Taken By The Bull

I don’t really want to be going in just a few hours, she thought. If I had the choice, I think… I’d stay until tomorrow.

“That was wonderful,” she sighed as she lay her fork down next to the remains of her food. “I’m just sorry that I couldn’t finish the whole plateful.”

Steve had eaten every bite, of course, and finished before her. “Something on your mind?” he asked, speaking slowly.

“No, not really…” I’m just thinking, how much I’ll miss you. How I wish things were different. How much you… How you make me feel. “Nothing at all.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” Did he really believe her? She doubted it; but he didn’t seem to be judging her for it. Perhaps he had similar thoughts on his mind. Perhaps he was looking forward to having some time alone, and didn’t want to press the matter.

He reached for her plate, stacking it up on top of his. “I’ll just be washing that up, then.”

“No, no. I’ll do it.” Quick as a flash, she took them from him; her fork scooted around the edge of her plate, threatening to tip up and clatter to the tabletop. “My mom always told me, ‘never cook for a man and then let him sit there while you wash up, too.’ And I know, she wouldn’t approve of me being the lazy-ass one.”

He sat back, a half smile on his lips. “You’re not about to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

“Sure you don’t want a hand with that?”

“Cooking might be a fine art, but just about any fool can wash up afterwards.” She took the plates to the sink, and turned on the hot water. She dangled her fingertips in the warming stream as she waited for it to heat up. “Well, I say that. I still remember being a little girl, and trying to help my mom with it. It turns out, that even if you blast the dishes really really hard, it won’t do crap if the water you’re using is cold.”

“Who’d have thought?” Although her back was turned to him, she could imagine his amused smile and raised eyebrows so clearly that she might as well have been able to see him. “Could try leaving them outside in the rain. Which, I might add, is something I remember an old college buddy of mine trying back in the day.”

“And I thought I was bad.” The water had heated itself up, and Staci let a few drops of fresh-scented lemon detergent into the sink, washing over the brilliant white porcelain. “I was, if I recall, six years old. Certainly not old enough to be in college. And even then, I would never have thought-”

She gasped in reflexive shock as she felt his hands steal around her waist, his chest pressing against her shoulders; firm and wide, encompassing her small frame. She’d never heard him get up from the table and approach.

“Did I surprise you?” The words were murmured into her ear, soft against her neck, and she shivered.

“Yeah. A little?”

He chuckled at that; a rumble like thunder that she felt through her skin, like standing too close to a big bass speaker. “I’d be lying, if I said that wasn’t my intention.”

You do like to surprise me, don’t you? Staci thought, as she felt his fingers brush her hair away from her neck; his lips, soft against her skin. That’s okay. I like it, too. “Well, now,” she murmured, “you’re being quite the distraction…”

“I could say the same thing about you.” His hands skated down her body, gliding over the light fabric of his old button-down shirt that she wore; following the dip and curve of her waist, her hips, and thighs. “A pleasant distraction, but one I’m having a hard time putting out of my mind.”

The steam rising up from the hot water in the sink clouded her vision and she felt blood rushing to her cheeks, dampening her skin. “Careful, now…” she leaned back against him, heart beginning to speed up as she felt him press back. “Didn’t the doctor say, you needed to rest up? You might go hurting yourself.”

Finally, it was over; and as her senses returned and brought reason and logic back with them, she opened her eyes and looked up into his face, dampened with sweat. His lips were parted as he breathed heavily, eyes fixed on hers. “Was I too much?” he asked; and as she gazed into that calm, concerned expression, sudden laughter rose in her throat and spilled out.

“Hell, no!” She ran her fingers through his hair, and drew her legs up so that the heels rested on the edge of the table, thighs pressed into his hips as if she didn’t want to ever let him go. She remembered his words from earlier, and a mischievous smile lit her face as she grinned up at him. “Do you really think I’m that fragile?”

            As they got ready to head out to the car, there was sounds of footsteps on the stairs and a haggard-looking Seth wandered down. His eyes were bloodshot, and even the hot shower that had darkened and wet his hair hadn’t quite removed the pallor that marked him.

“Hey,” he said, a little awkward as he stood there in his bathrobe and slippers; more like an old man than a twenty five year old. “Before you go Staci, I wanted to say sorry. For, ah. Whatever happened last night.”