“Let me dry you off.” Her words pulled me from my trance as she pushed the curtain back.
She stepped out first and hung up her shower cap before reaching for an oversized body towel. She opened it wide and dried off my chest when I exited.
“Turn for me.”
With the greatest of care, she rubbed my back, firmly pressing into my slightly sore back muscles.
“Oh, . . . that feels divine. Are you sure you’re not a massage therapist?”
Ruby’s little giggle made my heart skip a beat.
“I’m not, but I give my students lots of hugs to comfort them. Maybe some of that translates to how I connect to people.”
Ruby squatted to dry off my legs. When we both realized her mouth was inches from my crotch, she rose and cleared her throat. She turned her head toward the door and held the towel up like a shield.
“Maybe you should do the rest.”
I accepted the towel and lowered it again, closing the distance between us as I dried myself off. I wrapped the towelaround my waist, making sure that my penis touched Ruby’s stomach through the terry cloth.
“You’re wet too. Do you need help getting out of those clothes?” I traced my finger down her cleavage.
When I gently circled her breasts with my thumbs, her breath caught.
“No . . . Go into my bedroom and wait on the couch. I’ll dry off in here and grab a nightgown from my closet.”
Once again, Ruby was close to pushing me over the edge. I respected her apprehension, given her history, and would follow her lead. Even if she didn’t fulfill my desire for us to explore each other more, I already enjoyed our time together.
“OK. See you in a few.” I brushed my finger over her cheek and then kissed it.
She blushed and gave me a smile that would be etched in my memory for months to come. Like her name, Ruby was a precious gem who deserved to be cherished.
Chapter
Ten
RUBY
BENEATH THE SHEETS
What had I gotten myself into? I thought I was being slick when I walked into my shower with a bra and panty set on, but the only thing I did was look like an amateur seductress around a man who had an honorary doctorate in the art of seduction.
When Amari asked me what kind of man I liked, I didn’t have a good answer for him. Larenz had been my first and last lover, but all he taught me was how to play games in a relationship and commit to a man who wasn’t devoted to me. I got pregnant on my wedding night and barely had sex after then. If Amari knew how inexperienced I was, he’d probably laugh or run away. Because of that, I didn’t mind flirting but wouldn’t show him how much of a novice I was in the bedroom. That was my plan, and I was sticking to it.
After his shower, Amari sat on my couch with wide legs and bare feet looking like an African king on his throne. He briefly checked me out when I entered my bedroom. Instead of meeting his eyes, I scurried toward my closet, clutching the large body towel that covered me tightly.
What am I doing?
The question came to me as I recalled how intimate Amari and I were in my bathroom. He was a fine, naked man who had me wanting to figure out what I had to do to make him scream my name in the darkness.
We’d moved beyond professionalism and even common rules of relationship building between a single man and woman. It was obvious he was no longer here to repair anything in my house. What were we going to do for the rest of the night? Play board games?
I peeled off my wet underwear and placed it in a plastic bag in my laundry bin. I finished toweling myself off and thumbed through my nighttime options. I picked up skimpy negligees and several matching T-shirts and short sets. My eyes finally settled on my most conservative nightgown. I pulled out the long, silky number from my drawer and held it up. It was perfect—long, black, and old school with wide, short sleeves that covered my shoulders. Since I preferred to let my vagina breathe at night, I didn’t put any panties on.
I reentered the room with oversized sweatpants and an extra-large white crewneck tee for Amari to wear.
“Whose are these?” Amari held them up and examined them before raising an eyebrow.
“My big brother’s. He visits me about twice a year and leaves some clothes here. I found these sweatpants that still had the tag on them. Consider them my Christmas gift to you.”
