Mark
The water ran, warm and steady, and I stayed close—not overbearing, just present. I could feel the tension in her shoulders, tight as coiled rope, slowly unraveling with each drop. Her eyes were closed, lips parted slightly as she let herself exist in a space that wasn’t chaos. Not mine, not anyone’s—just hers.
I’d never been so conscious of the small details before—the way her long brown hair had escaped its bun, sliding down her back in a slow, almost delicate fall. The curve of her neck, the quiet rise and fall of her shoulders with each exhale. I didn’t move to touch. I didn’t need to. Just being here, breathing in the same space, felt like a privilege.
She leaned back slightly against me, the faintest weight pressing into my chest. I could feel her release, feel the muscles in
