Page 52 of Show Me How to Heal
“Thank you!”
I didn’t have time to brace myself. Zayne crashed right into me, hugging me tight — and keeping me from falling over at the same time — and kissing me soundly.
Well, that I could get behind. I smiled against his lips, letting our kiss linger, not in any hurry to end it. Zayne tasted good. Like coffee, cinnamon, and other spices that had a Christmas-y feel to me. I sighed against his lips. My tongue darted out, licking at the seam of his lips, and Zayne gasped, opening up for me.
Yeah, definitely coffee and Christmas spices.
I could always lose myself in Zayne, but this time, he almost tasted like a promise. A promise of what was to come. Fall, winter, Christmas. A future.
A future that might never happen.
The thought was like a cold shower, a complete shock to my system, cooling me down immediately. Hell, it even had my cock shriveling.
Zayne ended the kiss, pulling back a little and peaking through his dark lashes up to me.
“Thank you,” he repeated, a beautiful smile on his lips that almost managed to warm me back up again.
“You’re welcome,” I answered automatically. “Wait, for what?” I added when I realized I had no idea what Zayne was talking about.
“The shoes!” He gestured towards his feet and, sure enough, there were the mustard-colored boots I’d ordered for him. They meshed well with his clothes. One of his signature loose linen shirts, this time combined with dark brown pants — not linen — and a dark red scarf. Small hair strands framed his face, while the rest of his hair was tucked into an intricate looking bun that appeared to be held up by silver hair sticks.
My heart skipped a beat as I took him in, a fluttering sensation starting in my stomach.
He was beautiful. Attractive. Sexy.
God… how had I gone thirty years of my life without realizing what my type was?
I wasn’t after gym bunnies. I didn’t like huge, bulging muscles. I didn’t like that overly hard physique at all, no matter if the guy was a mountain or a tighter runner’s build.
I liked a mix of hardness and softness. Pronounced jaw but combined with a certain softness into an alluring package that was the man standing in front of me, his eyes shining with gratitude.
“You like them?” I asked, though the answer was obvious.
“No,” he said, my heart immediately sinking. “I love them. That’s such a thoughtful gift.” He laughed, such a free and happy sound that it managed to disperse all of the coldness inside of me. “Not gonna lie, walking in them outside is… weird. Not bad weird just… new weird? It’s like my brain’s telling me I’m wearing shoes, but the shoes don’t feel like my usual shoes. They’re so much lighter, and I can feel everything. Like each tiny twig, each stone, everything. And obviously I know that’s the purpose of minimal shoes, but my brain’s still kinda twisted up a little. But I love them,” he added, the big smile on his face telling me it was the truth. “I absolutely adore them. But…”
“But?” His but sounded serious.
“I looked those shoes up this morning. I wanted to know more about how to properly take care of them.”
“So?” I couldn’t follow. He looked elated, happy, yet there was a hint of guilt in his voice that I didn’t like at all.
“I saw the prices.”
Oh.Ohh.Upps.
Zayne cleared his throat. “And while these shoes are the most thoughtful gift I’ve gotten in… maybe all of my life, you really shouldn’t have spent that kind of money on me. I know money must be tight with your injury and unemployment and such a big move and everything… you haven’t even received your first paycheck yet. So, yeah. I love them, but I feel guilty you spent that much money on shoes.”
Warmth exploded in my chest, racing through my body. Every single nerve ending started tingling because of his words.
He didn’t want me to spend money on him.
Granted, he didn’t know I had an obscene amount of money at my disposal, but… everyone had always wanted me to spend money, except for my family. Old friends fromGymnasium? Yeah, when we’d met afterward and they’d been in Uni, they’d expected me, the pro-athlete, to cover the tab when we went to a bar. They’d expected expensive birthday presents while forgetting about my birthday in the first place.
So hearing Zayne chastise me for spending too much was a welcome change of things.
And my opportunity to come clean about some things.
“Uhm… Zayne,” I started, biting my lip. My pulse sped up, nerves making my stomach flutter in an unpleasant way. “I know I probably gave you the impression I was dirt poor and hurting for money, but… I’m not. I made quite a lot of money in my previous career, and my parents taught me how to handle and invest it, so even though I’ve been unemployed, I don’t have any financial problems.”
