He grabs my shampoo from the shelf and pops the top. He squeezes out more than necessary, but I don’t say anything. I watch as he lathers it between his hands before bringing it to my scalp. I relax into his touch, enjoying every second of him taking care of me. He does a very thorough job with washing my hair before moving on to the conditioner. While the conditioner is setting, he holds up a loofa for me, and my body wash. He squirts some onto the loofa and allows me to wash my body while he washes his own hair. By the time I’m done rinsing my body from the soap and the conditioner from my hair, he’s completely done with his, as well.
“One more thing to impress you with.” He smirks as he opens the shower door and grabs a towel. He wraps it around my body, and I can feel the heat in it as if it had just come out of the dryer. “I have heated towel bars,” he says, answering my unasked question.
“Aren’t you Mr. Fancy pants.” I smirk as I step out of the shower. I snag a second towel, wrapping my hair up in it. I head into his room and remember then that my suitcase is still out in the living room.
“Just have a seat and I’ll grab your bag for you,” he says, realizing what’s going on.
“Thanks,” I call out after his retreating back. A minute later, he’s returning with both of my bags. He takes the suitcase into the walk-in closet and sets it on a stand like they have in hotels.
I follow him, opening it as soon as he steps aside and gives me access to it. I dig around, finding some clean panties and something to pull on before I go to sleep. I also pull out my toiletry bag, taking it into the bathroom. I take my hair down, running a brush through it and then braiding it quickly so that I don’t wake up with a rat’s nest from falling asleep with wet hair. I quickly finish the rest of my nightly routine before joining Nathan back in the bedroom.
“All good?” he asks as he pulls down the comforter and sheets.
“Yes, thank you. I’m just exhausted and ready to call it a night,” I tell him.
“Then climb into bed, I’ve already shut everything off and locked up for the night,” he tells me.
I don’t need to be told twice, so I head for what looks to be my side of the bed. I notice he’s already plugged in my phone and iPad for me. “Thank you for getting everything plugged in,” I say as I slide between the sheets. They’re cold to the touch, but it feels good against my heated skin.
Nathan is already in bed, so I shift around until I can snuggle up next to him. He rolls so that he can spoon against me, and I tuck myself right into the space he’s created for me. I love the feeling of his warm body pressed against mine. I feel so safe in his arms.
“Night,” I somehow remember to say before sleep quickly claims me. The exhaustion has finally reached my max level.
* * *
I wake in a dark room,and an empty bed. I feel around to make sure that Nathan hasn’t just rolled to the other side of the bed during the night, but all I find is cold sheets. I yawn and stretch, then reach for my phone on the end table. I blink a couple of times, clearing my eyes and wondering if I’ve read the clock on my phone wrong. It says 11:25 am. That would be like sleeping until 2:25 back home, and there’s no way that it is already that late. I’ve never slept that late in my life.
I put my phone down, heading first for the bathroom, as my bladder is screaming at me. I then pad out to the living room, the brightness from walls full of windows hits my tired eyes and has me squinting.
“Good morning. I was starting to worry about you.” Nathan’s voice startles me, as I didn’t realize he was sitting at a desk set in the corner.
“Morning, is it really almost eleven thirty?” I ask.
“Yes,” he confirms.
“Holy shit,” I state in shock. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” I ask.
“Because you obviously needed the sleep,” he states.
“That I did,” I tell him as I yawn. My stomach growls at that moment, drawing attention to how hungry I also happen to be.
“Would you like some breakfast, or brunch, maybe?” Nathan asks, chuckling.
“Yes, and the sooner the better,” I tell him. I can feel myself getting a little shaky, as my blood sugar is low from not eating for so long. I never had a proper dinner last night after snacking on the flight.
“I’ve got a few things in the kitchen, or we can go down the street to a little place that has a good selection and is usually pretty fast.”
“Have you eaten?” I ask.
“Yes, but it’s almost lunchtime, so I can eat again.”
“Maybe I’ll grab a piece of fruit, if you have any, and then we can go?” I suggest.
“There are apples and bananas in the kitchen. You tell me when you’re ready and we’ll go.”
“Let me go change and we can get out of here,” I tell him, looking down at the T-shirt I ended up wearing to bed. I stop in the kitchen and grab a banana to eat, hoping that it holds me over until we can get a full meal. I make quick work of finding an outfit to pull on. I step into the bathroom and fix my hair. Braiding it last night was the perfect thing to do, as it now has nice waves to it this morning. I apply a quick layer of mascara, some foundation and blush, and lastly some Chapstick. I grab my phone and watch from the end table, slipping the latter on my wrist and my phone into my back pocket.
“I’m ready,” I state, walking back into the living room.