Chapter Eight #2
“Oh, don’t be weird about it,” she said, waving her hand like it was nothing, despite feeling her palms starting to sweat. “It’s a naked body. We’ve all seen them.”
Sure, maybe if it was someone else’s body.
“Yeah, but we haven’t seen each other’s.” He was saying everything her brain was screaming. But as if she had to prove how unbothered she was—whether to Theo or to herself, she wasn’t sure—she pressed on.
She shrugged, trying to play it cool. “There’s a first for everything.”
“Is there?” he asked, raising a single brow. “Because there are plenty of people in the world whose nude bodies neither of us will ever see.”
Okay, why was he acting like seeing each other unclothed was the most ludicrous thing in the world? It wasn’t that big of a deal. She was starting to feel a little offended that he was so put off by the suggestion.
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Okay, fine. Don’t accept my help. But when you’re lathering that oily mop of yours for the fifth time and your arm is aching, don’t come crying to me about it.”
Dani spun on her heel to leave again, pissed at herself for even making the suggestion, when Theo called out, “Wait.” A teensy hint of a devilish smile started to form on her lips, but she quickly bit it back.
“Changed your mind?” she asked.
“Only because my shoulder really fucking hurts. No peeking, though,” he said, putting his finger up as if giving her a rule.
“I promise I’ll try not to.”
“You’ll try?”
“Well, I won’t sneak a peek, but if I catch a glimpse of a dick in my periphery, I cannot guarantee that my reflexes won’t give in to my body’s carnal desires.”
The words spilled out without hesitation. What had gotten into her? She’d never talked like this to Theo before.
But…she sort of liked it.
“Why do you say that like there might be dicks popping up left and right?”
“Hey, we’re in Greece,” she said, shrugging. “Maybe there’s some mythical multi-dick creature lurking about.”
He placed his free hand over his eyes and laughed. “My God, where do you come up with this stuff?”
“You should see some of the new monster romances that we’ve been getting at the library. It’s some sexy shit,” she said, relieved that he seemed to be relaxing a bit.
He shook his head, still smiling. “Okay, Juicy. Turn around for a second, would you?”
“Fiiiiiine,” she said, rolling her eyes and smiling.
The sound of his pants hitting the floor was like a dinner bell, calling for her to come get a taste. What was she doing? Why was she tempting herself like this?
Sure, she could say it was because of his shoulder. But was that the only reason? Given how badly she wanted to turn around, she’d say not.
“Okay, I’m getting in,” he announced.
The water sloshed as he climbed in.
“I’m in. You can turn around,” he said.
She spun back around, and there he was, crouched in the tub with about a third of his torso out of the water. She came up behind him and knelt on the floor, sitting back slightly on her heels. It was the safest spot to avoid sneaking a peek.
“Want me to massage your shoulder?” she asked. “Take advantage of the natural massage oil?”
“Um…” he said, hesitating for a moment, “sure. But be gentle, okay?”
“No, Theo, I’m going to torture you,” she said, and he snapped his head in her direction. “Relax, will you? You’re like a feral child.”
“Sorry,” he said, dejected. “I’ve gotten used to being on my own.”
“Well, I’m here now. Should I take this off?” she asked, reaching for the clasp on the gold chain around his neck.
“No,” he said, holding the necklace in place. “You were right. I can’t take it off.”
She released the clasp and then placed her hands on his shoulder, lightly applying pressure.
He hissed.
“Is this okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. Maybe a tad lighter, though?”
She loosened her grip. “Better?”
“Mmm…”
His body instantly relaxed as she lightly worked on his shoulder, working her way across his back and neck.
She’d never touched him like this before.
So deliberately. So…consciously. Sure, they’d touched many times, though usually only a quick hug when saying hello and goodbye, an arm around the shoulder for a picture, or a playful slap on the knee at trivia night.
This? This was much different. She was aware of every ripple of muscle as her fingers kneaded his flesh.
Each placement of her hands was intentional and unhurried.
She liked the way his muscles felt in her grasp. She liked touching him this way.
He propped his good arm up on the side of the tub and rested his head in his hand, allowing her to rub his bad shoulder. He was silent, which prior to this trip would have seemed odd, but it had become normal by this point.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
He sighed and brought his hand back into the water. “How we’re going to get out of this,” he said.
“Well, we’ll see what’s up at the olive mill tomorrow and then go from there.”
“And if it turns out to be a dead end? Then what?”
“Then…well…”
Hmm.
“Exactly.”
“What about that guy? The storyteller. Papa Murphy’s? Papa Smurf?”
“Papantonis. I told you, it was a story.”
A few more beats of silence passed. She thought about what he’d said the night before, about how he wrote the story for fun.
Sucked that she only heard about it now.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about it? Getting it published, I mean,” she asked, moving on from his shoulder and grabbing the shampoo bottle.
Theo paused and she waited for a moment to squirt the liquid into her hand.
“You know how my parents are. I…I thought people would think it was silly,” he finally said after she’d started lathering his oily hair.
“Theodore Galanis,” she said with authority, yanking at his hair to turn his head to face her.
“You know my name’s not Theodore—” he said.
“Now, when have I ever made fun of you for any of the other hundred different nerdy things that you do?” She cut him off before he could finish.
“Does this moment count?”
“I’m not making fun of you. I’m stating facts.”
She turned his head so he was facing forward, then she dug her fingers into his hair, working the shampoo into his shiny, dark brown tresses. They sat silently for a few minutes as she worked, taking her time massaging his scalp.
“You should have told me,” she finally said, barely above a whisper, trying not to let her hurt show through. “You know I would have been happy for you. It’s really fucking cool.”
“I know.”
“And it’s really unfair that you let strangers read your work, but not me. I was your first fan, remember?”
“I know.”
“And if I find out that Eddie knew about it before me—”
“He doesn’t know—”
“Well, if he did, I’d kick your ass. I’d kick both of your asses.”
“I know.”
“Then, good. As long as we’re on the same page—”
With his good arm, Theo reached behind his head and wrapped his hand around her wrist before pulling it around to his front, wrapping her arm tightly against his chest.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
Dani closed her eyes, taking him in. Feeling his fingers closed around her wrist. Holding her next to him. This was the Theo she remembered. The one who wasn’t afraid to show his emotions.
She leaned forward, wrapping her other arm around his chest and burying her face in his neck.
“I missed you, too.”
“We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Why? Getting pruney?”
Theo chuckled. “No, out of Greece. I’ve never wanted to leave Greece so badly.”
He held up his hand in front of their faces, spreading his fingers out wide. They were starting to prune. “And maybe I need to rinse my hair so I can get out of the tub, too.”
She laughed, then pulled away, letting him sink into the tub and under the water to rinse out the shampoo. But as he dunked his head, his other head popped up.
?Ay, Dios mío!
Dani’s jaw dropped, and she couldn’t turn her gaze away.
Theo was fucking packing! She’d always wondered how big his dick was, but she wondered no more.
She remembered his mom always talking about how Theo’s name meant gift of God, and wasn’t that the truth.
A low pulsating pressure started to build in her core.
He lifted his head and torso back out of the water, stealing her attention from his cock, and rubbed the water out of his eyes.
“How’s it look?” he asked.
Dani blinked. Fuck, he caught her peeking.
“Umm…it’s nice.”
He turned his head and furrowed his brow at her. “Nice?”
“I mean, come on,” she said, cocking her head to the side. “You know it looks…good. Really…good.”
“Good? Juicy, what the fuck are you talking about? Did I get all the shampoo out or what?”
“Ooooooh!” she said, laughing. “The shampoo.” She hit herself on the forehead.
“Yes, the shampoo. What did you think I was talking about?”
Oh, crap.
“Umm, nothing.” She looked every direction except at him.
“Nothing? Juicy?” he said her name like Desi Arnaz calling out Lucille Ball. “Did you sneak a peek?”
She pulled her mouth into a tight line and ducked her head slightly. “I didn’t sneak a peek, but, well, I told you if it caught my eye…” she said with an innocent shrug.
“You’re such a pervert,” he said, laughing and flicking water back at her.
“What? Like you wouldn’t peek if the tables were turned.”
“Don’t try to justify your perviness,” he joked. “At least own it.”
“Oh whatever,” she said, dunking him back in the tub and trying to sneak another peek, but now there were unfortunately too many suds from the shampoo.
Damn.
He popped out of the water, laughing.
“Still miss me?” she asked.
“Absolutely.”
An uncontrollable smile formed on her lips.
“Here, let me wash your hair one more time. It still looks a little oily,” she said, lathering up her hands once more.
Theo settled back against the tub, allowing her to run her soapy fingers through his hair. Massaging his head. Curling her fingers around his tresses.
“Mmm…that feels nice,” he hummed.
It did feel nice. Relaxing even. His humming sent a delightful buzzing straight to her nipples.
“It’s been weird being alone for so long without human contact,” he said.
“I thought you had plenty of contact with Maurice and Louis.”
“Not that kind of contact. I mean like this. Being touched, not punched in the face.”
She could only imagine what that must have been like.
Their families were both such affectionate groups.
Every gathering started and ended with absurd amounts of hugging that would probably be overwhelming to other people.
But to the Guiterrezes and the Galanises, hugs and kisses were normal.
To have that taken away and replaced by aggression couldn’t have been easy.
She hated thinking about what he must have gone through over the past year.
She wanted nothing more than to take care of him.
Hold him in her arms and tell him they would be okay.
That they would figure a way out of this.
How could he ever have thought that she would have abandoned him?
Maybe this is all they would ever be, but she’d never leave him. Never again.
Her gaze focused on her fingers swirling through his hair before she finally snapped out of it.
“Okay, time to rinse,” she said, leaning back.
Without another word, he dunked again, but this time she looked away so as not to tempt herself with another glance.
“Good?” he said, popping out and wiping his face.
“Good.”
“All right, I’m going to get out if you want to turn around.”
“I’ll grab you a towel,” she said, walking over to the drying rack on the wall.
But when she turned back, there Theo was, rising from the tub with his backside to her. Fuck, even his ass looked good. Water clung to every part of his body. What Dani wouldn’t do to lick each droplet off.
“Damn, Theo,” she said.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, starting to squat back into the tub, “I didn’t think you’d turn around.”
“No, it’s fine. I mean, damn, Theo, you’ve got a nice ass,” she said, handing him the towel and then turning around.
He laughed. “Thanks, Juicy. I guess it’s only fair that you’ve seen mine now, too.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t see all of my ass.”
“Close enough.”
His words set fire to her cheeks.
“Well, I…uh…” Suddenly she was at a loss for words. Her mind jumped all over the place, picturing his ass, his cock, his hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her closer. Oh God. This was not the time for horniness.
Their night together before he left flashed in her mind again. A fuzzy memory of the two of them on the couch. His hand grazing her cheek, brushing away a tear. Oh fuck. What had she said? What happened that night? Why couldn’t she remember it all?
Suddenly the room started spinning around her. Memories from that evening coming at her in bits and pieces. The words on Theo’s side flashed in her mind: Π?ντα ?σουν εσ?.
“You okay?” he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.
When had he gotten out of the tub? She scanned him, standing in the middle of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his waist, and that fucking water still clinging to his skin.
“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine,” she said, holding her forehead in her hand. “I think I stood up too fast. I’m gonna go lie down,” she said, thumbing toward the bedroom.
“Here, let me help you.” He wrapped his hand around her waist, guiding her back to the bedroom.
His impossibly wide fingers spread across her stomach as they shuffled into the other room. They moved silently across the floor, placing her on the bed. Once she was settled in, he backed away.
“I’m gonna go finish getting ready for bed,” he said.
“Okay.”
He started to walk away when she called out for him. “Hey, Theo,” she said.
“Yeah?”
She hesitated for a moment, debating her next words. “You…you can sleep in the bed. With your shoulder, I mean. You probably shouldn’t sleep on the floor.”
“Okay, thanks.”
He took another step toward the bathroom when she stopped him again. “And I’m sorry I snuck a peek.”
He laughed. “It’s okay.”
“Be honest, though. If the tables had been turned…” She let her words fade away like a question. But she had to know if she was the only one.
“Juicy, I never would have made the promise in the first place.”