when I heard the click of the lock. I sat up as the front door opened. I had fallen asleep on the couch. The TV’s auto-shutoff had long ago turned it off.“Did you wait up for me?” asked a gentle voice.“No,” I admitted. “I fell asleep and just now woke up.”“You could have gone to bed, silly.”I stood up and walked over to him. “I didn’t want to sleep alone in the bed. It’s the first time in this new apartment. I thought that we should do it together.”“You are sentimental, aren’t you? My knees are getting closer to the ground.”“I’m also a practical guy. Did you get something to eat?” I asked.“Yeah. Jersey Mike’s. I just need a shower.”“Need me to scrub your back?”He reached out, grabbed my hand, and pulled me toward the bathroom. Once there, he brushed his teeth. I brushed mine as well. He stripped down and placed his shirt and pants into one hamper and his socks, t-shirt, and underwear into the other. “Those go to the cleaners, and the shirts get starched.” He turned on the shower and faced me. “Are you going to scrub my back with your clothes on?”I slowly removed my clothes and put them into the hamper with his socks and T-shirt. He took my hand
