He got up and walked over to the dresser.
I watched him yank off his tie, shrug out of his jacket, and remove his cufflinks. Which was all fine—I enjoyed it, actually—except then he began unbuckling his belt.
“Enzo!” I scolded. “Not in here!”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m in here.”
“So go in the bathroom or something.”
“You go in the bathroom!”
He laughed, pulling his belt from the loops and setting it on the dresser. “This is my room too. And I don’t have any hang-ups about my body. If you don’t want to see it, close your eyes or something.”
But I couldn’t. I was mesmerized by the sight of his hands in the mirror, unbuttoning his white dress shirt and then peeling it off. He tossed it aside and whipped his undershirt off, grabbing it from the back and yanking it over his head. I didn’t know where to look first. At his sculpted arms? His strong back? His rippling abs? His bare chest, golden and broad and showing some hair? For some reason, the hair surprised me. I’d figured Enzo was the kind of guy to manscape his whole body. But I liked that he hadn’t shaved it—it was masculine and sexy. I caught my bottom lip between my teeth as I stared at his reflection.
And he caught me staring. His lips curved up on one side, although he said nothing. Just held my gaze as his hands dropped to the button and zipper of his pants.
I sprang off the bed, bolted for the bathroom, and slammed the door behind me. “Fine! Be that way!”
Inside the bathroom, I leaned back against the door and squeezed my eyes shut, breathing hard. I felt hot and sticky beneath my dress, and my stomach would not stop jumping. Were his pants off yet? What about his underwear? Would he put something else on? What was I going to do if I walked out and he was naked? And was he expecting me to take off my dress in front of him?
Opening my eyes, I looked around the bathroom. Towels were folded like swans on the marble vanity. Two fluffy robes hung on wooden hangers from hooks on the back of the door. The tub was huge—definitely big enough for two. In the mirror, two crimson splotches had appeared on my cheeks. My neck was flushed as well. Even my legs looked a little pink.
I fanned my face, willing my skin to cool off and my hormones to settle.
A knock on the bathroom door made me jump.
“Yes?” I called, my voice cracking.
“You can come out now. I’m decent.”
“Define decent.”
“All the scary man parts are covered.”
“I’m not scared of your man parts, Enzo.”
“Oh no? Then why’d you hide out in the bathroom the moment I unzipped my pants?”
“To give you some privacy!” Angry, I swung the door open to find him standing there in heather gray lounge pants, tied very low on his waist with a white drawstring. I was briefly distracted by the tops of the V lines appearing on either side of his abdomen, but I pulled myself together and looked him in the eye. “But if you don’t want privacy, fine. I’ll come out.”
He grinned as I brushed past him, careful not to let our bodies touch. “Want help getting out of that dress?”
“No, thank you,” I said, grabbing a hanger from the closet and wheeling my suitcase into the bathroom. “I’ll just be a minute.”
“Suit yourself.” He shut the door for me.
Alone again, I realized right away I should have taken him up on his offer. There was no way I could reach the zipper on the back of my dress. I tried for several minutes before giving up. Sighing, I opened the door and went out into the room to find him pouring champagne.
“Hey,” I said. “I do need help.”
He set the bottle down and came over to me. “Turn around.”
I presented my back to him, and he slowly pulled the zipper down to my waist. Expecting him to make a joke or put his hands on me, I was surprised when he didn’t. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He went back to pouring champagne, and I returned to the bathroom.
See? He’s not really interested. He didn’t even touch you.
I tried not to feel disappointed about it.
Behind the closed door again, I slipped out of my dress and hung it with the robes. After trading my white lacy panties for more comfortable pink cotton boy shorts, I tugged on my navy plaid flannel pajamas, took out