Esther almost laughed at this author setting the scene for them, but she was too embarrassed. She glance askance at Reed. He gave her a confident and appealing smile. Kari’s words didn’t bother him, and he was man enough to hold Esther or let her “gaze upon his soul.” She couldn’t help but smile at him. He was even more impressive to take this level of teasing or embarrassment or whatever this was.
Kari was beaming at them. “Whatever you two prefer.” She clapped her hands together. “What am I forgetting? Oh, there are towels by the bar. Reed, do you want a robe and slippers?”
“No.” It sounded like he was laughing, as if a tough man wouldn’t wear a robe.
Esther laughed too, appreciating the break in the romantic tension Kari had created.
“I see. Smart man. Use that fine-looking body to your advantage.”
Esther laughed harder, and Reed actually looked chagrined. He might be the one blushing now.
Kari clapped her hands together. “All right. Let’s steam all the stress and impurities out of you.” She walked to a small fridge by the steam room and took out a tray of rolled wash cloths. They both walked to her. Using tongs, she lifted a cloth to each of them. It was chilled and almost too cold against Esther’s fingers. “You’re welcome to more of these whenever you want them. In you go.”
She opened the door and steam poured out. It smelled delicious, like mint and eucalyptus.
“Take off that robe,” Kari exclaimed, grabbing at Esther’s robe.
Esther untied the straps and Kari slid it off her shoulders. She didn’t dare look at Reed to see if he was staring at her like she’d stared at him in his swimsuit. She worked out hard every day, but she didn’t have some perfect body.
Reed stepped up close and his hand rested on her lower back. His palm on her bare skin was a tantalizing feeling. Warmth flushed through Esther, and she didn’t think she needed any time in that hot steam room to want to jump in the cold plunge and bring her core temperature down.
“You look amazing,” he whispered in her ear.
She whipped around to look at him. “Oh, honey, you have no clue how amazing you look.”
He grinned.
Kari laughed and shooed them with her hands. “Get on in there. You’re losing all the good steam.”
Reed smiled and escorted her in. Esther hoped they had lost some of the steam. The suffocating, choking steam.
The door shut behind them and though there were lights through the fog of steam, Esther could not see a single thing. Her eyes instantly stung, and breathing was difficult with the dense air. She just had to get through this part and then the beautiful part of the water and the jets and the actual relaxation could begin. She knew it would be even more fun and relaxing with Reed next to her.
“I don’t think we lost any steam,” she sputtered, but then she started coughing on the moisture in the air.
Reed lifted her hand with the washcloth gripped in it to her face. She got the hint and quickly unrolled it and put it over her eyes, nose, and mouth. Breathing in through the coolness of the cloth helped a lot. He slowly escorted her forward. They bumped into a bench, turned, and sat down.
The door flung open and luckily some steam escaped. “I forgot towels!” Kari cried out. “My heavens, you two are so sparkly and perfect that all I can think about is writing it all down.” She rushed in and handed over two bath towels, then ran back out again. “It’s comfier sitting on those. Hugs and much happiness to you both!”
The door shut, and she was gone.
Esther and Reed stood and sat on the soft towels. It was nice not to sit on the hot, steamy tile, but the steam they’d lost when Kari entered rose quickly again. It was certainly an efficient steam room.
“Do you think we’ll get royalties from whatever story she writes about us?” Esther asked.
Reed laughed. “She’s a little crazy.”
“Aren’t we all?” She felt stung by Reed thinking Kari was crazy. If only he knew who he was sitting next to. “I like her.”
“For sure. She’s friendly and welcoming. She’s impossible not to like, and still a little crazy.”
Esther took slow, shallow breaths. She didn’t want to talk about crazy anymore. “Did she really say twenty minutes in here?”
Reed chuckled, not seeming as affected by the steam as she was. “If we want our pores and our nasal passages cleaned out.”
“Mission accomplished. At least it smells good.”
He laughed again.