Wait! Did she say she didn’t see anything when she came upstairs? Fuck. That means she definitely saw something. She can’t have seen much, though, can she? If she had just come up the stairs and gone into the room right before I came out, she would have only seen me soaping up and rinsing off.
Yeah, I’m sure that’s all she saw.
I can’t think about the possibility that she saw me jerking off. My brain just can’t handle that right now. Besides, she would have had to come up a few minutes earlier for that to happen. And she’d have had to stand there and watch. Despite the way she was looking at me while I was playing earlier, there’s no way she’d do something like that. She’s not actually interested in me, so I don’t think I need to worry about it.
Still, the faster I get dressed, the faster we can get out of here and I can get back to normal without the temptation of Rhea in my house. Once I don’t have to see her anymore, this won’t be a problem for me. Out of sight, out of mind, right? I’m just attracted to her because she’s clearly hot. It’s not like I’m not in love with her or anything.
I pull on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved, grey henley before throwing my hair up in a loose bun. After I put on socks and load up my pockets with my wallet and phone, I pick up Rhea’s shirt from last night, and leave my room.
The door to the spare room is open when I walk by, and Rhea isn’t there. She must be downstairs already, which makes sense. She already had her stuff when we collided in the hallway.
And then she held me so gently,my dick says, celebrating. Great, now my dick is weighing in on this situation. He’s not exactly known for being a voice of reason.
I jog down the stairs and find her standing, looking at some of the photos on my walls. When I moved back in here, I packed up everything that reminded me in any way of my father, but I couldn’t get rid of the pictures of my mom and sister. Instead, I cut my dad out of the pictures. Kind of a crude solution, but I really couldn’t picture myself looking at photos of him for the rest of my life after what he did.
“Hey, all set?”
Rhea jumps when she hears me.
“Shit, you scared me,” she says, her hand over her heart. “I must already be losing those great cop instincts I thought I had, if you were able to sneak up on me like that.”
“I hate to say it, but I wasn’t sneaking. The neighbours probably could have heard me running down the stairs.” I tease. I was quiet, and the stairs are carpeted, which helps to muffle the sound.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.” She smiles at me and walks to where I’m waiting by the couch. “Is that your family in the pictures?”
My body stiffens, but not in a good way. I hate when people ask about my family, but I should expect it when I keep all these pictures around. I so rarely have new people in the house that it’s been a while since I’ve had to deal with the questions.
“Yeah, that’s my mom and my sister. They died a long time ago.” Short answers usually give the impression that a person doesn’t want to talk about something. Rhea is a cop at heart though, and she’s used to asking questions of people who don’t want to talk. So she ignores me and keeps talking, of course.
“I notice your dad’s not in any pictures.”
“No, he’s not.” I turn to the door, shoving my feet into my worn out old Chucks. “Let’s get going.”
I open the front door and stand out on the porch to wait for her. I’m still holding her shirt from last night. She slips on her boots, grabs her bag, and joins me outside.
“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business,” she says, looking up at me and placing her hand on my arm. “I shouldn’t have asked about your dad.”
Before I can answer, she walks down the steps and around to the passenger side of the car. She dropped that subject fast, and I’m grateful. I hate talking about my dad, and I avoid it at all costs. But I still feel like an asshole for talking to Rhea that way.
I meet her at the car, going around and opening her door for her. Once I’m settled in my own seat, I turn and look at her.
“My dad wasn’t a nice guy, and I don’t talk about him. But I still shouldn’t have been rude to you. I’m sorry.”
She looks at me, a small smile on her face, almost like she understands. “It’s OK. You don’t need to be sorry. I really shouldn’t have asked. There’s obviously a reason he’s not in the pictures, even though it’s easy to see that he was at one point. But whatever that reason is, it’s none of my business.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I’m having a hard time hanging up my cop hat, I guess.”
I nod to acknowledge what she’s said, and start the car, leaving my house and all the pictures behind.
Before long, we’re out of the suburbs and on our way back through the city. Just as we’re about to turn on the street toward Bump & Grind, Rhea’s stomach growls so loudly I almost think my car is making noises. That’s the last thing I want to deal with today. Pretty sure I’ve already paid enough in repairs for this car that my mechanic can afford to retire, and he’s only thirty. Feeding Rhea seems like a much more enjoyable, and much less expensive, way to spend my morning.
“Hungry?” I chuckle. “Want to grab breakfast before we track down your keys?”
“Oh no, I don’t even have my wallet. I spent all my cash on tequila last night, too.” She smiles and shakes her head. “Xena is a bad influence on me.”
“It’s my treat. I’m starving too, and there’s a place just up here that Ryder and Denise have been talking about non-stop. Come check it out with me?” This is probably a terrible idea, but I couldn’t stop myself before the words were out. I just want to spend more time with her. And it’s not like I can act on my attraction at breakfast. After we get her keys, she’ll be out of my life as I originally planned. “We both need to eat, right?”
She hesitates a moment, probably remembering how I was dick to her just a few minutes ago. “Sure, OK, why not. I can’t exactly deny that I’m hungry. My stomach has seen to that.”
I laugh. “Great, because we’re already here.” While she was thinking, I turned into the small lot at Maggie’s Diner. Denise’s main pregnancy craving has been their milkshakes, so she and Ryder have been coming here all the time. And apparently it’s not just the milkshakes that are great.
