Page 90 of Skin Deep

“What did you do?”

I stared at her for a second. It was like that was a perfectly acceptable response to someone shooting me—she had to know what I did first.

A knock came at the door. We both turned to look.

“Here—” My sister held out some deodorant. “I think this is yours.”

I went to take it, but she pulled it back.

“You wear baby-power-scented deodorant? Since when?”

“Declan must have mixed them up,” I said.

“You send him to the store for a can of peas, and he brings back cough drops,” Keely said, smiling a little. She pushed the deodorant toward Georgina again. “We’re lucky we got these.”

Georgina dug in a bag for a second and pulled out one with a different scent. They exchanged, and she said “Grazie” as she held up hers.

Keely stood there for a second. “You were folding his clothes?”

Georgina looked at the bed for a second, like she didn’t comprehend. Then she did. She was folding the clothes I got from the store, about to take them into the bathroom. “Yes,” she said. “Shower.”

Keely tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded. But this was more than just my sister wanting to swap products and make small talk. This was her trying to make a start. I could tell she was still hardened toward Georgina, but something had softened her up some.

“Can I talk to you a second?” Keely asked me.

I nodded, about to leave the room, but Georgina took our things and headed into the bathroom instead, shutting the door behind her.

“She took care of you after the shooting,” my sister said.

“Yeah,” I said, thinking about how she ran her hands over me, then rushed inside to get me warm clothes.

“She makes you smile, too. You’re not such a grumpy Indiana Jones anymore.”

“Didn’t realize I was,” I said.

“Oh, you were. Still are sometimes.” She grinned and punched me on the arm. “I’ll try to be nice.”

I grinned and shut the door as she walked away. Georgina had the entire bathroom filled with steam, and we took a shower until the water ran cold. The clean clothes were a waste. I took her to bed naked and licked her dry until I was buried deep inside of her, and she couldn’t remember her name.

She fell asleep with her head on my shoulder and her hand over my chest. About an hour later, after doing what had to be done, I closed my eyes and fell asleep, too.

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