Damien's nap gave me the opportunity to whisk away into the bathroom for a much needed shower. It felt good stripping off the clothes that were a reminder of the awful things that transpired in less than 48 hours.
I stepped into a walk in shower that was almost as big as my bedroom. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it could definitely fit 4 people in there with a little bit of squeezing.
I half expected Damien to have one bottle of shampoo that he used on his hair, face, and body. He seemed like one of those guys. Instead I found a neat row of apple scented shampoo, conditioner, and pine scented body wash.
Suddenly I was reminded of when my face was nuzzled against Damien's head for a brief moment in the shuttle. I remembered his scent really vividly: apples and pine. I popped open one of the bottles and took a quick sniff. Real creepy, Val, I thought to myself. What the hell was I doing? I took out my own little toiletries from my bathroom bag and lined them up next to Damien's. This was simple and insignificant, but seeing my stuff next to his gave me butterflies.
~
I wiped away the condensation on the large, bathroom mirror to take a good look at myself. Dark circles had accentuated my big, brown eyes as an unintentional perk of how little sleep I had gotten the night before. My small, wavy bangs, which were matted against my skin only an hour prior finally had some life to it. I brushed my hair, admiring the occasional blonde highlights in my black hair that remained from high school. My cheeks had their usual rosey tint against my tan skin and my lips came to a natural pout. One of my coworkers would always tease me about being able to make any man I met fall madly in love with me. Maybe I could consider myself a little attractive, but they all flee once I open my mouth to speak.
I looked around the bathroom, realizing I had left my clothes on top of my duffel bag. I was so used to having a bathroom connected to my room, I hadn't realized I needed to bring the clothes with me. I opened the bathroom door just a sliver to get a peek at Damien. He was turned away from where I was, the blanket moving in a steady rhythm with his chest. I sighed with relief. He would never let me live it down if he saw me like this.
I wrapped a towel around myself and took a deep breath. My wet toes squeaked against the hardwood floors as I tiptoed to the couch. I pulled up a pair of my comfy, pink shorts under my towel before hearing a faint "Woah". Damien was staring straight at me, eyes wide.
I ducked down as quickly as I could in front of the couch, unable to hide my embarrassment. I was clutching my towel for dear life.
"I d-didn't realize you were awake," I squeaked out, barely audible.
Damien rubbed his eyes. "Wai... I'm awake? I'm not dreaming?"
"Can you please look away for like 5 seconds while I put a shirt on?"
Damien's after nap confusion had transformed into his usual smug demeanor.
"They're just boobs. I've seen boobs before. Lots of them."
"Don't be a dick. Just don't look."
I could hear a drawn out sigh coming from Damien's direction, but I wasn't risking it. I maneuvered as gracefully as I could between the couch and the coffee table to put my shirt on, only smacking into the coffee table three times. I could hear restrained chuckling from Damien, who in turn heard the thwacking and thumping of me trying to get dressed without getting seen.
I jumped up and started collecting laundry around the apartment.
"You don't have to do that right now," Damien said, his eyes following me around the room, "It's your first day. We can just talk. You can get settled in."
"I want to keep busy, so I don't have to think too much, and I don't like talking." I stated matter-of-factly.
"You don't like talking to me?" Damien asked with a fake pout. I deadpanned at him, not dignifying his question with an answer before turning back to what I was doing. "Since you're feeling like working, I do need a favor from you."
I turned to face Damien, full of curiosity. "Favor?"
"Seeing you all nice and clean makes me feel very dirty. I need a bath."
Damien looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. It took a moment for me to realize why he was using that flirtatious tone with me.
Taking care of someone with limited use of arms and legs = helping them bathe = seeing and touching them naked.
I gasped and stepped back, shaking my head.
"Wait, I'm not ready for that yet!"
"You have to be ready. I feel gross and you do owe me."
The smugness in Damien's voice irritated me to no end. I knew that for the next 6 months, I'll be wondering why I agreed to this but still falling to his every whim. I clenched my fists.
"Fine," I said hesitantly. "Just... give me a second."
I stepped into the kitchen area, out of sight, and frantically started searching on the internet. I looked through a step-by-step on how to give a sponge bath then groaned loudly with frustration. I'm in way over my head.
"Hello? Where did you go? What was that sound? Sounded like a dying grizzly bear." Damien yelled from the bed.
Come on, Val. Get. It. Together. I walked over to Damien and sighed.
"Do you have like a bucket or something?"
"Yeah. It's in the closet in the bathroom."
After gathering all my items, I stood with my hands poised over Damien's shirt buttons. I couldn't bring myself to do it.
"Jesus, Val. If you can't even get my shirt off, how will you wash the lower half?"
I froze. I hadn't even thought of that.
Damien took one look at my face and started laughing hysterically. He took his one free hand and unbuttoned the shirt himself. He grabbed my hand and started rubbing his body with it. My fingertips were going along the ridges of his abs, and in my head, I was freaking out.
"Are you good now? You're a grown woman, Valencia. Stop acting like a 12 year old."
In the short time I knew Damien, this had been the first time he was being stern. It snapped me right back to reality. This is not the first time I've seen a man's bare body and it probably won't be the last, so I absolutely needed to get it together. I had to admit that Damien looked amazing even with sweat sitting against his chest and stomach. I must've looked entranced because one look at my face made Damien burst out laughing again.
"You're a funny one, Val. It'll be nice having you around."
I don't think anyone had ever called me funny before. Gloomy? Sure. Depressing? Most definitely. But I could tell Damien was being genuine, and I couldn't help but smile.
I pulled up a chair and gently rubbed Damien's body with the washcloth. I was still very clumsy and the evidence could be seen on Damien's face every time he winced in pain. He was breathing heavily, his bare chest moving up and down with every breath. For most of it, he looked away, probably to make me feel less awkward. I brushed my finger tips on some of his bandages, observing the injuries I caused. I frowned. It doesn't matter what this guy has put me through, the guilt of injuring an innocent person was all too tangible.
"Hey, it's okay," he said reassuringly. Damien gave me an awkward half smile.
Our eyes locked and I smiled back. Somehow he always knew what I was thinking.
One week had passed since the accident, and I was getting used to taking care of Damien. He had previously made himself out to be a lot more difficult than he actually was. Occasionally he would be picky about his food or demand things to be a certain way, but he was always very lighthearted about it. Damien spent most of his day tapping away on his laptop a couple keys at a time since his hand use was limited. I offered to help several times, but he always insisted it was "boring work stuff" and "there's no need". Whatever he did for work, Damien held onto that information like a vault. I can't say I wasn't insanely curious.My insomnia had been severe that entire week, and I often found myself sitting in the small balcony, overlooking the city. I was constantly thinking about how I didn't deserve such a comfortable life. Even aside from what happened with Damien, I never felt like I had truly deserved anything good, and the majority of my life up to that point had proven that theory
"Here at Sunny Side Up, what should we be...?" Matteo inquired with his fingers up and a stupid grin across his face."Sunny," I grumbled."That's right. Now, no more distractions and make sure to smile," Matteo emphasized for the third and final time today.I gave him a half-hearted, tight lipped grin that seemed to satisfy him enough to leave. As soon as his back was turned, I slumped over the bar counter and looked at the bustling of customers enjoying their brunches."Matteo's being a real pain in the ass today," Kay whispered while carrying a tray stacked high with plates of half eaten eggs Benedict, French toast, and an ungodly concoction of all other breakfast foods smooshed tog
Damien spent 5 restless nights with the flu. During that time, he lay sweating in bed nearly half naked, complaining about being hot one minute then cold the next. I had run out a few times to get medicine and groceries but would come back quickly to make sure he was still okay. I began to realize I cared a lot about what happened to him even outside the scope of our deal. I chalked it up to a standard sense of human empathy-- nothing else.Most of my days were spent cleaning him and making him comfortable. He didn't make many snarky remarks during that time, but he always looked at me like he wanted to say something to me. A look of worry seemed to occasionally flash through his face then disappear in an instant. Something bothered him, but I knew he wouldn't come out with it on his own."Why do you look so concerned?" I asked while giving Damien his daily sponge bath. He needed these more frequently now due to the excessive sweating. I did feel proud that he was finally looking more
After a cold shower, I came to a conclusion that Damien was just some deranged pervert that lured me into his home. The cocky look on his face as he fondled me kept popping up in my head. I can't say I hated it, in fact... I quite liked it. I wasn't going to tell him that, though. Maybe I was also a deranged pervert. I put on a bra this time, not wanting to repeat the same mistake. This couldn't happen again because if we crossed that line between caretaker and... whatever that was, there was no going back. The last thing I wanted were for things to be awkward between us. It was too late though. The tension between us was palpable. He was passed out by the time I came out of the bathroom, but the following days were filled mostly with silence and uncomfortable pauses. I avoided any conversation with him that wasn't directly connected to his recovery or chores. He was back to his old self, typing away on his laptop, and occasionally sneaking glances in my direction. He tried to be su
Rustling of magazine pages and light taps were the only sounds filling the small waiting area at Dr. Helder's office. She was the best physical therapist in the city, and Damien made sure of it. He always dove headfirst into researching any topic that was of importance to him, and being able to walk again was extremely important. He wasn't the only one that knew Dr. Helder's qualifications, a fact which was amplified by the amount of people crammed into the small waiting area. "Uggghhh," Damien groaned loudly, alerting the attention of everyone in the room. "What's wrong with you?" I asked, a little agitated by his verbal outburst. "How much longer? What's the point of an appointment if I still have to wait?" He complained. "I'm hungry!" I rolled my eyes, and took out a granola bar from the backpack I had placed on Damien's wheelchair. "Eat this and shut up, please," I pleaded with a harsh whisper. He took a bite and gave me a tight lipped smile, a huge chunk of granola bar fill
Tension hung in the air around us in that small elevator. The silence was deafening as we waited for our rescue. I kept glancing over at Shawn expecting him to say something rude. He always looked like he had something to say but not anything I wanted to hear. He had refrained from opening his mouth so far, so that was all that mattered.Seeing him under that bright elevator light, I realized why Darcey was infatuated with him. Objectively he was fairly handsome with a strong, slim build towering to an imposing 6'2". His dirty blonde hair was styled to look messy with probably a hundred different hair products. He had piercing blue eyes that some may find attractive, but to me, they were soulless.I was sitting on the ground near the elevator buttons with my legs crossed in front of me. I tried to distract myself with my phone, but it proved pointless against the flurry of thoughts going through my head. Damien had been typing furiously on his phone. He had the same expression on his
"You've got some nerve coming back here," Darcey stated angrily.She had a point. I really wasn't trying to see her ever again, but circumstances made it hard not to come back. She turned her focus on Damien, her features softening a little at his presence."Oh, and who might you be?" She asked flirtatiously, her finger twirling a strand of her hair. I could tell when Darcey was flirting immediately. She was not subtle."Hi. I'm Damien. Nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand out. Darcey shook his hand but lingered for a moment."Can we come in?" I asked, trying to distract her from Damien. She gestured us in then pulled me aside immediately after closing the door."Who is that hottie with you? What happened to him?" She asked in a harsh whisper.I sighed and rolled my eyes. I definitely saw this coming a mile away. Darcey always wanted to be involved in my business, even more so if an attractive man was involved. She had a tendency to want everything I had, which was usually v
I bit my bottom lip and traced the little red marks on my back with my fingers. Damien had apparently been holding back during the weeks I spent with him. It had become obvious that he wanted me once I saw the way he had narrowed his eyes, the hypnotic swirls of green and gold igniting at my touch. It felt good to be wanted even after I had shown him some of the worse sides of my personality. I was awkward, quiet, and insecure. But no matter how much I showed that side to him, he remained unfazed, always greeting me with a smile.I sighed at the unknown of where we would go from here. After we had sex in my bed, Darcey promptly kicked us out for being too noisy in an apartment that I no longer lived in. She was not very happy seeing me in that tight little dress, not because that proved we were up to no good, but because she would've definitely taken it for herself if she had found it. In our rush, I only ended up leaving with one box containing two plants, a couple of skirts, a t-sh