Chapter 4

Damien's nap gave me the opportunity to whisk away into the bathroom for a much needed shower. It felt good stripping off the clothes that were a reminder of the awful things that transpired in less than 48 hours.

I stepped into a walk in shower that was almost as big as my bedroom. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it could definitely fit 4 people in there with a little bit of squeezing.

I half expected Damien to have one bottle of shampoo that he used on his hair, face, and body. He seemed like one of those guys. Instead I found a neat row of apple scented shampoo, conditioner, and pine scented body wash.

Suddenly I was reminded of when my face was nuzzled against Damien's head for a brief moment in the shuttle. I remembered his scent really vividly: apples and pine. I popped open one of the bottles and took a quick sniff. Real creepy, Val, I thought to myself. What the hell was I doing? I took out my own little toiletries from my bathroom bag and lined them up next to Damien's. This was simple and insignificant, but seeing my stuff next to his gave me butterflies.

~

I wiped away the condensation on the large, bathroom mirror to take a good look at myself. Dark circles had accentuated my big, brown eyes as an unintentional perk of how little sleep I had gotten the night before. My small, wavy bangs, which were matted against my skin only an hour prior finally had some life to it. I brushed my hair, admiring the occasional blonde highlights in my black hair that remained from high school. My cheeks had their usual rosey tint against my tan skin and my lips came to a natural pout. One of my coworkers would always tease me about being able to make any man I met fall madly in love with me. Maybe I could consider myself a little attractive, but they all flee once I open my mouth to speak.

I looked around the bathroom, realizing I had left my clothes on top of my duffel bag. I was so used to having a bathroom connected to my room, I hadn't realized I needed to bring the clothes with me. I opened the bathroom door just a sliver to get a peek at Damien. He was turned away from where I was, the blanket moving in a steady rhythm with his chest. I sighed with relief. He would never let me live it down if he saw me like this.

I wrapped a towel around myself and took a deep breath. My wet toes squeaked against the hardwood floors as I tiptoed to the couch. I pulled up a pair of my comfy, pink shorts under my towel before hearing a faint "Woah". Damien was staring straight at me, eyes wide.

I ducked down as quickly as I could in front of the couch, unable to hide my embarrassment. I was clutching my towel for dear life.

"I d-didn't realize you were awake," I squeaked out, barely audible.

Damien rubbed his eyes. "Wai... I'm awake? I'm not dreaming?"

"Can you please look away for like 5 seconds while I put a shirt on?"

Damien's after nap confusion had transformed into his usual smug demeanor.

"They're just boobs. I've seen boobs before. Lots of them."

"Don't be a dick. Just don't look."

I could hear a drawn out sigh coming from Damien's direction, but I wasn't risking it. I maneuvered as gracefully as I could between the couch and the coffee table to put my shirt on, only smacking into the coffee table three times. I could hear restrained chuckling from Damien, who in turn heard the thwacking and thumping of me trying to get dressed without getting seen.

I jumped up and started collecting laundry around the apartment.

"You don't have to do that right now," Damien said, his eyes following me around the room, "It's your first day. We can just talk. You can get settled in."

"I want to keep busy, so I don't have to think too much, and I don't like talking." I stated matter-of-factly.

"You don't like talking to me?" Damien asked with a fake pout. I deadpanned at him, not dignifying his question with an answer before turning back to what I was doing. "Since you're feeling like working, I do need a favor from you."

I turned to face Damien, full of curiosity. "Favor?"

"Seeing you all nice and clean makes me feel very dirty. I need a bath."

Damien looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. It took a moment for me to realize why he was using that flirtatious tone with me.

Taking care of someone with limited use of arms and legs = helping them bathe = seeing and touching them naked.

I gasped and stepped back, shaking my head.

"Wait, I'm not ready for that yet!"

"You have to be ready. I feel gross and you do owe me."

The smugness in Damien's voice irritated me to no end. I knew that for the next 6 months, I'll be wondering why I agreed to this but still falling to his every whim. I clenched my fists.

"Fine," I said hesitantly. "Just... give me a second."

I stepped into the kitchen area, out of sight, and frantically started searching on the internet. I looked through a step-by-step on how to give a sponge bath then groaned loudly with frustration. I'm in way over my head.

"Hello? Where did you go? What was that sound? Sounded like a dying grizzly bear." Damien yelled from the bed.

Come on, Val. Get. It. Together. I walked over to Damien and sighed.

"Do you have like a bucket or something?"

"Yeah. It's in the closet in the bathroom."

After gathering all my items, I stood with my hands poised over Damien's shirt buttons. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Jesus, Val. If you can't even get my shirt off, how will you wash the lower half?"

I froze. I hadn't even thought of that.

Damien took one look at my face and started laughing hysterically. He took his one free hand and unbuttoned the shirt himself. He grabbed my hand and started rubbing his body with it. My fingertips were going along the ridges of his abs, and in my head, I was freaking out.

"Are you good now? You're a grown woman, Valencia. Stop acting like a 12 year old."

In the short time I knew Damien, this had been the first time he was being stern. It snapped me right back to reality. This is not the first time I've seen a man's bare body and it probably won't be the last, so I absolutely needed to get it together. I had to admit that Damien looked amazing even with sweat sitting against his chest and stomach. I must've looked entranced because one look at my face made Damien burst out laughing again.

"You're a funny one, Val. It'll be nice having you around."

I don't think anyone had ever called me funny before. Gloomy? Sure. Depressing? Most definitely. But I could tell Damien was being genuine, and I couldn't help but smile.

I pulled up a chair and gently rubbed Damien's body with the washcloth. I was still very clumsy and the evidence could be seen on Damien's face every time he winced in pain. He was breathing heavily, his bare chest moving up and down with every breath. For most of it, he looked away, probably to make me feel less awkward. I brushed my finger tips on some of his bandages, observing the injuries I caused. I frowned. It doesn't matter what this guy has put me through, the guilt of injuring an innocent person was all too tangible.

"Hey, it's okay," he said reassuringly. Damien gave me an awkward half smile.

Our eyes locked and I smiled back. Somehow he always knew what I was thinking.