Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
I spent all afternoon getting ready for my dinner date. After stopping off at the drug store, I found a barber shop and got a haircut. Then I went home and tried to figure out what to wear. I wasn’t sure what I should be shooting for though, so I texted Ever and asked how fancy this restaurant was.
He replied: It’s pretty casual. I’m wearing a polo shirt and jeans. Feel free to help yourself to anything of mine if you need something to wear.
I went to Ever’s bedroom, picked up the sweatshirt he wore most evenings, and buried my face in it. His clean scent was comforting and familiar.
I returned the sweatshirt to his bed and found his V-neck, royal blue sweater, which I took back to my room with me. It smelled faintly of his cologne, which was the next best thing to his natural scent.
I started to put it on my bed, but then Phil and I exchanged looks. He was curled up on my pillow, but I just knew he’d move to the sweater the moment my back was turned. I said, “I don’t think so,” and hung the sweater over the back of a chair before continuing to the bathroom.
The douche was… an experience. Next up was a long shower, followed by my complete self-care routine. The sum total of that included a comb, a razor, my toothbrush, and some deodorant. Wow, I really sucked at primping.
I wrapped a towel around my hips, found my phone, and texted Ever again with: Would you mind if I borrowed one of your haircare products?
He replied right away: What’s mine is yours. Help yourself to anything you want. I sent back a thank you and once again headed to the other end of the apartment.
In the bathroom off the main suite, I was reminded how very different Ever and I were. He had an entire collection of expensive-looking tubes and bottles, including multiple face creams, a different moisturizer for every body part, and several things I couldn’t even identify.
After I used some hair gel, I took a picture of something that looked like a pink razor, except that there was a stone roller where the blade should be. I sent it to him with a question mark, and a few seconds later, my phone rang. When I answered the video call, Ever smirked at me and said, “You’ve never been in my bathroom before, have you?”
“I’ve never had any reason to. What the hell is that pink thing?”
“Oh, hey—you got your hair cut! It looks nice. I’m glad you went with a fade, like last time. And that thing is a skin care tool. You put it in the fridge to chill it, and then you run it over your face to increase circulation and decrease puffiness.” I chuckled at that, and he said, “I realize your entire grooming routine consists of a bar of soap, because I’ve been in your bathroom. But some of us need more help than that.”
“You don’t need this much help. You probably don’t even use most of this stuff.”
“Sure I do. I pared it down to my essentials before I moved.”
I picked up a tiny, dark brown bottle and read the label. “So, every day, you apply something called supercharged antiaging under eye emollient?”
“Of course.”
I grinned and returned the bottle to his collection. “You think you know a person.”
“Just for that, I’m going to subject you to my entire self-care routine this weekend—face masks, mani-pedis, the works. When I’m done, I’ll bet you feel amazing.”
“I’ll certainly feel moist. You have nine different moisturizers here. Do you really need a different cream for your neck and your face?”
“Yes, because the skin is totally different.”
“Is it, though?”
He chuckled and said, “Since you clearly have some time on your hands, you should come here.”
“This early? It’s barely four, and you said you had a lot of work to do.”
“You can help me.”
“Love to. I’ll see you soon.”
After we ended the call, I found myself smiling as I returned to my room. When Ever first moved in, I’d been acutely aware of how very different we were. This glimpse at his grooming routine was a reminder of that. But instead of thinking we couldn’t possibly make sense together, I found our differences interesting and entertaining. I liked to think we balanced each other, somehow.
Once I was dressed, I slung a messenger bag over my shoulder, went into the bathroom, and took a look in the mirror. I’d gone with my best pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, with Ever’s beautiful, fine-gauge sweater layered over it. I’d prepped and primped and done all I could. I was ready for tonight.
I collected several of my drugstore purchases from the bathroom counter and loaded them into the bag. This included three types of lube, tissues, wet wipes, and two different brands of condoms. Now that I’d finally made up my mind to take this step with Ever, I didn’t want some minor detail to derail my plans.