Page 52 of Grumpy

“I’m glad,” he said honestly, “but I stand by what I said earlier. We don’t have to do anything tonight.”

“I know.” She merged back onto the highway. “But I still want to. I just need to get out of my head about it.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m more than happy to perform a cobweb inspection,” Grumpy said, completely serious.

* * *

Kelly felt like there was a spotlight on her as they got into the elevator. Maybe it was her upbringing or her small-town lifestyle, but she didn’t like the idea that others knew, or guessed, that she was about to have sex. She wasn’t a prude, nor did she judge others for their choices. Kelly just preferred privacy for that part of her life.

Then again, other than Tessa, how would anyone know? How was tonight’s hotel check-in any different than the previous night’s? Kelly even took the double queen room again to ensure there wasn’t any speculation. Ugh, she was so over thinking this. She was thirty-eight years old. What did it matter if anyone else knew? What difference would it make? It didn’t; it wouldn’t. And yet she felt like one of those noble couples who used to have an audience on their wedding night to ensure consummation.

It was stupid. She was being stupid.

Grumpy slipped an arm around her waist as the elevator rose to their floor, and the noise in her head, the anxiety swirling around inside her, faded away. Kelly closed her eyes and took a deep breath in.

The elevator doors opened with a ding. Jackson headed out first with the luggage cart. Kelly and Grumpy stepped off the elevator together, but Grumpy paused before they followed Jackson down the hall.

He shifted, lifting his hand to touch her chin. “Whatever happens tonight, whatever we do or don’t do, it is going to be fine. It’s not going to make or break us. If our love is that superficial, it doesn’t deserve to be called ‘love’.”

He was right, of course. Kelly nodded, agreeing with him.

“You know, it’d be really nice if at some point you could be the one of the two of us freaking out and then I get to be the one to console you.”

Grumpy snorted. Bending down, he kissed her gently. “We’ll plan that for next year.”

* * *

Grumpy tried to hide his wince, but of course, Kelly felt or sensed it. They were lying on one of the queen beds on their sides. Some trial and error had gotten them to this position, with their arms wrapped around each other, a pillow from the living room between them, and Kelly’s leg over his knees rather than his hip.

But as wonderful as kissing Kelly was, as complete as it made him feel, he couldn’t ignore the incessant itch on his back that continued to pull him from the moment. Who the fuck needed water boarding as a torture method when there was such a thing as itching powder? Jesus, if he knew nuclear codes, he’d give them up just to make this stop! And the worst part was that he couldn't just scratch the area and get some relief. Because of the grafts and nerve damage, scratching could cause him immense pain that made him miss the itching. Then the cycle would start all over again.

Kelly broke away from his lips, pushing herself back. She removed her leg from over his. “Nope, nope. I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Grumpy’s back seized painfully for a heartbeat as worry filled him. “Can’t, what? What’s wrong?”

“Are you serious?” Though her voice sounded amused, her expression was anything but. “Grumpy, you’re in pain. I know you said that you were sore, but this is different. Something else is going on that you’re not telling me about. And feeling you struggle is doing absolutely nothing for me. I’m drier than the Sahara in a drought down there, and I’d bet all the money in my bank account that you’re not aroused under that pillow either.”

Grumpy’s face heated, though he told himself it was with frustration, not embarrassment. He’d been hoping to power through. The pillow hadn’t been there to hide anything from her, but to hopefully keep the friction of their bodies’ movements from aggravating his chest grafts.

Rolling onto his back, Grumpy closed his eyes. His right arm was still outstretched under Kelly’s head. “It’s my fucking back,” he confessed. “It won’t stop itching.”

Before they’d originally crawled into bed, Kelly had turned the air conditioner to a much cooler temperature than she was normally comfortable with. While Grumpy remained over the covers, Kelly was burrowed under them. She’d made a comment that this made her feel like Bella, but Grumpy had no idea who that was or why their positions on the bed would make her feel like someone else. They also chose to leave the lights on, neither one wanting to miss seeing the other.

Grumpy felt Kelly remove the pillow between them and press closer to him without putting any of her weight on his side. “I have an idea. Do you trust me?”

Grumpy opened his eyes, grateful she was on the right side of his body. Even after six months, the immediate lack of vision on his left still took his mind a second to comprehend. “Always.”

Smiling gently, Kelly craned her neck forward to kiss him. She slipped out from beneath the covers and headed through the open bedroom door to the hotel bathroom. The room was similar to the one they’d stayed in the night before with a living room area, kitchenette, large bathroom, and separate bedroom.

Grumpy’s eye tracked her. He didn’t give a shit if it was cliché of him to think she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. It was true. He’d never felt so strongly for a woman before, not even Tanya or Nadine. Maybe their lack of faith in him had tainted his memories of the women, but he knew down to the marrow of his bones that his feelings for Kelly were different. Deeper, irrevocable.

He saw her leave the bathroom and head into the living room. They hadn’t touched their pile of luggage since entering, both too eager to be with the other to care about it. Grumpy now heard a couple of zippers and then her rummaging around. Not knowing if she intended to return to the bedroom or the bathroom, Grumpy remained where he was. Lying on his back didn’t feel particularly good, but it gave him the position to watch the door and the bathroom entryway.

Kelly headed back into the bathroom. He was too distracted by the knowledge that she was now wearing her bathrobe instead of her street clothes to pick up on what was in her hands right away. He knew that Bear had tossed his shower chair into the back of the SUV, but Grumpy had yet to use it on the trip.

Why would Kelly have it now?

There were some more noises from the bathroom that Grumpy couldn’t identify before Kelly popped back into the bedroom. Her warm brown hair was now loose of its braid. Her mint green robe was thin enough that it hinted at her nudity underneath while thick enough to still keep the mystery alive.