Page 35 of Hero

We put her to bed and then close the bedroom door as we leave the room.

I look around, needing to do something but finding nothing obvious that needs to be done.

Zed clears his throat. Stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Whatever I sense in him is making me even more jittery. I wander over to the kitchen area and pick up a dishcloth to wipe down the counter. It’s already clean. Zed has gotten better about picking up after himself, and I’m a neat person and like to keep my surroundings clean. The cabin rarely gets messy.

But I need to do something with my hands, so wiping the counter is what I chose to do.

“We can unload the truck tomorrow morning,” Zed says, leaning over to take off his shoes. “No sense in messing with it tonight.”

“Yeah. That’s what I figured.”

Wipe. Wipe. Wipe. I’m a wiping machine.

Zed pours out some of the water into a basin and takes off his flannel shirt. He’s got an undershirt on beneath it, but he keeps that on as he washes his hands and face with the water.

I try not to watch him, focusing on scrubbing down a fictional dirty spot on the counter.

When I find myself too interested in the sight of him drying his skin with a towel, I decide the wisest action would be to vacate the premises. I go outside to use the outhouse.

I’d stay outside longer, but a few sounds in the woods trigger my warning instincts, so I quickly come back inside.

Without a word, Zed goes outside after me—likely for the same reasons. Because I’m worried about those sounds, I stand in the open door of the cabin and wait for him.

“What’s the matter?” he asks when he returns, pulling his jeans up since they’re sliding too far down his hips.

“Nothing. Just thought I heard something.” I nod toward the woods.

He turns to look at the dark of the trees surrounding the cabin. We both stand and listen, but I don’t hear any more noises.

“It was probably a small animal or a bird or something. It didn’t sound like that bear did.”

“Okay.” He peers some more into the night until he finally gives a small shake of his head. “Probably so.”

He puts a hand on my back to get me back inside. It’s not a pushy gesture. I actually doubt he’s even conscious of doing it. But the pressure from his hand feels like it’s scalding me. I’m brutally aware of it.

I step away, ostensibly to take off my shoes and socks. Then I walk over to the bowl of water he poured earlier and use it to wash my hands and face too.

My hair is still braided into the french braids. They’re neat enough so there’s no reason to go through the work of redoing them.

Zed has locked up the cabin and gone over to sit down on the side of his bed.

I try not to look at him over there. I should go to the bedroom and get into my own bed. It’s been a long day for all of us. I should be exhausted. Maybe after sleeping I’ll feel more like myself.

Instead of going to bed, I go to the kitchen counter and start wiping again.

My feet are bare, but I’m wearing jeans and a fitted white T-shirt. I’m not wearing a bra. My breasts are nothing special, but they’re not too bad. They’re firm and rounded, and they’re noticeable beneath the thin fabric of my top.

I wonder if Zed notices them. If he likes the look of them.

I’ve always had full hips, and I used to think they were too wide. Now I kind of like the curve of them. It feels like Zed might be looking at my ass, but that’s probably my imagination. I’m just acutely aware of my body.

And his body.

He’s got a very good body. I want to be touching it right now.

What the hell is wrong with me? I’ve completely lost my mind.

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