“Today is WHAT?!”
“February 21,” he repeated.
Sophie took a step backward and sat down on the bed. Commandant Jaros wanted Michael back on February 24. Somehow while she had been ill, she’d lost two days.
I don’t know how I’m going to do it.
She started to shake, and he was at her side in an instant.
“Relax. There was nothing you or I could do while you were ill. We can talk more about a plan on the drive home. Yes?” He ducked his head a little to see her face, and smiled at her.
She smiled weakly back. Michael was right. He frequently was, although she hated to admit it. To him or herself.
“Finished with breakfast?” he asked.
She had been allowed plain toast and sliced bananas with tea that morning, a step up from the mush of the day before. She nodded.
“Perhaps a shower now?”
Five minutes later, she stood under the spray, giving thanks for hot water and soap and marveling at how much better the shower made her feel. She turned to pick up the shampoo and screamed.
Michael leaned against the bathroom wall, just outside the tub. Naked. Sophie’s mouth popped open. She resisted the urge to rip back the shower curtain to get a better look.
“Sorry, mana mila,” he said sheepishly. “I wondered if I might join you?”
“Yes, please.” Her voice was a croak.
He stepped into the shower, and her eyes went as wide as her mouth. While she had seen most of his bits and pieces over the years, she’d never seen Michael completely naked. Her eyes started at the top and traveled down his body, taking in the patchwork of healing gashes and scars. The last several months had been rough on him, but he was still glorious.
She hissed when she saw the two stubbled patches where the defibrillator pads had stripped off his chest hair. The rest of his chest was lightly covered with black curls, his nipples standing out among them. Then her eyes dropped and stayed in the same place for so long that he waved a hand in front of his genitals to get her attention again.
“Hi.” He pointed to his face. “Remember me?”
“Sorry.” Sophie blushed, unable to tear her eyes away. “You look different than other men I’ve seen.”
“Different?” He looked down at himself. “What do you mean, different? Bad different?” A note of panic sounded in his voice.
“No! No, not at all. You’re beautiful!” Her entire upper body blushed red. “It’s just that all the naked guys I’ve ever seen were…” She made a snipping motion with her fingers.
“Oh!” He started to laugh as understanding sank in. “I am not circumcised. Is that it?” She nodded, embarrassed. “I am European, Sophie. Circumcision is not customary here, the way it once was in America.” He flashed his dimpled grin. “The equipment still works the same way, my sweet.” He looked both hopeful and embarrassed at the same time. “You can touch…I would like that very much if you did.”
Sophie hesitated, concerned for his health and her own. But his thick erection jutting out eagerly from his body said loud and clear that he was eager for attention.
She, on the other hand, knew she was nowhere near ready for action. But Michael naked, aroused and looking at her with a needy expression was more than she could resist. She put her hand on his chest and slid it down over his body. She felt every scar, every injury along the way. But underneath it all, his heart thudded under her hand.
He was alive. And now they belonged to each other forever.