~ O ~
The water was cold; I
had forgotten how much when I removed my sandals and stepped to my waist. It
was refreshing, though. My feet hurt at first as I stepped on the gravel, but
then I enjoyed the feel as I rubbed my feet over and over the rounded pebbles.
I removed my dress and dove headfirst into the lake. My body sighed with
thanks.
I swam for a moment before
returning to the shore to grab my dress and the soap. Darian sat on the shore,
watching the sky.
“Aren't you coming in?”
I asked. “The water feels wonderful.”
“I didn’t think you’d
do that,” he said, darting me a glance. In the dark, I couldn’t see his face,
but I was sure from his voice that he was blushing.
“What?” I scooped a
handful of soap from the kettle and rubbed it onto my dress. I lowered it into
the water and started scrubbing with a flat stone. “Do you want to get clean,
or not?”
The man was shy, which
made me smile. Men in Aisling were as rough as porcupines. Perhaps that’s why I
was becoming comfortable with Darian. He had never threatened me like I had
imagined he would. I found his embarrassment charming.
“Come into the water,”
I laughed. “I won’t hurt you.” As he inched toward the lake, I tugged at the
cuffs of his clothing. “Take off your pants.”
Darian’s voice came out
in a squeak. “What?”
I pulled on his leg.
“Do you want clean clothes? Give me your pants, I’ll wash them.”
He didn’t argue, but
closed his eyes as he removed his leather shoes—and his pants. Then he tossed
me his shirt; the blue was fading, but it still sparkled where the blood hadn’t
stained. He dove into the lake to hide under the reflection of the stars.
It wasn’t much, but I
did my best to scrub our clothes with the soap I had made. I tossed them onto
the shore and then covered myself with the white cream. The smell was fabulous.
I could feel the smoke pry from my skin as I rubbed everywhere I could reach.
Wanting more, but needing to share, I left the last bits of soap for Darian and
dove back into the lake to rinse myself.
“Your turn,” I told
him, chasing after him in the shallow water. “You’ll smell like a flower
afterward, but it will definitely be an improvement.”
He was still shy,
setting himself waist deep in the water and scrubbing from head to toe. I had
never seen a man bathe before, and watched every moment while wading. Darian
was perfect. His dark muscles covered in soap made me want to swim closer. His
hair covered his eyes until he wet it and pulled it back with his fingers,
allowing it to hang back toward his shoulders.
My stomach twisted and
my breath stopped filling my lungs. I suddenly felt distant and alone. I closed
my eyes and turned toward Morgan.
“I’m dressed now,” he
told me. “You can turn around.” He stood on the shore, the water dripping from
his clothes and his hair sparkled from the stars. He looked taller than a
moment ago—and handsome.
The feeling in my
stomach returned and my boldness left me. I didn’t want Darian to see me—not
like this, unkempt and bedraggled. Something—pride, or something more intimate
that I hesitated to name—left me wishing that he could see me like I had once
looked when I was a faerie. “Please don’t turn around,” I said, dropping low in
the water. “I’ll only be a moment.”
I stumbled on the
rocks, twisting into my dress, franticly trying to cover myself before he
turned to steal a look. But Darian never did. He watched the stars until I touched
his arm.
“That feels nice,” he
said, his voice melting me as his fingers caressed mine.
I smiled back. The
spinning in my stomach and the tingling in my heart reminded me of innocent
days and nights like this so long ago. The feeling was the same. Darian was
becoming something more than a friend.
~ O ~
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