A Silent Lover

16. TaekWoon

The pragmatic and by all appearances entirely grown up woman that Imani showed me on a regular basis had in no way prepared me for entering her inner sanctum which apparently didn't follow the same rules. Looking around the large space, I could tell that this was the epitome of girl's bathrooms; if I hadn't just walked into the room from the master suite, I would've thought I was in someone else's apartment.

Forget the burnt oranges, deep reds, and warm browns that decorated the house, Imani's personal bathroom was an homage to pink, with pale pink walls, pink fuzzy seat covers and matching floor mats. All her accessories and towels were in white and little cherry blossom stickers floated along the back wall of the shower and tub combo.

I had never been inside a girl's bathroom before and after living with only guys for upwards of five years, I was extremely curious to see exactly what the large bathroom contained. Already I could see that Imani's girly side was more evident when it came to her personal decoration; but now I wondered what she kept in the closet in the bathroom and I desperately wanted to look inside the cabinet under the sink. But my earlier incident had made me cautious; I wasn't opening anymore drawers, afraid of what I might find.

I spat toothpaste into the sink and then added my nightly moisturizer to my skin. I was all ready for bed but I still lingered in the bathroom, debating over whether there was more to be done. Did I need deodorant or to use my special occasion lotion, the one HongBin had given me that he'd said cost fifty dollars a bottle? And maybe just brushing wasn't enough. As I picked up the plastic, I realized this was probably my fourth time running the brush over my teeth and my hand was getting tired.

I was overly conscious of how my breath would smell the next morning, well-aware that experiencing someone else's foul morning breath as soon as you woke up made you want to run for the hills. But living with the guys had been full of hellish experiences like this; I was surprised I had lasted so long. I had tried to behave normally since being in Imani's home but it was impossible. And of course, it had everything to do with the girl currently sitting on the bed outside, looking through the books that I had added to the shelf above it.

Imani had been nonchalant about everything since I'd moved my stuff in, hadn't even looked surprised when I had asked if we would share the bed, only nodding her head in agreement. But why was I losing my mind? It's not as though I was going to jump her, and I was positive Imani would never do anything like that. But I was beyond embarrassed because I knew this was nothing like sleeping together with my members. And more importantly, I had honestly never spent the night with a woman, let alone slept platonically in their bed. What was she expecting from me; should I be expecting something?

I was starting to get shy and panicky, the palms of my hands suddenly becoming sweaty. I shook my head to rid myself of thoughts of Imani holding me down on her bed while laughing maniacally. The idea of sharing a bed with her was making my body go haywire and I wiped some sweat from my forehead, hoping Imani would just think it was from the shower.

You can do this Jung TaekWoon, I told myself. Don't be a coward.

I crossed myself and then said a quick prayer to Buddha for good measure, hoping one of the two were listening. I took a deep breath, fixed my pajama bottoms and t-shirt one last time, and left the sanctuary of the bathroom.

Imani's face is buried in a book when I leave the restroom, and she barely raises her head as I walk towards the bed. With careful steps, I make my way towards her, keeping my eyes trained on her in case of any sudden movements. But my close watch makes me notice more than just whether she's about to pounce on me. Imani's always looked beautiful whenever I saw her. No matter how casual her clothes, she still managed to make my heart beat pick up its pace. But seeing her in the lacy shorts and matching silk top that she now wore almost made me groan out loud. I had known that Imani was tall, but her legs seemingly go on forever as they rest on top of the blanket, her feet uncovered and each of her toes painted black.