Suddenly, it was cold. I no longer felt falling water.
My eyes snapped open. Water was no longer coming from the shower head. “Fuck,” I muttered.
I hadn’t rinsed my hair out. I sighed as I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. I reached for the tap and turned it on. The water worked there. Great, I thought.
This wouldn’t be the first time I’d had to get creative to rinse my hair out, but still … I sighed biting my lip. Wait.
If my water was working and it was just the shower that wasn’t working, then maybe there were other people who had working showers.
I dried myself off quickly and grabbed the robe that covered me the most, a black silk garment that fell to my feet with long, bat wing sleeves. I slipped into it and tied it tightly before heading for the door. Stepping outside, I was thankful I didn’t see anyone around and turned to the door beside mine.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I stood there, my heart racing as I waited. Is he going to answer? If not, I’d have to go use the sink and I wasn’t sure I could fit my head under there. I sighed. He’s probably not here. I turned.
The door opened. “Wh –”
My heart skipped and I quickly turned around.
Shane stood there in nothing but a towel. My eyes roamed over his muscular chest. Oh fuck. This was not what I needed. I hadn’t needed to see his abs, or the tattoo on his chest. I sucked in a deep breath and forced my eyes up to his face.
His cheeks were bright red. I forced a smile over my lips.
“I’m sorry. My shower stopped working.” I pointed to my still sudsy hair.
“Oh. I … um …” I’d never seen Shane stammer, and I have to admit it was kinda cute. “Mine’s working, I just got out of it. Feel free to use it as long as you need.”
He moved out of the way and I stepped into the room. It was pretty much the same as mine, but nicer. The TV was bigger, there were a few gaming systems, and a stereo set up.
“Thank you,” I said, not daring to look at him again. I headed right for the bathroom, untying my robe before I actually got in there and closed the door. My pulse sped up as I did it.
Why did I do it? Because I wanted the thrill. I wanted to tease him, just a little. Like he had just teased me without even realizing it.
I locked the door to the bathroom and let the robe fall from my body. My heart was still racing as I took a deep breath. I headed for the shower, turned it on, and was thankful to see water pour out. I stepped in quickly and put my hair under the spray. All I cared about right now was rinsing out the shampoo. I worked my fingers through my hair as the suds fell from my scalp and went down the drain.
I wish I’d brought my conditioner.
Oh well, I’d live without it for now, even if my hair did get a little frizzy. At least I wouldn’t have shampoo stuck in it, and at least I wasn’t going to put a kink in my neck by trying to rinse it out in the sink. I stood under the water. All the shampoo was gone, but I wasn’t ready to step out of the shower. What if he’s standing there? I didn’t know what else I expected him to do, but I hated the idea of having to see him again. Because I wasn’t going to be able to get the image of him half naked out of my mind. I’m fucked.
I felt the water pressure flicker for a fraction of a second. My heart skipped a beat but went back to normal when the water didn’t cut out. Thankfully.
But it was enough to motivate me to get out of the shower.
I shut the tap off and stepped out, grabbing one of the towels hanging there. I dried off quickly and slipped back into my robe. I tied it tightly around me as I stopped in front of the door. Okay, this is it. If I could just get it done and over with quickly, I’d be fine. I reached out, my fingers curling around the handle. For a couple of seconds I didn’t open it.
Just do it.
I hated being too scared to do something. I hated something like nervousness getting in the way. I forced myself to pull the door open and I stepped out.
There was no sign of him.
I felt my heart rate lower. I might actually be able to slip out of here without him noticing. I rushed for the door. Just as I was about to reach for it, the door opened.
I stopped dead in my tracks and was faced with a shirtless man. At least this time he had pants on. My heart rate picked up again.
Shane, to his credit, didn’t look anywhere but my eyes. “I fixed your shower.”
My mouth fell open. “I … thank you.”
He shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong; you’re welcome to use my shower whenever you want, but I figured you might like not having to come over here half naked to rinse your hair out.”
I actually managed to laugh. “Well, I appreciate that.”
“I’ll see you at dinner,” he said as he stepped past me, leaving the door open.
I rushed out of his place and back over to mine, praying no one would ever find out about this. It would look so bad if someone saw.
Shane
“Do you want to tell me why the new hire was leaving your place in nothing but a robe?”
I stared at Ken. I had really hoped no one would see any of that. For her sake, at least. “She had something happen to her shower and needed to rinse her hair out.”
Ken eyed me for a couple of seconds, trying to tell if I was lying or not. He finally decided he believed me and nodded. “I’ll go over and check it ou –”
“I already fixed it.”
“Oh.” Ken took a sip of his beer. He watched me carefully. “You don’t normally do plumbing.”
I shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. “I figured it would be the nice thing to do. Plus, it would be creepy if she had to come over to my place every time she wanted a shower. Who knows how long it would take you to get over there.”
“You two could double up. You know, to save water.”
Yeah, to save water. I smirked. “Mhm. I doubt she’ll go for that.”
“Are you stupid?” Ken had a way about him. He didn’t believe in beating around the bush. At least with me. “You don’t see the way she looks at you, do you? Although I wondered why she refused to look at you at dinner. I thought there had been another reason why she was leaving your place in a robe.”
Wait, the way she looks at me? “What do you mean?” I waited a couple of seconds for my friend to tell me. “Wait, no. Never mind. It doesn’t matter. You’re crazy.” I decided I didn’t want to know what he thought he saw.
She didn’t like me, and that was my fault. For once, I actually wish I could change that. Normally I didn’t give a shit what people thought about me.
My brow furrowed as I started to think about what Ken had said. Was it possible he had a point?
I drained my beer and put the bottle down on the table. “I’m going to call it a night.”
Sarah
I laid in bed replying the events of the day. My cheeks burned just thinking about having to go over there and ask for help. It was nice of him to fix my shower so quickly. But what had he meant about not having an issue with me coming over to use his shower whenever I wanted?
Had he meant it to be sexual?
I honestly had no clue. The truth is, the man confused the living hell out of me.
Knock.
I glanced up quickly as something pounded against my door. I forced myself up, making sure my robe was tied. This one was shorter. I’d changed into my lounge robe. Pink, knee length, with lace trim. It was my favorite. I padded over to the door, grabbed the handle, and opened it.
He stood in my doorway.
I had no clue what I was supposed to say. I just stood there, staring at him. “I … uh … Shane.”
“Can I come in?”
“Oh, um. Yes.”
I stepped out of the way and watched as Shane walked into my small living room. He made his way over to the couch but didn’t sit down.
“Is there something I can help you with?” I asked following him.
“Yes. I…” he trailed of
f. I watched his cheeks go pink. He stepped toward me, his hand reaching out.
My heart skipped a beat as he touched my cheek. His eyes locked on mine as he closed what little distance there was between us. My pulse raced.
What the hell was he doing? I didn’t mind, that was the worst part. I wanted to mind. I wanted to tell him he should leave. After all, it wasn’t professional.
“My friend says there is something about the way you look at me,” he whispered. His lips moved toward mine. My heart did a backflip. He’s going to kiss me!
He didn’t. He just stood there, his lips a fraction of an inch away from mine and his hand touching me. He was so close, I could smell the beer on his breath.
“Are you drunk?”
“No.”
Then why was he acting like this? The scary thing was I wasn’t worried. I was excited. I wanted to know if he was going to kiss me, and when he didn’t I couldn’t help being a little confused. What do you want?
“Why are you here?”
“I wanted to … talk.” The way he said it made me pretty sure talking was not something he actually had in mind.
“About what?”
“The way you look at me.”
“How is that?” I couldn’t see my own looks. I didn’t know how he thought I was looking at him.
He opened his mouth just a little, but he didn’t say anything. His hand trailed along my skin and tangled into my hair. I felt my knees get weak and reached out, bracing my hand against his chest.
His lips crashed against mine.
Finally.
My free hand reached into his hair, pulling him close to me as our kiss grew more passionate. My head spun as I tried to make sense of everything that was happening. No.
I pulled away, breaking the kiss, and putting distance between us. “I – you’re practically my boss.” Actually, I had no clue what he was, but I knew he was higher up than me, and I knew that was supposed to be wrong.
Shane reached out and took my hand in his. I pulled it away. No. if he kissed me again, I wasn’t sure I could say no.
“So what?”
“So it’s … I … it’s …” I struggled to find the right words. I struggled to form a sentence, too. I had no clue what I was supposed to say. It was wrong. How could he think otherwise? He had to know it.
Shane stared at me for a fraction of a second then looked away. “I’ll leave.” He turned and headed for the door.
I opened by mouth “Wait –”
It was too late. He’d opened the door as I spoke and he didn’t stop to hear what I was going to say. He left and closed the door behind him.
My knees shook as I stood there, staring at the door. I need to sit down. I stumbled, almost tripping, as I made my way over to the couch and laid down on it. My breathing came in rapid succession. I tried to make sense of what had just happened. He is my boss. I can’t sleep with him. As much as I wanted to. It wouldn’t be ethical, right?
Even if it was okay by standards of the ranch. But what was Shane? He didn’t own the place, but the way he talked told me he had been around almost as long as the guys who did run it. And it sounds like he’s good friends with them. I thought about what he had said: “My friend says there is something about the way you look at me.” Which friend had said that? Who had put the idea into his head? I should fucking hit whoever said it.
~~~~
The next morning sucked. I stepped out into the fresh air and was met by Shane propped up against an old truck. “We’re going into town today to pick up a few things.”
“Okay.” I didn’t dare meet his eyes because I honestly didn’t think I could manage to do it right now. I had no clue how I was going to make it through the whole day stuck with him.
I saw him nod and he pushed himself off the back of the truck, circled around to the driver’s side, and climbed in. I headed for the passenger’s seat and climbed in myself. I sat there as he gunned the engine and pulled out of the parking spot. Couldn’t he have done this on his own? Why did he have to bring me? I mean, it was a horrid idea, right? Both of us being in the car all day. Why hadn’t he thought of that?
I sighed, trying to ignore how displeased I was. I was sure I wasn’t doing a good job at it, though. I didn’t care. If it was an issue for him, he’d just have to suck it up.
I stared out the window as we made our way down the driveway and out onto the dirt road. It actually wasn’t that bad of a road, considering some of the ones I’d been on before. I had to give them credit for that, since they probably kept it in reasonable condition. The scenery was gorgeous out here. A lot of people might think it’s too flat, but to me it was one of the things that made it so pretty. You could see so far. It wasn’t like the city where so many things got in your way of seeing the sun or the stars. Out here, you could see every little detail.
Staring into the fields as we passed them calmed me down a little, but I still wasn’t happy about having to go into town with him.
I spent a good half hour not saying a word, and he didn’t seem to mind. Eventually he put on music, and thankfully he had reasonable taste, otherwise I might have snapped.
“So, we’re just going to ignore last night?”
I was surprised he was the one who brought it up. I had promised myself I wouldn’t.
“I planned on it.” I didn’t look away from the window where I was staring at a small river we were passing.
“That sounds healthy,” he muttered.
I rounded on him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Okay, fine. Talk,” I snapped.
I watched him frown. He didn’t look away from the road, even though out here he easily could have for a second. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m sorry if I did. It was … pushy of me to think I could just come over and kiss you.”
I stared at him, unsure of what I was supposed to say.
Shane
And that was it. We didn’t say anything else.
Everything I said was true. It just wasn’t the whole truth. Yes, I was sorry I went over there if I had made her feel pressured. I hadn’t thought about it. It had been a long time since I actually thought about a girls feelings.
I was used to girls just wanting to fuck. It had been years since I had met a girl who hadn’t told me not to bother giving her a phone number. I didn’t have much experience with this shit. But I was going to make up for it.
I pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and found a spot all the way at the back where no one else would park. I didn’t bother to take the keys from the ignition; after all, no one would take this thing. I was sure of that.
We walked into the store in silence. “If there is anything you need to pick up –”
“I know what it’s like living in the country,” she snapped.
She still hadn’t looked at me, and I was pretty sure she was still mad as fuck. With that, I walked away from her. It would probably be best to put some distance between us right now. I knew she wasn’t going to be happy with what I told her after we left the store.
~~~~
“I’m sorry, what?” she hissed. I could tell she was mad.
“I said, you can’t wear that to lunch.” I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and handed her my credit card. I met her gaze and boy, did she look pissed. Her eyes were almost flaming, and I realized I was fucking lucky I hadn’t been hit yet. “Here, go buy whatever you want. Nothing too formal, though.”
“Yeah, you’re going to need to say that again.”
I sighed. “Stop being so dramatic.” Yup, I figured that one would work. “Just go buy something, okay? We’re on a schedule.”
She slumped down in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “Then we’ll just skip the dress shopping.”
“Dude, just go buy a stupid dress, or I’m going to go buy one and you’re going to have to wear it. You know I’m not going to pick out a good one.”
She looked at me, her brow furrowing. “Why would I have to wea
r it? Why don’t we just grab something to eat on the way home?”
“Because we can’t.” It was the truth. I just wasn’t telling her why we couldn’t. “Look, it’s a free dress. Why turn it down? You could use some new clothes.”
I watched as she stared at me. Her mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” I felt bad when I said it, but I needed to get her in the store so she would buy a fucking dress so we wouldn’t be late.
It worked. She grabbed the credit card out of my hand. “I’m buying shoes, too.”
“Buy whatever you want.”
“Fuck you, Shane. I can’t believe you. You fucking – ” She shook her head as she opened the door and stepped out.
I blew out a deep breath. Okay, maybe I could have found a better excuse, but I hadn’t really been thinking about it. I’d just been trying to get her out of the truck so she would go shopping. And what girl doesn’t like shopping with a credit card that isn’t hers when she’s pissed off?
Gabby
I could not fucking believe him.
That being said, I had his credit card and the shop he had parked in front of was a really cute place. He said something nice, but not too formal. Like that really narrows it down. I sighed sifting through the racks of dresses. Hell, I didn’t even bother going to the sales rack. I didn’t care if the dress was expensive or not. He was paying for it. And shoes.
“Can I help you?” a woman asked.
“I …” I looked up at her for a fraction of a second, then I saw a soft baby pink dress that caught my eye. I stepped toward it and grabbed the dress off its display. It had a heart shaped neckline and pink lace sleeves. It’s gorgeous.
“Could I try this one on, please?” I asked as I turned back to the sales lady.
“Of course.” She motioned for me to follow her to a changing room.
The second the door was shut I stripped quickly and pulled the dress over my body. Wow. I was kinda thankful I’d showered last night. The dress hugged my curves like it was made for me. I didn’t even bother to look down at the price tag. If he’s going to act like a total prick, he’s going to get treated like one. I didn’t care how much money I spent on this. I didn’t even really want or need a new dress; hell, where would I wear something like this? But it didn’t matter. It was about using his money. I wasn’t going to turn down a free dress. And shoes.
The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance Page 41