“Red, you know you are a crazy motherfucker, right?” Liam said. He took off his shirt.
“You won’t be calling me crazy when you feel how good this shower is,” I said, already putting one hand in underneath the water. “Fucking perfection.”
Liam took off the rest of his clothes, and I had to pretend not to be gawking at every single one of his tattoos. The man’s body was truly a work of art. This was the first time I’d seen him fully naked in ten years, and it was a beautiful sight to behold. Even when I’d blown him, it had been so hurried that he’d never even taken his shirt off.
My cock began to perk up as my eyes trailed over his skin. There was still plenty of untouched, milky skin, but he had a beautiful tattoo looping up the side of his body that appeared to be some sort of flowering plant. It started at his hip and went back, all the way up to his shoulder blade and ending at his collarbone.
He must have noticed me staring because when I glanced back up at his face, he cocked his head to one side.
“Most people have to pay a NaughtyBoyz subscription to see me like this,” Liam said.
“Most people don’t see you this caked in dirt, either,” I said, hopping into the shower. The hot water rushed down my back and it felt absolutely exquisite after the long shift at work.
Liam stepped inside behind me, and I moved so that he could get under the water.
“God, that is exactly what I needed,” he said, closing his eyes and tipping his head back. The water ran in rivulets down his neck, and I watched him for a moment as the water turned from dirty to clear.
“A good shower fixes everything,” I said. “My mom always told me that.”
Liam’s eyes fluttered open. “You used to tell me that, too, when I was really hungover.”
“Forgot about that,” I said.
He nodded, his grey eyes fixing on me. “You took care of me every fucking day, Red,” he said. “I could never forget it.”
A wave of affection washed over me, and my skin broke out in goosebumps.
“Shit. You’re probably freezing. Take some water,” he said, stepping aside and letting me move into the stream.
“Yeah, it’s kinda cold,” I said. “Water hog.” I pretended the goosebumps weren’t just because of him.
Liam really was grateful for my presence in his life ten years ago, in a way I hadn’t realized until now. He hadn’t forgotten a damned thing.
“You’re more of a water hog than me, anyway,” he said, grinning a little as he looked up at me.
“What are you talking about?”
His eyes danced across my body. “You’re bigger than me.”
“I’m taller than you,” I corrected.
“And you’re all rugged and muscular,” Liam said, reaching out and squeezing one of my biceps. “Have you finally gotten over your hatred of the gym?”
“I don’t go to any gym,” I said. “I just like doing… physical things.”
“Well, I’m glad that hasn’t changed,” Liam said.
I could feel my cock throb between my legs, and I realized that if I kept standing there staring at him, I was very likely to have an erection within another few moments.
“Here. You need this more than I do,” I said, letting him step back into the water. “You still have dirt all over your chest. How did you even get dirt under your shirt?”
“I’m very… aggressive with my gardening sometimes,” Liam said.
“Naturally.”
I reached for the body wash nearby and without thinking, I poured some into my hands and began lathering it over Liam’s chest. My hands roamed from his chest to his shoulders and down his arms. His head tipped backward again, and he groaned softly, closing his eyes.
“That feels fucking phenomenal,” he said. “I haven’t been touched like that by another human in way too long.”
So much for making my erection go away. I was even harder now.
“It seemed like you needed this,” I said, turning him around and getting his back, making the washing into an impromptu massage.
“I didn’t know I needed it.”
I worked my fingers into the space between his shoulders and neck, and he relaxed into my touch. After all the dirt was long gone, his tattoos looked even more brilliant.
“This is incredible, by the way,” I said, letting my fingers skate along the tattoo of the flowers that ran from his hip all the way up his back.
“That was the last one Katie did for me before I left LA,” he said.
“What kind of flowers are those?”
“They’re called calatheas. They represent a new beginning,” Liam said, turning to meet my eyes again. “I… really needed a new start.”
My heart did a small little flip inside me.
“It really seems like you got one,” I said softly.
He let out a long breath. “I’m trying,” he said, his voice so weak it nearly cracked.