Indelible by Bethany Lopez

wine as she sat down on the couch. I grimaced at the sight of her delicate skin against the burnt orange of my uglier-than-hell sofa.
    I don’t think I’d ever realized how ugly that thing was until I saw Sam sitting on it. I needed to get some new furniture.
    Sam didn’t seem to mind though. She took a sip of her wine and smiled at me as I sat down next to her.
    “It’s good,” she said.
    “I wasn’t sure what to get,” I admitted. “This is the first bottle of wine I’ve ever bought.”
    She grinned at my admission. “You did a good job. Reds are my favorite.” She reached up and rubbed her shoulder for a minute before dropping it back to her lap.
    “You hurt yourself?” I asked, gesturing to her shoulder.
    “Huh?” Sam looked confused for a moment. “Oh, I’m a little sore from picking up Karrie. She’s getting bigger, but she still wants to be carried whenever possible.”
    “I can rub it for you.”
    “You can?” Sam looked surprised by the offer.
    I’d offer to lick her toes if it meant I got to put my hands on her.
    “Sure,” I replied, trying to sound innocent. “Lay down and I’ll give you a little massage. I get them in the locker room all of the time. It helps a lot.”
    “Okay.” She sounded a little unsure, but she set her glass on the coffee table and started to lie down.
    “Wait,” I said, not wanting her to lie on the sofa. I was starting to think that I would throw it out as soon as she left that evening. “I don’t want you to lie down on the couch, so why don’t we go back to my room?”
    Sam looked dubious at that.
    I held my hands up. “Just a massage…scouts honor.”
    I stood and held out my hand to help her up off the couch and then led her to my bedroom. I opened the door, forgetting about the setup I had ready until I heard Sam’s sharp intake of breath.
    She walked in and looked at the flowers all around the room, then turned back to me, the surprise apparent on her face.
    “Did you do all of this for me?”
    Shit.
    “Yeah. It’s no big deal. I just wanted the place to look nice.”
    Sam walked over and into my arms, hugging me tightly.
    “It looks beautiful,” she said, her eyes appearing suspiciously damp.
    I really hoped she wasn’t going to cry.
    “Go ahead and lay on the bed,” I said, trying to distract her from the possibility of crying. I picked up a lighter and walked around the room, lighting the candles.
    When I was done I walked toward the bed, my hands itching to touch Sam again.
    She was on her stomach, her head turned to the side and her hair fanned out across my pillow. Her eyes were closed and she had a small smile on her lips. She was beautiful.
    I really liked the way she looked in my bed.
     

 

     

     
     
    My eyes were closed. I could smell the flowers and the calming scent of the candles throughout the room. I had a smile on my face. To say I was shocked when he opened the door was an understatement. I was floored. The last thing I’d expected was to see flowers covering every available surface of his bedroom.
    It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
    I could feel him moving around the room, and my body tingled in anticipation of his touch.
    I heard him messing around in the corner, and then the music of Staind began to fill the room.
    When his hands touched my shoulders I flinched, and then giggled.
    “Okay?” Judd asked softly near my ear, causing goose bumps to break out over me.
    “Mmmhm,” I murmured, wishing he would put his lips on that very spot.
    With the music playing, the sweet scents surrounding me, and Judd’s strong hands kneading my shoulders, I began to relax.
    It felt wonderful.
    Judd’s hands traveled down my back, rubbing and putting pressure in all of the right areas. I moaned unintentionally and heard Judd breath in deeply, pausing his movements before continuing the massage.
    I was starting to drift when I felt Judd’s fingertips brush the side of my breasts, and suddenly I was wide