Helios licked his nose insolently, before bending to lick drops of water off Ace’s feet. He washed one spot assiduously, before hopping in the shower and looking up at the shower head. Then he looked at Ace, tail waving, and back at the shower head.
She watched him go, avidly, faint colour blushing her cheekbones. But she was allowed, now, wasn’t she? She didn’t have to sneak glances anymore, fearful of her desires being unacceptable. And there was no part of him she didn’t want, even the hurt parts and the broken parts. With a soft smile, she got up to pick up the towel and put it up.
Ace crossed the threshold into her humble abode once more a few moments later, clad in a pair of plaid pajama pants from Walmart, and, though his torso was bare at the moment, he had a t-shirt draped across his arm.
“Do you think it would be inappropriate for me to answer the door for the pizza delivery guy dressed like this?” He walked over and plucked her house-phone from its carriage to dial the number he knew by heart.
“Another great question: Do I care?”
“Uh … ” The apparent non-sequitur caught her off-guard. “No? And no?” She wandered over to him, insinuating herself into his space, curious to see what he would do. Would he be the demonstrative type, or would she have to initiate everything? He’d seemed pretty keen on kisses, but even that she’d had to start. What kind of lover would he be? Brendan had been pretty ordinary, once she got past the excitement of having sex at all, more intent on his own pleasure than anything else.
She knew plenty about Ace’s tendency to self-neglect; his contradictory hedonism; his grey, rough shell that concealed his inner self. She had no idea how that would translate into a more serious relationship.