipping from mine as I glanced around.
No sooner had I done that when a door opened down the short hallway, and Shelby stepped out wearing a long pink silky robe that clung to her body. “Wow!” She said as she entered the room. “You take your massage seduction quite seriously.”
Wow was an understatement. I laughed, “No seduction here. This is all about helping you relax.” I handed her the glass of wine, and she sipped it, eyeing me curiously over the rim.
“Remember what you said. No sex.”
“Baby, anything that happens tonight is to relieve your pent-up stress, not mine. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to do.”
“Hmm,” She murmured as she stepped around me and glanced at the cushions on the floor. “I assume you want me to lie down on that.”
“Yep.”
“Naked?” She turned to stare at me, one brow raised.
“You can wear whatever you want. You can even drape a sheet over your body if that makes you comfortable, and I’ll just expose the area I’m working on.”
She turned entirely toward me, “You act like you know what you’re doing.”
I grinned, “I do.”
She laughed, “What? You were going to be a massage therapist too?”
I snickered and came to stand closer to her, “No, my sister is. She taught me a few things.”
“Ah! Using your sister for seduction ideas.” She shrugged, “Okay, well, if it helps me relax, then I am all for it.” She set her glass down, “Let me go get a sheet.”
I waited while she disappeared down the hallway and returned, not with a sheet, but with a towel. “My sheets are too big.”
“A towel will work,” I told her.
“Turn around.” She said to me as she stood beside the cushions in her silky bathroom.
I gave her my back and heard her shifting around. A few moments later, she said, “Okay, you can turn around now.”
Shelby lay on her stomach on the cushions, the light gray towel coving her hips and legs with her back exposed. My body vibrated at the thought of touching all of her glorious body.
