I take a deep breath. If I’m in this, I have to accept this is part of it. I don’t like it, but here we are.
“Come on.” I take his arm and steer him toward the bathroom. “Let me bandage that before you bleed all over the house.”
He follows, allowing me to take control in a way he doesn’t usually do.
I’m well aware of the limits he’s put on our relationship and the reality of the situation; still, it hasn’t stopped me from secretly wanting more.
Now I’m realizing that perhaps I need to rethink things. Perhaps I shouldn’t want it to be more. Perhaps I should just enjoy this time we have together for the summer fling that it is.
He sits on the toilet seat lid, and I dab at his cuts and find some ointment and bandages in a plastic bag. Apparently, he’d stopped at a drugstore on his way here.
“You walked into a store looking like this?” I tease.
“I had my shades on. The clerk barely looked at me.”
“I find that hard to believe… unless it was a guy.”
He chuckles. “You sayin’ I turn women’s heads?”
“I think you know you do.”
His hand hooks the back of my neck, and he hauls me down to press his mouth gently to mine. When he pulls back, he doesn’t release his hold on me. “I’m likin’ this side of you. If I got you one of those sexy nurse outfits, would you wear it for me?”
I roll my eyes. “Stop.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“You better be.”
“Fine. Maybe for Halloween. I did get you something, though.”
I finish wrapping his hand, and he leads me into the living room. There’s a wooden box on the coffee table.
My brow creases. “What’s that?”
“Look inside.”
I take a seat, and he sits next to me.
The box is hinged, and I flip the latch. When I see the contents, my mouth drops open. It’s filled with paints and brushes, all lined up in neat rows. There’s even a tray that rises on brackets.
“Oh, Blue. It’s lovely.” It’s the perfect gift for me, and the fact that he realized exactly what would please me, touches me deeply. My eyes fill. “Thank you.”
“Luisa, what’s wrong? You don’t like it? That woman from the gallery said it was a good set.”
“It’s a beautiful set. I can’t believe you asked her what to get me.”
“You like art. She knows art.” He shrugs.
“It’s a sweet gesture. Thank you. No one’s ever gifted me something like this.”
“No one?”
I shake my head. I’ve been really emotional lately, and don’t know why this gesture is touching me so deeply.
“Babe, don’t make it out to be more than it is. It’s just a box of paints. I thought you could sit on the terrace out back and paint.”
I nod and dash the wetness from my cheeks. “Can I ask you something, Blue?”
