91. Nate

NINETY-ONE

NATE

I feel stupid for not buying Rosie the shower stool sooner.

And truthfully, it was Maddox who suggested I get one, but I'll keep that to myself. Because as soon as he said it, I wanted to smack myself in the face. I've been injured enough over the years to know showering with an injured leg is hard. I've just always lived in places that have the built-in shower seat, so I never had to buy anything special.

Something special. It's a fucking shower stool.

And it made her cry.

"You need anything else?" I ask, standing in the bathroom door.

Rosie eyes the dining room chair I put outside the shower stall. "Please tell me you aren't planning to sit there watching me."

I look at the chair, then to the opaque glass of the stall. "If the glass was clear…"

Rosie huffs. "Nathan, I appreciate you, but I'd like to do this alone."

I hold my hands palms out. "You're the one who brought it up. And, Miss Pervy, that chair is for you to use while you're taking on and off your clothes. Unless you'd rather I help… "

She purses her lips, assumably at her new nickname. "Thank you, but no." Then she glances at me. "Not this time."

That sparks my interest.

I take a step forward into the bathroom. "But another time?"

She lifts her shoulder in a casual shrug, and the days of denying myself physical touch gather like a weight around my balls.

I take another step closer. "I can be gentle."

A flash of humor crosses her features. "I'm sure you can. But I'm gross."

"You're not gross." I immediately argue.

"Nathan, I haven't showered in days. I feel grimy and disgusting, and I can smell myself." She makes a face as she says the last part.

When she looks like she'll try to take a step backward on her crutches, I stop advancing. "Fine," I tell her. "But I'm leaving the bathroom door open. If you need anything at all, just yell."

The look Rosie gives me says she won't be yelling for help, but as I back out of the doorway, I decide to stay close by.