Page 33 of Baking With A Ghost

"Are you okay if I take the rest of your clothes off, Si? Can I?

"You can do whatever you need to, you never have to ask me, John. I trust you."

God, what that does to my heart.

I do my best to yank his damp pants and underwear down and he steps out of them, leaving him standing in front of me completely naked. Even in the state he's in, he's beautiful and just like the Simon in my dreams.

"You have to step over the edge of the tub, hang onto my hand."

When he settles in, he rests his head back. "Running water is neat. I've never had a bath full of hot and clean water to myself before. I could get used to this."

"You want to be a pampered boy and have baths all day? I can get you nice smelling bubbles if you want."

His brown eyes meet mine, drawing the breath from my lungs. "I'm already pampered. I'm here with you. You're going to wash me, aren't you?"

He laughs at my widened eyes. "In complete honesty, John, I do need your help. I'm too weak to wash my hair. This whole transition from spiritual to human plane is hard."

I gather the soap, shampoo, and washcloths and kneel next to his head.

"Do you understand what all this is about? Can you explain it to me?"

I pour some water over his head and start massaging shampoo into his thick hair.

He sighs, with a small moan. "That feels amazing. Nobody has ever washed my hair."

His groans of contentment fill more than just my heart. It's so hard for me to wrap my head around the experiences he's had. I wish I could erase all the bad ones I know he's gone through, but I also know I can create so many good memories going forward.

"I don't know how to explain the process of having a body again. The closest I can think of is reincarnation, you die and come back as a house cat type thing. They don't really explain in great detail." I ease him back and rinse his hair, grinning at how pink his cheeks are from the water. And his skin. Soaping him up, I cover every inch of his body, except the good parts.

He opens his eyes with the pause of soap action. "It's okay, John. I can do it, if you want."

"I don't want us to, uh, be in an uncomfortable state, by accident."

"I don't think you understand how drained I am. Crossing planes feels like I'm a piece of over cooked spaghetti and I need time to lay around to get stiff again." He chuckles. "No pun intended."

I bark a laugh. "How do you know about spaghetti? And you're a cheeky thing aren't you, making jokes right away."

He places the soap and cloth on the side of the tub. "I've watched people and listened. I watched you make it many times. You like pasta, preferably the elbow kind, but same kind of thing. It has to rest to get hard again."

The water swirls down the drain and I carefully help him out of the tub, wrapping him in the fluffiest towel I have. He gazes down at me while I dry off his legs, before returning to towel dry his hair. When he's dry and his eyes start to droop, I wrap my arm around his waist and lead him to the bedroom.

"I'm assuming you're okay with sharing a bed with me?"

"I've done it before. Or have you forgotten?"

I look away, flushing with the memory of that morning.

"No, I didn't forget. I could never forget that." Feeling bold, I add, "I can't wait for you to do it again."

"I will, soon." His lips twitch at his own candidness, and for a short moment I'm lost in his brown eyes and the beauty of someone who, only hours ago, was something I didn't think I could have.

"There's something I've been wanting to do since you first showed yourself to me." I raise my hand to his cheek and step closer. "I want to kiss you for real."

He smiles with a small nod. "I want that, too."

My lips meet his and I both wish I hadn't kissed him and wish I'd done it earlier. He tastes like… honey, sweetness and all good things. Promises of laughter and love and the simmering sexual tension between us, all rest on his lips. He drops his towel and grips my hips as my hands cradle his face. Nipping his lips and dancing my tongue along his, I could do this all night. This is what happiness feels like.

When I finally pull away, his love drunk grin goes straight to my heart. My new life goal is to make sure that look never leaves his face and it's only for me.

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