SOME LIKE IT WET by M.J. Schiller #RomanceGems

First off, you may have noticed that I'm not Kathryn Hills. We did a switcheroo, but Kathryn will be back next month, don't worry.

When I heard the theme this month was April Showers Bring May Flowers, as a romance writer my mind went to a place that normal people’s minds wouldn’t have. Shower scenes! But, since we don’t have a warning on this blog, I need to keep it clean (which I think is funny because, ya know, with the soap and all…). But which shower scene should I share?

 

In thinking through my options, I realized something. I like my characters wet! Whether it’s Killian and Bridey (SIN WORTH THE PENANCE) in a shower on the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, or Sam and Kyle (TO HELL IN A COACH BAG) doing the same in Denver. I’ve got Josh and Cassie (ROCK ME, GENTLY) falling into a pool in Vegas, and the teenaged Chase (ABANDON ALL HOPE) daring Hope to skinny dip, along with the adult Chase and Hope in the waves near Los Angeles shooting a music video. There's also the scene in SATAN, LINE ONE where Killian walks in on Josie in the tub. Even in ROCKED BY GRACE we have Zane coming to apologize to Grace on her fire escape during a storm. And there’s dozens more. I mean, you gotta see what the hero looks like wet, don’t you? Just search stock art sites and you’ll see how much people like a guy with drops of water clinging to him.

 

Holy moly! If I keep on with this, we’re all going to need a cold shower. I will share a scene with you, but first…are you a shower person, or a bath person? I love to send little gifts, but when I'm looking at bath bombs, I sometimes struggle to remember which of my kids and their girlfriends are shower people, and which are bath takers. My sister is a notorious bath addict--although she refers to them as wishy-washies--and I follow that family tradition. Some would say I’m a little obsessive about my foaming bath salts, but a gal needs her suds, right?

Here's a shower scene (clean) from ABANDON ALL HOPE. First I'll give you a blurb to help you make sense of things. 

It was one of those mornings for newspaper-writer/photographer Hope Creswell.

 

The alarm clock didn’t go off and she cut her finger on broken glass. Twice! Not one to let such things get her down, Hope headed into her assignment meeting with excitement, only to leave it stunned. Her new assignment is to trail the sensational rock-star, Chase Hatton, for an article. Chase Hatton. No one knows the power that name holds for her. No one knows of the childhood friendship that blossomed into romance, only to abruptly die on the night of Hope’s senior prom. No one knows of the ache still filling her heart. 

 

What starts out for Chase Hatton as an average publicity trip to Chicago suddenly becomes complicated.

 

Chase's manager tells him Hope Creswell will be interviewing him in the morning.

He spent eight years trying to forget Hope, and now she would be in his penthouse in a matter of hours?

 

When Chase opens the door to his penthouse and finds Hope on the opposite side, his heart begins beating a rhythm the rocker has yet to capture in any of his music.

 

The smoldering embers of their former romance are fanned by their mere proximity. Will they both be burned again? And what about Hope’s boyfriend, Phillip? Where does he fit into the picture that Hope is developing?

 

As Chase let the hot water pour over his body, taking with it all the salt and sand which were deposited on his skin earlier, it dawned on him that on the other side of the shower wall, Hope was naked. His movements stilled and he stared at the marble as if he could bore a hole through it with his eyes. On a whim, he reached out with both hands and touched the wall, then leaned his forearms against it, letting the water flow over his back. He could just make out her voice over their combined water use, singing. Since she hadn’t turned on the jets yet, he was able to make out the melody of “In Your Eyes,” the song they were shooting the video for. It hadn’t even been picked up yet by many stations, but obviously she'd heard it. Did she guess the lyrics were written with her in mind?

All I want is to forever be lost in your eyes,
To sing you my love, and to hear your reply.
I strum in the dark, put my heart on the stage,
To the roar of the crowd, but it’s your voice I crave.

I pace in the shadows and wait for my cues,
All the while wondering why I must pay these dues…

He pushed his arms out straight and raised his head to let the water tap dance on his eyelids and flow over his lips and chin. Then, he hung his head between his arms and let it pound into his shoulders, losing himself in the sensations. He reached down and finally turned off the shower, then stepped through the open marble doorway to grab a towel from the bar.

He rubbed his hair, then patted the moisture off his body before wrapping the towel around his waist. He moved over to the mirror, which was veiled in steam, placing both hands on the marble counter to lean against it. He still heard her sweet singing, if only in his head. He snatched a hand towel out of a basket and rubbed an oval in the steam to peer at his reflection. Why the hell did he ever agreed to let her do this story? Her nearness was like poison running through his bloodstream, burning him from the inside out.

The landline rang in his bedroom. He thought about Hope’s email message and rushed to pick it up before the second ring. “Hello?” He noticed the jets turn off in the next room; she must have heard the phone, too.

Over the static, a male voice replied, “Hello?Is Hope Creswell available?”

He hesitated only a second, moving in the direction of the door. “Umm…she’s in the tub. Just a minute.” He hurried into her bedroom and up to the bathroom door. “Hope, you have a phone call.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll be right out.” She sounded flustered. She opened the door, jumping a little when she saw him standing there with a towel wrapped around his waist, holding out the receiver. Her eyes grew wide, and she quickly reached up to secure her towel with one hand and grasped the phone with the other. Then she waited, pointedly, until he left.

He knew he shouldn’t be listening in on their phone conversation, but he had to get dressed, didn’t he?

“Phillip. How are you? …Do I have my own room?” 

Chase smiled. His plan to make Phillip nervous about the accommodations worked. 

“Well of course I have my own room. What sort of a brazen hussy do you think I am? Oh. That sort of brazen hussy. Oh my. You have been away too long.” She laughed in that low, sultry way that gave him goose bumps. “You’re in London? That’s fantastic. No kidding? Tomorrow? Sure, let me get a piece of paper to write this down.” He heard her rummaging through a few drawers before she, evidently, discovered a pad of paper and something to write with. “Go ahead. The Sunset Astoria Hotel. Isn’t that expensive? Well, of course I’m worth it. I never questioned that,” she teased. “But can you afford it? What do you mean something special? All right,” she said with a sigh. “I guess I’ll have to wait then. I’ll see you tomorrow night. You, too. I will. Goodbye.”

He listened for any type of reaction to the phone call—an excited squeal, happy humming, Hope throwing the phone against the wall—but he heard…nothing. 

It sounds like What’s-His-Name is on his way back.

He knew perfectly well his name was Phillip, but he preferred not to acknowledge that. 

It’s not like the two are engaged. And I’ll be damned if I let her walk out on my life again. So, I’ve got tonight.

 If you'd like to find out who comes out on top with this one, you can purchase it here:

Amazon:  mybook.to/AbandonAllHope

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abandon-all-hope-mj-schiller/1115678168?ean=2940016478500

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/abandon-all-hope-1

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/abandon-all-hope/id804684527?mt=11

Thanks for reading! And let us know which you prefer, shower or bath. Inquisitive minds want to know!