Thanks for the Memories #2
“You know what? You can shower on your own, and I’m using all the hot water.” I shoved him away, laughing, and in turn, he grabbed me even tighter, splattering my face with kisses.
“Oh no, ma’am, I think not.” I broke out in giggles as he tried to tickle me.
“No. No stop, I draw the line at being tickled!” I tried to jump out of the way of his grasp, but he was much quicker.
“Gotcha, sweetheart.” His ocean blue eyes made my breath catch in my throat.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“No more tickling. Got it. Go take your makeup off, and let's shower so we can get to bed. I’m fucking exhausted.” Turning back to the counter, I worked my cleanser into my face while Spencer started the shower so it could warm up.
I pulled the pins free from my hair and ran my brush through it.
It was the longest it had been in a few years now.
After I left Cameron, I decided to chop it off along with those memories, but I liked it.
Maybe I’d let it continue to grow some more.
The scene from the party of Spencer sticking up for me played through my mind again.
No one had ever really stood up for me before.
He was always calm and collected, but he showed another side tonight.
One who said he didn’t tolerate anyone disrespecting me.
It only made me fall even harder for him.
Spencer stuck his hand under the water to make sure it was warm enough for us.
Satisfied, he opened the glass door for me, letting me step into the hot water first, and then he followed behind.
I stepped under the warm spray and tilted my head back to wet my hair.
I went to grab the shampoo when Spencer stopped me.
“Here, let me.” He squeezed the perfect amount in his palm and motioned for me to turn around.
I rolled my eyes and turned to put my back to him.
He reached up and started to massage the shampoo into my scalp, making sure it was worked in well.
He took the handheld sprayer off the way and rinsed it out.
“Do you double shampoo?” he asked when it was completely rinsed from my hair.
“I can’t believe a man knows what that is, but yes, I do. The bottle in the middle.” I chuckled because, of course, he knows what it is.
“You’ve seen these curls. It took me a long time and a lot of tutorials to get them to even remotely cooperate since I did it on my own. Lots of trial and error.”
“That’s true. It’s one of the things I love about you, that and your eyes.”
“Oh yeah? Anything else you love?” He dragged the back of his hand over my shoulders, and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. That ego sometimes. He rinsed my hair again and then squeezed all the water out of it before grabbing the conditioner.
“Hmm, let me think… You have a pretty nice ass for a guy. I can’t even lie. And your legs and back? Would put any woman on their knees.” He laughed as he worked the coconut conditioner through my hair.
Having someone take care of me for once was nice.
I know my mom did her best, but sometimes I needed someone to see my needs and not ask what to do, but to act and help.
It was fucking exhausting always being the person everyone went to.
The one everyone relied on for everything, but I could never tell them no. Even if it did drain me at times.
Spencer’s fingers were gentle with my hair, carefully detangling any stubborn spots, and then working the water through. After it was all rinsed out, he grabbed my loofah and body wash, squeezing a generous amount onto it, and lathered it up before starting to wash my back.
Despite the hot water, goosebumps formed on my skin from his gentle touch.
He moved to my shoulders, down to my legs, before turning me around and moving so slowly around my chest. There was nothing sexual about it, just pure gentleness and the need to care for me as he worked down my body.
Standing back up, he gently walked us under the water to rinse.
“I don’t have any manly scents per se, but you’re welcome to use what I have.” I motioned to the bottles as I moved to the built-in shelf to get my face wash. “I also have this here, too, that you can use.”
“Works for me, thank you.” He set to work cleaning himself as I washed my face and stepped in quickly to rinse it out.
Once I was all clean, I sat on the bench, soaking in the sight of him.
Those damn tree trunk thighs, his strong back, and those beautiful dark brown curls.
He was perfect and beautiful, and I hope he knew that too.
Every part of him had me in a perpetual chokehold, and I never wanted to be free.
I would spend the rest of my life loving him and never growing tired of his presence.
Fuck. I was in love with him. Part of me already knew it, but it still scared the shit out of me. I was totally and completely in love with Spencer James Parker.
“Man, that feels so much better. Showers really fix everything.” He said as he turned around, giving me even more to admire. I swallowed to try to clear the lump that formed in my throat from my sudden realization.
“That’s what I always say! The perfect cure-all if you ask me.
” We stepped out of the shower, and I wrapped myself in one of my giant, fluffy towels, quickly grabbing one for him.
After I dried off, I did my skin care, threw on some lotion, and got changed into a pair of comfy boy shorts and a T-shirt from the top of my mountain of laundry I desperately needed to fold.
Out of all the chores, laundry was my least favorite to do.
It was so tedious that I put it off until it was overflowing.
Then, because I had a mountain of laundry, the house felt cluttered and made me anxious.
Which in turn made me irritable until I finally put it away.
It was a vicious cycle. I turned around, and Spencer was drinking me in from head to toe.
“I don’t know how my old school shirt ended up here, but I’m not complaining one damn bit.
It looks much better on you anyway.” Looking down, I noticed it was, in fact, an old UTK shirt that I must’ve stolen from his place at some point.
The Vols’ gaudy orange wasn’t my usual color, but I liked that it was his.
“Come here, baby girl.” I hopped into bed with him, and he pulled me on top of his lap, brushing my damp hair out of my face.
“I don’t know how I got so lucky to call you mine, Allie.
A day doesn’t go by that I’m not in utter disbelief at it.
You have been the one constant in my life that shows up time and time again, and I will never take that for granted.
Not one bit, Allie Roberts.” His breath hitched on the last words, and he pulled my face down and kissed me so gently that it made my heart break.
In the back of my mind, I could hear the last of the walls crumble down around me.
The need for love and acceptance, the want for stability and a home, powering that kiss.
I kissed him back harder, my fingers tangling in his hair at the base of his neck, hoping and praying that he felt all the love I had to give to him pour into it.
I would do anything in my power to make sure this kind-hearted and loving man knew how special he was to me, and that I would never take for granted that love.
I would replace any negative memory he had of Maplewood and his past with ones he would look back on and cherish.
I leaned back, cupping his face in my hands and staring into those sapphire eyes.
“I love you, Allie Grace Roberts. More than you will ever know. Without you, my existence wouldn’t be the same,” he whispered into the quietness of the room, letting the moment, those three little words, settle around us, everything clicking into place.
“I love you with every ounce and fiber of my being, Spencer James Parker.” My heart hurt with how much I loved this man already.
It was as if every heartache, every mistake we made, every fucking ounce of hurt we had to endure in our lives, bound us together so we’d cross paths.
There was a part of me that knew he was the one.
There was never going to be anyone else again for me.
I would bet all I had on that fact. I knew people would call me crazy, say this was too quick, that I let my walls fall too fast, and left myself unguarded.
Fuck maybe I was crazy, and I should slow down, but this felt like nothing I’ve ever felt before. There was a connection between us that only a few people are lucky enough to ever experience. Down to my very core, I knew that I was made to love Spencer.