As I begin to dry off, he holds up his towel and asks, “Is it all right if I help you?”
“Of course,” I say softly.
I actually can’t wait for him to touch me, even if it’s in an innocent way. I miss his hands and the things he can do to me with them.
Together, as the team we always were and still clearly are, we do a pretty good job of drying me off.
Well, my exposed parts are in good shape. My dress is still clinging to me. The sandals, I just kicked them off to the side by the door a few seconds ago.
Through it all, don’t think I haven’t noticed Lennox sneaking peeks at me. I’m not surprised. The material of my dress is so thin that with it being wet, it’s practically see-through.
Oh, and I’m not wearing a bra. The spaghetti straps called for a strapless one, and I just couldn’t find one.
I am so damn happy for that right now.
As I catch Lennox trying to be sly and glance again at my breasts, where my nipples are hard and visible through the top portion, I say, “I got your text.”
His eyes shoot up to meet mine. “You did?”
“Uh-huh.” I nod. “That’s why I’m here.”
“I was afraid you might not read it,” he murmurs.
“Lennox,” I huff. “I would never not read a text from you, mad or not.”
It’s true.
I may have held off, but there was no way in hell I was going to delete or just ignore that text.
Reaching out and brushing a strand of my damp hair behind my ear, Lennox asks quietly, “What does this mean, Madison? That you’re here at my house?”
I’m just going to be honest.
Hell, I’m standing here practically naked in front of him. I may as well bare my soul as well.
So, after taking a deep breath, I release it and say, “It means I feel the same way—I love you, I miss you, and I’m here becauseI’mready.”
“Ready for what exactly? We need to be clear here, Madison.”
“We do,” I agree with a nod. “I’m here to forgive you. I’m here to stop being mad.” I blow out a single breath, then go on. “I overreacted. I see that now. What you did was wrong, not tellingme about the interview. But there were better ways for me to handle that. We probably could have solved all of this with a discussion.”
“I wanted to talk it over,” he says softly.
“I know, and I wouldn’t let you.” I decide to get very real and share something I’ve learned about myself over these past couple of weeks. “I think a part of the reason why I overreacted is because having a relationship like ours is so new to me, Lennox. It scares me,” I admit, “but the truth is, you’ve become everything to me. I’m so afraid of losing you that I freaking pushed you away myself.”
I watch as his walls come down.
With his expression softening, he says, “Babe, I know. I feel the same way. I get scared too.”
Quietly, I whisper, “But you handle it so much better.”
He laughs. “I may not always. Will you wait for me if I fuck up in the future?”
Chuckling, I assure him, “Always, I promise. I will always wait for you.”
I’m sure we’ll make mistakes.
Life is messy, and so are we.
