He handed me the shirt, and said, “Do your thing. I’m gonna close down the house. Do you need a glass of water or anything before I come back up?”
There was the thoughtful.
I shook my head.
He bent and touched his lips to mine.
He then took off and I didn’t waste time taking his tee and my bag into the bathroom.
I changed, brushed my teeth, cleaned my face, moisturized, and I was out.
I walked into Auggie’s room seeing him tying the drawstring of some light-blue, cotton pajama pants.
It was the first time I’d seen his chest bared.
He had a smattering of black hair across his pecs.
He also had shoulders, pectorals, abs and biceps carved by Zeus’s own hands.
And we won’t get into his ass in those pajama pants.
Yowza.
Seeing him, I experienced a direct hit to my decision not to have sex.
“Be back,” he murmured, touching my hand as he passed me to go to the bathroom.
I took a moment to tamp down my sex drive before I moved to his dresser, put my stuff on top, and turned my attention to the bed.
Even if a quarter could bounce off it and hit the ceiling, I got into it and sat cross-legged in the middle, facing the side of the bed toward the door.
This was when I noticed the overhead light was out, the two reading lights over the bed were on, and the piece of art in the corner was actually a lamp, and soft light came through the scattering of holes in its sides as well as out the top.
Cool.
It didn’t take long before Auggie was back, and a little shiver ran over my skin when he walked into the room and stutter stepped when his eyes hit me in his bed.
I’d never seen him take a wrong step or do anything with hesitation. He was confident in his body and the things he used it to do. So much, until then, I hadn’t thought about the fact I hadn’t seen him do something clumsy, a trip, a bobble with his hands, nothing, since I’d met him.
But seeing me in his bed made him falter, if only for a step.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t time to go there. It needed space, for me, for us, to introduce Juno to it and then for her. It needed deep contemplation.
But I couldn’t help but go there.
I had the strong feeling I was falling in love with this guy.
“Hey,” I said when he seemed frozen, standing there.
He pulled himself out of it and replied, “Hey.”
He moved to the bed and there was something definitely odd about his movements then. Like he didn’t know what to do.
It wasn’t like he was being klutzy, or his movements were jerky.
It was almost like he felt shy.
Oh yeah.
I was falling for this guy.
He adjusted the pillows so they were resting against the attractive black-stained wood headboard and got in bed, leaning back against the pillows, long legs straight.
He was lounging.
And still, he looked stiff as a board.
“Are you uncomfortable?” I asked carefully.
He was staring at his bare feet as I put my question to him, and he kept doing it for a spell before he looked to me.
“I feel exposed.”
I kept my tone soft and cautious when I asked, “How?”
“You saw them.”
He meant his parents.
“Did Marie meet them?” I queried.
He shook his head.
Uhhhh…
What?
Holy hell.
They’d been together for years and were engaged.
“Really?” I asked.
“Really,” he confirmed, and then explained. “We were both stationed in California. Camp Pendleton. They never came to visit. And for obvious reasons, I wasn’t big on asking her home for holidays. For the most part, I didn’t come home at all. The only times I did was when my grandfather, Dad’s dad, died and when Mom guilted me into coming home because she had thyroid surgery.”
Before this information could fully register, he kept talking.
“And just a warning, their big seasons are coming up.”
“Big seasons?”
“Thanksgiving and Christmas. Optimal time for drama.”
Fabulous.
I shifted position so I wasn’t facing his side of the bed with my head turned his way, instead I was facing him dead on.
“If you were safely away from them, why’d you come home to Denver?” I asked.
“Because I love Denver,” he answered. “It’s my home. Nothing against Cali. But I like seasons. I had friends here. I love the mountains, and not only because I like to board. They never felt like home, but Denver always did.”
I totally got that.
When I got out of my situation, I hadn’t had the money to venture farther afield.
But even if I did, I didn’t think I would have.
“After they joined the church, I honestly never fully felt my mother’s love,” I announced.
His brows shot up.
“I know she loves me,” I went on. “We had moments. There were times. Especially if Dad wasn’t around. But he didn’t approve of me. I didn’t toe the line, even when I was young, living at home with them. And she wanted his approval. That meant she couldn’t show she loved me when he was there, because somehow in her head, it would go against his wishes.”