Page 36 of All of Him
“I think so,” he answered, turning his head to actually look at me. “Thank you, Amanda.” As he spoke, his breath hit my face, and my heart started fluttering.
Looking down, I realized my hand was on his knee. I’d set it there without thinking after putting the sponge down. I felt the denim against my palm and instinctively rubbed my thumb against the grain.
Noah swallowed hard and cleared his throat. “Can I get down now?”
“Right,” I said, shaking myself out of the moment and backing up. “You’re welcome. How are those stings, by the way?”Good diversion.
Noah groaned and hopped off the counter.
“Itchy as hell. And I can’t reach the ones on my back.” He peeled off his shirt, much more confidently than the last time, and turned his back to the mirror. There was a decent-sized welt for each sting.
“Noah,” I groaned, drawing out theHsound. “You’re such a guy. Let me put some cortisone on them.”
I reached out to open the cabinet, but he slammed it shut quickly. Still, I had seen the multiple orange-and-white bottles on the shelf.
20
Noah
“DON’T JUST OPEN PEOPLE’Smedicine cabinets!” I scolded. “That’s worse than looking in their underwear drawer!” My heart started racing, though I knew she couldn’t have read the labels in the time it took me to react. If I hadn’t just taken my Xanax though, I wasn’t sure I’d have been able to shake the incident off.
She held her hands up defensively and backed away.
“Sorry!” she said quickly, her face turning red. Her interest was definitely piqued; I could tell by the fact that her eyes kept darting back toward the mirror. “Just get me the cortisone, and I’ll put some on your back.”
Carefully, I opened the cabinet just a sliver and grabbed the tube.
“Here’s a Q-tip too,” I said, handing her the products.
She took them and went right to work on my back. I watched her in the mirror, wondering if she knew how much her compliments had meant to me. I shrugged them off, but I hadn’t heard anyone say anything nice about my features in over a year. And she’d gone and done so rapid-fire.
“The compliments mean a lot,” I sighed.
Amanda’s eyes met mine in the mirror again but just for a second.
“The scars have done some damage to the ego.” I pretended to play off what I was saying as half-serious, but I felt the words deeply. My face looked so much better with her makeup job, and I felt more confident about my appearance.
“You’re welcome,” she said softly. “All done.”
Amanda tossed the Q-tip in the trash and backed up, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. The air was heavy with awkwardness, and I had a feeling it had to do with my words instead of hers for once. Or the way she’d touched my knee moments earlier.
“I could use another awkward story from your list,” I suggested, turning to face her.
Her smile creeped up on one side, and she looked at me under full lashes.Fuck, she’s beautiful.
“And I’ve got one.”
I threw my shirt back on and followed her as she turned to leave and head down the stairs.
She walked slowly over to my liquor cabinet and pointed.
“It’ll cost ya though.”
I chuckled and opened it for her, gesturing to pick something out.
“I’m not drinking alone.”
“I can’t drink right now,” I said, thinking of the Xanax that I’d taken. “I mean, I don’twantto right now. It’s not you; it’s just…never mind. None for me.”
