I chuckle stupidly. I knew that. “Right…well, I brought home leftovers from work last night. They’re in the fridge, help yourself.”
I watch Luke closely as he stands and moves around the island to the sink. His skin brushes against mine as he squeezes by reminding me that I’m not wearing enough clothing to be this close to him.
Or, maybe the problem is that I’m wearing too much. Either way, it freaks me out and I make a mad dash back to my bedroom.
6
Bree
With my bathtub full and adorned with massive amounts of scented bubbles, I step in for a nice relaxing soak. I love my bathtub but for normal everyday purposes the shower is my go to. Today though is a special occasion, it’s date day. As of half an hour ago, I have a date for tonight with supermarket guy. I’m glad I had the sense to close my bedroom door beforehand otherwise there might’ve been a chance of Luke seeing my happy dance.
Well, it’s more of a cross between a sprinkler move and a jump for joy.
The bathroom door swings open startling me out of my thoughts. I turn to look over at a very frozen Luke in the doorway. His eyes travelling up and down my body reminds me that I’m very naked.
I squeak and hurry to sink down into the water. It’s hot, like really hot but I know I have to endure the pain in hopes that the bubbles will hide my goodies. In my haste to cover up my foot slips, banging my ankle against the tap. I let out a muttered curse as I submerge into the tub.
That fucking hurt. I close my eyes in an attempt to shield myself from the humiliation. I’m such a moron. And a prude. I scatter so hastily to hide myself from Luke when in all truth, I know he’s seen everything I’ve got probably a million times before. It’s the twenty-first century, in this day and age there’s nothing to hide.
Instead of worrying I should’ve sucked in my tummy and posed. Unfortunately, that’s not who I am. Who I am is a very pissed off woman stewing in a boiling hot bath.
What the fuck is he doing in here!
Oh, look I’ve found my composure - very pissed off persona. As I finally look up, Luke is still standing half in the bathroom half in my bedroom, his hand clutching the doorknob. I raise my eyebrows and clear my throat expectantly. I expect an explanation, and quick.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” he explains. His eyes are burning into the bubbles that now hide my naked body. After a second he shakes himself and meets my eyes for the first time. “Do you have any Advil? My headache is getting worse.”
“GET OUT!” I scream, totally outraged and completely mortified. He spins around and shuts the door but it’s too late, the damage is already done. I don’t think I’ve ever been so embarrassed and mad at the same time. I’m not ashamed of my body but I’ve never been confident enough to just go flashing every Tom, Dick, and Harry.
I see the shadow of Luke’s feet from the gap under the door. I sigh, starting to feel the guilt for yelling at him creep through the cracks of my mind. “Luke?”
“Yeah?” He calls back after a small pause.
“The Advil is in the kitchen, the cupboard above the stove.” I suppose this could work. We’ll just have to have a wall between us whenever we speak, so I won’t ever have to meet his eyes again.
I listen for my bedroom door closing before I start to relax. I let the water soothe my tension as the soap soaks my skin in its fruity scent. All I can think is that I’m going to smell amazing and Jacob is not going to know what hit him.
After finishing off with my bath it doesn’t take me more than half an hour to get ready. The whole time I still can’t quite believe I’m going out with a guy I just met. And what luck too, that he happened to be free tonight!
I arrive at the restaurant early hoping to scope the place out and people watch for a bit before he arrives. Jacob had offered to pick me up on the way but I’m not that trusting. Even with the increased security in my apartment building you never know what can happen, especially with what happened to Gabby last year.
I’m just glad that there was a positive outcome for that whole situation. Plus, if our place hadn’t been broken into she may not even be with Sam right now.
I’m led to a two-seater table off to the side covered with a white tablecloth and a red rose centrepiece. ‘The Willow’ isn’t the fanciest restaurant in town but I suggested it because I know the chef, and he is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I figured that even if the date goes as shit as it possibly could, the food would at least be good.
As soon as I sit down I feel the urge to pee. I knew I should have gone before I left the house, but I was in too much of a rush to get here early. Which, crazily enough, only just makes sense to me.
I try to distract myself from my bladder by looking around at the other customers. There’s a few couples and a family at a large table near the street-facing window. It’s still early for dinner, so I didn’t really expect it to be busy. Hell, they only just started serving less than an hour ago. The waitress comes by to see if I need anything, and trying to look less pathetic I order myself a glass of white wine while I wait.
I’m surprised when only a few sips in I see Jacob as he walks across the street towards the restaurant. I push back my chair to stand as he enters but then think better of it. His eyes find me in the sparse room, and he smiles as he walks over.
“Hey.” He sits down across from me eyeing the wine glass clasped in my hands. “Am I late? How long have you been here?”
“Not long. Sorry, I was early.” I chuckle awkwardly.
“That’s fine by me, I think I’ll get myself started too.” He flags down the waitress, orders a scotch and asks to see the menus.
“So what do you think you’ll order?” Jacob asks as we both peruse the menu.
