Blooming (14 page)

“How tall are
you?”

“6 ft 3,” he
said.

“Wow.”

She pulled
the bed sheet away and studied his torso, all the way to his waist where his
charcoal trousers ended with his bare feet.

“You have
such big feet!”

“Size 12,” he
shrugged.

“How much do
you weigh?”

Todd looked
at her quizzically; it was a long time since he’d been asked for his vital
statistics.

“I’m not
sure, I think around 215. I’ve been bigger and fitter,” he admitted, “when I
was fighting.”

Jen’s left
hand wandered over his chest, because of the cast it was just her fingertips
stroking him.

Down from his
neck, she went over his prominent Adams apple and the clearly defined collar
bone, over the delicious wide and solid pectorals with the perfect amount of deep
brown hair feathering them. She touched both of his pinky brown nipples and
wandered over his ribcage, admiring the narrowing trail of hair. Her fingers
circled in it - pulling the strands gently.

“I’m glad.”  

“Glad?” he
gulped. This was perfectly torturous from his point of view.

“You’ve got
the six pack going on but you’re not too scary. You’re toned and muscly and
chunky and I love these long veins in your arms, but somehow you don’t look
like a ridiculous he man that has to study every bit of protein and carbs that
go into his body to achieve it.”

“I used to
have an 8 pack back in the day,” he was sheepishly proud to admit, “but you’re
right it was boring as hell to live like that, I enjoy food too much and
although I still train I’ll never have that kind of discipline again.”

Jen breathed
in, “Would it be ok for you to take your pants off?”

“Phhhhh,”
Todd expelled all the air in his chest while he took a beat to think. “Er yes,
but be warned all the blood has rushed to a particularly needy part of my
anatomy, so try not to push me too much farther. I’m pretty strong willed but
even I have my limits gorgeous.”

Gingerly he
unfastened his trousers and shucked them off, he gritted his teeth and lay back
down, in order to control his hands he clasped them behind his head. His
breathing became shallow as he watched her.

Jen trained
her eyes on his feet first and let them travel upward over his chiselled calves;
his legs were lightly covered in the same dark hair he had everywhere else. When
she reached his powerful thighs, she was hardly breathing. He had on black
boxer briefs that were struggling to contain him.

It was
incredibly tempting to touch him there, but she knew she was already pushing
him and herself to the limit. Good god look at him – he’s magnificent was all
she could think.

“You’ve got
that lovely v shape down there.” 

“You like obliques
do you?” He laughed without a trace of mockery at the awe in her voice.

She smiled and lifted her gaze
to his eyes, stupidly she was struggling to meet his stare; one huge hand came
to her face and stroked her jaw, his thumb tracing her cheek.

“I’ve had a
lot of years to think about what I might like.”

She took his
hand in hers and studied the newly scuffed skin on his knuckles, laid her own
hand against his - palm to palm, wondering at just how tiny hers looked next to
his. Her eyes filled and she shed a quiet tear.

“What’s
wrong?” he said softly.

“You’re
amazing,” she admitted.

“Look at me,”
he demanded, the heat in his eyes turning them olive green. “The sentiment is
entirely mutual.”

Jens hands
returned to stroke his long arms, trailing his firm defined biceps. “I love
these,” she said smiling again. She picked up his right arm and encouraged him
to flex it for her, “wow, your arms and legs are so incredibly long.”

“Yep most of
my height is in my legs, so when we finally get our act straight our torsos
should meet up just fine, although if this bed is anything to go by my feet
will probably be hanging off the end.”

His cheeky
words conjured up delicious imagery in Jen’s head; oh he was a very devious man
because yes she could picture it happening now.

Jen put her
hand over his where it stroked her face and before he had chance to guess what
she would do, she sucked his first two fingers into her mouth and pressed her
tongue against them, sucking gently and giving him a cheeky nip with her teeth.

Todd shot
upright nearly clashing head’s with her and hopped off the bed, grabbing his
pants from the floor.

“Where are
you going, was that not ok?”

“Bathroom,
something I need to attend to urgently,” and then he was gone.

Gingerly, Jen
lay down again, and before she knew it she was chuckling away to herself at the
effect she’d had on him. She burrowed her head in the pillow smothering the
sounds, and breathing in their combined smell at the same time. She was happier
at that moment than she ever thought possible.

Todd however
was in hell. Christ almighty he thought to himself, masturbating furiously in
the toilet stall. Faster and harder he stroked and pumped himself until he came
hard enough to scream blue murder, and relief poured out of him in a hot rush.
He sank back against the toilet door, sweat bathing him from top to toe.

Weakly he
flushed and went to the sinks where he used paper towels and cool water to
clean himself. He stayed a good ten minutes until he was sure he was back in
control and then he padded back to Jen’s room barefoot.

Mercifully she’d
fallen back asleep, laid on her right side - facing the middle of the bed, just
where he’d left her. He studied her for a minute, in repose she was so delicate
but she had reserves of strength she wasn’t even aware of.

When he’d
caught her fist in the restaurant for a split second he’d thought she’d gone
crazy, thought her fear and panic problems must be some kind of an actual mania
until recognition of the situation kicked in. It was only later cooling his
heels in the police interview room that he thought about the righteous anger
and courage that carried her across that restaurant to avenge his sister. That
took guts, even if they were sub-conscious guts.

He got in the
bed and lay with his back to her.                                                     

Jen’s knees
automatically lifted into him and she spooned close into his back sighing
softly. Todd reached behind and lifted her cast around him, holding it against
his midriff protectively. Then he fell into an exhausted slumber.

By 5 o’clock
in the morning Todd had to abandon the bed and attempt to sleep in the hard
chair, twice he’d woken up to find Jen’s fingers stroking his cock to
distraction whilst she remained completely fast asleep.

The first
time he’d removed her arm and tucked it behind him again, but not ten minutes
passed before there it was again, the fact she had the cast on her hand made it
worse increasing the weight and friction as she stroked him. When she finally
gave him a hard squeeze that made him nearly come in his shorts he gave up.

When he
blearily opened his eyes an hour or so later Jen was awake and smiling at him
tiredly, “God I hope I don’t look as bad as you?”

“Oh you do,
you have panda eyes and your hair? You kinda look like mid 80’s Ozzy Osborne on
a bad day.”

She scowled
and threw her pillow at him, wincing at the movement she’d made without
thinking of her bruised ribs.

“Did you have
sweet dreams?” he quizzed, scrutinizing her to see if she’d been aware at all
of what her hands had been up to.

She screwed
up her face trying to remember, “a bit weird really, you were in it and you’d
taken me to a crocodile farm and for some reason you were making me pet a baby
alligator even though it kept trying to bite me.”

Todd choked
on his own spit as he scowled at her sleepy face, no she wasn’t teasing him she
was genuinely innocent.

****

A couple of
hours later and the doctor had made his rounds and cleared Jen to leave. Sean
and Seb arrived with some clothes, although Sean was obviously in pain at
having brought her sweatpants and one of her hoodies to put on. “I don’t know
how you can wear such crap Jen really.”

Todd had to
help her get dressed, further torturing his frayed nerve ends when he had to
fasten her bra for her and then keeping his eyes firmly closed while he knelt
at her feet to help her step into bikini briefs and pants.

She was
having great trouble bending and it suddenly struck him that somebody was going
to have to help her for at least a few days until her ribs healed. He groaned
to himself when he considered days and days of close physical proximity with no
relief in sight and he wondered if Lily would we be up to coming home yet, to
help out.

When she was
finally dressed, Sean came back in the room. “At least you won’t have to worry
about your hair soon Jen. I just got off the phone with Marguerite - she’s back
from her vacation and she’ll come to the apartment at 4 o’clock today to cut
your hair. She doesn’t do that for just anybody, but she’s very impressed with
your new found internet fame and thinks you deserve some pampering. You’ll have
to find a way to wash your hair before she arrives though.

Jen sighed,
it was good news she supposed, her hair definitely needed sorting and she was
going to struggle more than ever with it now she was temporarily disabled.

When she was
ready, Seb scoped out the corridor. The coast was clear for the time being and
the four of them slid out to the elevator and took a ride down to the morgue.
Sean reached in his jacket pocket and inexplicably pulled out two pairs of sunglasses.
He smiled into her big quizzical eyes and popped a set on her face. “Just in
case of paparazzi baby.”

He waved the
other pair at Todd, who brushed them away smiling.

He nodded
towards Seb, she looked over and laughed, he had shades on too, “we’re really
not famous you know.”

“Jennifer -
for Bloomington - we’re famous.”

When the
elevator stopped Todd led them out to the rear exit where the coroners van was
in the process of bringing a body in. “I made at least one friend last night,”
he indicated the cop car waiting for them, “let’s go home.”

Arriving back
at the apartment was the weirdest thing. So much had happened since she was
last home it almost felt like Todd should carry her over the threshold or
something.

Sean and Seb
gave her a big hug and left to go upstairs, Sean promising to bring down the
seven custom dresses he’d already made for her - once she was feeling less
sore.

Todd mooched
about her apartment looking uncomfortable.

“You okay?”
she asked.

“I don’t
know, everything feels great and really weird at the same time.”

She breathed
easier, “I feel exactly the same.”

“I need to
stay here with you for a few days,” it wasn’t a question and she cocked an
eyebrow at him.

“Don’t look
at me like that, you’re going to struggle until you’re less bruised and even
then you’re going to probably need help getting washed and stuff.” He ran a
hand through his already rumpled hair.

“I guess so,
but you don’t have to.”

“I know I
don’t.”

“Would you
mind running a bath for me then, I feel stinky.”

Todd trundled
off and started running the taps. He put a good slug of bubble bath in and when
the bath was ready, he called her through, steeling himself for his next
torture.

“OK I’ve seen
you in your underwear a few times now so let’s just get your top and pants off
without an argument, and then I’ll unfasten your bra and leave you to the
rest.”

“You say the sweetest
things Todd.”

He grunted
and took hold of her sweater and eased it over her arms and head. Forgetting to
avert his eyes this time, he gasped when he got his first proper look at her
ribs. They were a mix of vivid red and bluish purple, and the sight was so bad
he forgot to sneak a quick peek at her breasts.

“Oh shit,” he
said in mortification.

“It’s nothing
Todd, I did it to myself, just forget it.”

Todd scowled
and hooked his thumbs in her sweatpants and lowered them down. He realised his
first mistake when he got an eyeful of her new lace bikini briefs that were see
through enough to see her curly dark brown landing strip.

There was an
audible gulp and neither of them could tell who’d done it.

“Alright turn
around and I’ll unhook you, then I’m getting out of here while I still can.”

The minute he
was done he hared out of the bathroom.

Jen eased
herself in taking care to hang her arm out the side of the bath, it was awkward
washing one handed and for the first time she was really glad she’d agreed to
be waxed, at least she didn’t have to worry about shaving for a bit. When she’d
been in a while Todd knocked gently. “Are you going to wash your hair in the
bath?” he called through the door.

“No I have to
wash it in clean water.” It was then looking about that she realised how tricky
that was going to be.

When the
water started cooling she reluctantly got out of the bath and scooped the towel
from the sink where Todd had left it for her.

She walked
out of the bathroom into the bedroom to grab a robe. She swore under her breath
trying to manoeuvre her arms into the holes but eventually she managed it.

She padded
through to the living room; Todd was sat on her couch watching TV. He smiled at
her, “you look better already.”

“I’m sorry
but you’ll have to help me wash my hair.”

“I figured
that already.” Standing, he grabbed one of the couch cushions and took her hand
leading her back into the bathroom. “It’s going to be damn uncomfortable for
both of us but here goes,” he said opening the cubicle door.