Page 24 of Falling for You

Sucking in a deep breath, I get to work. Wetting his hair first, then shampoo, using my nails to massage his scalp. I hear a quiet moan escape his throat and have to clench my thighs together. His eyes are closed, giving me a chance to stare, take in the contours of his handsome face the way I crave.

Even through the dark scruff of his facial hair, I can see the sharp edges of his jawline, the smooth line of his nose and trace of laughter next to his eyes. The man is definitely a sight to behold, that’s for sure. So effortlessly sexy. There’s nothing about him that screams high maintenance or that he has to spend a lot of time on his appearance.

I’m so busy staring at him that I don’t notice when my hand slips from the hose. It makes a clanging noise when it hits the base of the bowl and suddenly water is squirting everywhere. I screech, jumping back on reflex as he sits up quickly, shampoo and water running down his face and over the cape.

“Ahh!” I yell. I’m using my hand as a shield against the spray of water. The hose is flipping and flopping back and forth, jets of warm water streaming into the air and all over the both of us. Before I manage to get control of the situation, we’re both nearly soaked. Even the floor is wet and slippery.

Finally having the water turned off, which seemed to take much longer than it should have because I was taken by such surprise, I look over at Rex. I know my eyes are wide, my hair looks like I’ve just climbed out of the shower, but forgot to wash half of it because sections are completely dry while others are drenched.

I wipe my face, my chest heaving.

“Well, I’m awake. What about you?”

A burst of laughter bubbles out of me and I cover my mouth. That’s never happened to me before. In fact, I’m not entirely sure that’s ever happened to anyoneever. I don’t know if it’s because of my out of control nerves or something else entirely. I do know that I am incredibly embarrassed.

“I’m so sorry,” I groan. “I know this won’t make you feel any better, but I’ve never had that happen before.” I belatedly grab a handful of towels and start drying him off, reaching up on my tiptoes to be able to get to his head. Then I realize he still has shampoo in his hair and there’s no way of getting it out without rinsing it away.

“Holy crap, you have to get back into the chair so I can finish rinsing out this shampoo.” I ruffle his hair and wince, but can’t stop laughing. Luckily, he’s doing the same, laughing right along with me.

His boots squeak when he shifts his stance, which makes me laugh even harder. I bend over at the waist, clutching my stomach. My cheeks are wet — either from the water or my laughter tears, I don’t know — and my clothes are sopping wet, stuck to my body.

“Oh my word! What the heck happened in here?” Jana cries out, skidding to a stop when she realizes she’s about to trudge through a puddle of water, but I don’t miss the fact that she’s laughing too. How could she not? We’re both wet, he has shampoo dripping out of his hair and I probably have mascara running down my cheeks.

“She doesn’t know how to handle a hose,” Rex says, chuckling.

I glare at him but the smile playing on my lips betrays me.

“Ahh. Seems she needs to work on that. Think you can help her out?”

He crosses his arms over his chest and widens his stance. Without his glasses on, his eyes appear even shinier, brighter, even. And somehow, even with his hair full of shampoo, he still manages to look super sexy and twist my stomach.

“Hmm. Possibly. It seems we need to work on her… grip.”

I clap my hands a few times to get their attention. “Okay! Okay, you two. Jana, I’ve got this under control, now, anyway. I’ll clean up back here after I finish up with Rex.”

“Nah, I’ll take care of it,” she waves me off but takes a seat across from us, probably to see if I’ll continue to embarrass myself.

“Rex, I promise I’ll keep the water just on your head this time,” I pause when Jana snorts because I said head. “And you, get your mind out of the gutter. What are you? Twelve?”

“Fifteen,” she says, laying her head back in another bowl and resting back like she’s ready to take a nap.

“Watch out or I’ll come wash your hair next.”

“Funny how usually those words wouldn’t scare someone, but considering what I just experienced, I feel the need to tell you to heed her warning.”

“Hardy har har har. Sit down, smart ass. If you’re lucky I won’t make you wet this time.”

“I feel it necessary to remind you, you got wet, too.”

I feel my cheeks heat and I have to look away. Mumbling for him to shut up under my breath only makes him chuckle. “Hey, it’s not my fault. You’re basically handing all these over to me on a silver platter. You know that, right?”

“Maybe your mind is in the gutter, too.”

“No doubt about that,” he mumbles, settling back against the seat.

Luckily, this time I’m able to get his hair rinsed clean of shampoo without spraying water everywhere. Though I only accomplished this because Jana was watching my every move with a knowing look on her face. I’m sure I’ll be getting the third degree from her as soon as he leaves.

“Just a trim, then?” I ask him as soon as we’re back at my station.

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