Page 47 of Back To You

“Look at what a mess you made,” she purrs as she reaches her arm to the right, turning on the sink next to her. Then, she hops off the counter and walks into the guest bedroom, her ass swaying with each step.

“Clean yourself up, bartender,” she says over her shoulder, “and sleep tight.”

And then she shuts the door behind her.

***

There’s a new feeling in the air when I wake up this morning, last night still fresh in my mind. The sun feelslike it’s shining brighter, my mind feels clearer, and my heart feels like it’s beating louder than usual.

And I know it has everything to do with Annie.

Last night was incredible for more than one reason—one being how I’ll never get the image of her on my counter out of my head.

Anniefinallylet her walls down around me. She’ll deny it, but I know she did.

I know my work is far from over, and I know that there is only one possibility for how the aftermath of last night will unfold.

First, she’ll lie to both herself and me and say it meant nothing.

Then, I’ll do everything in my power to show her that it meanteverything.

I can hear Annie showering when I make my way out of my bedroom. I slip on a sweatshirt and a pair of shorts and find Rosie waiting for Annie outside the closed bathroom door, her head popping up when she sees me walk up to the door.

Annie can pretend all she wants that last night didn’t shift things between us, but I refuse to let her convince herself that it was just a one-time orspur of the moment kind of thing.

I knock twice on the bathroom door, not giving her time to say anything before I walk in, the steam from the hot water clouding the bathroom and my view of her through the glass shower doors.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she squeals, sliding the door enough for her to peek her head out. Her brown hair is thrown up in a messy bun to keep out of the water, and her tan skin is covered in bubbles from her body wash—the scent of jasmine immediately invading my senses.

I open the cabinet above the sink, pulling out my toothbrush that sits beside the one she put in there. “Brushing my teeth,” I answer as I grab the toothpaste we share, putting some on my toothbrush before walking over to the shower.

“You couldn’t wait?” she huffs, and I want to kiss the pout off her lips. She watches me as I reach into the shower, and she fights to keep her expression neutral as I put my toothbrush under the water, getting it wet.

“Nope,” I answer, popping it into my mouth.

“The sink is right there,” she quips, sliding the glass door shut, but I’m not about to leave her alone.

I let a few seconds pass, knowing I’m already past pushing my luck. “What do you want to do today?” My voice is a little mumbled around the toothbrush, but she answers right away.

“What have I told you about minding your business?” I can’t see her through the glazed glass, but I can make out the silhouette of her mind-numbing body.

The body I had my hands all over last night.

I have to stifle a groan at the thought, right along with imagining how easy it would be to step into that shower with her—even if I’m unsure that I’d make it out alive if I gave into that temptation.

I spit into the sink, rinsing my toothbrush in the sink. “I thought we could spend the day together.”

The shower turns off, and she pulls down the towel hanging over the glass door—mytowel. I’m sure she’s already armed with some sassy rejection, but I don’t give her the time.

“I have some errands to run.” And while theseerrandsaren’t necessarily fun or romantic, they won’t scare Annie away. Bombarding her with roses and surprise beach picnics would have her running for the hills. “Ihave to stop by the ice rink to reserve my rec team’s practice nights for the month of September and pick up dog food. You can come with me.”

She slides the shower door open with one hand, the other holding the towel wrapped around her, and steps out onto the bath mat. “I don’t want to spend the day with you.” The white cotton makes her pink cheeks even more noticeable, and her big brown eyes are narrowed on me. She looks just like a gift waiting to be unwrapped, her long tan legs glistening with droplets of water.

I’m staring, but I don’t care.

Annie does.

She steps up in front of me. “Hey,” she says, snapping her fingers in my face. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before. Get over it.”

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