The shower

Abbie quickly began to lather up and wash herself in the shower. She knew Mark needed it next, so she was trying to be conscious of that and work quickly. She had soaped up her body, when she heard Mark's voice.

"Are you almost done, Abbie? I need to get in there."

"I just need a few more minutes, Mark."

Mark sighed. "I have like two minutes before I need to be at work." He thought for a second. "Crossing major lines here, but what would happen if I got started while you were still finishing? I wouldn't touch or even look at you. Would you be okay with that?"

There was a brief pause. Then Abbie called out, "Sure, Mark!"

Mark was stunned. "Wait, what?"

"I said sure. Maybe you can't hear me with the water running."

Mark approached the shower curtain, and touched it with his hand. "Did you say I could get in here behind you before you got out?"

"Yup. Go ahead."

Mark couldn't believe what he was hearing. He pulled the curtain open. To no big surprise, there was Abbie, covered in soap lather, and otherwise totally naked.

"It's going to take a minute to fully rinse this body wash off me. You might as well get started."

She turned her back to him. He slowly pulled down his boxer briefs, and stood, equally naked (though less soapy) just outside the tub. He gingerly stepped in, one foot, then the other.

"Oh, you need water, don't you. Let's trade places while my skin absorbs some of this wash."

Abbie took hold of Mark's torso, and steered him around in the tub so he was standing in the spray of water.

"Abbie," he said.

"Yeah?"

"We've lived together for years and never shared a shower. Why is this happening right now?"

"You were in a hurry, I'm in a hurry, we only have one shower."

"Yeah, but ... privacy?" He had his back to her and couldn't see her.

Abbie shrugged. "I don't know. Didn't seem like a big deal when you asked, so here we are."

Mark picked up his own soap, and began to wash his body. Thinking about Abbie behind him, he couldn't help but wonder whether she was looking at him, and he also couldn't help but picture her naked body he had just seen. Suddenly, any sense of urgency had faded from his mind.

"Abbie," he said softly.

"Yes?"

He took a deep breath, and decided to take a chance. "While I'm washing my front, since you're right there, would you wash my back?"

It was silent for what felt like an eternity. Then she said, "Sure, hand me your soap."