Reckless Entitlement

Chapter 18: Nick

I am an idiot.

I have to be, I can't get this damn Pink Peony mask to come off. Splashing my face with water, I tried again to get the dried goop off my face. My eyes were still closed, but I could tell there was still a lot on there.

I need help.

"Maya!" I yelled from the bathroom. Hopefully, she had more success washing her mask off than I did.

I heard her quick footsteps rushing towards the bathroom. "Oh my God, Nick what's wrong?" I couldn't see anything, but I could hear her coming inside the bathroom.

"It won't come off," I said in distress. "I've tried rubbing it but it's not coming off."

I heard her giggling. "You poor thing. It's really stuck on there."

"Please, help me," I begged.

"I will," she hummed. "But on one condition."

"I'll do anything." I just want this stupid mask off my face.

"Admit that water is wet."

I groaned loudly. "Maya." I knew that argument would come back to bite me in the ass sooner or later.

"Say it or you can stand here and drip pink mask off your face," she said. "The choice is yours."

The thought of having to wait for it to drip off my face sent chills down my spine, so I bit my tongue and said what she wanted to hear. "Water is wet." It is not.

"There I said it. Can you please help me now?"

"Yes, I will," she said joyfully. I heard her reach over and turn the faucet on. "Bend down."

I crouched down, so to give her more access to my face. She began by wiping the excess water and mask that had dripped into my eyes before going to clean the rest of my face. She had to scrub harder in some places than others, but other than those few spots her touch was very gentle.

"I shouldn't have put it on so thick some places," she said as she finished wiping off the last of it. "It would have been easier for you to take it off."

Opening my eyes, I blinked rapidly. Maya stood a few inches from my face. Her mask was completely gone revealing her clear brown skin. I'd committed every inch of her face to memory while I had applied the mask to her face.

"Thanks for helping me." Neither of us made any attempts to move from our position.

"Happy to help," she said softly.

I don't know who leaned in first, but the next thing I know my lips were on hers and I had my arms around her waist. Her lips were as soft as I had imagined. I ran my fingers against her soft jaw, her round cheeks felt smooth against my finger tips. I could have stayed that way forever, but unfortunately, we had to breathe.

"We have some weird firsts don't we," I said resting my forehead against hers. My arms were still wrapped around her waist. When she put her arms around my neck she dropped the towel that she had been holding.
"Our first kiss is in my bathroom," she said. "That's not very romantic."
"Well, the first time I saw you with your pants off was when you opened your front door for me. It can't be less romantic than that."
She smacked my shoulder lightly. "You said you'd pretend like that never happened."
"Right, Sorry," I smiled. "We're just different, you and I."
"I'll say," she agreed. She ran her fingers over my jaw. "It feels so smooth, I'm impressed."
"I'll have to tell Lavender how great it was."
I gently kissed the side of her neck taking in her fresh fragrance. "I like the way you smell."
"That's funny," she said, "I was going to say the same thing to you."
"Great minds think alike."