Page 396 of The Sinner: James

Me: How?

Eve: You told me I needed to do stuff when I had no idea what I was doing. Wing it, for fuck’s sake. It’s better than nothing. Did you tell him before or after having sex?

Me: There was no sex.

Eve: Ahh... Therein lies the problem. Have you forgotten the basics?

Me: Rolling my eyes. Missy. Thanks for the reminder. The man is colder than ice now.

Eve: Do something. Blow on him to warm him up. And by that, I mean literally that. Anything to thaw him. If I remember correctly, he flies back to Asia tomorrow night. Do I need to remind you how skillful the ladies are in that part of the world?

Me: They are skillful everywhere.

I toss a smiling face emoji at the end of my message.

Eve: And yet, the man is in your shower. Grab the opportunity with both hands and do your thing.

Me: You’ve become quite an expert, haven’t you?

Eve: Desperation is a good teacher.

A smirking face emoji trails her words.

Me: Okay. I’ll get busy.

Eve: Bye.

I put the phone down.

The sound of running water drifts to me.

Smoothly, I pull out of the chair and remove my bra and panties before walking into the shower.

The glass walls are foggy, and his silhouette is barely visible.

Slowly, I glide the door open and enter the shower booth.

His back is turned to me, his arms lifted in the air, flexing as he runs his hands through his hair.

He must’ve heard me, yet he doesn’t turn around. I sneak my hand behind his back and turn off the shower.

He glances over his shoulder, his eyebrow lifted.

“I’m sorry,” I say, stepping to the side and pivoting in front of him.

His eyes dive into mine.

He stays silent for a moment, the lack of words killing me.

Finally, he speaks.

“When you have that set of expectations, Rain... And you lodge a complaint like that, what you’re telling me, in fact, is that you forgot who I am and what I do. Or that you didn’t forget, but it’s no longer good enough for you,” he says in a raspy, cold voice.

“I know. I regret the words I said.”

“You can’t have it both ways.”

“I’m aware of that as well.”

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