It was a little after six o'clock. The door opened in a shove and slammed back shut. Nathaniel had a long day at work.
Lynn could tell by how he went straight from the front door to the bedroom without stopping. She could hear him drop onto his bed with a groan all the way from her place nested on the living room couch, over the loud volume of her inane late-afternoon TV show.
The sound makes the young collegiate smile a little, knowing it was specifically done to get her attention, and she decides to indulge him. She shut off the tv, pushing to her feet and walking into the bedroom. She stops in the doorway, leaning on the door frame.
"How was your day, Nath?" The brunette asks, trying to keep her amused smile out of her voice.
He mutters something she could not quite hear, so she walks over to the bed and sits on the edge next to him. He moves slightly to make space when he feels the bed dip but otherwise does not even react to her presence, petulantly ignoring her in hopes to get more pity points.
The brunette woman chuckles at the cat-like behaviour of his and gently begin to rub his back, kneading that spot next to his spine in such a way that she knows that he loves.
He groans softly, leaning into your touch and turning his head so she can finally see his face.
"Hey, Nath." Lynn murmurs, leaning down to kiss his lips lightly.
He huffs when she pulls away much too fast for his taste, bringing her hand to the back of his neck and holding her lips to his until he is fully satisfied.
"Hey, baby." Nathaniel greets back, mimicking her casual tone.
The brunette café owner smiles at the sound of his voice. She loves the sound of his voice very much, and listening to it puts her at ease.
"What's wrong?" She prompts, bringing her hand up to between his shoulder blades, drawing small circles on the tense muscles.
"Just a long day at work." He sighs, shifting under her hand to scoot closer to his fiancée. "It's cold outside and I'm aching something fierce."
Lynn hum to let him know you heard him and ponder the words of complaint for a moment. "How about a bath? It would warm you up and relax your muscles, you know?"
He scoffs at the suggestion, finally opening his eyes to see if his fiancée is actually being serious.
"A bath? I'm not a little…"
"Nathaniel." The woman cuts him off by a simple movement of her hand.
She and him had been working on the toxic masculinity mindset, and it has been an uphill battle for her. One would be quite deceived by his demure behaviour in high school, but the demands and prejudices his father held has a tighter grip on his value system than it might appear to naked eye.
Besides, she had been taught by his therapist, activities that demand or symbolize love for oneself could be of great benefit for someone like her fiancé, who struggled with self-esteem. Therefore, things like flowery-smelling shampoos and bubble baths and skincare routines were all things she had been working hard to change his view on from being negative, sissy things to being reliable and pleasurable self-care for all genders.
"Sorry, sorry." He groans, rolling onto his back. "Fine. I'll take a bath, if you take a bath with me."
Lynn takes both of his hands in hers, pulling him to his feet. He is much too heavy for her to lift all by herself, but the man is pleased in pretend that it has been her to do the work all alone.
"Alright, mister, you got yourself a deal!" She beamed at the man. "Get your clothes off and I'll go set up the tub."
She leaves him there, even when Nathaniel whines as she goes, quickly getting to work.
The brunette woman plugs the tub, then turn on the water at just the right temperature. Then, she drops in some of the bubble bath soap she had hidden under his sink, and, just as she is pulling out the scented candles to light, the bathroom door creaks open.
She resists the urge to stop like a deer in headlights, instead moving faster to light the candles so that he cannot tell her not to.
"No." Nathaniel shakes his head emphatically, setting the clothes on the toilet seat and then grabbing she by the arm. "No way, we aren't doing this romantic girly candle shit. I said yes to the bath, not…"
The man trails off when he sees the massive amounts of bubbles foaming in the tub.
She sets the last candle down, then sets the lighter next to it. He begins to shake his head adamantly, and the woman knows that he is going to try and tell her he has changed his mind.
So, without a moment of hesitation, Lynn drops her shorts in one swift motion. He stops, watching as she undresses with a heated look in his eyes. It certainly would be better to convince him through reason, but in the time they spend debating it, the water would turn cold. Sex was a much quicker incentive.
Finally removing the last article of clothing, the woman gingerly steps into the shower/tub combo, using his shoulder for support.
"You don't have to join me if you don't want…" She trails off.
Immediately after she finishes her provocation, Nathaniel is shedding his clothes as quickly as he can.
She gets into the tub first, then spread her legs, motioning to the space between them.
"Come here and sit with your back to me." She commands.
He raises an eyebrow at the tone of her voice, so she softens her tone and say, "Please?"
The blond man stares at the open space for a moment, before slowly getting into the tub and hesitantly sitting with his back to her. She grabs his shoulders, pulling him back so he leans fully against her chest. She begins to cup water, strategically pouring it on his head without getting any in his eyes. He slowly begins to relax back against her warm body, muscles loosening as he lets go of the day's concerns.
Once his hair is fully wet, Lynn grabs the shampoo, squeezing some onto her hand.
He turns his head, curiously trying to see what she is doing then. "What're you up to, there?"
Knowing that her fiancé would protest to her using her own shampoo and not his store-brand three-in-one, she places the hand with no shampoo on his head and turn it back to face forward.
"Mind your own business." She tells him, sassily.
Nathaniel pinches her thigh under the water in retaliation, and she squeaks, jumping. He lets out a satisfied chuckle, but does not push the matter further, so she rubs the shampoo between her hands and gets to work.
The brunette puts her hands right into his hair without hesitation, massaging his scalp and pushing the shampoo through every strand as evenly as she can. He groans loudly, head falling back against her chest, at the sudden ministrations. His hands tighten where they are holding onto her legs, and she cannot keep back a smirk at his reaction.
He tilts his head so her hand rubs into a certain spot and he lets out another low groan.
"Yeah, right there." Nathaniel murmurs, voice low and out of it.
"If I knew you'd react like this, I would have done this sooner." She teases him.
In response, he pinches her again, but this time not as hard.
"Less talking, more playing with my hair." He mutters.
With a playful sigh and eye roll, Lynn does as he says. She rinses his hair with her hands, then repeat it with conditioner, getting a similar reaction out of him.
Washing his body is more difficult, seeing as the stubborn man decides to deadweight himself to stop her from moving, but she eventually gets that done as well. As the water begins to grow cold with the winter chill, it was time to get off.
She taps into his shoulder. "Come on, you big baby. We're done now."
They both dry off but, before the woman can get dressed past her underwear, Nathaniel scoops her up and carries her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.
He drops Lynn on the bed, crawling on top of her and snuggling in between her legs, with his arms wrapped around her middle section and his head once again on her chest.
"I love you." He whispers, barely loud enough for her to hear.
She kisses the top of his head, smiling when she feels his wet hair against her lips.
"So, when were you going to tell me you had a hair-pulling kink?" He asks, smirking.
Lynn scoffs. "Shut up, you loved it."