Anything but Minor - Kate Stewart Page 0,31
“I spotted your movie collection. VHS, who has that anymore? And they’re all as old as you are.”
“Movies are everything,” I said as I began to slip away again due to his amazing touch.
“They are, huh?”
“Absolutely. One movie, one song can change everything.”
“Really?” he said as he began to work on my calves. My skin felt sticky, and I knew I looked a mess, but my body gave into his touch, and it didn’t matter.
“Haven’t you ever seen Purple Rain?” My voice was a near moan at that point. “His career was in the toilet, and he was on the rocks with Apollonia. He even pimp slapped her through that whole movie. He plays one song and poof, everything is instantly better.”
Rafe chuckled as he began to work his magic on my feet.
“All women deserve one movie moment in their life. I truly believe that,” I murmured.
“Are you willing to be pimp slapped to get yours?” My eyes opened wide. He was so close. Hazel fire stared down at me as I inhaled his features. His hair was a mess, his t-shirt still a bit damp from his jump, and I could see every defined muscle in his chest.
“You should take your clothes off.”
Rafe’s brow lifted again as he gripped the Icy Hot roller and began to circle my arms with it.
“I mean, I have a washer and dryer if you want to toss them in.”
“Relax, Alice,” he whispered as he placed the Ziploc bags directly onto my skin. “Rotate these fifteen minutes on and off. If it gets to be too much, use the rags to buffer the sting.”
I looked out my window to see it was still light outside. “You can stay...with me, you know, if you...want to.”
“I have a game in a few hours.”
“Oh crud, I forgot!” I said as I tried to lift up and he stilled me. “I’ll let Dutch know.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“I’ll call Lucky’s and make sure they don’t tow your car.”
“Thank you, Rafe, really...so much.”
He pulled a blanket over me before he stood. “I’ll be back to check on you.”
I started to drift off as exhaustion took over. “Go get ’em, Bullet.”
I felt his knuckles drift over my cheek and opened my eyes with a sleepy smile.
“Did you win?”
Rafe nodded and licked his lips as I melted into the bed. I smelled his clean skin and realized I’d been asleep for hours. He was freshly showered and dressed, and I had the sudden urge to pull him to me until I felt the burn...everywhere.
“Oh God. Oh...GOD!” I shrieked as I felt the unrelenting throb in my body take over.
“I brought you this,” he whispered as he held out a small yellow pill in his hand. “It’s a muscle relaxer. It should help a lot.” Without another word, I greedily took the pill and swallowed it, along with three more Advil that looked like tiny dots of debris in his large hand.
“You need to shower in hot water. Think you can handle that?”
“I’m on fire,” I said as I tried to sit up. There wasn’t a spot on me that didn’t burn. Sore wasn’t the word for the way I felt.
Rafe helped me stand, and again I found myself looking up at him. His features screamed masculine. His eyes roamed over my chest and then lingered on my neck before they met mine. “I’ve got it now.”
“Okay,” he relented. “I brought some food. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Rafe, thank you,” I called after him as a single tear slid down my cheek. Never in my life had I felt so cared for.
Rafe stood in my doorway, and I could tell my emotion made him slightly uncomfortable. He took a step toward me and faltered as I made my excuse.
“It just hurts,” I said as I made my way toward the bathroom without looking back. I stood in a hot shower, trying not to scream out. When it ran cold, I slipped out, unwilling to move too much, and let myself air dry. Minutes later, I wrestled with my boy shorts and a long t-shirt, which seemed like an act of God to get on. I met Rafe in the kitchen, and he looked me over with approval.
“Nice shirt.”
It was a vintage Star Wars tee and was my absolute favorite.
“Thanks,” I said. “I wanted to be Princes Leia when I was little and then decided on Molly Ringwald.”
His lips pursed in a smirk.
“I wanted to be Rocky and The Karate Kid, too.” His smirk turned