For a second he didn’t say anything. Afraid he was laughing at her she looked up to see that he had gone over to the vanity counter and was examining the wax strip box.
"I thought you normally go to the Silky Kitty place to get it done." His expression was serious, no smile, no cocked eyebrow, just worried eyes looking directly at her.
Ebony felt a little better with that. He was taking this seriously, especially since he didn’t smirk at the waxing place's name like he normally did.
"The girl I use went back home to visit her family in Vietnam. She will be gone for a month and I wanted to get it done before the trip tomorrow." She was rambling and her voice was warbling with unshed tears and panic.
Tomorrow morning, they would all be getting on a bus that would take them to the Houston International Airport which would then take them to Colorado for their senior ski trip. School was officially over. They graduated last Friday, walking the stage and getting their diplomas and now it was time for their much awaited senior trip. She was doing what every senior girl was doing— primping, prepping, and packing. But now it was going horribly awry.
"Gavin!" she nearly cried "It's stuck. I can't get it off. Oil hasn’t worked and I think I'm going to have to go to the hospital where a bunch of people are going to stare at me naked and laugh at me and-"
Big warm hands cupped her face, pulling her from her spiral. Looking down at her, Gavin wore a soft smile before leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
Ebony relaxed in his grip, leaning into him. Wrapping her arms around his waist she buried her face in his hard chest. He felt so warm and safe. After a few seconds, she stepped back just enough so she could look up at him.
Something in his expression made her breath catch. Leaning down, he brushed his lips across hers. "I'll help you get it off."
Like a fog rolling in from the sea, it gently washed over her brain leaving her a little dazed and numb. This was a new habit. Ever since graduation, he had started this mind altering not-quite-kiss. He had whispered how proud he was of her after he had delivered his valedictorian speech before gliding his lips up her neck and over her lips.
Just like then her core heated and grew soft with need, despite the horrendous wax strips sticking to her. She wanted him to kiss her. The thought no longer caused her an immediate spike of panic and shame.
Trying not to let her frustration show when he pulled away, she blinked and focused on the matter at hand. "But how can we-"
"Shhh," he hushed her and took her by the hand, leading her out into the bedroom.
Her room was in a bit of a disarray from her packing. The small couch near the windows was covered in heaps of clothes.
Stopping in front of the bed, he had her sit on the edge. "Remember a few years ago when all me and my friends did was torture each other?" He didn’t wait for her to reply. "You remember the wax strips? How Ethan damn near took off my nipple with one of those things?"
Ebony nodded remembering a howl of pain coming from the boy’s locker room at the martial arts center followed by Ethan running for his life out the door soon after.
"I'm familiar with how they work. I'll get it off for you,” he assured her.
Ebony thought about what he was saying and gave him a panicked look. "But… you can't, you'll see me."
Gavin didn't turn away; he held her gaze in silent challenge. "I would see you."
Ebony covered her face with both hands. Not like this. She didn’t want him or anyone to see her like this. "Noo, this is so embarrassing."
"How many did you put on?"
"Two," she squeaked.
Gavin whistled under his breath. "You don’t do things half measure do you?"
Ebony made a whining noise. Everything inside of her wanted to crawl under her pillows.
"And you don’t want me to see youlike this," he emphasized.
Again, he pulled her focus from the topic at hand and she froze. They regarded each other in silence for a moment. The soft expression he had that had shone in his eyes only moments before slowly gave way to something almost predatory.
This was one of those moments, she realized with startling clarity. One of those thresholds she could go through and change everything, or not and change everything for the worse. She couldn’t help but think back on those months without him by her side, those times where he didn’t sleep in her bed holding her tightly to him. She didn’t allow herself to think, she just answered instinctually.
"Not like this," she whispered.
Gavin nodded and turned to walk to her closet. He was in there for a few seconds before he came out holding a long black piece of silk fabric.
Ebony stared at it for a minute. "That's from my black dress in the back, right?"
