She tried not to take too long since Theo was still out there covered in oil and likely unable to sit down or do much of anything else. But the oil was stubborn, requiring multiple lathers and vigorous scrubbing. Eventually, she was oil-free enough, so she quickly got out, drained the tub, and threw on a pair of linen shorts and a tank top, then turned the faucet back on to refill the tub before returning to the bedroom.
“It’s all yours,” she announced. “There’s only a bathtub, so I started refilling it for you.”
“Okay, thanks,” he said, grabbing his things and heading to the bathroom. But not even twenty seconds after the door closed, she heard something crash to the floor and Theo howl in pain. She rushed back to the bathroom and knocked on the door.
“Are you okay in there?” she asked.
“Yes…no…” he groaned.
“Okay, I’m coming in. Hope you’re decent,” she said.
Though she wouldn’t have minded if hewasn’t.
She opened the door and there he was, leaning against the vanity with his shirt pulled up on one side and cradling his arm on the other.
“What happened?!” she asked, hurrying over to him.
“It’s my shoulder. I fell on it wrong in the store,” he said, clearly frustrated by his slight incapacitation.
“Can you lift it at all?”
“No. Hence why I look like this,” he said, motioning to his half-disrobed body.
“Do you need to go to the hospital?”
He cocked his head to the side. “They wouldn’t take me to the hospital when they broke my nose, so I highly doubt they’d let me go for this. It will be fine, though. I just need to rest it for a couple of days. It’s happened before.”
“Well, let me help you,” she said, putting her hands on the hem of his shirt.
“No, I’ve got it.” He flinched at the brush of her fingertips, and she noticed bruising on his stomach.
“Oh my God, Theo!” she said, lifting his shirt to reveal his abs.
Oh my Godwas right. It had been several years since she saw Theo with his shirt off, and he certainly wasn’t this ripped back then. Even last night in the pool, it had been hard to see his physique under the lapping water and the moonlight.
She blinked several times to focus on the bruising and not on the tautness of his body, running her hand along his skin.
“And how didthishappen?” she asked. “Do I need to break out of this room so I can go kick Maurice’s ass?”
Theo laughed. “Relax, it’s from the oil bottle, Juicy. But please, feel free to kick Maurice’s ass anytime.”
“God, that guy is a real piece of work, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea. Try spending a year with him.”
“I’d rather not, thanks. Come on, let’s get you out of this shirt.”
Theo crouched to her level, and she peeled the shirt over his head, careful not to pull at his shoulder.
“Okay, there you go,” she said, setting the shirt beside him on the vanity. She then noticed a bit of ink underneath his arm on his side right beneath his armpit. “What’s that? Is that…is that a tattoo?” she gasped.
He looked down, realizing his ink was visible. “It’s nothing.”
“Oh, come on. You got a tattoo? Lemme see,” she said, lifting his arm. Thankfully, his good arm.
His arm was limp in her hand, and he looked away as she inspected the tattoo.
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