I wrinkled my nose as I got to my feet. “Gross.”
“Hey, just stating what she’s probably thinking.”
We both left the bathroom, a lot better off than when we went in. I finally sat down and had Thanksgiving dinner with my family and didn’t complain anymore about cancer or boys and just enjoyed the two amazing women in my life.
Chapter 18
Mom left early the next morning and Val struggled with whether or not to leave.
“Are you sure you don’t need me? You feel well enough?”
“I swear, Val. I’m fine.” I’d told her over and over that I was feeling better. I had gone awhile without ice and even weaned myself off of the pain pills. I’d be ready to go back to school and work on Monday.
“Are you fine or is it because that fine ass boy of yours is coming back to school and you want to be alone?”
I rolled my eyes. It was true that John was coming back in town, but it’s not like there would be anything that we would be doing that would require alone time. My discharge sheet was very clear that I shouldn’t have sex until four weeks after the procedure. Not that I thought I would be having sex with John, but at least the option was there.
“He’s coming over when he gets back in and settled. But that doesn’t mean you have to leave. I’m sure we could all hang out.”
Valerie held up her hands. “Whoa, I’m not into a sisterly threesome.”
I gently punched her arm. “You’re so gross!”
“Oh come on! You’d be laughing if John said it and you know he would. Those fraternity boys can’t get enough of me in all my curvy glory. Because you know, I got so many guys in college.” Her words dripped with sarcasm. Valerie had an hourglass figure, but she definitely wasn’t fat by any means. And she definitely flaunted her curves.
“Oh please. Don’t pity party the pity partier. I will out pity you in a heartbeat!”
She clasped her hands together in a pose like a duck’s beak and made it talk. “Blah, blah feel sorry for me. I have a hot man who loves me and my cancer and is going to lick me like a lollipop when he gets here. Blah blah blah”
I put my hands in the same mocking position, flipping my hair back in the process. “Blah, blah, I have an awesome job in Chicago and no student loans. Poor me.”
Valerie put her hand down. “Touché. You win this round, pity partier.”
“I’ll let you win the next one.”
She shook her head. “Ahh, you’re a crazy little sister, but I love you.” She opened her arms and I gladly gave her a hug.
“I love you too, Val.”
She released me from the hug and then looked me in the eye, keeping her hands on my shoulders. “Keep in touch, okay? I’ll be back in a few weeks to get you for Christmas, but I don’t want that to be the only time we talk. Keep me in the loop. Even if you are just telling me how awesome John is.”
“I will, Val, I promise.”
“Good.” She nodded and squeezed my shoulder before she let go and grabbed her rolling suitcase. “I’ll talk to you soon, Mel. Bye.”
“Bye, Val.”
I walked her to the front door and then collapsed on my couch. As nice as it was to have Val and Mom helping out, it was great to finally have the apartment to myself.
I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the wall. I thought maybe I could get a nap in or just veg, or maybe even get in some late Black Friday shopping, but then my phone vibrated next to me. I picked it up and saw John’s face smiling back at me. He was calling? Not a text? Confused, I slid my phone unlocked. “Hello?”
“Hey, Red. Are you busy?”
“No. Valerie just left a little bit ago. Do you need something?”
He let out a breath that made a crackling sound into the phone. “Yeah, actually. This is really awkward, but the water is out at the house and I thought I could just get there early and shower before I saw you, but I can’t. So, long story short, can I shower at your place?”
Shower at my place? My mind wandered, thinking about John’s naked body. How the water would drip off of his hair and down his abdominal line. I had to shake the thoughts out of my head because I didn’t want to make myself crazy without even touching the guy.
“Yeah, of course it’s fine after all you’ve done for me.”
“Cool. Sorry to put you out like this, but I promise to take you out to dinner to make up for it.”
“Dinner?” I blinked.
“Yeah. If I’m going to use you for your water, the least I can do is let you use me for food.”
“Okay. That works for me.”
Shower and dinner with John? Black Friday wasn’t looking so black.
It was less than ten minutes before John was knocking at my door. I’d lived most of the week in sweat pants with no makeup and even though he’d seen me like that, I still wanted to look a little bit decent. I slipped into a pair of jeans and a knit sweater before putting on a few coats of mascara and some lip gloss.
For not showering, John still looked amazing in a tight fitting henley and jeans. His hair was hidden under a White Sox hat as usual, but I was starting to think the hat was sexy, even if I couldn’t run my fingers through his hair.
“Hey, Red. You’re looking good. Are you feeling better?” He had that sexy lopsided smile on his face and it made me melt.
“Yeah. Feeling pretty good.” I stood to the side and let him walk in. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and took short, methodical steps into my apartment.
“Good to hear.”
“Yep.” I nodded, trying to think of something to break up the awkwardness. I pointed at the open bathroom door. “Um, shower is through there. I already hung a clean towel on the rack and put fresh soap and a new washcloth in there.”
“You’re too good to me, Red.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. Then he turned around and stood in the bathroom doorway.
I couldn’t help but let my gaze wander as he sat his bag down on the closed toilet lid and his muscles flexed. I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling and hoped that my face wasn’t beet red.
He looked over his shoulder, a grin spreading across his face. “Are you coming?”
“Um, excuse me?” I stumbled back. Did he mean the coming that I was thinking about? Because I could have been.
He nodded his head toward the shower. “In the shower with me?”
I blinked. “Seriously?”
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, but I thought if I was going to use your shower we should conserve water and shower together.”
“Um..uh..I can’t. Have. Um. Sexual. Intercourse,” I stammered the words out.
He turned around so he was fully facing me and then slowly inched his shirt off. His tattoos were staring me in the face and I couldn’t help but let my thoughts drift back to visions of him with the water rippling off of his abs. “Who said anything about sex? I just want to shower with you.”
As much as I wanted to press my body against his and see exactly what he would look like naked and in my shower, I knew it was a bad idea. I was still spotting from surgery and I could be for another three weeks. I was afraid that a giant blood clot would just fall out of me and onto his foot. That would be a mood ruiner.
“I don’t think now is a good time.” I was barely able to choke out the words. I’d been dreaming about John naked since the moment I saw him in a loincloth and now I was turning him down. Stupid cancer surgery.
He nodded. “It’s okay. I understand.” He took a few steps backward. “But that doesn’t mean you’re getting out of dinner tonight.”
“I thought you were joking about that.”
He shook his head, putting his arms above his head and leaning against the doorframe. His muscles stretched and gave me an even better view of his perfectly toned abs. The guy had to hide a personal gym in his room or something. He was ripped beyond belief. “I figured if we’re going to try something, might as well do it right and try the whole dinner and holding hands thing.” He had that lopsided grin on his face that made my legs quiver.