Page 135 of Something Tattered
With an effort, I turned away in search of a mindless distraction. I found it in the laundry room, where I began folding a load of towels.
I'd just finished when I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I looked to see Joel, standing shirtless in the open doorway.
He gave me a wary smile. "Hi."
He looked so boyish that I had to smile back. "Hi. So, um, you're done?"
"With what? Making an ass of myself?"
I had to laugh. "At least you weren't drumming."
He shook his head. "Drumming?"
"It's what my dad used to do. But never mind that." I moved closer. "Is everything okay?"
"I dunno." His eyes searched mine. "Is it?"
The way it looked, the storm had passed. I gave a happy nod. "It is now."
"I'm gonna take another shower. After that, you wanna start over?"
"Or if you want…" I smiled up at him. "We could start overinthe shower."
So we did.
We had makeup sex in the shower and afterward, lay, clean and sated, on my bed. I was dressed in casual shorts and a sleeveless shirt. As for Joel, he'd thrown on a pair of casual shorts, but no shirt at all.
I snuggled against his bare chest, simply enjoying the moment.
The bed was made, and I'd left the balcony doors open to let in a summer breeze, along with the sounds of the waves, lapping at the bluff below.
As I lay, cradled in his arms, I might've felt absolutely content, except for the fact that I still didn't know what had set him off.
Reluctantly, I pulled back to look at him. "Hey Joel?"
He smiled. "I know."
"You know what?"
"That I owe you."
I still wasn't following. "You owe me what?"
"An explanation."
Carefully, I said, "I wouldn't say that you owe me one, but it would still be nice." I hesitated. "Earlier, what'd I say?"
"Nothing. It wasn't you. It was me." After a long pause, he said, "Wanna know what my dad used to call me?"
"What?"
"Cigar."
I felt my brow wrinkle. "Why?"
"Because I always got close, but never made it. Like I was cursed or something."
I ran a soothing hand along his shoulder. "Oh come on. That can't be true."
