Alex's POV.
Holy smokes!
I don't know what I would've done if Sophia hadn't grabbed the towel just in time before it exposed her.
With Steve watching!
“Oh God.” She quickly wrapped the towel around herself again and looked up at us with wide eyes.
I turned to my side to find Steve with his jaw still dropped, blinking at her.
Don't punch him! Just don't punch him, Alex!
I stepped in front of him, blocking Sophia from his sight. “I'll see you later, Steve.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “I'm sorry.”
I nodded and once he left, I shut the door and turned around.
Sophia had her eyes fixed on the floor in embarrassment and fear.
I took a step in her direction and her hands clutched the towel close to her body.
Just what the hell does she think I'm going to do? It's not like it's something I've not seen before.
Her hair was dripping wet from the shower, little water droplets falling on her bare shoulders. I gulped. Alex, no!
It took every ounce of willpower in me to not take her right then and there.
“Put some clothes on, Sophia,” I muttered.
She nodded, then grabbed her clothes from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. “And next time, lock the fucking door,” I said.
She stopped in her tracks and then turned around. Her fear was gone and now replaced by annoyance.
“You think I did this on purpose?” She raised a brow. “I had just walked out of the bathroom to get my clothes when you and your best friend decided to walk right in. How about you knock on the fucking door next time?”
I was a bit taken aback by her outburst.
The last thing I wanted though was to make her mad at me again. “You're right. We should've knocked.” I said.
From the look of surprise on her face, I could tell that she wasn't expecting me to say that.
She bit her lip in thought. “I'm sorry for the outburst. I didn't mean—” “It's fine.”
Shaking my head, I turned around to walk over to the bed when my foot landed on something uneven, making me lose my balance.
The next thing I knew, my back was hitting hard against the floor and I was looking up at the ceiling.
“Oh my God,” Sophia shouted and ran up to me.
She leaned down to grab my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “Did you hurt yourself? Alex! Talk to me!”
All I could see was her almost naked body. Fuck!
“I'll live, Sophia,” I said and sat up on the floor, eyeing the thing that caused me to fall in the first
place.
A sandal?
“Shit! I'm so sorry. I just carelessly tossed the heels there. I knew I shouldn't have borrowed it from Stephanie in the first place. Oh, God.” She ranted as she walked me to the edge of the bed.
I sat down and looked up at her.
Her fingers gently brushed against my shoulders. “Are you hurt anywhere? Are you in pain—”
“Sophia.” I grabbed her hands in a gentle grip, causing her to lean forward. “I'm fine. For now. Just please put some damn clothes on!”
Realization dawned on her as she looked down at herself. “Right.”
She disappeared into the bathroom and came out a minute later, dressed.
I sighed in part relief because still, I was yearning for her.
“Now tell me, does it hurt?” She asked in concern.
“Yeah. Hurts terribly.”
Her eyes grew wide. “I'm so sorry.”
I chuckled. “I'm just messing with you. It's nothing a little back massage can't fix.”
She blinked at me.
“Relax. I'm not asking you to give me a back massage.” I said. “But I can.”
“What?”
She seemed hesitant but nodded.
Just the thought of her hands on my body again drove me crazy and I wanted it more than anything.
It got me reminiscing about the time she applied first aid on my knuckles and what followed after that. Fuck!
But I knew she was just offering out of guilt. “You don't have to, Sophia,” I said firmly.
“You woke up already with back pain and also tripped on the heels I carelessly tossed around. If a massage would make you feel better, I have to do it.”
Well, since she's insisting.....
I took a deep breath. “Fine.”
She nodded. “Do you have some oil? Oh! Wait, never mind. I got some in my traveling kit.” Then she sprinted towards her stuff to look for it.
Meanwhile, I took the time to unbutton my shirt.
I looked up to find her watching me. She quickly recovered and took small steps in my direction. I bet she was thinking ‘I should've thought this through’.
“Sophia, it's fine. I feel much better—” “On your stomach.” She cut me off.
Your wish is my command, love.
I slipped the shirt off my shoulders and laid down face-first on the bed.
First, it was just the brush of her fingers on my back, almost like a soft feather. I heard her breath hitch as she slowly applied the oil all over my entire back.
Her hands glided across my skin in a mellow motion, reminding me of the innocence I've come to notice in her.
“This is nothing like I expected.” I breathed out “I'm no professional.”
“No. This is good. I didn't know you were this good at this.” I shut my eyes and enjoyed the soft movement of her hands.
“Oh.”
“Did you learn it somewhere?” I asked.
“Yes. When I was new in the city, I dabbled in a few different jobs. I assisted a massage therapist for a few weeks. He taught me a trick or two.”
My eyes flew open. “He?”
“What?”
I cleared my throat. “Who was he?”
“Oh, I don't think you've ever heard of him. He's not famous at all.” I frowned.
“Is it helping with the pain at all?” She asked.
“What?”
“The message?”
“Oh, yes it is.”
“Good.” I could hear the smile in her voice.
Is she goading me?
“So you've probably massaged a lot of people?” I asked her.
“Quite a few.” She replied.
I gritted my teeth in annoyance. A lot of men had enjoyed her hands on them like this. Great! No one else besides me would ever get this from her. I'm going to make sure of that!
“I see,” I replied and shut my eyes once more.
“Sophia?” I called after a few minutes.
“Yes?”
“How did he teach you?”
“Oh, you mean where I practiced?” She asked. “Yes.”
“On him.”
My temper flared.
If only I could get my hands on that guy!
“What's his name?” I asked.
She was silent for a few seconds.
“I don't remember.”
I peeked one eye open and turned slightly to look at her. “Do you still talk to him?”
“Why are you asking me all this?” She asked, bringing her hands back to her sides and I frowned at the loss of contact.
“I just realized how good he must be if he taught you so amazingly in the span of a few weeks. Maybe I'll just hire him.”
She seemed humored.
“Hire him as what? A personal masseur?”
“Maybe.” I grinned.
She let out a laugh.
“Now, if you don't mind.” I pointed towards my back. “Just a few more minutes. I promise.”
“Sure.” She nodded and resumed the pleasing motion of her hands on my back.
I didn't even realize I'd dozed off, but when I woke up, there was a blanket draped over me and Sophia was nowhere to be seen.
I checked the time. 4 pm.
There was a text on my phone and my eyes lit up when I saw it was from Sophia.
Out at the beach with everyone. Tell them you have a headache.
I was going to type a quick reply but just then, the door clicked open and Sophia stepped inside.
“You're up.” She smiled.
“Yeah. I just saw your message.” She nodded.
“Here.” She held up a large packet of Skittles. “I thought you must be famished, so I got you a little snack.”
I took the packet from her. “Thank you.” “No problem.” She said softly.
***
“When I saw your text, a part of me considered bringing security along,” Steve said while sipping his beer.
“What part of Let's Go to the Club sounded scary to you?” I raised a brow.
“After this morning, I should be walking on eggshells around you.”
I chuckled. “It was just a mistake, Steve. And you didn't see anything, so forget about it.”
He nodded.
“Why aren't you drinking, man?” Steve took another sip.
“I'm driving us back, remember?”
“Of course. Wouldn't wanna get your ass kicked by dear old dad.”
“True. Though, he would kick your ass if he heard you call him that.”
He burst out laughing.
“Okay. You seem a bit too drunk. Let's get going.” I said.
“Nope. I'm not drunk. I'm just enjoying the vacation.”
“There's always tomorrow.”
He sighed. “Fine.”
We got up and walked towards the exit. Steve was a bit tipsy but he could walk. We got in the car and I started driving back to the hotel.
“I think you and Sophia should stop beating around the bush,” Steve said. “What makes you say that?” I raised a brow.
“I don't know. Half drunken thoughts but you bet your ass they're true.”
I chuckled.
“I really ho—”
I was cut off when a loud horn blared ahead of us and my eyes grew wide at the sight of a high-speed car heading in for a head-on collision.