Misunderstandings (Woodfalls Girls 2)

“Don’t let it go to your head. Once your mom bans me from the house, this will be the last time.”

“Ye of little faith. It’s all good. Now come take a shower with me,” he said, dragging the covers off. I blinked in the light, taking in his naked torso for the first time. Tattoos spanned his entire chest as they wove around his lean muscles. I had never given tattoos much thought, but his were a work of art. Reaching a finger up, I slowly traced the lines covering his toned skin.

“Do you like them?” he asked in a husky voice.

“If I say yes, is it going to inflate your ego more?” I asked.

“Babe, it won’t be anything I haven’t heard.”

“Don’t be an ass,” I said, swatting his shoulder, which made the sheet slip off me, exposing my chest. His eyes zeroed in on my breasts, making my nipples tighten under his stare.

“Do you like them?” I asked in a hitched voice, stealing his previous question.

“Very much so,” he answered, running a thumb over one of them. “Come on. Take a shower with me,” he said, gently tugging on my hand.

Ignoring my misgivings, I allowed him to lead us to his adjoining bathroom. We were entering new territory here. Showering with a man was definitely a first for me. Justin took it upon himself to show me just how pleasurable it was to be washed from head to toe by strong masculine hands. By the time we were hastily toweling off, we were both anxious to finish what we had started.

Our second time together was quick and hot. Our releases came seconds apart and left us spent as we collapsed on his bed.

“Hmmm, who knew a shower could be so fun?” I sighed.

“Told you,” he said, beaming down at me.

“I don’t even want to know how you knew it would be so enjoyable,” I said, giving his shoulder a push so I could get up and get dressed.

“A gentleman never tells,” he answered, tossing a clean UW shirt my way as I pulled on my jeans from yesterday.

“Gahhh,” I said, chucking my boot at him, which he easily ducked.

“Let’s go get breakfast,” he said, handing my boot back to me. “There’s a great diner not too far from here, and after that I have a surprise.”

Unable to stay mad, I finished getting dressed, willing myself not to dwell on his past conquests. We left the house through his private entrance and headed out for the day. The diner turned out to be every bit as good as he said it was, and even though we’d both eaten our weight in food the day before, we were famished from our nighttime and morning activities. We lingered over our meal, trying to one-up each other discussing past holiday disasters. Over a second cup of coffee, I won the contest when I showed him the spiral-looking scar on the palm of my hand. It had taken thirty stitches when I stuck my hand in the sink to remove a steak knife from the garbage disposal that happened to be running at the time.

“What the hell were you thinking? Man, your poor hand,” he said, tracing the scar on the palm of my hand.

“It was a total brain-dead moment,” I joked, downing the last of my coffee. “So, where are we going?” I asked as we shrugged into our jackets.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

His surprise turned out to be an hour-long ferryboat ride to Bremerton. It was a tranquil experience as we stood against the rail, watching the water and taking in the wildlife we passed on the way. Once we arrived, we strolled around window-shopping the quaint shops that sat along the waterway before ending up at the Navy Museum. Finally, we ate a late lunch at a café on Puget Sound before heading back to the ferryboat for the ride back to the mainland. We decided to stay the rest of the weekend at my dorm since Justin had scored tickets to a Seattle Seahawks game on Sunday. I didn’t admit it, but I was relieved I wouldn’t have to face his mom for at least a few days. Like our shower together, the weekend continued to hold many firsts for me. My first ferryboat ride, my first professional football game, and the first time I spent a solid four days in the company of a male. More astonishing than all the firsts of the weekend was the fact that each day with Justin was as enjoyable as the day before. Our nights were spent wrapped in each other’s arms. That was the weekend I began to fall for the one guy I never expected to.

17.

Present Day

2:41 PM

“This is seriously getting ridiculous,” I ranted, stomping my foot in frustration. We were past hour three of being stuck and I was regretting my decision to not use the restroom when I had the chance. Of course, if I had taken the few extra minutes to go to the bathroom, I wouldn’t be stuck on the elevator from hell. That’s the thing with hindsight. You had no way of changing anything. It was just a way of highlighting your mistakes and getting pissed off about it.

“I can see your temper is still intact,” Justin observed as I stomped my foot again.

“I don’t have a temper.”

He raised his eyebrows skeptically, calling my bluff.

“Fine. Normally, I don’t have a temper,” I ground out, which was partially true. Justin always had the knack of igniting the anger in me. It wasn’t like we fought all the time, but when we did, a temper I never knew I had would emerge.

“Admit it. You’re really a closet redhead.”