Unlike that night, she had no news to share with him, good or bad.
Instead, she hoped to use the meal as a means to repair the effects of her harsh words earlier. It didn’t make them untrue, but the choices made were in the past, and they couldn’t be undone, no matter how much she might wish otherwise. It also didn’t mean that he didn’t need to hear them. To understand how she’d felt when he’d left. She could have been kinder in how she shared her emotions. The timing could have been better as well.
Unfortunately, who knew how long she had to share her hurt. They had only tonight before they embedded themselves back into cartel territory. While there, it was definitely not the time to share. And afterward? Who knew how long she would have before they placed her in a new location, and he was once again gone from her life.
When he stepped up to where the foyer met the breakfast bar, he halted, setting his bag, much emptier than before, on its surface. It was easy to read his confusion. Rather than let him stew in it, she chose to jump feetfirst into the fray.
“I waited for you, figuring you wouldn’t have eaten. It arrived not too long ago, so it should still be fairly fresh, and I’ve been keeping it warm.” She nodded toward his bag. “What’s in there? Laundry?”
Clearing his throat, he replied, “Yes. You didn’t have to wait to eat, butgracias. You’re right. I didn’t eat. Do I have time to take a quick shower?”
“Of course. I’ll throw your laundry in the machine, and by the time I get everything set on the table, you’ll be done.”
He met her at the bar where she was grabbing his bag. A hand kept her from picking up the bag. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s okay. I want to. You’ve done enough for me in the last two days to warrant a few favors to make your life easier.”
They stood, locked in stasis. His body leaned toward hers, as if he meant to kiss her. She held her breath but saw the moment he caught himself. Part of her mourned that he did.
True to form, he returned, freshly showered in record time, just as she was setting the containers on the table, each with serving utensils nestled inside for easy access. Standing behind one of the chairs, she watched as he inhaled the scent of the spices and closed his eyes in appreciation.
She tried for a teasing tone to lighten the heavy mood that had settled between them. “Still the fastest showerer on the planet.”
He paused. “I was never fond of lingering there.”
A smile teased her lips. “No, you weren’t.”
In what felt like another lifetime, he’d explained to her that in the Navy, sailors didn’t have the luxury of time in the showers, especially since hot water was at a premium, if it existed at all.
The second reason was that he didn’t understand many people’s fascination with shower sex. He hated kneeling on the hard tile, and when standing, he worried he’d lose control and hurt her, or himself,by dropping her when he had her up against the wall. She knew he would never drop her, but it was an honest fear of his, so she let it slide. Mostly, she suspected, it had to do with the fact that Ildefanso did nothing halfway, and their lovemaking had always been a drawn-out affair. The water would go cold before he got to the good stuff.
“I recall you being of the same sentiment.”
This conversation bordered on dangerous.
“True.”
The larger reason, though, was that extended time spent in the shower equated with scrubbing the blood from his skin so not a speck remained. Aside from not wanting her to witness that part of his life, he told her it made his skin crawl.
“Your apartment,” she began. “It doesn’t smell like you live here.”
“What do you mean?”
“No smoke.”
“Ah. No. I gave it up.”
Silence hung between them.
“I asked Cherry what your favorite food was. She told me that you loved Vietnamese food, but that every time you ordered, you got something different, so I ordered several things since I didn’t know what you’d prefer.”
“Everything from Vu’s is good.”
They sat and began to fill their plates.
With her first bite, she moaned as the flavors exploded across her tongue.
His smile grew. “Told you it was good.”
