13. Mags
13
MAGS
It’s the second day of the rodeo so we’re both up early, me fixing breakfast while Red grabs a quick shower.
Yesterday was spent watching the qualifying events and catching up with all of Red’s old friends from the circuit. We were both so tired by the end of the day, we barely had the energy to grab a quick dinner at the bar in town before coming straight back to the cabin to sleep.
I’m busy plating up some scrambled eggs and bacon onto our plates when I hear what sounds like a quack outside. Curiosity piqued, I look out the window to try and find the duck in question, knowing it can’t be that damn Duck Norris from back home but having been around the menace for far too long, I’m suspicious all the same.
Hearing the bathroom door creak open, I turn around with a smile only to freeze in place when I’m met by the sight of Red Grayson standing in front of me in just a towel held tight around his waist.
“Forgot my damn clothes, didn’t I,” he jokes, but I don’t move. I can’t.
When I don’t answer, he looks up, our eyes locking. Then, as if I can’t help it, my gaze drops lower, moving over his bare chest and the water droplets clinging to the hair covering his pecs, trailing down toward his… shit .
I shriek as the breakfast plates slip out of my hands, the food flying everywhere as the dishes crash to the floor and shatter, snapping me out of my daze.
Red rushes toward me, forgetting about his towel and accidentally giving me a mighty big show I didn’t expect, nor did I need to see given the current state of my body and mind.
Even though I know I should close my eyes or turn around to give him privacy, my brain doesn’t get the message. Probably because after checking him out, he’s now standing in front of me. Every naked inch of him.
My pulse roars in my ears and my body starts tingling from head to toe. As much as I know what I should do, I just can't do anything but stand there and stare.
“Shit, darlin’. You OK?” he asks, standing in front of me, his attention solely on me and not the fact he’s standing there as naked as the day he was born.
My cheeks burn but the concern that’s written all over his face seems to break through my shock. Thankfully . “I-I’m fine,” I stammer out. Clearing my throat, I quickly avert my eyes down to the mess at our feet before realizing my mistake, squeaking as I try to find somewhere… anywhere else to look. “Um–you might want to–you know, grab your towel. You’re still–um…”
“What?” His eyes jerk down to his chest. “Shit. Sorry,” he rushes out, a slight blush on his face before he covers himself where it counts with both hands before backtracking to where the dropped towel is. He secures it again before returning to my side. Doesn’t help that I can still see him in my mind though…
Red’s hand reaches out to touch my arm lightly, sending an electric jolt through me that I can’t ignore. “Let’s see to your foot and then I’ll get this cleaned up,” he suggests, his voice low and husky as he leads me to a kitchen stool.
“My foot?” I ask before looking to the ground and seeing a small cut on my big toe. “Oh.”
His hands go to my hips and in the blink of an eye, I’m sitting on the kitchen counter, and he’s leaning in close to check my wound. “I think it’s OK,” I say. “Nothin’ a Band-Aid won’t fix.”
“Good. Good.” Red lifts his gaze to mine as if to make sure I’m OK.
“Red, I promise. I’m fine.”
He nods before he sets out to tidy up the mess, cleaning the broken dishes and spoiled food.
I sit there watching him do it, unable to unsee the parts of my best friend that I’d never seen before. I’m no prude, far from it, but surely he’s not supposed to look that good. Or maybe it’s that I’m not supposed to know he looks that good naked. Or think about it.
All I can say is that for a man nearing fifty, he looks closer to forty with that body.
"Do you work out?" I ask, my brain and mouth still malfunctioning.
He chuckles and glances up with a twinkle in his eye. “Just the product of a lot of manual labor, darlin’. Life on the ranch keeps me in shape, I reckon.”
I nod, trying to focus on anything other than the image of him standing there so close to me with nothing but a towel on. "Well, it shows. Just so you know." I wave my hand in the air, gesturing to his body.
“Thanks. Glad you approve,” he says, sounding amused.
Having finished with the mess on the floor, he moves in the direction of the bathroom just as I decide to slide off the counter. “Don’t even think about movin’, Mags,” he calls out like he’s got eyes in the back of his head.
Of course I do what I’m told and stay put, watching him walk back into the kitchen with a first aid kit before he sees to my foot. His touch is gentle and sends shivers down my spine. All of a sudden my skin feels too tight, too hot. All of it is simply too much.
“I appreciate you takin’ care of me,” I mumble, feeling flustered under his watchful gaze.
When his eyes meet mine, there’s a warmth there that gets my heart pumping. “Always, Mags. You’re like family to me.”
Family. The word hangs in the air between us. Why am I feeling anything but right now? I’ve just seen my best friend naked , and my body, my brain, my heart can’t seem to forget.
I quickly stand up, needing some distance between us. “I’ll make some more breakfast for us while you get ready.”
“Are you OK?” he asks, sounding strange.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just a scratch, that’s all.” I wave my hand over my shoulder, not trusting myself to look at him again. Not right now, anyway. “Maybe I need some more cowboy brew.”
“Let me get dressed and I’ll get right on makin’ you some.” His lips turn up and not for the first time in my life, I realize just how handsome he is. Except in this instance, I am seeing him differently. A confusing new light that is messing with my brain.
“You do that,” I say, plastering a smile on my face. His eyes scan over me before he lifts his chin and disappears back into the bathroom to get dressed, leaving me alone in the kitchen with my chaotic thoughts.
The image of him standing there, so effortlessly attractive and completely unaware of the effect he had on me, refuses to leave my mind.
This is Red ! I’ve never looked at him as anything other than my best friend. My rock. The man who’s at my side and who has had my back for years now. Why am I suddenly feeling like a hormonal teenager with a crush? Get it together, Mags .
I busy myself by making breakfast again and thankfully, by the time Red comes back into the kitchen, I’m feeling semi-normal again.
We don’t speak while he gets to work on making the cowboy brew before we both sit at the small kitchen table to eat.
As hard as I try to act casual and unaffected, every time our eyes meet, something strange seems to flicker between us. It’s so weird and almost awkward and I hate it.
“Sorry for flashin’ you. Didn’t really think about it. Just saw you were hurt and acted. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable,” he says, breaking the silence between us. “That’s why you’re actin’ strange, right?”
He sounds so earnest my heart melts and the wariness in his eyes does me in.
I’m being ridiculous. Just because I can’t stop thinking about his naked body and all that skin and muscles and—yeah—doesn’t mean he’s offended by it. Or if he is, he’s not acting like he's bothered. He's more worried about me than the fact that he was naked in front of me.
I need to forget about all my confused feelings about the man and move on.
“Hey, it’s fine. What’s a bit of innocent flashin’ between friends.”
His brows jump wide before he bursts out laughing, shaking his head with it. “Well, now. Not sure what to say to that.”
“How ‘bout we say nothin’ and get ready to hit the road?” I suggest with a shrug.
“Only if you’re sure.”
“I’m good, Red. And so are you , by the looks of things,” I tease, noting how his shoulders finally relax down from around his ears where they were.
He chuckles, a deep, melodious sound that warms my heart. Suddenly, all's right in the world again. His world anyway, mine has been rocked on its foundations. But that’s a problem for future Mags. Right now, there’s a rodeo to get ready for.
“Alright then, darlin’. We’ll leave it at that. I’ll finish cleanin’ up while you get ready, yeah?”
“Sounds good to me,” I say, walking into the bedroom and grabbing my clothes before going to have a shower.
Just as I’m about to close the bathroom door, he calls out my name.
I turn back and watch as he looks me up and down, taking his time while doing it before stopping at my face. "I was just thinkin’. Fair's fair, Mags. Since you’ve now seen mine, I guess that means one day I’ll have to see yours. You know, just so we're even." My mouth drops open and I forget to breathe, my face going as hot as the diner oven. All he does is wink as a slow-growing grin takes over his handsome face.
So I do the only thing I can do, I rush into the bathroom, not missing his laughter as I close the door behind me.
Leaning my back against it, I try to work out what the hell just happened. Because either my brain is misfiring and I'm hearing things, or Red Grayson was just flirting with me.
First, I almost kissed him, then I saw him naked, and now he’s flirting ?
I’m starting to wonder if there’s a reason why I’m seeing my best friend in a whole new light. Or more confusingly, if he’s feeling the same way as I am…