Chapter 13 Stripped
Chapter thirteen
Stripped
Icouldn’t strip in front of Angel.
His bedroom wall sconces illuminated muscles and moles and a lot more than moonlight.
Revealing myself to someone in a romantic capacity required more finesse than this.
I had to ease into it. Or at least be reassured with gentle caresses as we ushered in the next phase of our relationship.
I’d probably try to whip off my top and get it stuck on my ear, mussing my hair in the process.
No.
I needed romance or a few minutes with the hot tub jets on my back. That’d loosen me up enough to share more about the real me, if not my body.
“Excuse me.” I snatched the black spandex and his discarded undershirt, then bolted into the bathroom.
Heart racing, I stripped and set my stuff on the side of the sink. I wasn’t going home in wet underwear again.
He lightly rapped on the door. “Pidge? You okay in there?”
“Y-yes.” Although I still wasn’t exactly fresh. “Can I use your deodorant?” I asked, shimmying into his clothes.
“Sure. It’s in the medicine cabinet. I’ll go downstairs and start heating the tub,” he said.
“Great. I’ll meet you there.” I gripped the sink and breathed deeply.
I could do this.
“You sure?” he called.
“Yeah.” After all, I passed Bio-Chem. How hard could it be to find a backyard hot tub in comparison?
Although I did fail in other ways. My stomach knotted. Hopefully, this relationship wouldn’t be as disastrous. We could protect ourselves, take it slow. Even if I wanted to jump him every time he touched me.
I splashed cold water on my face. “Come on, Tori. Get it together.”
Adults had sex—and sometimes even healthy relationships. I could do this.
I used his deodorant, but when I haphazardly put it back, I knocked a tub of medicine off the shelf. “Ah, scrubs,” I muttered, scrambling to organize it nicely again.
I put the bottle on the shelf with the label out, like we had to in school.
Antidepressant.
I gasped. I didn’t mean to read it. I shouldn’t have. His medication regimen was private, even if he had given me permission to go into his medicine cabinet. I snapped it shut, guilt-ridden adrenaline coursing through my veins.
Had med school driven him to depression or had he always suffered from it? As much his mother loved him, and as nice as this house was now, they must’ve had their share of hardships. But he’d figured out a way to manage them.
Maybe he could understand what happened with me and med school. Why I left. Why I might not go back.
I headed downstairs, determined to tell him the truth of the matter.
Through the patio door, the gurgle of jets and the sight of a beautiful man beckoned me over. Angel lounged in the hot tub, idly running his fingers over the bubbles. The swirling waters shielded me from knowing if he was naked, but seeing as I’d chosen to wear something, I bet he did too.
I padded across the smooth stone patio. “Angel?”
He smiled, rainbow lights dancing across his skin. “Hey, pidge.”
I bit my lip. Why hadn’t I ever seen signs he’d been struggling? I must've been too distracted by the playful glint in his eyes to notice the bags underneath them.
Then again, I’d ignored my body’s warning signs that I wasn’t doing well. Maybe I wasn’t meant to work in medical care.
I leaned on the opposite side of the hot tub. “Is this how you’re getting through med school? Soakin’ by the jets every night?”
He glided through the water to kneel on the seat in front of me. “You’d be surprised how much a crush on a classmate can motivate a person.”
“Anyone I know?” I joked.
“You might see her in the mirror now and then.” He smiled, urging me closer with gentle fingertips on my elbows.
So cute. Such an easy distraction.
I lowered my head. “What about next semester?”
He rubbed my arms. “I’ll manage.”
Goosebumps broke out across my skin as the smears of water evaporated.
Unlike me, he’d probably graduate. But what if he moved on? Where was this going, anyway? What if our relationship held him back?
I rubbed warmth into my arms and sniffled. “I, um, I saw what was in your medicine cabinet.”
He tensed, then continued tracing circles along my arms. “Yeah?”
“I wasn’t snooping. Meds fell out when I was putting the deodorant away. I guess I’m wondering if…they helped.”
He eased back. “You’re asking a medical student if they believe in the effects of medication?”
I snorted. “No. I know we believe in science. I’m not anxious about your medication or a diagnosis. People get depressed. Sometimes it’s situational and other times it’s persistent. I guess I…I’m trying to figure out my next steps. Our next steps. And get to know you better in the process.”
He tilted his head, his eyes bright and curious. “I thought we’d enjoy the hot tub, tonight. You can get to know me then.”
“Right.” With a halfhearted chuckle, I sat on the edge of the tub and dangled my feet in the hot water. “I should probably relax.”
Dates weren’t supposed to be downers, and that’s where this conversation was headed. He probably wanted a more casual relationship, a physical one without as much emotional mess.
He cozied up to my knees. “What’s on your mind, pidge?”
I looked away so I wouldn’t be distracted by his pretty face, but ran my hands over his shoulders to keep me grounded. Maybe he did want something deeper between us. All I had to do was slide in…to the water, to him, to the whole conversation.
“My sister’s not the only reason I didn’t want to go back to school right away,” I said.
“You were worried about momentum,” he recalled.
“Kind of.” I frowned. “I got into a car accident.”
He straightened his spine. “What? When?”
“Right before winter break.”
“Were you hurt?” He scanned me as if searching for any lingering bruises.
I brushed my hair behind my ear. “Minor abrasions. My car took the brunt of it, though I did scratch a highway divider. Thankfully, no one suffered from my lapse in judgment.”
Just me and my stupid, na?ve self, thinking I could do it all when I couldn’t even get home without an incident.
He stared at me with his piercing blue eyes, something swirling behind them even more intensely than the jets in this water.
“I passed out at the wheel. Just for a second. But it was long enough to do some damage,” I admitted.
He let out a shaky breath and caressed my face. “That’s terrifying.”
I nodded, swallowing against the tightness in my throat. “It woke me up in more ways than one. I realized I wasn’t cut out for an intensive program.”
He brushed his thumb across my cheek and pressed his forehead to mine. “You were exhausted, pidge. You could still be a great doctor if you wanted.”
I wanted…to be good again. Everything seemed a little more possible with him. But…
“My advisor suggested I drop the program,” I mumbled, nuzzling my hot cheeks into his palm.
He raised my face to meet his gaze. “Why the hell would they do that?”
I shrugged, trying to laugh it off, even though my eyes stung from shame. “I don’t know. I’d managed work/life balance in high school and undergrad, nursing and pre-med. But I crashed out, in the end. Crashed a car. I was almost put on academic probation.”
“So was half our class,” he said, gesturing so wildly his muscles flexed.
“Those first few courses are meant to kick our asses. What kind of idiot would discourage a sweet, smart person from pursuing a career in medical care instead of helping them manage the stress? Think of all the people you could help—the lives you could save. And they want you to throw that away over one stupid accident?”
My heart swelled, but I gripped the edge of the tub and strained to smile. “I guess so. Lingerie sales is a safer occupation. There’s less chance of lethal accidents due to sleep deprivation.”
He cupped my face, and his stormy gaze pierced my soul. “Tori, whatever you want is worth working toward. It’s worth waiting for. Always.”
His passionate entreaty was like a warm compress on my soul. How long had we been working toward this moment?
I’d been so stressed in class with any of his attentions that I hadn’t noticed how caring and attentive he was, how he’d make an excellent doctor, a doting partner, and a passionate lover. He cared for the messiest parts of me.
I slid into the water for a clumsy, full-body hug.
“I wish I’d had a friend like you back then,” I said.
He squeezed me tighter. “Lucky for us, now, I get to be your boyfriend.”
I giggled, pressing kisses all over his face. “Oh, boyfriend? I like the sound of that.”
Maybe we were lucky.
If I hadn’t dropped out, I wouldn’t have been in The Closette and forced to interact with him. I wouldn’t have seen him at The Cake Warehouse, and we might never have connected on a deeper level like this.
Bubbles tickled my thighs, and butterflies fluttered through my chest.
The future was still a bit uncertain. But right now, I knew my heart’s desire, and he was looking right at me.