AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The cool shower felt good on my back and shoulders, and I stood under the spray in my tiny basement shower until the chill of the water got to me. Goose bumps were really not how I’d planned for this evening to play out, but when I stepped out of the shower, a towel around my waist, RJ was already back, sitting legs crossed on the bed, holding a bottle of bright green aloe vera gel.
“You really don’t have to do this,” I said, trying to read her. Uncomplicated and unattached was our thing. We made each other feel good and then went back to veiled contempt, and she had to be looking for an opportunity to flee.
RJ waved off my words, though. “Do I seem like the woman who does things she doesn’t want to do?”
“For someone who ardently resists help, you’re really insistent in other people accepting yours.”
“I’m an enigma.” She patted the bed next to her. “Stay in the towel, though.”
“So you can access my body quickly?” I lowered to the bed, wincing.
“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to use aloe as a lubricant. You are very much misreading this situation.” RJ’s laugh was low and warm, and I wanted to hear it again.
“What about your clothes? Shouldn’t you avoid aloe stains?”
She laughed again, kind of a free laugh, and when she squeezed aloe onto my shoulder, her hand sliding over the liquid, the coolness of it felt like immediate relief. “That was nice of you to get things ready for them.”
“I guess,” I said, letting my eyes fall closed at the sensation of her hands, knowing she couldn’t see the vulnerable movement. “They’re family.”
“Two weeks ago, you gave that bride’s great-aunt a crash course on Instagram so she could see the wedding posts.”
I dipped my chin to my chest, and she stroked aloe over my neck and down between my shoulder blades. “It’s not like hashtags are that hard to explain...”
“I’m saying you’re a nice guy,” she said. “Why are you pretending you’re not?”
She swiped the cool goo across my back, gently working it over my skin. With my back to her, it was easy to ignore the emotions rising in my chest at the idea of being a nice guy. “Not that nice-guys-finish-last BS, is it? That’s tired.”
I ignored her question and she gave a little hum, and I savored how her fingers gently glided over the same areas, making sure my skin was covered.
“Can you lay on your stomach to let this sit a little?”
“You don’t have to take care of me.” I slid onto the bed, the towel still wrapped around my waist, the air-conditioning blowing across the aloe, the combination making me want to sink into the bed.
“I know.”
I turned my head, resting it on my forearm.
She stood by the bed, staring at my body, but not in the way she normally did. She was inspecting and assessing, and she wiped her hands with a tissue.
“I’m fine, RJ. I’m sure you want to get going if we’re not going to hook up.”
She lowered to the bed next to me, stretching out on her back. Her shirt was tucked back in and she looked like she had at the rehearsal, but everything about her lying there, the scent of her perfume and the aloe all around me, felt right. “Soon.” She kicked off her heels and settled her hand behind her head before glancing at me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like I just did something altruistic. This is completely selfish.” She stroked a finger down my arm, careful to avoid the burned skin. “I prefer my benefits to come from human men and not grilled lobster. I want you back in fighting shape next time.”
“Maybe you’re just nice, too.”
“I’m not.” She looked at the ceiling, her finger still moving over my skin.
We lay in the house’s silence for a few minutes, her fingers not leaving the stretch of unmarred skin. “I grabbed Tylenol, too, when you want it.” She said it quietly, like I was asleep or she just didn’t want anyone else to see this glimpse into a softer RJ.
I could have fallen asleep—her touch and the give of the mattress and the long day in the sun painting before the rehearsal were hitting me. I was exhausted and I wanted to pull her close and kiss her in a way that really conveyed what it meant to lie next to her and not talk. I couldn’t really move, so I just said, “Thank you.”
Chapter 21
RJ
