Chapter 4
Explaining the shower to Flora had tested him.
She’d wanted him to get in and demonstrate, but that would have meant getting naked, and the last thing he wanted to do was show her his dick that he was having a hard time taming.
He didn’t want to be hard around her, but she was beautiful, even with the dirt covering her.
She’d also been shocked the toilet was inside. She told him she had to heat water for a bath, and they had to go outside to use the toilet. He was getting a very interesting picture of how she’d lived.
She finally agreed to shower, and he left the bathroom, noting that the one close big box discount store closed in an hour and a half. They didn’t have much time to get there and shop, but if she finished soon, they could just make it.
When the bathroom door opened, he saw that her hair was still wet. Thankfully, she’d pulled on the clean shirt he’d given her and more shorts. They needed to get her hair dry or she would be cold. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the temps had gone down with it.
He tried not to stare too much at her, but she was beautiful. She had creamy skin with a few freckles. Her blue eyes were bright and filled with wonder. She looked very innocent though, and doing anything more than being her friend would be taking advantage of her.
“Wow, I’ve never experienced anything like that. And that stuff, the conditioner you told me to use on my hair after I washed it made it so smooth.”
He nodded. “Showering does feel good when you’re dirty. It’s cold outside, and your hair is still wet.”
She looked around. “No fireplace. I guess we could make a fire outside and dry my hair out there.”
He shook his head. “You’ve never used a hair dryer before, have you?”
Her brows bunched. “What?”
“I’ll dry it for you. Let me grab the dryer.” He pulled the appliance out and moved to plug it in. She’d never used a hair dryer, which meant she may not know about safety. He needed to explain a few things to her. “So I don’t want to assume anything, but did you have electricity where you lived?”
She nodded. “We had lights, but women were restricted to what we could use.”
“Did you learn that things that are plugged in can never go into water?”
“Yes. I knew that. Mable died from dunking the can opener into the bucket.”
“Okay, so you know that rule. With hair driers, they have an air intake on one end. If you have long hair, it can be sucked into the intake, so you have to be careful with your long hair.”
“Is it safe to use?”
“It is safe, and I’ll be careful. Sit in the chair out here in the main room, and I’ll dry your hair.”
Flora moved to the chair and sat facing the mirror. She didn’t want to stare too much at Q, but he looked good. He was so different from the men in her community. He hadn’t yelled at her once, and when he spoke to her, he sounded nice.
Q plugged in the dryer, then turned it on.
The sound was loud next to her ear, but the warm air felt good on her wet head.
Since she didn’t want to stare at Q because watching him for too long made her feel uncomfortably warm, she closed her eyes.
The feel of his hands running over her hair combined with the warmth made her head dip like she was drifting off.
She jerked her head up and flashed open her eyes. Q met her gaze and smiled. Heat washed over her, and she looked down. The machine turned off, and he moved so he could look at her face.
“It feels good, doesn’t it?”
She nodded. “It does.”
“I’ve almost fallen asleep when I’ve had my hair cut.
” He touched a strand of her hair and nodded.
“I think your hair is dry enough. Let’s go get you some clothes and shoes.
They may not let you walk into the store without shoes, but we might be able to sneak in.
We’ll go straight to the shoe area and get you some socks and shoes. ”
“I’ve never been allowed to wear real shoes. Only when the weather gets real cold are we allowed to wear anything that covers our feet.”
“Well, you’re going to have shoes and socks. We’ll get something comfortable that is decent.”
She didn’t know what that meant. She’d been called indecent many times, so she wondered what he thought decent was. Did he think she was indecent? She didn’t want to be indecent, but maybe running away had marked her.
As they drove to the store, she stared out at the world in wonder. The number of people she saw was weird. When they pulled off the road, and she saw the size of the store, her jaw dropped in wonder. This was the biggest building she’d ever seen. He hurried her in, going straight to the shoe area.
“I guess you don’t know what size shoes you wear?”
She shook her head. “Size?”
“Let me see if I can find a sizing tool. Just stay here. Don’t move.”
He went around the corner, and she stood, looking after him. Fear rose as she glanced around, seeing all the strange stuff she’d never experienced. Her breath came fast, and she felt like the buzz in her head would cause her skull to explode.
He came back with multiple boxes in his hands, and relief slid through her.
“I couldn’t find the thing to get your size.
I figure we’ll just start with seven and go from there.
These are called sneakers or tennis shoes.
Some people call them trainers. They have grippy treads, so you don’t slip.
Some people run or jog in them. When you put them on, you’ll have a small amount of room between your toes and the tip of the shoe.
If your toes have to curl, they don’t fit. ”
She nodded but wasn’t exactly sure what he was talking about. He held out a package of socks and she took them. They were white with a pink stripe.
“Put on a pair of socks, and then we’ll try the shoes.”
She opened the package and pulled on a sock. It felt so soft on her feet. She wasn’t sure if she should be allowed to wear something that felt so good. It almost seemed obscene.
“Let’s try the shoes now.”
The shoe felt tight before he got the end of it over her heel. “Ouch.”
“Okay, that’s too small.”
He grabbed another shoe, and it was too small, too. “So let’s try eight and a half.”
She slipped the shoe on and rolled her ankle. “It feels good.”
“Let me tie it, and then we’ll try the other one.”
“Okay.”
With both shoes on, she stood and took a step. The weight felt foreign, and she had to pick her feet up more than she was used to. But it felt good walking. She walked to the end of the row and then back to Q.
“What do you think?”
She shrugged then winced, worried that he would be mad that she’d lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know.” He didn’t react, instead he grabbed the last box he had brought over.
“I have a nine. Let’s see what you think.”
She had the nines on, but they weren’t right. “They feel like they are flopping around on my feet.”
“So probably too big. Let’s get the other ones back on you.”
After Q made sure her shoes fit, they went to the clothing area, and she tried on pants and shirts.
She wanted a dress, but the types of dresses she was used to wearing weren’t there.
All the dresses she tried on showed way too much skin for her comfort.
The jeans and shirts covered her body, which made her feel much more comfortable.
Q helped her get her shoes back on and tied.
She thought she recognized the knot he used, but she wasn’t sure.
She was a little surprised they couldn’t just walk out. Instead, they had to stop and pay. She didn’t know much about money, but she thought Q had spent way too much on her. At least she had clothes to wear now. He said they would get more once they got to San Diego, whatever that was.
The store was closing when they left, and she was tired. Her stomach rumbled as they drove back to the hotel. Q glanced at her, then smiled.
“We can stop for something to eat. How about tacos? You’ve had tacos, right?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what that is.”
“Oh, Mexican food might be spicy.”
“We eat chicken and beef, also pork. My job was roasting chickens. I’m good at that.”
She stared out the window, looking at the bright signs that were hard for her to take in. “There is so much here.”
“How about a fried chicken place?”
She recognized what he said so she shrugged again. “Sure.” She watched him, seeing if he reacted to her shrugging. He didn’t. That was interesting.
They went in and he ordered for her. She felt uncomfortable with other people making her food because she’d never eaten any food prepared by someone outside her community.
The food came, and it was hot, so she waited for it to cool down a little before taking the first bite. It was good, not as good as her friend’s chicken, but still okay. The mashed potatoes were okay, but the coleslaw wasn’t great.
“Do you like the food?”
She met his gaze but didn’t shrug because she thought she was pushing her luck. “It tastes okay. I can make better.”
“I’m sure you can. When did you start cooking?”
“I’ve always worked in the kitchen. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t doing something.”
He nodded. “After we eat, we can go back to the room and get some sleep. I’d rather wake early and head out.”
She swallowed the bite she was working on as a weird feeling twisted through her.
Did Q expect her to sleep with him? She wiped her mouth on a napkin and looked up at him before she lowered her eyes.
The man her father had picked for her to marry had been old.
It was one of the reasons she’d run, but not the only one.
Q was younger and the thought of sleeping with him made her heat.
“Are you okay?” Q asked.
Her head whipped up, and she met his gaze. Before speaking, she glanced around, glad there were no other people around. Imagining all the seats full of people made her shiver. It was so weird that so many people lived here in this place he called a town.
“Do—um, do you expect me to…do you—”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t expect anything from you. We’ll go back to the room, and you will sleep on one bed, and I’ll sleep in the other. You owe me nothing.”
Her mouth fell open as shock hit. “Wait. You expect me to sleep in the bed.”
He nodded. “Of course. Where else would you sleep?”
“Women keep to the foot of the bed. We aren’t allowed—”
He held up his hand. “You don’t have to live by their rules. You can sleep in a bed, and it will be okay.”
“Do I get a pillow?”
He nodded. “Yes. You can even use two pillows if you like.”
Q had no idea what the hell this woman had been through.
He wished she would talk to the cops, but he wouldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to.
She had escaped. Maybe that was enough. In foreign countries, they weren’t able to close down all the cults they ran into.
He wished it was different here. But he didn’t know where Flora had come from.
The men in her community could be well-armed.
He couldn’t go searching for them with the little information he had.
Maybe with some time and space she would be willing to talk to the police. No question, she was brave. She seemed to be dealing with everything okay so far.
They finished their meal and headed back to the hotel. Flora was quiet, but it was expected. She’d been through a lot. Hopefully, she would sleep and not be up around the room.
When she’d first run into his camp, he’d not known what to think.
After a bit, he’d thought she was pulling his leg with her overly innocent act, but then he’d realized she really hadn’t ever lived in civilization.
She’d asked way too many questions about the store, the restaurant, everything.
It really was like she didn’t know what things were.
He hoped he could help her, but he really had no idea what to do with her.