Ghosts ✔

100 • Dana

She drank her tea until Kip got up to see if the bath was filled.

"There's a blue towel for you," he said as he returned. "Is there something else I can do? Maybe a glass of wine?" His cheeks flushed. "It's so stupid that I can't remember how you used to relax."

"Well this sounds perfect," she winked. She stood up, placing her cup on the table. "I would actually like a glass of wine. Just bring it to the bathroom if you don't mind."

In the bathroom she stripped off her clothes and lowered herself in the bathtub. There was a lot of soapy water, hiding most of her body. Nevertheless Kip knocked on the door instead of just walking in. 

"I got your wine..." he said. "I – I don't know if I can come in or if you're already..."

His voice trailed off. Dana laughed softly. She knew his confidence had suffered from his memory loss and although it was kinda cute, she hoped he would feel a little more himself soon. 

"You can come in."

She almost wanted to add that there was nothing he hadn't seen before, but she swallowed the words, knowing he didn't remember all those times. The door was opened and the man entered the room. His cheeks flushed the moment he saw her. Except for her face and arms there wasn't much to see, but he still didn't know where to look. 

He put the glass down on the edge of the bath, close to her feet. 

"Why don't you get yourself a glass of wine and join me?" she asked.

"Umm..." He rubbed his neck and stared at the floor. 

"You don't have to, Kip," she said quietly. "It's really okay if you don't, I know our relationship is a bit strange. But I would like it. If you would like it too."

Skittishly he looked up. For a moment he seemed to be in conflict with himself, then he nodded, muttering he was going to get himself a glass. 

Warm tinglings glided down her arms, and suddenly the whole drama with Kozik didn't seem to matter anymore. She smiled at him when he stepped into the room again, putting his glass next to hers. With a brief movement, he took off his boxers. The way he was holding his arm, showed her he was trying to hide his mutilated manhood, filling her with pity. 

"You never felt ashamed of your injury," she said, his eyes focused on his. "On the contrary..." She laughed briefly. "You know how you introduced yourself to me – and to many others? You told me your name was Half Sack, and the moment I raised my eyebrows you shamelessly lowered your pants to show me the reason of your nickname, while telling some heroic story about your time in Irak. I guess the girls liked it," she chuckled. 

Kip looked down for a moment as if he tried to imagine himself being successful with girls. Dana noticed he didn't know what to answer and shoved forward to create some space in the bathtub for him. Water splashed as he sat down behind her. The moment she could no longer see his nakedness, he seemed to relax a bit. As he moved his legs between hers and the side of the bath, she leaned back until her back was resting against his chest. After a short hesitation he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her shoulder.

Dana closed her eyes, just enjoying the moment for a while. She noticed how her body relaxed, and Kip also seemed to feel a little more comfortable. 

"This was an amazing idea," she sighed. "I can get used to this." Her hands glided across hers, he'd spread his fingers innocently across her stomach. She reached forward, took the glasses of wine and gave one to Kip before she snuggled up to him.

Sipping the sweet drink, she laced the fingers of her other hand with Kip's. She hoped he would pick up on the hint, but like probably every man he didn't notice. Since she didn't want to ruin the moment, she just kept leaning against him until their glasses were empty. Kip wrapped his arms around her again. Slowly his fingertips stroked her stomach, higher and higher until his thumbs were brushing the underside of her breasts. Dana bit her lip, it felt like a lifetime ago that someone had touched her like this. Turning her head to the side, she kissed his shoulder to encourage him to go on. His rough hands glided higher, hugging her breasts. The sudden tight grasp made her gasp. His stubble scraped the skin of her shoulder and neck as he started to kiss it. When he took his sensitive nipples between thumb and forefinger and gently tugged on them, she sighed softly. Closing her eyes, she aimed her full attention to his caresses, wishing his fingers would move down again. Eventually they did, although not as far down as she wanted; instead they settled on her stomach.