Page 92 of Hooked
“You staying the night?” He played with a lock of hair that had fallen across her cheek.
“I brought a bag.”
“Good.” He kissed her temple. “I’ll make you breakfast in the morning. Sleep.”
When she woke,it was to the sound of heavy breathing near the bedroom door. Tayla pushed her hair out of her eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Practicing my golf swing.” Jeremy looked over his shoulder and grinned as he did another pull-up. His knees were bent and his arms extended as he raised and lowered himself on the pull-up bar over his doorway.
“You know, for some reason I thought that bar was a kinky sex thing or something related to rope storage.”
“It is a kinky sex thing. I just use it for pull-ups too.”
Sweat was dripping down his back, which flexed and bulged with every extension.
She looked at the clock. It was barely seven a.m. “Do you do this every morning?”
“Every other morning.” He did two more pull-ups. “Arm strength is really important for bouldering.”
She sat back and relaxed against his headboard. “I fully approve of this activity.”
Jeremy laughed. “I’m glad.”
“Not at all because it’s sexy. I’m only thinking about your health. And bouldering of course.”
“You’re so thoughtful, Miss McKinnon.”
“I try.”
“Give me a few more minutes to finish up and take a quick shower. Then I’ll go make you breakfast. You want the shower first?”
“Sure.” It all felt so domestic. Like she was playing house or on vacation with a boyfriend. Only she’d never had a boyfriend. She’d never wanted one.
But she wanted Jeremy.
“Shower?” He nodded toward the bathroom, still pulling his body up with only his arm strength.
“Yeah.” She hopped out of bed, buck naked, watching him as he watched her. “Like the view?”
“It’s a nice way to wake up in the morning.”
She glanced at his gym shorts. “You’re insatiable.”
Jeremy grinned. “He knows what he likes.”
“Shower.” She grabbed her bag and ducked into his bathroom, flipping on the light. She fiddled with the faucet handle and turned it all the way to hot, guessing that like the bathroom at Emmie’s place, this one also took a while to heat up.
Old houses. Old plumbing.
She tied her hair up and put on some music to shower to. A thumping piano and the cheerful beat of “No New Friends” put a smile on her face. Then she locked the door.
There was seeing her naked, there was sex, then there was watching her shower. She wasn’t a bathroom sharer, not with Jeremy. Not withanyone. Some things didn’t need to shared: bathrooms, toothbrushes, excessive baby pictures on Instagram. There were rules about things for a reason.
Tayla rinsed off, dancing a little as she showered.
When was the last time I was this happy?
The thought bumped into her head like an obnoxious pop-up ad.
