Page 21 of Sac-rifice (RBMC: Cleveland, Ohio Chapter #7)

SHOWER CONFESSIONALS

COR

Past

“C rap!” My eyes darted around the shower in search of my razor.

It wasn’t in here. How could it not be in here?

I wracked my brain, trying to remember where it might be.

I normally wouldn’t worry about shaving, but that was the reason I had to worry about it now.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had shaved my legs, and I wasn’t one of those girls blessed with blonde leg hair.

The hair on my legs was thick and dark. I couldn’t skip it tonight. It had to be done. It was time.

I grabbed my towel, stopping to turn the water off and changed my mind.

It took me entirely too long to get the water to just the right temperature in this old house, and I wasn’t about to go through that long process again if I didn’t have to.

I shouldn’t be gone too long. My razor was probably in my room.

I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around my body, and darted around the shower curtain.

After opening the door and making sure no one else was awake, I made a mad dash across the hallway, ducking into my room unseen.

“Now, where are you, you medieval torture device of beauty?” I said, closing my door behind me.

Giving my room a once over, nothing stuck out—not that I would have noticed a measly razor in here, but I tried.

Running my hands over the top of my dresser, I didn’t see it, and then began opening each drawer, even lifting up my clothes to look under them.

I walked around my room aimlessly, trying to recall the last time I shaved.

That was a clear sign I had neglected my pits and legs for far too long.

My finger tapped my chin as I thought back.

Had I shaved before we went to the pool?

No. I couldn’t find my razor then either, so I decided to forgo that step of my shower routine.

When was the last time I had that stupid thing?

Gym! I finally remembered. It was a couple of weeks ago.

I ended up with a gnarly razor burn rash and vowed to never dry shave again.

Now to find my duffel bag I used specifically for gym class.

I thought back to the last week of school, mentally retracing my steps after I got back home.

My gym bag wasn’t in the last place I remembered it being, so now I to find where I’d slung that bag.

I looked under my bed, stretching my arm as far as I was able to reach. My hand touched a zipper, and I yanked out whatever was attached to it with a triumphant smile on my face.

“Yes! I found…the purse Mom gave me?” My happiness faded quickly, but when I saw the little dove keychain hanging from it, I blushed. Shane had given it to me on my sixteenth birthday. I thought it was lost forever, and I could have sworn it was on my backpack. Guess not.

Cold water dripped down my back, and my muscles quivered.

How long had I been in here looking for that freaking razor?

I had no clue. I inhaled and exhaled heavily.

It looked like I wasn’t going to shave tonight after all.

Isaac would kick my ass if he found out I was the reason our water bill was sky high.

Mom never said anything about the cost of the bills, mostly because Isaac used her account to pay them since she never looked at them longer than a passing glance before promptly forgetting about them.

I often wondered what would happen to me once Isaac and Shane shipped off to college.

I guess I would step up and handle the same things Isaac did.

They’d only be gone a year before I would join them.

That was doable. I would have to get Isaac to give me a list to remember everything and call me to remind me to check the list.

“It’s pointless,” I called out, irritated with myself on all fronts. I gave up, heading back toward the bathroom to finish my shower. I might have hairy legs and underarms for a while, but at least I would smell good while I did, right?

My toes got wet as soon as I opened the bathroom door, and I jerked my foot off the tile and shook it.

I should have dried off a little before running out of here.

Someone, more than likely me, could have fallen and busted their head open.

I rolled my eyes, dropped my towel, and used my toes to use it to clean the puddle off the floor.

Suddenly, someone breathed heavily, and I froze in place.

I wasn’t alone. My heart raced, and my breathing went into double-time.

I listened, deciding whether I should make a run for it or not.

Was that Shane? He sounded like he was in pain.

What if he had fallen in the shower because of me and was hurt?

Freaking out, I leaned forward and ripped the shower curtain back in record time.

His eyes shot open as my name passed his lips, and I lost my balance, my body flying over the side of the tub. Crap! My head was going to bounce off the shower wall. Strong hands wrapped around my shoulders, and Shane pulled me against his slick wet body.

“Cor? What’s wrong? Fuck! Are you hurt? What did he do this time?” he frantically spat out, firing off one question after another. His hands cupped my cheeks and then brushed the hair off my face. His eyes widened and stared at me. “Cor! Say something!” he demanded.

I didn’t respond. I wasn’t able to speak. My face burned with embarrassment, but there was something else. I was naked and in the shower with a guy. And not just any guy. I was naked in the shower with my crush. My brother’s best friend. My best friend. He was naked in the shower with me.

He kept my secrets.

He held me when I was too afraid to come back home, cuddling me in his bed at night.

He had kissed me, and I kissed him back.

A lot.

The thoughts running through my mind were loud and overpowered my ability to form words.

“Little Dove?” Shane tried again, and that was all it took to shake me out of my head. I blinked rapidly, refocusing my eyes, and almost immediately got lost as I gazed into his ocean eyes overflowing with concern.

“Huh?”

“Why are you in the shower…with me?” His voice sounded weird, kind of hoarse. “Not that I’m complaining, but…”

“Oh yeah. Um. I don’t know. Why are you in my shower?

I just left to get my razor.” I nervously chewed on my lip, glancing down for the razor I never found, and saw his whole body instead.

Every inch of my skin burned with embarrassment.

Quickly, I shifted my gaze and stared at a spot above his head, gawking at the showerhead as if it was the most interesting thing I had ever seen.

I refused to look anywhere else ever again.

This was so embarrassing! I literally fell and smacked against his naked, rock hard body.

No one would ever believe this, even if I told them every minute detail.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. I needed to get out of here, but how would we explain both of us leaving the bathroom together?

“I’ve been in here for at least twenty minutes.”

“Stupid Cheryl Spaceman!” I grumbled.

Shane cocked his head to one side, lifting his eyebrow.

“What? Cheryl? Is she here? Did she make you come in here?” he asked, and the instant change in his tone didn’t go unnoticed.

He was overprotective of me, but I didn’t mind.

Having a pack of rebel dogs like Shane, Isaac, and even Tate who were ready to pounce on anyone might aggravate other people, but I usually appreciated it.

When you were subjected to constant neglect and abuse, it was a nice change of pace to know others had your back, even if they overstepped sometimes.

“No. Not directly. But if she hadn’t made me feel bad for not shaving, I wouldn’t have ended up with razor burn, and my razor wouldn’t be lost along with my duffel bag.”

“Okay?” He wasn’t following. Of course, he wasn’t. I didn’t finish my thought process out loud.

“Gah. I got out of the shower to find my razor and figured I’d only be gone a few seconds. I must have lost track of time, and well…now here we are,” I explained, shivering as my eyes followed a tiny house spider in the corner of the shower.

Laughing softly, he closed the shower curtain. “Cor, look at me.”

I shook my head. I had already seen all of him and didn’t intend to do it again any time soon. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Nope. Already did on accident. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t see anything,” I lied.

“Corinne.” He chuckled. “One, you’re such a liar. Two, we’ve known each other our entire lives, and this isn’t the first time we’ve been in the shower together. It isn’t a big deal. Don’t be embarrassed.”

I busted out laughing, and my eyes opened without my consent. “We were like three and four. That isn’t the same. We’re older, and we’ve…” I stopped myself before I dug the gigantic hole I was burying myself in any deeper.

“We’ve what?” He smirked.

“You know what we did; you were there.”

His tongue swiped over his lips, and he grinned.

“Oh, do you mean this?” He laced his fingers together with mine.

Putting my hand in his must have completely slipped my mind because of the snake.

I didn’t know snakes would actually go across someone’s foot, but after I got home that day, I did some research.

Apparently, it wasn’t part of their normal behavior, but it could happen if the snake was too busy stalking its prey.

“Mmhmm,” I answered him quietly, keeping a safe distance between our bodies. This was dangerous territory. It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought of this happening, but I never dreamed it would become a reality.

“Or were you referring to your sweet lips pressed against mine?”

I bit my lip but didn’t dare answer him. His face closed the distance I kept between us, and he rubbed his lips along mine ever so lightly. I wanted to kiss him. No, I needed to kiss him. I had never needed to do anything more in my life.

Wrapping my hands around the back of his head, I pulled our mouths together. His hands found mine, and he lifted and pinned them above my head. His eyes were wild as he stared at me, suddenly breathless.

“Little dove, do you know I—" He abruptly stopped, his attention quickly shifting to the shower curtain. I followed his gaze, expecting to see the tiny black spider scurrying along, but nothing spectacular caught my eye.

“Sh—” I tried to say his name, but he dropped my hands to cover my mouth with his.

“Shhhh!” he whispered.

The door creaked open, and a debilitating fear washed over me.

I wanted to scream. This was bad. This was so freaking bad!

I didn’t know who opened the door, but every person I considered as a possibility was worse than the one before.

Given the three other people living in this house with me would all freak out if they found us in the shower together, none of them were a suitable choice.

“Shane, man, are you good? Do you need some Pepto?” my brother called out as I saw his hand grip the shower curtain. No! Not Isaac! I had protected him for so long to keep his life on track as much as I could. If he saw us together, it would gut him.

“Trust me?” Shane asked against my ear in an almost inaudible voice. I quickly nodded. He held his finger in front of his mouth, stepped to the side of the tub where my brother was, and wrapped his fingers tightly around Isaac’s.

“What are you doing?” I mouthed silently.

Shane smirked, keeping his eyes on me. “If you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask.” He winked, and my skin blushed uncontrollably.

“Ew, dude. Not cool!” Isaac couldn’t yank his hand out of Shane’s fast enough. Shane quickly caught the curtain, steading it as he held it against the wall, and ensured it didn’t open and inch.

“Offer stands. Open invitation. All you have to do is tell me, and I’m yours.” Shane said sweetly, watching me.

“Whatever! I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Isaac groaned. “Just hurry up! You’re running the water bill sky high, asshole.” The door slammed shut quickly after he cussed at Shane.

“I mean it, Corinne. I’m yours if you’ll be mine,” he admitted, taking my shoulders into his hands, keeping me at arm’s length. “And I respect you. I want you so unbelievably bad, but not like this. I want us to have all the time in the world if you decide this is what you want.”

“I do,” I nervously told him, chewing on the inside of my lip timidly.

“Fuck yeah!”

“You cussed.” I laughed quietly.

“I always do.” He released me and reached past me to fetch the towel slung over the rod.

“What are you doing?”

“Respecting you. I might hate myself for the rest of my life for leaving, but it’s the right thing to do.

” His feet moved to the back of the shower as he got out of the water, smiling at me before he climbed over the edge of the tub.

Leaning toward me, he lightly pressed his lips to mine and then closed the shower curtain.

“Okay,” I answered him in a daze.

“Finish your shower. That should put enough time in between us to fool anyone.”