“You need a reason?”
“I’d like one.”
I swallow. My voice stripped of bravado. “I want a hug. So hug me, Francine.”
Her mouth opens, then closes. “This is ridiculous.”
“Just hold me.”
She shifts her weight and looks at the floor.
“…I—”
“Hug me,” I say again. “Right now.”
As I step closer, she steps back.
“You slept with me,” I state. “Bathed with me. Sweated all over me. That’s about as intimate as it gets.”
Her shoulders tense.
“But that served a purpose,” she says. “That was for pleasure. This just feels…” Her voice trails off, uneven. “…I can’t.”
I nod once. “Exactly.”
We stand there after that.
“…Can I hold you instead?” I ask.
Silence.
“Frankie?”
She doesn’t look at me.
Her shoulders rise and fall once. Then again.
“…Please?” I press.
She gives in. “…Okay.”
It’s quiet when she steps into me. My arms wrap around her back, tentative at first then tighter.
And suddenly I feel it, and I feel her feel it. Not the arousal she expected.
Exposure.
This is different.
Worse? Better?
Who knows. All I know is I’m seen in a way sex never managed.
There’s nowhere to hide.
And she knows that too.
Her body trembles slightly against mine, like she’s fighting the instinct to pull away even now. I bet she wants to pull away or kick me out. But I just wrap my arms around her properly,pressing my chin to the crown of her head. Now it’s all on the table.
