Page 61 of It's Complicated

“What are we going to do about that?” I nodded to the mess on our sweaters.

He stepped back and pulled his hoodie away from his body so he could look at it. “I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

He looked around the pantry, then snagged a roll of paper towels from a shelf. “Do you see anything like club soda?”

I scanned the shelves. “Sparkling water?” I asked, spying a bottle tucked behind a row of cereal and pasta boxes.

“That should work. Can you grab it?”

I did, being careful not to knock over the boxes.

“What’s one thing no one would blink at if they saw?” Isaac asked, pulling several sheets of paper towel from the roll. “Can you open that?”

I cracked open the sparkling water. “I have no idea. That’s a pretty broad question.”

He chuckled and held out his hand for the bottle. “Fair point. What I should have said is, what’s one thing no one would blink at if they saw it? Me covered in sparkling water.” He dumped a fair amount on the paper towels and handed the bottle back to me. “Only everyone will assume it’s beer or another drink. It’s not the first time I’ve spilled all over myself at one of these shindigs.”

“Shindig?” I arched my eyebrow at him teasingly.

“Your handjob skills turned my brain to soup. We’re lucky I’m not trying to pour the towels on the water right now.” He shot me a little grin. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“You’re not alone.” I watched as he rubbed the wet towel over the mess on his hoodie.

Luckily he was wearing a dark gray one, so the wetness from the water mixed with our mess, and soon I couldn’t tell the difference; it was all one big wet spot.

“Not bad,” I said, impressed at his quick thinking. “And here my plan was to just take them off and run as quickly as possible until we were back at the car.”

“I thought of that too. But that might raise some questions.” He tossed the used towels onto the floor, right in the cornerof the small room. “Sorry to whoever finds that.” He shrugged when I shot him a look. “What? There’s no trash in here, and I’m not carrying those around until we find one.”

“Did I say anything?”

“No, but your face was judging.”

“Was it judging, or was it thinking about how much fun it was to make this mess in the first place?”

He pinned me with a flat look. “Are you trying to get me all excited again?”

“Maybe.” I leaned back against the door. “But hold that thought until we get home. Next time, we won’t make a mess.”

He groaned and held out another wad of paper towels. “You’re killing me, Jamie. Get these wet for me so we can get you cleaned up. Thank fuck you’re wearing black.”

I did as he asked, then capped the bottle and put it on the shelf next to us.

Isaac could have handed me the towels to clean myself up, but he gently pulled my sweater away from my body and wiped up the mess, being far more gentle with me than he’d been with himself.

“There.” He tossed the towels with the others and put the roll back on the shelf. “That should be good enough to get out of here without anyone noticing.”

I looked down at his handiwork. The water barely showed on the black material, and all traces of our interlude were gone.

“Good enough,” I confirmed.

“Okay.” He rubbed his hands on his jeans. “Do you hear anyone out there?”

I held my breath and leaned my ear against the door. “I don’t think so.”

“Okay, here’s the plan. You slip out first and head into the living room. Keep to the walls and try not to get trapped talking to anyone. I’ll wait a minute or two, then slip out too. If anyoneasks why we’re leaving, I’ll just tell them I spilled all over myself, and we can leave while they’re laughing at me for being a dumbass.”

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