Eminence (Wattpad Edition)

Note 8 - Only Human

Warren woke to the grumble of a lawnmower cutting through the morning silence. He rolled over, and grabbed his phone. 8:30. Too early for a Saturday, too early for guests, and definitely too early for the kind of thoughts already flooding into his head. Jack would be here later. He wasn't ready.

The shower used to bring peace. Now it was a place where he played a million questions with himself.

Is this about food, or sex? Emanon had asked that the night before, and Warren still didn't have an answer no matter how much he thought it over. But it was true, they hadn't had sex. They made out until her stomach growled, and then they made French toast. No sultry syrup-dripping moment followed, no having her on the kitchen counter either. Warren wasn't necessarily disappointed. Just nervous, nervous about the moment arising. Relationships weren't his strong suit, and by most standards, this one had already gone off the script he's used to following.

His coworker brought up his ex yesterday, and it sent his mind looping again. His past insecurities are now pouring into his present. Not affectionate enough, never jealous, not open, not enough. Always not enough. He could never figure out how to connect, only how to stay distant enough not to get hurt. A soft knock at the bathroom door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?" he called out.

"Warren?" Emanon's voice came through the door.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Of course."

The door creaked open, and Emanon stepped inside.

"Did you need something?" Warren asked.

"I'm cold and I wanted to shower with you," she said, already slipping off her nightgown.

"That's fine. You can join me," he replied, though she was already stepping in beside him as he said it.

The warm space pressed them together, and her expression eased into a kind of serene pleasure, like a snake basking beneath a heat lamp. He almost said it aloud. Almost. She hated being compared to a snake, though it was becoming more of an inside joke between them. Still, she looked a little too peaceful to tease.

He chuckled anyway.

Warren's earlier thoughts crept back in. She's my girlfriend. I should treat her like one, like a woman. I should treat her like my lover.

"Em?" he began.

"Will you wash my hair?" she asked, cutting him off.

"Uh, sure..." he replied, reaching for the shampoo and pouring a small amount into his palm.

"You had a question?" she asked.

"Oh, um, I was just wondering if the water's hot enough for you?" he deflected, gently massaging shampoo into her scalp.

"It's hot enough, thank you," she said.

Warren felt a flicker of frustration. He wasn't sure how to bring up sex. Maybe if he kissed her neck, she'd respond, and they'd take it further, right here, in the shower. But she was much shorter than him, and the cramped space would make it awkward. He could try lifting her, pressing her against the wall, but the shower was still too small, the moment not quite right. Quietly conceding, he focused instead on washing her hair.

"Are you alright?" Emanon asked, tilting her head slightly under the stream.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

About twenty minutes later, they stepped out of the shower. Emanon grabbed a towel and began drying her hair, glancing at her phone in the process.

"Jack said he'll be here around noon for lunch..." she murmured before setting it aside.