Unforgettable (7 page)

 
“That’s a great picture, isn’t it?” Ethan was leaning over and looking at the screen. “Carrie considers it her masterpiece.”

 
“Yeah well, that’s obvious. I didn’t know I could look so good.”

 
“I think you look beautiful all of the time. You don’t need makeup to enhance your loveliness.” He said it quietly.

I cringed. “I wasn’t fishing for compliments, I know how I look.”

 
“No Juliet, I don’t think you do.” He lifted his hand up and pushed back a bit of hair that had escaped the scrunchie. His movement was tender, but it sent an electric shock through me.

 
I couldn’t move, my eyes were locked with his and my breathing became shallow. I wanted to lean into his hand. I forced myself to blink, to break eye contact, and when I did he dropped his hand. I instantly felt the loss. It was so confusing. I didn’t want him to touch me, I needed time, but damn it felt good.

 
Just then I heard a bark from outside the kitchen door.
Lucy
. My baby.

 
I jumped up and set the phone down as she launched herself through the doggy door. She barreled in with all her might and I scooped her up. “I missed you, girl. Have you been a good girl?” I asked, even though I knew she was. She was the best dog
ever.
Of course she didn’t answer me, but she licked my face and moaned in her high pitched happy-dog way.

 
“She missed you, I did too. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves last night.” He reached over and rubbed Lucy’s head. The fact that I was still holding her made the act more intimate. To me anyway. She leaned into his hand the way I had wanted to a minute earlier. Lucky dog. But, apparently I only had myself to blame. He was doling out the affection and I was cowering like a Victorian maiden.

 
I set Lucy down with a kiss and picked up my tea. I took a big gulp and set the glass down a little too hard. The whack of the glass hitting the countertop made me jump. I looked guiltily at Ethan, but he wasn’t looking at me. He wasn’t looking at anything. I guess my continued lack of responses to his conversation was starting to take its toll. Again. My fault.

 
“Do you know what time Carrie is coming by?” I asked as casually as I could. At least Carrie being here would take some of the pressure off. I just wasn’t able to relax around Ethan while we were alone like this. It’s not my fault.

 
“She said it would be sometime after one. She was staying until she was sure the caterers finished their job.”

 
I looked at the clock. At least three more hours. How was I going to entertain him for three hours? I wracked my brain. There was that big TV out in the living room, maybe we could watch a movie, but that seemed lame. I have amnesia, and I don’t even know what movies are out right now. I needed to work on getting my memory back. I needed to look at the rest of the house, to check for changes which might nudge my subconscious into action.

 
“I think I need to take a bath.” That sounded stupid. It was ten a.m. and I just came home from the hospital. There was probably something else I should be doing, but I didn’t know what.

 
“I’ll go get your stuff from the car. You go make yourself comfortable.” I nodded again, and went down the hall to the bathroom. I flipped on the light and braced myself for changes but I was happily surprised, it looked pretty much the same except for the blue towels hanging on the rack. My towels were yellow. I surveyed the vanity with a critical eye. It was spotless and gleaming. Much cleaner than it usually looked. There was also men’s cologne sitting on the left side of the counter. I picked it up and sniffed it. It smelled good, like Ethan. I heard the front door open and I quickly put it down, unwilling to be caught in the act.

 
He appeared at the open door seconds later. “Do you want this in here?”

 
I nodded. “It’s got my toothbrush and stuff.” He handed me the bag and stood there.

 
He was probably waiting for me to thank him for getting this. “Thanks Ethan,” I stammered, I had to get over this behavior.

 
“No problem, do you need anything else? Does your head feel okay?”

 
“I barely feel it. I’m just going to relax for a while. Thanks, for everything.”

 
He gave a brief nod and stepped out of the bathroom. I shut the door behind him and turned to the tub. My favorite bath crystals were still in the jar on the shelf. I turned on the tap and poured some into the water. It started foaming up immediately and the smell of jasmine wafted up. I poured a little more in for good measure. I really needed this.

 
Once I stripped off my clothes I hurried back over to the door to make sure it was locked. It was and I felt a little foolish. It wasn’t like he was going to come in here and try to catch me naked in the bath was it? Unless that’s the kind of stuff he likes to do. I got goosebumps. Maybe he was kind of a perv that way, I don’t know. I stepped in and hissed as the hot water enveloped my foot and calf. It was a little hotter than I usually liked, but perhaps that’s just what I needed. I slowly lowered myself in the rest of the way, leaned back and closed my eyes. I felt my muscles slacken and I let out a deep breath. A second later I jolted upright as I heard a pounding on the door.

 
“Jules, are you okay in there?” I sat up and covered my breasts instinctively.

 
“Yeah, I’m fine I’m just going to lie here a while.”

 
“You’ve been in there for over an hour, babe.”
An hour?
 
I had just sat down. I then noticed the water was barely tepid. It had been scorching hot just a moment ago. Crap, am I passing out now, too?

 
“I’m getting out in a second. Thanks, I didn’t realize how long I’d been in here.”

 
“Okay, call me if you need anything.”

 
“Okay.” I waited until I heard him walk away before standing up and grabbing a towel off of the rack. I wrapped it around myself and stepped out and onto the rug as I looked at myself in the big mirror over the vanity. I still had the bruise on my cheek, of course, but my eyes seemed clearer than they had at the hospital. I started drying myself off and caught a glimpse of something on my back. There was a drawing of a flower on my shoulder. I turned in towards the mirror and looked closer. It was a tattoo.

 
“Oh my god!” I must have been out of my mind or drunk or something. I rubbed at it, but it didn’t budge.

 
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Ethan’s voice carried through the door a second later. What was he doing, skulking around in the hallway?

 
“I’ve got a tattoo,” I told him in some outrage.

 
“I know. I was there when you got it. I think it looks nice.”

 
“I’ve never wanted a tattoo. What made me get this?” Perhaps it had been a dare; I never could pass up a dare.

 
“You got it after you quit the restaurant. It was your symbol of a new beginning. That’s why the bud is still opening. You thought about it a long time before I drew it for you.”
 
I stood there, thinking about that for a moment. I turned more fully to look at the design. It
was
nice. Beautiful really, now that the shock was starting to wear off.

 
I suddenly remembered I was standing there in a towel and that I hadn’t brought any clothes in with me. I searched through my bag but everything in there was dirty. Sanity returned and I opened up the cupboard where my robe was hanging. Thankfully, I still kept it there.

 
“Are you okay?” In my nakedness panic, I had forgotten that I hadn’t said anything in response to him. Again.

 
“Yeah, I was just trying to get dressed. I’ll be right out.” I hurriedly pulled on my robe. I knew it was mine because it was silky and had flowers on it, but it wasn’t the same one I remembered from a couple of days ago. Again, I was just rolling with the punches. It was like staying in someone else’s house when you weren’t planning on it and having to borrow their things. It felt foreign. I tied it around my waist and opened the door. Ethan was still standing there, looking concerned, so I just gave him a weak smile and pushed past him to go to my bedroom.

 
I opened the closet and stopped dead. It was stuffed. All my clothes were pushed to one side and the other side was taken up by men’s clothing. Stacks of jeans were on the shelves, and shoes were lined up along the entire floor area. My heart thumped hard against my breastbone. Everywhere I turned I was faced with the knowledge that I shared my life with Ethan. My mind just refused to accept it.
 

Chapter Six

 
I grabbed a pair of black yoga pants off the shelf and snatched a red tee shirt before walking over to my dresser to grab a fresh pair of panties. I pulled open my underwear drawer only to encounter stacks of folded boxer briefs in various colors. I reached down to touch them but jerked my hand back at the last second. That was just wrong. Clearly
I
am the pervert. Who runs their fingers over someone’s underwear?

 
I opened the drawer that used to be for my night wear. Bingo. Panties were staring back at me this time. I grabbed the first pair I saw and put them on. I threw off the robe, pulled the tee shirt over my head and stepped into my pants. There, I felt better. Dressed, I didn’t feel that I was as vulnerable. Not that I thought Ethan was going to take advantage of me, but
 
it made me feel better.

 
I walked back to the bathroom and Ethan was no longer standing in the hallway. Good. I opened the cabinet that had all of my beauty essentials, basically brushes and hair ties, and pulled out a brush with soft bristles. I still hadn’t brushed my hair yet, and I could tell getting all the knots out was going to hurt. I didn’t want to press my luck with the lump on my head. I pulled my hair out of the scrunchie and started gently working the brush through it. Yuck, it was all greasy. I really needed to wash it, but I was going to have to wait on that.

 
When I had gotten my hair as nice as it was going to get, I brushed my teeth and braced myself to go back out to the living room. When was I going to stop having to brace myself to do something? This has been the most stressful twenty four hours of my life. I was feeling drained mentally and physically.

 
I dragged myself into the living room to flop down on the couch, but before I could, I noticed Ethan sitting there with his head thrown back, asleep, Lucy curled up next to him. I stood there taking this chance to look at him covertly. He was beautiful. Truthfully, I’ve always thought so. When I first met him he was a bit gangly, but even then I could tell he was going to be a good looking man. Granted, he was only fourteen at the time, but he already looked like a model for some kind of perfume company. You know the kind of ads they shoot in black and white? Anyway, now he looked like every woman’s fantasy. His body had filled out and his face had become more angular. His mouth, oh his mouth was gorgeous. It always looked like it was on the verge of smiling.

 
I found myself staring at his mouth. I could almost imagine it kissing my lips. I could imagine it kissing other places too. I could see his lips enveloping my nipple. I imagined meeting his eyes as he looked up at me from between my legs.
What the hell?
I shivered, not knowing for sure if I was imagining the image or remembering.

 
I made my way closer to the couch. Lucy looked up at me and thumped her tail.
 
It made Ethan open his eyes. I guess he wasn’t sleeping after all. I could feel the blush spreading over my face as I was caught staring at him.

 
“I’m a little hungry, you?” I asked him as nonchalantly as possible. I needed to get into the kitchen and cook something; sometimes it was the only thing that soothed my mind.
   

 
“I could eat something, I haven’t really been that hungry since your accident. Do you want me to call something in?”