Ethan

Her eyes are wide, her arms crossed over her chest though the suds cover everything I wish I could see, and now because of her sudden dive underwater, the makeup on her eyes is now around her eyes and sliding south. “I won’t come in if you really don’t want me to. Tell me what you want, Singer.”

She slides to the far side, and says, “I want you to come in. Just no peeking. Okay?”

“I can’t make that promise.”

Rolling her eyes, she laughs. “Fine. C’mon anyway. But remember, that means I can peek, too.”

My cock hardens from the thought of her gaze on my body. “That’s fair.”

I step inside the tub, and she protests, “No fair. You have your boxers on. You have to take them off.”

“Why, Singer Davis, you sure are demanding for someone naked in my tub.” I strip my boxers down, and she hides her eyes.

“Good Lord.”

“Good works. Incredible. Amazing. Awesome. Works better.”

“Oh God.”

“About that. I know this might be a religious experience of sorts, but you can still call me Ethan.”

“Ugh. Stop all right already and sit down.”

I sit, and the water splashes over the sides so I turn it off. The water’s warm and she’s right, relaxing. “You can uncover your eyes. Nothing to see here but white bubbles.” I stretch my arms wide over the edge.

Her hand dips into the water and she leans her head back. “This is the best bathtub ever. I thought you were just trying to get me to come back with you to have sex.” Her sweet smile is full of mischief and is very contagious.

“And yet, you still came.”

Shrugging, she replies, “Busted.” She picks up her glass and leans forward. The damn bubbles are thick, guarding her body from view. “To this tub.”

“And devirgining it,” I add.

“Is it de or un?”

“I went with de. How about you, Singer? When did you first get de-ed?” Not sure if it’s the heat of the water or the questions that pink her cheeks, but the color is there and she’s beautiful.

She takes a sip, and sets her glass down. “When I was eighteen.”

“No juicy details?”

“Why are we talking about this again?”

“We’re getting to know each other.” I’d like to get to know her body on top of mine better.

“Fine. It was the first time for both of us. Trust me, there are no good details to share. It was fast and awkward. I think it was over in less than five minutes.”

“Yikes.”

“You?”

“Seventeen after we won the regional championship in football.”

“There’s more to that story for sure.”

She makes me laugh, something I haven’t done much of in the last year. “Same old story—cheerleader, star football player, one cold Texas night in December.”

“I didn’t know it got cold in Texas.”

“It was like an inferno in that truck bed.”

“It was in the back of a truck?” Her cute little nose scrunches, but she leans back again and drinks more of her champagne.

“It was a nice truck with one of those hardtop covers. I had blankets and an air mattress that filled the bed. No candles for obvious reasons, but a sky full of stars and Sarah McLachlan playing through the speakers.”

“I didn’t take you for a Sarah fan.”

“My girlfriend was a huge fan. It was my way of romancing her.”

She stretches her legs forward, the length against the side of mine. Her foot rests against my hip. I slide my hand under the water and run my palm down the side and take hold of her foot, rubbing the arch with my thumb. She moans in pleasure then asks, “Do you remember what song was playing?”

“Fallen.” I match her position and lean back, remembering those times. They were so much simpler.

“I don’t know if I remember that one.”

“It should have been a sign we wouldn’t last.”

“That happy, huh?”

Moving my hand to her ankle, I slide it farther when she doesn’t move away. “Mistakes and paying the price.”

I look her way when her hand matches my movements on my leg. We’re both still, our gazes steady on each other. The bubbles are starting to dissipate, and I can’t take my eyes off her. Wrapping my hands around both her ankles, I tug gently causing her to slide down just a little. It takes her by surprise and she bursts out in a laugh. “You better not, Everest. Paybacks are hell.”

I tug a bit more, her mouth going under as her arms fly out to grab hold of the edge. I don’t give her time and pull all the way. She disappears under as the water and the remaining bubbles drain over the edge. When she pops up, I have her on my legs. Her mouth opens wide, matching her eyes. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you just did that.”

Twisting to the left, her hand misses my arm and hits the water, splashing some onto her face. She huffs and splashes as she scoots back. I’m too busy laughing to care about getting wet. I’m in a bath for fuck’s sake. I kind of expected to get wet. But my laughing ignites her temper.

Singer Davis fired up is a sight to see. Her eyes blaze with passion that she tries to restrain, to hide from the world when it’s what should always be seen.

“I’m going to get you, Everest. When you least expect it.” Her threats are wrapped in laughter, but then something comes over her, maybe the realization that our bodies are exposed if we look through the crystal waters.

She slides through the water and rests her arms on the side facing out the window. The tub is too large. It could fit four people, but I wish it were smaller. I wish it was like the one I grew up with where our bodies would be wrangled together and my arms would be wrapped around her, holding her close.

I test the waters of her emotions and touch her back, letting my fingers run down her spine. She glances over at me but returns her attention to the city outside.

It’s not a view I take the time to appreciate often, but when I attempt to now, the beauty before it eclipses it in every way. “The view is stunning.”

She continues to stare out the window, her gaze lost in the distance. “It is, isn’t it?”

“I’m not referring to the city.” Seemingly caught off guard, she looks at me. “Yes, you. You’re very beautiful.” She looks down and all I want her to do is look up. “Something is wrong with the world that you don’t feel it, that you don’t feel beautiful on the inside. Why is that?”

“You can have any woman you want, Ethan, but somehow I’ve been caught in your web. You’re making my head spin, but my heart already feels like it’s held captive.”

“I will never hurt you.”

“I can’t think clearly around you. I shouldn’t tell you this. Being upfront with you so early into . . . us, but I’m not good at hiding my feelings.” Oh. This time she comes closer. Her breasts full and weighted even in the water though her breath floats to the surface of her lips—heavy.

“You don’t have to hide your feelings with me.”

“You ask me why I don’t see things the way you do—”

“No. I asked why you don’t see yourself the way I do.”

The smallest of smiles appears, but it’s there. The tips of her nails walk across my thighs and higher over my stomach. Her legs are brought around until she’s straddling me. She’s farther back than I’d like, but I need to find patience in the moment. She continues and says, “You treat me as if I were you, but I don’t have the same power you carry into a room.”

“You do. You’re just not paying attention. You don’t need the daiquiri douches or the Chump.”

“What power do I have, Ethan?”

“Can’t you see the power you have over me?”

Moving of her own accord, our bodies entangle in dangerously sexual territory. “If I have these so-called powers over you, why didn’t you kiss me that Sunday after the pub or when we said goodnight at my place?”

“I kissed you last night. I kissed you tonight.”

“You claimed me, Ethan. There’s a difference.”

Her words are a sucker punch to my heart. She’s right, but I’m the asshole being called out on it, and it makes me feel like shit. “True. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry. I want it to be real.”

I thought I was wearing my heart on my sleeve. I wasn’t. Not really. Not like she is now. She exposes herself in ways I used to before I was burned for doing the same. I don’t want to be the one she remembers burning her. “It is real. It was, for me, but it was also a mistake I made, something I shouldn’t have done in front of people.”

“Why? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me in public?”

In public.

She’s got it all wrong. So wrong. My breath comes harsher when I gently take her by the waist and confess what I know I should hold back. “Never.” She starts to slip away but my grip tightens, holding her in place. “God, no. I would kiss you all the time if you were mine—in public, in private, inside, outside, and all over your body shamelessly.”

“But you just said—”

“I’ve been betrayed before. I’m dealing with shit from my past, so I have trust issues, and as much as I want to get to know you, I can only let you in so far right now.” I stare into her eyes, wondering how far I can go, how far I can open up. Do I mention the case?

Her hands flatten on my chest, and she leans down putting her cheek against mine. Whispering, she says, “I see how you struggle, how you carry the weight of life on your shoulders. I’m not here to cause trouble or damage you in any way. Keep your secrets if that helps ease your mind, but know”—she lifts up to look into my eyes—“I will never betray your trust.”

My hand covers her right one. “I know you won’t. Let’s just take things slow if we can.”

“By slow, you mean not being in a tub naked together?” The corners of her pretty lips tilt into a smile.

“Not that slow. Will you stay the night?”

“I’ll stay.”

Fuck, she’s amazing. I reach up and grab her by the back of the head, my other arm wrapping across her shoulders to spin her under me. With her body pressed to mine underwater, I kiss her lips as laughter escapes.

I want to fuck her so badly, a craving that consumes me daily. She’s naked beneath me, and I can’t have her. The torture batters my soul.

Her fingers weave into my hair, and she pulls me to her. “I want you, Ethan.”

Dollar signs don’t shine in her eyes. I see nothing but sincerity. “I want you, Singer.” Is she worth taking a risk again? Opening myself up to being used? Would she do that? I kiss her cheek and then lean my head against the same spot. Her skin is so soft, her hands so gentle.

I drop my head to her shoulder. I was prey to Dariya. What am I to Singer? I trust her. I do. Maybe it’s wrong, but my heart is beating, pounding to be with this woman. I feel like me for the first time in forever. She accepts me for who I am with no expectations of more. Do I tell her? Do I expose my vulnerabilities and open myself to possible hurt? Do I kiss her and risk bursting the bubble that protects us, protects this moment and the innocence that created it? For Singer, I do. “Leaving that fire escape, walking away from you that day was the biggest mistake I’ve made in years.”

“Why did you leave? Why did you leave me for her?”

I lower my gaze, feeling shame rolling through me. I look toward the window. “I don’t know. It was like the moment passed us by, this bubble that surrounded us popped in an instant.”

“It didn’t for me.”

Looking over at her, I say, “You had enough hope for both us back then, but I lost faith.”

She’s not embarrassed or shy, but confident as she sits on my lap and takes my face in her hands. “We don’t have to change the world in one night.”

Sitting up, I settle her where I want her to be. She sucks in a quick breath. “One night with you will change me.”

“Maybe this is our second chance.”

“You make a convincing argument. I always thought you’d be more reserved when it came to sex.”

“There’s something about you I trust.”

I laugh. “I’m probably the last one you should trust. Haven’t you heard?”

“No, I haven’t heard. Why can’t I search your name online? What will I find, Ethan?”

“Lies.” I look away. “Some truths. Some lies.”

“Don’t shut down on me. Please. I’m here,” she says sitting up, her perfect breasts fully above water for the first time, one of her hands tapping gently on my chest. The location warms over my heart, and the beat in my chest is strong. “There’s no hiding when we’re like this. You think this connection we feel is only physical. Physical attraction may be the reason you kissed me, but it was in here that we bonded. Don’t discredit us. Don’t treat me like you treat some woman hanging on your every word at a bar. I’ve kept my distance for so long in hopes that when the time was right, we would have another moment and it wouldn’t evaporate into thin air. So stop trying to end us before we even begin.”

I want to believe her so badly. In an ideal world, this would be easy. I’d kiss her. We’d date. We’d fuck. Make love. Go out for dinner. Stay in and watch movies. Normal dating stuff. But I don’t live in an ideal world. I touch her cheek and look into her eyes. “You’re too beautiful to be dragged into so much ugly.”

When her fingers wrap around my wrist, she says, “What if I come willingly?”

“Then you’re a fool.”

“Then call me foolish because I’m taking my chances.” She leans down, her nipples brushing against my chest, and she kisses me.

And then I kiss her right back.