Wind Therapy - A.J. Downey Page 0,88
said, “I asked if you would flush the toilet.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” I pulled the chain above her head, just out of her reach for her and sent the mess in the bowl swirling, getting it out of her face.
While she sat still on the floor and brushed her teeth, I set about getting her a bath ready which honestly didn’t take much, just get the water going and throw in one of those compressed powder bomb things that fizzed like a motherfucker and left my tub looking like someone slaughtered a unicorn in it.
I didn’t mind. She always cleaned up after herself with them. The glitter kind of got everywhere sometimes, which that could sometimes be a bitch. Still, I guess it really was love when I thought about it. Not minding when they got fuckin’ glitter everywhere? How the hell else could you tell if you really loved a woman?
She groaned, getting to her feet, and went over to the sink; turning on the tap to spit the froth of toothpaste in her mouth down the drain. I stuck my hand out and she reached out and took it after dropping her brush in the glass that held them.
“Too hot?” I asked her, drawing her near. She sat down on the edge of the tub beside me and reached out to check the water’s temperature.
“A little,” she murmured.
“Can I touch you, or would you rather do it yourself?” I asked.
She jerked her head and looked slightly horrified.
“Of course, you can touch me!” she declared.
“Wasn’t sure, babe. It was a different story back at the lake.”
She looked embarrassed.
“That whole thing was out of the ordinary,” she said. “I’m really sorry if I made you feel like—”
“Hey, no, hush that beautiful mouth of yours,” I said. “I get it. Really, I do.”
“Yeah?” she asked meekly.
“Yeah, absolutely. I do,” I said, nodding gravely.
She sighed and said, “Thank you,” her gratitude palpable and in its own way heartbreaking. I mean, for fuck’s sake, any time anybody showed even a little bit of kindness or understanding to the woman, she was so grateful. It really put some shit into perspective on how much a lot of us took for granted.
She let me take the hem of her tee, lifting her arms over her head so I could sweep it up and off her body. I undressed her gently, hands careful, placing a light touch of my lips here and there as occasion and mood called for it.
I lived for each sharp intake of breath as my lips fell against her sun-kissed bronze skin, and even though I was hard, I ignored that part of me for the time being. This wasn’t about me. This was about her and her comfort, about the ritual washing her past away to make way for a brighter future with us, with me… About getting the stain out of her soul left behind by that monster, who by night’s end would be the dust of distant memory if my boys had anything to say about it.
The blood spilled tonight would be on us, and the purifying waters of this bath would keep any more taint off my girl than had already been applied.
There would be plenty more dirt in the future, I was sure. It was part of living this life, but for now, for tonight, I would do my damnedest to keep her clean.
“Aren’t you getting in with me?” she asked when I went to help her over the tall lip of the tub.
I shook my head. “No. Tonight, this is about you.”
I helped lower her into my tub which had been turned into a vat of iridescent white unicorn sparkles, the water swirling in subtle pinks, blues, and purples as the light caught the flecks of whatever in the water to make it glitter.
She lowered herself gingerly into the steaming bath and hugged her knees. I told her to stay put and went for a few things to set the mood for relaxation.
Candles, and a cool glass of white wine from the fridge. I moved around her carefully, quietly, and when I switched out the overhead light, I had to smile at my handiwork – the pure magic of it.
I went to her, brushing her hair, sweeping it up in my hands, twisting it lightly like I’d seen her do a thousand times before I clipped it up off her slender, beautiful shoulders, exposing the sweeping line of her gorgeous back. She sighed and closed her eyes,