Page 82 of Saving Sparrow
“We’retaking a shower. I need to scrub that party off you.” I tugged him toward the bathroom.
“Can I shower with you?” Elliott’s timid whisper stopped us in our tracks.
Miguel and I stared open-mouthed at him. He’d never showered with us before. I’d asked him once, sort of jokingly when we’d first met, but never after that.
Miguel said it was important to let Elliott steer our friendship, so we never pressured him to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with. He’d said just because he and I had no boundaries, it didn’t mean Elliott wasn’t allowed to have some.
“S-sure.” Miguel snapped out of his shock sooner than I did. I followed him into the bathroom but left the door open behind us. No pressure.
Miguel and I had already soaped each other up and rinsed off by the time Elliott stepped into the bathroom. We’d thought he’d changed his mind, which would’ve been fine.
I saw his shadow through the foggy shower glass and went over to clear the condensation away. He wore the shirt I’d tossed to the floor, but nothing else. The hem reached the tops of his slender thighs. It was like he’d gotten to the bathroom door, felt unsure, and grabbed the first thing he could to cover himself up.
I opened the door, then headed back under the showerheads with Miguel. I wanted Elliott to know he was invited, but I didn’t want to scare him away by staring at him.
A few minutes later, my shirt hit the floor, and Elliott stepped in. We’d never seen him completely naked before, but we played it cool, glancing over to smile encouragingly before getting back to pretending his being there wasn’t a big deal.
He was our friend, and to us this was normal. We wanted him to feel like it was normal too.
Did other friends shower together, sleep together, take cuddle naps on the couch in the middle of the afternoon or on the patio bed during rainstorms? Probably not, but maybetheywere the weird ones.
Elliott stood just outside the water’s reach, holding his hands in front of his dick. He shook nervously.
“You don’t have to do this,” Miguel said softly.
“I know.” He hesitated before dropping his hands to his sides. “I want to.” With a deep breath, he moved under the unoccupied showerhead, closing his eyes as the water ran down his face and body. It soaked into his hair, the wet strands darkening.
Miguel lathered the extra bath sponge from the shelf. “Here.”
“Thanks,” Elliott said with a shy smile.
Miguel and I were clean, but we didn’t want to leave Elliott in here, so we washed up again, making small talk.
“Can you wash my hair?” Elliott asked. He was staring at me.
“Uh, yeah, for sure.”
Elliott crossed his arms, then lowered them, then crossed them again as I came up behind him with a handful of shampoo.
“Wanna wash mine while he washes yours?” Miguel asked, and I knew he wanted to give Elliott something to do besides standing there feeling awkward.
“Yeah,” Elliott said with a grateful sigh.
Miguel poured shampoo into Elliott’s palm before setting the bottle down and tilting his head back.
I massaged Elliott’s scalp as he massaged Miguel’s, the awkwardness of the situation fading away. Before I knew it, we’d jumped into a conversation about the game, which eventually led to Miguel’s scandalous dancing at the party.
“You are such an exaggerator.” Elliott chuckled as he finished rinsing his hair himself.
“Thank you, Elliott,” Miguel said as I backed him into the shower wall.
“It’s not an exaggeration. They wanted you. Every single person in that room had their eyes on my ass.” I squeezed his butt then, letting him know exactly which ass I was referring to. “I thought we were going to have to fight our way out of there.” I kissed Miguel’s smiling mouth, and he wrapped his arms around my neck. “Tell the truth, you did it to make me jealous.”
“Everything makes you jealous. You think Ballbuster wants me.”
“Duh, why else would he ask you to stay after school?”
“Uhh, to help the gazette team with a project? Why else would he be asking me to stay, you weirdo?”
