“Sometimes. They’re mostly here just to live out their days, if you know what I mean. They’re old and have apparently served their purpose.”
She sensed a little bitterness in the words. “You mean, they were going to be put down, but you took them instead?”
“Something like that. There are a few cats running around that are in the same boat. I really want to get another dog or two, but my work schedule is crazy, and the guest house, where Dirk lives, is too small for more than one.”
“That’s cool of you…to take in all the animals nobody wants. I guess I fit in that category. Am I part of your oddball gang now?”
“You are the pièce de résistance to my collection of misfits,” he said, kissing his bunched-up fingers like an Italian chef. “Come on, let’s eat.”
She peppered him with questions about her life over cheeseburgers and fries. He told her as much as he could, but finally broke down and admitted that while they were friends, they weren’t best friends. Since he batted for the other team, she didn’t bother asking about whether or not they had any sort of romantic relationship. They must have just hit it off at the coffee shop.
“So, I have a huge favor to ask,” she said. “Not that you aren’t already bending over backward for me…”
“Name it,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I was hoping to take a bath tonight, but I might need some help.”
He choked on his Coke, but after hesitating a bit, finally agreed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Help taking a bath? Oh, God. This was going to be tough. If she only knew of all the times he’d pictured her naked, she would have asked anyone in the world before him. Time to man up and be professional. She was injured and needed his help for God’s sake. It’s not like she was going to ask him to wash her back. Hm, or would she?
Mind out of the gutter, Jake. You’ve seen plenty of naked women. This won’t be any different.
They finished dinner, and she got settled in her room and the bathroom, unpacking everything they’d brought back from her place.
She decided to try taking a bath by herself, but told him she’d leave the door open in case she needed help. He did his best to put her hair up so it wouldn’t get wet, then just sat in the living room and waited.
The water ran for a while and then shut off. After about ten minutes, he heard a curse followed by his name.
“Jake,” she called. “Can you help me?”
Go time. He jumped off the couch and hustled to the bathroom, knocking as he pushed the door open slowly. “You need something?” he asked, inching in sideways and trying to avert his eyes.
“My hair fell out of the ponytail,” she said. “It will be a major pain to blow dry it again. Can you help me pin it back up?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure.” He turned around semi hoping to catch a peek, but all he saw was Hannah’s head floating on a mass of bubbles. Her good hand was wrapped around her hair while the one in the cast dangled uselessly over the side of the tub.
He bent and gathered the auburn curls. “Sorry, I’m not very good at making ponytails,” he said. “I’ll have to practice.”
“It’s easy once you get the hang of it. Thanks for helping,” she said. “I’d be worried that I’m in here naked, but since you’re gay, you probably don’t care.”
He stopped mid-motion. “Uh, what?” he said. Where did that come from?
“Since you’re gay. You probably don’t care about naked women.”
He choked out a laugh. “Hannah, I’m not gay. Like, not even a little. Why would you think that?”
“What?” she exclaimed, attempting to cover herself, even though he couldn’t see anything but bubbles. “I don’t know. I mean, you don’t have a girlfriend or a wife. You’re very nicely groomed. Not that straight men can’t be, I suppose,” she mumbled. “You read women’s magazines. And your house! The décor, the candles, all the pillows. No straight man has such good taste. Or that many pillows.”
He laughed despite the awkward situation. “I bought all those pillows and blankets for you just yesterday. I wanted you to be able to recuperate in comfort, and they looked cozy. The candles I bought because I saw them make some lady smile, so I thought you might like them, too. I hired a decorator for the house. I have no sense of fashion whatsoever! The magazines were an impulse buy, also for you. And I was only glancing through an article about Sam’s engagement while I waited for you because there was nothing else to do. I don’t normally buy them or read them.”
“Oh, my God. I’m so embarrassed. Maybe you should leave then. Is my hair fixed?”
“If you’re worried about me seeing you naked, don’t be. You’ve got so many bubbles, I can’t see anything. Not that I was looking,” he rushed to clarify. “I think I’ve got your hair problem solved. How does that feel?”
“Not very tight, but it’ll do. You can go now.”
