Page 34 of Dirty Diana
“Good. Ended early.”
“Oh.” My heart starts to pound in my chest. “Why?”
“I told her I was exhausted.”
“Of course. Yeah, me too.”
He grips the back of the pink-striped chair, then sweeps his eyes over the room. I’m painfully aware of my wet towel on the bed, my suitcase spilling onto the floor.
“They gave you my room.”
“Sorry?”
“This is my room. I had the suite.”
“Oh.” Is that why he’s here? “I can pack up my stuff. I had no idea.”
He blushes. “No, no. You should stay.”
Someone knocks on the door. I pay the bellman who’s brought up my pizza while Jasper does a slow lap around the room. He notices my sketch of Brynn on the bed and picks it up. “You did this just tonight? It’s beautiful.” It’s the way he looks at it so closely and holds the paper by the edges so delicately that feels especially good.
He looks up at me. “Did you get a tub? I requested a bathtub.”
“I did, yeah.” I look down at my sweats, bare feet, chipped polish. I’ve never so simultaneously wanted someone to stay and leave.
He takes the pizza box from me and sets it on the desk. “Let’s take a bath.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, now.” He smiles. “If you want to?” I can’t think of anything I want more. “Run the water how you like it. I’m fine with whatever.”
In the bathroom, I turn away from him, filling the tub with mostly hot water. Behind me, I hear the pearl buttons of his denim shirt as they hit the tiled floor. I pretend to adjust the bath’s temperature while I watch his reflection in the mirror.
As he undresses, I take in his toned arms, his biceps flexing as he pulls his belt through the loops of his jeans and drops them both to the floor. Steam begins to fill the room. Jasper stretches his ribbed tank over his shoulders exposing his taut stomach. A dark, narrow trail of hair runs from the center of his chest all the way down to his boxers. Longing flows through my entire body as I wait expectantly for him to take them off. I can’t help myself. I turn to face him and his lips turn up in a crooked smile, knowing he’s being watched. As he slips out of his boxers, his uncut penis rises. He’s already aroused.
Jasper lowers himself into the water and tilts his head back. “You coming in?” Then he closes his heavy-lidded eyes, as if knowing I’m less sure about how to undress as casually as he did.
I lift my T-shirt over my head, tiny beads of sweat caught at my breasts, then slip out of my sweats. Completely naked, I step into thehot water. Jasper watches me now, making room for me as I ease myself in. I sit facing him and pull my knees toward my chest. I lean back until I’m submerging my face in the water, taking a long beat beneath the surface. When I come up, neither of us moves. I can feel his gaze on my face, my shoulders, then lingering on my breasts.
“So.” He finally breaks the quiet. “About this text. I didn’t realize you werealsoa poet.” He breaks into a smile and my face flushes red. Without thinking, I splash him in the face and he pretends to cower, laughing.
“Sorry!” He holds up both hands in defense. “Sorry. It was a very nice text. Maybe one of my favorites.”
“Is that why you’re here?” I ask, in mock offense.
“No. I would have knocked on your door regardless. The text just added a little urgency.”
I smile. The air has been cleared. And now it’s just us. Rugged, handsome Jasper naked and wet, inches away from me. It feels like a dream I never want to wake from.
He takes my foot in his hand and massages me with his strong fingers, then works his way up my calf. My whole body quivers. “And so you’ve come here to answer it?” I ask.
Jasper sits up and slips his arms around my waist. “I’ll be honest. I was hoping we could fuckeach othersenseless.”
Every morning since meeting him, I have lain in bed after waking up and tried to imagine what it would be like to be Jasper’s lover. What would he say? How would he take my clothes off? Would he talk during sex? What would he sound like? What would he feel like inside me?
Now he’s here in front of me, close enough that I can I feel the heat from his body. He pulls me close for a kiss. His tongue is so hungry for mine and I’m just as eager, wrapping my legs around his torso so I can get closer.
“I missed you all day,” he tells me. “Even when you were right next to me in the truck.”
