Page 22

Story: Art of Convenience

“I’m in the shower, what kind of psycho showers with clothes on?”

I motion for her to turn the shower off. “Okay, well can you shut those off so we don’t flood the place.”

“I can’t!”

A heavy sigh escapes me when I take in the fact that I’m going to have to get in the shower. The ice-cold water crashes down on me as I reach my arm out, turning the handle down. “What happened?” My voice comes out rougher than I intended.

“I don’t know. The water just turned freezing mid-way through my shower!”

Without the roar of the water crashing down, the mood in the room takes a dramatic shift. It’s gone from loud and overstimulating to so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat. And on top of that, I have to fight every instinct to keep my eyes on her face.

“When did you get back?”

“Late last night.” If I wasn’t so focused on her face I would have missed the slight nod of her head.

“Where’s your shirt?” she asks as if she’s not standing in front of me completely naked.

“I just got back from a workout.”

“A run?” Her lips curve slightly but her eyes are daring. And not even the freezing cold water could shrink my dick right now.

“Boxing.”

“Hmm.” She trails my body slowly but pauses just below my hips before her eyes snap to mine again. “You have a tattoo?”

I can’t think. I can’t focus. I’m unable to stay in this shower with her a second longer. My legs stay firmly in place as I reach my arm over the glass wall until my fingers brush against the plush towel. I pull it down and hold it wide open, mentally preparing myself to wrap it around her and sprint like hell out of this bathroom but to my shock, she drops her hands. My eyes quickly roam over her perfect full breasts and her pointy little nipples. Her freezing fingers brush against mine where I’m strangling the towel. She covers herself at a leisurely pace, and even though the image of her nipples will be burned in my brain, I tell myself they are hard from standing in the cold shower and not for any other reason. That’s the only way I’m able to pull myself away from her.

“I’ll call someone to come and fix the water heater today,” I say, before storming out, leaving her standing in a towel behind me as I violently scream at myself.Don’t cross the fucking line.

I’ve readand re-read the same document four times already. Four times and I couldn’t tell you if it was notes on a murder trial, or another office survey asking what snacks we should provide for the junior associates’ break room.

Before I attempt to read it for a fifth time, Jonas strolls in with a bagel in one hand and coffee in the other. Normally I would be annoyed with him interrupting me, but today I’m welcoming any distraction I can get.

“Do you actually work here or do they just pay you to be their eye candy?”

“Speak for yourself, I came by like an hour ago and Talan said you weren’t here yet.” He sits back in his usual spot on my couch.

“How did you get past Talan?” I ask, ignoring his roundabout question.

“Har har,” he deadpans, setting his coffee down on the table. “Talan’s running that PA training this morning. And honestly, the dude was way too stoked about it if you ask me.”

Right. How could I forget? I nominated him for that job.

“So…where were you?” He smiles, biting into his bagel. “Marital problems?”

Oh, I’m definitely having some kind of problem. They start with that terrifying feeling that was coursing through every cell in my body when I heard Camila scream and they don't end after I busted the door down and found her naked. No, my problems continued to follow me as I stalked down to my bedroom to take care of myself in my own shower. Stroke after stroke I was going blind with the image of her perky nipples begging me to pull them into my mouth.

And she was definitely flirting. When she let go reaching for her towel, she knew what she was doing to me. I spilled on the shower wall imagining what would have happened if I had stayed instead of sprinting out of there like the room was on fire.

At least I remembered to leave a sticky note on her ring that I left on the kitchen counter. I know it's possibly the least romantic thing I could have done, but that's what I need right now. Zero romance. It’s fine to be attracted to her, she's undeniably the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on. But missing her while I’m away, enjoying being around her more than I should, and thinking about her while I’m at work is not what I need. Those things are going to fuck me up. In the short time that I’ve known Camila, it’s apparent that she deserves someone who can give her the world. Unfortunately, I’ll never be the guy that wants a relationship so I need to remember this is a business deal. One that is going to help keep my name on the wall. I need to regroup and refocus.

Starting with pretending to read this document for a fifth time.

“Okay if not marital problems, were you at least getting those papers I needed signed?”

“I got them last night, asshat. And next time you come intomyoffice with a bagel, you better have one for me too.” I dig through my bag for the manila folder when it dawns on me, in my post orgasm-induced haze, I forgot to grab the folder from my home office. “Shit!”

“No. No ‘shit’. I need those papers today or I’m screwed.”