burn you up .

[athena mccarthy]

Her tanned body sits perched on the edge of the tub. In another life, she could have been a model. With her legs that seem to stretch for miles and her swollen lips, she would have done well on a swimsuit magazine. Her bathroom is full of humidity hungry plants. Their pots sit in macrame hangers and their leaves lift as the warmth touches them. It's taken her forever to grow her green thumb and even though she's better than she was, there is one in the corner that is tinged brown and limping sadly. She makes a mental note to water it. Julian returns and she sets the wine glass in the corner. He touches her with her lips and she can't help but hug at his leg like a needy child. Her eyes looking up at him and her heart sore with love and miss. “New York was never supposed to be permanent,” she says, dunking her feet back in and easing into the bubble filled tub. The hot water licks at her skin and for a couple of moments it's uncomfortable. “I'll go back. It's weird but building a life away from my family seems like a mistake.” Her wet fingers reach for his hand and her chin rests on the side of the bath, “I miss you so much.”

[Deleted]

The room is getting steamy and Julian's shirt clings to his skin in the humidity. It's taking all of his concentration to keep his eyes from roaming, her expanse of tanned skin practically begging him to drink it all in. But part of him knows that to get carried away now would be a wasted opportunity, might even take some of the shine off the situation and make his guilt creep back in. Still pleasantly baked, he takes a sip of wine as she eases herself into the tub with a wince, taking the opportunity to glance over her form before it's enveloped by bubbles. "It's not weird, you're a McCarthy through and through." His eyes meet hers as she looks up at him and it makes his heart swell. Her hand, warmed by the hot water, makes his seem cold by comparison as he intertwined his fingers with hers. He can't remember the last time he felt this content, this comfortable just sat in his own skin, doing not very much. He reluctantly frees his hand, only to pass her a wine glass and start unbuttoning his shirt. "You don't have to miss me," he says, stripping down and leaving his clothes in a crumpled heap by the bath. "I'm right here." As big as the bath is, as he stands and looks at it he can't help but laugh. "If I get in there you'll be squashed and your place will be flooded."

[athena mccarthy]

As she sinks into the tub her face is engulfed in bubbles. “I guess we kind of have a pack mentality,” she shrugs. McCarthys were loyal to their blood and not much to anyone else. She wonders for a second if that her fleeting attention could be owed to genetics. Maybe she'd inherited her uncle's indecisiveness. But if that were the case, she was sure Julian was her Vegas. While others passed by and made their mark, Jules was always a close thought behind. The wine feels cold in her mouth when she sips it. She watches as he undressed but doesn't say much. When she last saw him this way it had been dark and he was swallowed by the night's shadows. He was familiar but different. She wants to reach out but she's hit with worry. He's here now, but gone later. She's too afraid of the moment slipping away, so she doesn't address it. Instead she brings her knees to her chest and sits up a little, “You'll fit! I have flood insurance for a reason.” Her hands mold mountains with the bubbles and she smiles up at him, “what are you gonna do? Sit there cold and naked? Get in the bath!”

[Deleted]

He tilts an eyebrow as she speaks about her family, his words falling more freely thanks to his mild intoxication. "More like a cult," he murmurs, though he meant it less about the McCarthys specifically and more about rich people in general. Everyone sending their kids to the same handful of schools, living in the same neighbourhoods and going on vacation to the same luxury destinations... he hated that he conformed to that, with his expensive clothes and his eye wateringly expensive Manhattan loft apartment. At least he didn't have any plans to go to the Maldives, or have children that he'd send off to boarding school. Small victories. Getting undressed makes him feel more vulnerable than it had the last time. Spurred on by booze and long standing sexual tension, their last tryst had gone by in a blur of tangled limbs and muttered memories. She looked so much the same but the differences were all in how she carried herself these days, so much more a woman than the girl he used to know. "Your poor downstairs neighbours," he says, though he makes the effort to clambour into the bath. Hot water envelops him and he pulls her towards him, guiding her to lie against him, her back to his chest. Landing a kiss behind her ear, he wraps his arms around her. "Missed you."

[athena mccarthy]

She grins. The McCarthy's were a little more elusive than a cult, but probably pretty similar to an outsider's eye. They were like a secret society, that were so in love with each other it was almost incestuous. In New York she missed out on a lot of it. When she first moved her absence from family events made her feel important... like she was too good to attend. But she'd shaken that and now everytime she missed out on something, she felt an immense homesickness. The water level rises as he settles into the tub. She's quickly pulled towards him and soon she's resting between his legs and her back against his chest. When his lips touch her she feels a rush of warmth and her heart seems to jump. Her fingers wrap around his arms and she turns her face to kiss his shoulder. “I missed everything about you,” she answers. Her legs stretch out and she hooks her foot with his for a moment. “Even the way you sulk. I'd take you sulking over not having you.”