Kiss and Cry

I should have been asleep already or practicing bedtime yoga instead of sitting in the hot tub with him. I’d convinced myself this was an acceptable activity since it was a component of physiotherapy, which was vital to training.

I hadn’t considered that we’d be half naked. Three-quarters naked, more accurately.

He lowered himself into the water with a long, low moan.

“This is amazing.” He moaned again, closing his eyes. “Get in here.”

I did, because I was about to humiliate myself, and at least my groin wouldn’t be visible under the white water. I bit back my own groan. The heat really did feel wonderful. I stretched out my legs, brushing his calf and whipping back my feet.

He was talking, talking, talking, and laughing about something, and every flash of a smile made my arousal throb. His smattering of chest hair was wet and dark around his nipples, and my throat was dry…

For years after he’d smirked at my pubescent erection in the communal concrete shower room in Croatia, I’d resented him. Where was that lingering enmity now when I needed it? How had it vanished so quickly?

The more time I foolishly spent with Theodore, the less I hated him, and now I found the one emotion that had been so reliable for years had abandoned me. That irrational hate had fueled me.

Could I even beat him without it?

“Turn around.” He made a spinning motion with his finger. “It’ll help.”

I’d lost the thread of conversation, but I didn’t want to admit it. I tentatively shifted to sit sideways on the hot tub’s tile bench. Before I knew what was happening, Theodore surged across the water and tucked himself close behind me, his right leg bent and shin pressing against my backside.

My lungs stuttered as his left hand spread over my ribs. Slowly, using thumb and fingers, he massaged the sore area of my back. He was saying, “I strained these muscles a few years ago, and it’s so awkward to reach yourself. Not that I’m an expert, but does that feel okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

All the deep breathing and meditation in the world couldn’t stop my simmering arousal from boiling over into a full-fledged erection. I kept my gaze high on the reflection of the empty pool in the wall of dark windows.

Then I lowered my eyes to the image of Theodore close behind me and my own parted lips. We were small in the glass across the room, but seeing us excited me.

I could feel his breath on my neck like I had standing at the sink. I could imagine his lips touching my skin, his body covering mine, bending me over the side of the hot tub…

“Why are you helping me?” The question scraped out of my dry throat.

His fingers flexed on my side, his tone teasing. “I want to beat you fair and square. It’s no fun if you’re injured.”

I jerked away from him with a splash, sliding to the other side of the hot tub.

He blinked at me before forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Sorry! No competition talk, right? We agreed. There’s no winning and losing here.” He made a zipping motion across his mouth, his lips glistening red in the steam.

I could only stare at him, my breath too fast and my head spinning with confusion. We shouldn’t be doing this. I should get up and leave and stop talking to Theo until after Calgary.

Not Theo. Theodore.

A voice boomed, “Time to lock up the pool area!”

The concierge’s announcement made me jump half out of the hot tub. Unfortunately, it didn’t put a damper on my erection in the slightest, and as Theodore exchanged pleasantries with the man before he left and presumably returned to the front desk, I willed my body to cooperate.

What was wrong with me? I shouldn’t be attracted to Theo—Theodore—and I clearly couldn’t let him get so close to me ever again. I had to put a stop to this, yet no matter how hard I attempted to focus and control my body, I couldn’t.

Climbing out and grabbing his towel from the hook on the wall, Theodore ran it over his hair. And pressed the red button, sealing my fate. The camouflaging swirl of frothing water flattened, steam still rising.

Frowning, he gave me an awkward smile and hesitantly asked, “You coming?”

Humiliation had me in its jaws, and I wished there was a way to slip under the water’s surface and swim back to my condo in darkness.

He crossed the deck, feet slapping on the wet tile to loom on the other side of the hot tub. “Are you feeling okay? You’re really red.” I nodded, but his frown deepened. “Are you dizzy? That can happen if you spend too long in the water and overheat.”

I shook my head. “Go on without me.”

He sighed. “Seriously? Look, I’m sorry I said that. I know we have to keep competition separate from this. Don’t be mad, okay?”