“She’s in the tub.” Teagan greeted me before I could even get in the door. “She’s soaking. The water helps.”
“How she doing?” I kicked the door shut behind me.
“Better. Worried about you.” She closed her laptop and sat up on the couch.
“Worried about me?” I patted my chest. “I’m good.”
“She showed me the post. And disrespectfully, fuck them people, and fuck Shawn, too.”
I didn’t respond. I wasn’t worried about those damn people on the internet, and Shawn would see me soon. I nodded and just started walking toward the hallway.
“So… we’re doing this? You and my sister?” Teagan asked from behind me, making me stop and face her. I guess Noa had filled her in.
“Yeah.”
“Not that I think you won’t, but be careful with her. She’s all I got,” she said. “And I will slash your tires. Ask Shawn.”
I smirked, appreciating her protectiveness over her sister. “I got her, and just so we’re clear, if I fuck up, I’ll give you the knife myself.”
She stared at me for a minute before cracking a smile. “I’m holding you to that.”
“Bet.” I took off toward the bathroom but paused for a sec. “If you need to go home, go to class, whatever, I got it from here.”
Her eyes ballooned, and the look on her face told it all. Just like Noa, she wasn’t used to having a support system.
“Thank you.” That was all she said as she shoved her laptop into the bag. I nodded and took off down the hallway, taking soft steps to the bathroom. With every step, I could feel her energy pushing against mine, already silencing the noise. I knocked on the bathroom door, letting her know someone was entering before I pushed it open. I barely got inside before she started talking.
“I’m so sorry,” Noa blurted, eyes wide, arms curled around herself under the water. “Quade, I swear,… I didn’t know he’d do that. I didn’t tell him who you were.”
I stared at her beautiful ass in the middle of the tub, apologizing for some shit that had nothing to do with her.
“I swear I hate I ever met him, let alone put up with his ass for this long. I… I’m so, so sorry.”
I didn’t say a word, just closed and locked the door behind me. The only thing on my mind was being next to her. I kicked off my boots and undressed until I was standing in front of her in my birthday suit. Her eyes followed me the whole time. Her mouth parted like she wasn’t expecting me to strip, but she was enjoying the show. I crossed to the edge of the tub and kneeled, running my fingers through the water near her thighs. It was still warm, barely.
“Want me to add more hot?” I asked quietly, and she nodded. I adjusted the faucet, letting the water heat just enough for steam to fill the air.
“Quade.” She said my name like she didn’t know what to do with me, like maybe I wasn’t real.
“Let me in,” I said, and she shifted forward, careful, bracing on the edge as she made room for me. I eased in slowly behindher, with one hand on the tub and the other guiding my weight as I settled in, being sure not to cause her any pain. I sat down, and she slid her back to me as her body settled between my legs.
“I missed you.” She let out a breath I don’t think she knew she was holding, and we just sat there, taking each other in like it hadn’t been only about an hour and a half since we’d last seen each other.
“I missed you, too.” I kissed the crook of her neck as I wrapped my arms around her waist.
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
“Nah.”
“You sure? I want this to be a safe space. Whatever you’re feeling, whatever you need, just let me know.”
“All I need right now is you,” I said, and she looked over her shoulder at me, lips parted, so I kissed them. Slowly and carefully, I shifted, adjusting the angle of my legs and lifting her hips. I needed to be inside her, wanted to be inside her, but her having just had a flare made me pause.
“Please,” she whispered as if she could sense my hesitation.
“You still hurtin’. We can’t.”
“Not like last night,” she whispered. “I’m okay.”
