Page 93 of Sex Coach

Thirty-One

Jake

M ichelle leaned against me,snuggled up to my chest, her breath soft against my skin .

I couldn't feel the racing of her heart anymore, but it had pounded in rhythm with mine for the past several minutes. We both needed a shower, and every time I shifted my weight, glass crunched under my feet .

I had to clean that mess up so she didn't cut her feet again .

We also had to talk more. I was under no illusion that this was just...done .

I'd fucked up big time, and I needed to make sure she understood how sorry I was. Trust...hell, I wasn't sure if I even knew how to trust people any more .

I hadn't trusted anybody in years. Not the few casual friends I had, definitely not my clients, even the ones I was friendly with. Not even my family .

Not that there was much of that left .

Thinking of them hurt, and I closed my eyes, turning my face into Michelle's neck as memories came flying at me. But I didn't push them back behind a wall as I normally did .

Trust.

She'd trusted me .

Maybe it was time I did the same .

* * *

"Y ou know,when I first moved to New York, I didn't have much in the way of money," I told Michelle as I adjusted one of the water jets of her shower so the spray reached me. I used my body to block it so it wouldn't hit her and hooked my arms over her shoulders .

She tipped her head back, watching me with somber eyes .

"But if I had, I would have gotten a place just like this, all because of the shower ."

A ghost of a smile lit her eyes. "You got eyes on my shower, Jake?" she asked .

"Absolutely." The need to keep things light for the next few minutes was paramount, as my mind ticked away all the little things I needed to do, how I should tell her, what I should tell her – all of it – but where to start ?

She'd let me wrap a blanket around her shoulders earlier while I cleaned up the glass, then I'd gotten her little robotic vacuum out and set it to clean the floor, hoping it would get anything I missed. I'd seen the little gadget on one of my previous visits and decided to give it a whirl. She told me not to worry about it, but she already had one bloody gash on her foot. I didn't want another .

Michelle was already walking gingerly, but she hadn't let me look at her foot again when I asked. I didn't know if it was because it was hurting still, or if there were other reasons .

I was determined to talk her into letting me clean it out. I knew there was a first aid kit in the closet. I'd seen it when I got towels, and I had every intention of taking at least one look to make sure it wasn't still bleeding .

"The shower was one of the selling points, I'll admit. The entire bathroom, really. I love the tub." She glanced off to the side where a sunken tub sat tucked into one corner. "To be honest, I like it more than the shower, although I don't use it as much as I'd like ."

"I could have run you a bath," I said. Seeing her in bubbles and nothing else wouldn't have been a hardship .

"I'm fine ."

The tension between us was going to kill me .

She was feeling it too, and when I went to wash her hair, she nudged my hands away, taking over the task. Feeling out of place with a woman wasn't my normal, but then again, I didn't typically fuck up with women like I had with Michelle .

I didn't do a lot of things like I had with Michelle .

She slid out of the stall before I did, moving gingerly on her foot, and I twisted off the controls for the water without washing my hair. I had other things on my mind besides hygiene, and she was currently lowering herself to sit on the toilet so she could check out her foot .

While she did that, I slung a towel around my hips and got out the first aid kit. She paled at the sight of it .

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