“You know me. I don’t like to do things halfway.” He glanced up at the shower caddy. “It looks like Larry and Sheila are an Herbal Essence couple. Will that do?”
“At this point, I’ll take anything. But won’t it be a little difficult to wash my hair while I’m sitting in the tub? It’s not like there’s a whole lot of room in here.”
“How about we finish the bath, and then wash your hair at the sink? There’s a vanity table in the bedroom. We can use the chair for you to sit on.” “That will work,” she said, but didn’t like being a charity case. William lowered himself onto his knees and gently took the soap and washcloth from her hands. The tremors returned, but this time Josie swore they came from the sudden swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
His hand dipped into the water, by her calculation a mere inch from her behind, before he placed the soapy towel against her back and washed it in slow, deliberate circles.
Josie’s breath thinned in her lungs.
“I’m experiencing a strong sense of déjà vu,” William said.
The observation was an awkward one. There were numerous times when she and William had shared a shower or bubble bath. All she needed now was for him to climb in and for two flutes of champagne to mysteriously appear.
“I just put my foot in my mouth, didn’t I?” he said at her silence.
“No, it’s okay.” She glanced down at the depleting bubbles and then reached out to pull an armful of them back toward her. “But it was a long time ago.”
William’s hand dipped back into the water, and this time his knuckles brushed against her butt. She gasped and grew still.
He stopped. “Is something wrong?”
Say something and end this torture. “N-no. I’m fine.” Her words echoed with a strange hollowness. If William noticed, he was kind enough to pretend otherwise. As Josie steeled herself against the pleasure of William’s gentle strokes, a strained silence enveloped the former lovers. She was dying to know what he was thinking but couldn’t muster up the nerve to ask. He glided the soap over her shoulder blades, and then abruptly stopped. “This is new.” “What?” “A tattoo.” Josie froze. She had forgotten about it. “It’s Chinese, isn’t it? What does it say?”
There was no way she was going to tell him the Chinese characters spelled his name. She squeezed her eyes tight and came up with another lie. “Love.” “Humph.” He started scrubbing again. “I never figured you to be the tattoo type.” “I guess you don’t know me as well as you think.” “I don’t know.” He chuckled. “I know you pretty well. And it’s a good thing, too, or you’d still be at Keystone.” She nodded. “Good point.” The small talk ended, and the heavy silence returned.
William washed the back of her neck, between her shoulder blades, and worked a trail down her spine. Everywhere his hand went her skin tingled in its wake, and it was growing harder to pretend to be unaffected.
“Okay. That ought to do it.” He placed the soap in its dish on the accessory deck, dipped the cloth into the water several times, and then rinsed off her back. “Thanks,” she said. Her gaze remained downcast while he climbed back onto his feet. “You don’t have to keep thanking me, Josie. I’m glad to be able to help.” He grabbed a large body towel. “Hold on while I go get that chair before we get you out of there.” He disappeared into the bedroom, but returned quickly.
However, getting into the tub was nothing compared to getting out, and Josie’s embarrassment deepened at the amount of water she splash. Through it all, he remained gracious.
After successfully being transported to a small wrought-iron chair with her towel draped around her, William set out a robe close to her and gave her a few minutes alone to dry herself and apply the supplied bottles of lotions and creams.
Though William was out of sight, Josie suspected he remained close in case she experienced some sort of episode. She appreciated and hated it at the same time.
She sighed, confused about her mixed emotions. How many years had she wished that their path would cross again? Now, through some truly bizarre happenstance, here he was.
In her dreams, she’d envisioned he would spot her at a CD signing or promotional gig. She would boast about her successful career and her wonderful marriage.
But her life hadn’t gone as planned. Nowhere near it. Because of a series of polyps on her vocal cords, her singing career was over before it really began. After three moderately successful CD releases, Josephine Ferrell’s singing career had ended.
Her music never garnered the big crossover audience in America, but she was close. She was sure of that. And Etienne. She didn’t want to think about it.
“How are we doing in there?” he called out from the bedroom.
“So far so good.” She injected pleasantness into her voice and hurried to finish massaging lotion onto her elbows. A few minutes later, garbed in a large, fluffy robe, Josie gave William the okay to rejoin her.
“All righty, then. Let’s get this thing started.” He flashed her a smile as he entered with a pitcher, and then gathered more towels.
His return immediately wrecked Josie’s calm reserve. In retrospect, he’d always had that effect on her. And she had always enjoyed it.
William positioned her and the chair in front of the sink and gave it enough room so she could comfortably lean her head back over the sink. Since she couldn’t get her entire head under the immobile faucet, William filled the pitcher with water, and then used it to wet the areas that wouldn’t reach.
“Seems like you’ve done this before,” Josie commented. She closed her eyes and loved the feel of his strong fingers as they massaged her scalp.
The sound of his light chuckle washed lazily over her. “I guess you can call me a veteran.”
Josie instantly thought of his wife and as a result ended her feelings of euphoria. “Your wife is a lucky woman,” she said before she could stop herself.
William’s fingers froze for an eternal second and then resumed. “I used to do this with my ex-wife. I’m not married anymore.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know.” There was no denying the rush of relief she experienced after his confession, but now a series of questions strolled through her head.
“No way you could’ve, I guess.” He reached for the bottle of shampoo. “It’s been almost two years.”
She detected sorrow in his voice, and a low level of jealousy stirred within her.
They fell silent while his fingers worked up a good lather. It was nearly impossible for Josie to stop her toes from curling or prevent the soft moans from escaping her lips. “Glad you’re enjoying this,” he commented, with another chuckle. “How can I not?” she said. A lazy smile curled her lips. “You have great hands.” “I think you might have told me that before.” “Oh, yeah.” An embarrassed Josie remembered. “How could I have forgotten?” “Beats me.” William chuckled. She smiled but couldn’t combat the sudden chill that crept from her toes and slowly transformed her body into a giant glacier. “Josie, are you all right?” She heard him, but couldn’t get her teeth to stop chattering long enough to answer. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” He shut off the water, wrapped a towel around her head, and then helped her to lean forward.
Her shivers turned into violent convulsions, but Josie felt William’s arms slide beneath her and she was aware of him taking her back into the bedroom. When he placed her on the bed, she thought her soul was being lifted from her body. The experience frightened her.