The Etiquette of Smoking

I Feel Like Falling

I decided, against all of my better judgement, to spend the night with Joji like he'd asked me to. Not like I've been making amazingly great choices lately anyway, but I knew this was one of the more defining ones. I'd been struggling with myself for a while, and the choice to accept Joji's plea was a step towards making an actual decision. I was choosing him.

I followed him back into the apartment, his fingers intertwined with my own as he walked beside me down the hall. When we stepped inside, Chad was gone and Ian and Max were picking up their mess from the coffee table. Their eyes immediately locked onto mine and George's hands before shooting up to our eyes, wicked grins spreading their faces.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Ian teased, glancing at Max who was grabbing onto Ian's hand and making an exaggerated mock embarrassed face. Joji's hand held mine firmly in his, pulling me along with him through the living room and into the hallway. He had small smile on his face when I got a look at his face as we stopped beside two large closet doors.

"So, if you were going to stay, we have some extra toothbrushes here." He said a little quieter, seeming shyer than he had previously been, I assumed because of the mention of my staying. He pulled the doors open, revealing shelves of towels, toilet paper, and small baskets filled with random toiletries. "Help yourself to anything."

I nodded gratefully at him, receiving a warm smile in return before he turned and walked back down the hall. I pulled a single, gray towel down, intent on showering tonight to wash whatever sand or sweat that clung to my skin from the day. What a hell of a day it had been. I pulled the first tiny basket towards me, standing on my toes to peek at the contents inside. Irish Spring bar soap, a couple packs of cheap razors, 1 new can of shaving cream, and eye drops for dry eyes. I briefly considered taking a bar of soap but I'd know that brand to be extremely stripping so I held out for something better and looked inside the next basket. Inside of that one was nothing but medicine. Nyquil, Advil, band aids, and rubbing alcohol. I pushed that basket back, and pulled the last one forward, hoping for better results. Extra toothbrushes, some mini mouth washes, an unopened box of condoms, and a DVD for the movie Chef, starring Jon Favreau. What the hell is this doing in here?

I opted for a single red toothbrush, sample toothpaste and a tiny bottle of mouthwash, taking them, sliding the basket back in place, and closing the closet doors. The bathroom was right behind me so I quietly slid inside, flicking on the light and closing the door. The room was steamy, looking just used as a discarded towel sat on the floor in front of the tub and a hand smear still lingered on the mirror.

I locked the door before stripping, removing my clothing and bikini beneath it before turning on the water and letting it get hot. I stepping in the shower, feeling immediate pleasure wash over me as the hot water met my skin. My thoughts began drifting, naturally, and I thought back to the kiss. The wonderful, intoxicating, breathless kiss that I'd just experienced with Joji. My fingertips met my bottom lip where I could still feel the tingles and I squealed as quietly to myself as I could, shoving my face in my hands and drenching my hair under the shower.

I thought back to his hand on my waist, sliding up my side and how hot it made my entire body feel. I wanted to feel it again. Wait. Would we...? Tonight? While this day was full of exciting firsts, I don't think taking that step was appropriate yet. The limitations I put on myself frustrated me. I hadn't been playing by the rules in a good long while, why start now? But...things with Joji were already starting off rough because of me, I didn't want to completely destroy any chance of making this thing last if I could help it. I wanted, at least, to do this right.

I sighed heavily, turning around and letting the hot water pelt my back. There were a few different shampoos and soaps sitting on the small shelves in the shower and the realization that I forgot to grab the soap bar hit me then. I inspected the soaps available to me, turning the bottles around to see the labels and trying to decipher which belongs to who. One of the bottles was nearly empty and had a thick sludge of green liquid covering the bottle and pooling below it. That was likely Max's, I decided. The shampoo above it was specifically for dandruff and a soap bar that was obviously been used but was neatly tucked in the highest corner of the shower, away from the water. Ian.