Scarred (11 page)

He almost felt like he was in Hotel Amelia.

“Would you like a shower? I can toss your clothes into the washer if you want.”

Ben didn’t have to think twice about her offer. “I sure would love a shower. I probably smell worse than a three day dead fish in the sun.” She laughed at his analogy. After being on the field half the evening, he probably smelled far from fresh and he didn’t want to leave Amelia with that kind of impression.   

“Why is it every analogy you give has something to do with the sun? I think you smell just fine, but I certainly want you to feel comfortable. Follow me.” There was a small en suite master bath in her room.

She pointed out a few of her most recent additions to the space. The bedroom connected to a closet that spanned the hallway. It appeared that she used the small nursery to make the hallway, which was spanned on both sides with cabinets and long bar shaped racks. There was even a place for shoes at the bottom, each labeled with a picture of the contents held within the carefully stacked boxes.

“First stop on our tour is the master bathroom.” She handed him a towel from the large cabinet. “Here you are. Oh, wait a sec, here is a toothbrush.” She pulled out a large package of the tooth cleaners and he could see that she was well prepared for anything. Maybe even Armageddon, he thought with a laugh that he buried in his chest.

“Thank you.”

“It’s no problem. There are several types of soap in the shower basket beside the tub. I’m just going to wash your clothes, so leave them outside of the door and I’ll just hop into the hall bath.”

After she walked away, he left the small pile of clothing in front of the door and took the offered shower. The water was better quality than the city’s harsh mineral output and he vaguely wondered if she had added softeners to her tank. 

Chapter Nine: Hold Me

Amelia picked up the discarded clothes and took them to the washer. The garments smelled like Ben with a kick of something sensual and she couldn’t help but to bring the fabric to her nose before she tossed the load into the basin.

She quickly grabbed something to wear to bed. Normally, she would wear something beautiful when she dressed for the night. Over the years it had become a habit. Even if no one else saw, she tried to build her flagging esteem with the garments.

But tonight? She was going to wear more discrete night garb. So she tugged out a long sleeve tee and tights. Her bath was the quickest on record. Shoot, she lathered her entire frame so fast that she should have been issued a ticket. She brushed her teeth, but really she was far short of the two minutes that dentists recommended.

But the only thing she couldn’t avoid in her usual routine was her hair. If left to its own devices, the locks would be a mass of tangles that she couldn’t even comb in the morning. She brushed the straight length away from her face and twisted it into her signature bedtime braid. Ben asked for the good, bad, and ugly, and he was about to get it.

With the hair out of her face, and her skin freshly scrubbed, the scars were so much more noticeable than before. But she climbed into the bed anyway, and no sooner than she had pulled the sheet over her arms, Ben walked out of the bathroom.

“You know I forgot to grab my bag.” He shook his head and merely tucked the towel tighter. “I’ll be back.”

“You’re going outside like that?”

“Yeah, I am. It’s one a.m. and this road sees maybe thirteen cars during broad daylight. So I can safely assume that no one will even know. That’s one of the merits to country living.” He chuckled and Amelia sank further into the pillows at her back.

What would the neighbors think? Wait a minute and hold your horses, Amelia, she thought ruefully. The nearest house was a quarter mile away, so, highly doubtful that anyone could see anything this far away.

                She dismissed her random train of thought and grabbed the remote for her satellite dish. Amelia flipped channels, not really sure what she was going to watch. As an author, she had a hard time watching TV late at night. Not only was the boob tube full of stuff that she didn’t want to see, as she could care less to how some movie star lost a thousand pounds, but what played at this hour of night was less than entertaining to boot.

Nor did she care about the newest breakthrough in skin care as she already had a specialized regimen.  

                When Ben walked back, Amelia had found an old episode of some sitcom that she hadn’t watched in forever. He carried the towel in one hand and only wore a pair of shorts that rode low on his hips.  The reveal was extremely mouthwatering and made her even more wary of being naked in his presence. He wasn’t huge, but well-honed and lean. Every muscle of his chest and abdomen were in stark relief, visible for her hungry eyes to devour.

                He was dusted faintly with golden hair all over, and the tiny filaments only added to the masculinity he exuded from every pore. Ben climbed into the bed as if it were his own and grinned.

                “I used to love this show.”                          

                She could do small talk, especially after the heavy conversation that they had earlier. “I just happened on it the other day. This satellite has so many channels that I didn’t even know existed.”

                “Yeah and the bad part is that all of them show the same thing.” True.

                “Exactly.”

                Ben cocked his head to the side and looked at her strangely. Really, she had no idea what his expression meant. “Are you opposed to sharing a bed with me?”

                That was from the left field, Amelia thought and the pun made her feel mirthful. “No… why?”

                “Because you are clinging to the edge, and frankly, it looks uncomfortable as hell.”

Oh. That would make sense.

                 Amelia laughed at herself. Ben was right now that she looked at it. Her body rode atop the seam along the mattress’ border in a straight line and she couldn’t even roll sideways, lest she end up in the floor.

                His gaze softened and she immediately felt guilty. He was a guest and she made him feel less than welcome in her home with standoffish body language. “Are you afraid to get close to me? If so, I can sleep in one of the other rooms. Or take the couch.” 

                “No, sorry. It’s just been awhile since I’ve had to share.”

                “Duly noted. But the whole reason I chose to stay was that I didn’t want either of us to sleep alone tonight.” He scooted across the expanse half way and looked at her as if he was expecting her to meet him the remaining distance.

                She conceded to the pressure of his gaze and slid over in slow inches until finally the two of them were side by side. Ben raised one arm and she leaned forward before she lay back atop the extended extremity. The feel of another person in close proximity to her was disconcerting, nerve-wracking and despite all of that, amazingly soothing.   

                It had been so long since she had touched another person that at first, Amelia was frozen stiff. She couldn’t move, she could scarcely breathe. There was no way. The entire tableau was too intimate, with them in bed and skin to skin at that. They were both dressed, but just the feel of another person touching her was incredible. It was even more than she remembered. The only hands that had touched her for years were either her own, or those of a medical professional.

                And the lack showed. Ben turned towards her warmth. But, he made no other moves towards her. It was just his arms around her, their feet touched and that was magical as if something spread between the two of them like lightening. The tingle of electricity seemed to spark from every place his flesh met hers.

                “Turn onto your side for me.” Ben asked and he gently caressed her cotton covered arm. Amelia turned over, aided by the gentle pressure he exerted at her back. “So what are we watching next?”

                For the remainder of the night, neither of them spoke. There was nothing to say, at least in part because most of it had already been said. The positioning grew more and more natural over the course of the night until her eyes closed and she drifted away. 

                Benjamin watched Amelia, but she stared at the TV. Although he felt like neither of them watched the show, instead the LCD display watched them. She was still and silent until finally the moment came when she must have become accustomed to the feel of the man next to her in bed. Then the shallow breaths lengthened and her muscles relaxed slowly. He appreciated the way she felt in his arms, the slight weight of her skull pillowed by his arm and the thick curves of her hips flush with his.

                His descent into sleep was much farther away than hers, as he watched her in repose. Saw the moments where she was unguarded for himself. There was nothing he wanted more than that, to see the real woman behind the veil she used to protect herself.

                Ben closed his eyes and let himself drift away. He rose before dawn and looked over at his nocturnal companion, bathed in the pinks and oranges that ushered in the day. He had slept that night with the most incredible sense of peace as if all were right in the world. Amelia still rested so blissfully that he didn’t have the heart to wake her with his need for more of her company.

                He stealthily disentangled himself from her, the mass of sheets tangled around them, beneath them. When he was free from the web of fabric and woman, he made his way into the kitchen and looked in the cabinets for something to break their fast.

                He was lucky as a few minutes into his search he was able to locate some in season ripe fruits and some really spotty bananas. Ben knew a decent enough recipe for muffins and he used the sorry bananas to make nutty monkey bread. As the muffins would only take fifteen minutes to bake, he had a chance of actually having breakfast ready before Amelia woke up.

                His timing was exceptional, as no sooner than he pulled the freshly baked muffins from the stove he could hear stirring above him. Ben placed the hot pan in the freezer and began to dish up the fruit salad he had made while the bread baked.

Amelia didn’t come down immediately and he was able to get the food upstairs although she wasn’t in bed. But her scent was everywhere as if she had perfumed the room with her own essence, a sensual brew of woman and wild blooming buttercups. He sat the tray on the freshly made sheets, with a quick decision to see where the woman had gone to. It wasn’t as if she could have gone far, he thought wryly.

                As he walked into the master hallway slash closet, he found steam billowing from beneath the door and he could hear Amelia sing along with her radio. The sounds of the shower were more apparent as he was closer than before.

                But after a few moments, Ben felt like a fool. Here he stood, in front of her bathroom as if he was a pampered pet waiting for its master to acknowledge him. He turned away, lest he feel any more of a voyeur than he already did.  

                No sooner than his back turned to the door, he heard her cry out and Ben did what any Good Samaritan would. He thrust the door open to see if she was alright.

               
Liar, you just want to see her naked.

                But the sight that greeted him certainly said she was okay. The curtain around the tub was sheer, and parted at the perfect angle to see her. Amelia was nude, save the scattered bubbles that revealed little yet in the same vein concealed nothing. Although, she did wear a clear cap atop her head and he assumed it was to protect her hair from the water. Her flesh was glorious in nudity, he didn’t understand how she was able to degenerate herself the way she had before. He could barely see that she was injured before.

                “Ahhhh!” She screamed out at the sound of the door even before she could see the disturbance he presented with the amount of soap in her eyes.

                “It’s just me Amelia.” He watched her rinse her face beneath the spray of the water.

                “What are you doing in here Ben?” She cried out and he smirked, but he was sure that she couldn’t see him. Especially, considering how concerned she was with concealing her modesty.

                She appeared torn, he could see that she wanted to hide her womanly parts from him, and she wanted to hide her scarred skin as well. Her hands couldn’t do both, and her fingers flexed as they scattered over her body in a hyperactive sprawl. All the motions did was expose her even more, highlighted the flesh that the bubbles had effectively concealed before.

                “Don’t hide from me Amelia.”

                “B-bbut…”

                “But nothing.” He laughed, this was perfect. “Let me help you out.”

                “How?” She gasped out at last as he walked towards her.

                “Turn around.” Amelia cringed and finally she must have decided there was no way she could exit the situation gracefully. It was in that moment that she decided to comply with his request and turned her back to him.

                Ben took the loofah that she used on her own skin just a moment before, rinsed it and re-lathered with the body wash she used. He rubbed the scratchy sponge over her, started with her neck then rubbed over her spine. Every inch of her back was given similar care. Once she was gentled to his touch, he finally allowed her to feel his bare hands as he kneaded over the tight muscles at her nape.