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There was some comfort in walking down the halls of Betrest's home. At least here Nehesy was welcome. His sister always made it clear she wanted him to stay as long as possible, and eventually settle again in Thinis. And Amun concurred.
Amun had designed and built this house and perhaps, one day, Nehesy would ask his brother-in-law to design one for him. Nehesy would sell or raze his parent's house – and all it’s bad memories – and use the bricks to build something entirely new. Something he'd help make with his own labour.
Except... there were good memories there, too. Ones he had only begun to remember thanks to Imi’s reappearance in his life.
A figure slipped out of Betrest's bedroom and out into the hall ahead of him.
"Sprout," he called. She whirled about, saw him, and straightened. Nehesy's long strides took him to her in moments, which he used to try to determine just what had happened to her.
Her white dress was smeared in black from the waist down. There were... handprints, perhaps? around her waist and fingerprints near her collar. And a smear on her forehead.
"Ra's balls, Sprout, what did you do?" A smile pulled at his mouth. If anything could make him laugh after the awful meeting with his mother, it was Imi and her antics. She could always be counted on to do something outrageous.
An expression flitted across her face that reminded him of a trapped, wild animal. Ready to flee. Then her defiant little chin lifted. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're..." he waved a hand up and down to indicate her person, "covered in something."
"Am I?" she looked down at herself. "Hmm. I can't imagine how that happened." Her fingers – also blackened on the tips – turned up, then snapped shut into fists that she pulled down to her sides, as if to hide the evidence stained there.
Nehesy grinned. Warmth spread through him. She was hilarious, really. And lovely. He stepped a little closer, until they were almost touching. He lowered his voice. "I think I know what happened."
She looked up at him, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Do you?"
"Mmm hmmm." He tapped his chin, then ducked his head until his nose almost brushed her ear. He was awash in that delicious, elusive, spicy citrus scent of hers. And something new. Kohl dust. Of course. His skin prickled and his groin stirred in response to her nearness. He whispered, "You. You happened."
Imi, always in motion, went still. And yet he sensed tension vibrating through her. As if she, too, felt his proximity in a visceral way.
Then her palms came up and shoved his shoulders. Caught by surprise, Nehesy stumbled back a few steps. He laughed at his own foolishness, and at the scrunched expression on her delicate features.
"You're not funny, Nehesy. It was an accident."
"Of course it was," he agreed amiably.
"I'm not..." she made a frustrated sound and slashed a hand through the air.
"Not what?"
"Never mind," she muttered, shaking her head.
"I'm only teasing, Sprout. I didn't mean anything by it."
Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath. "Nobody calls me Sprout anymore. My name is Imi. I might still be clumsy, but I'm not a little girl anymore, Nehesy."
Ah. He'd actually upset her. He reached for her hand. A small, delicate hand, certainly, but strong. The hand of a talented perfumer who managed to wreak havoc in her wake.
"You're angry with me. I'm sorry." He stepped close again. Recklessly close, because this was Imi and maybe she wasn't a child anymore, but she was still one of the best friends he'd ever had, and he didn’t like to see her truly upset.
And now that she was back in his life, he didn't want to lose her. Especially not after the meeting he'd just had with his mother. He had few people he truly cared for, and who cared for him. Of course, she smelled delicious, she looked adorable, and she always made him smile. Imi was easy to like. How his mother and Ludim could disparage her was beyond him.
"Your hair looks nice," he said, because women always liked a compliment on their appearance. It was true, even if he preferred her hair down and wild, little bits going free here and there, seeming to always be moving. Just like her.
"Your sister did it," she mumbled, looking away.
"It's good. Oh, and I sent a messenger to find Hamset."
Her eyes snapped to his, and her expression softened into a smile. "Thank you." She was bouncing a little on her heels, and he doubted she even realized it. Her hand still rested in his, pulsating with each little bounce.
"You're welcome."
Silence fell between them. She balanced on the balls of her feet now, seeming unaware that it brought her full mouth that much closer to his. And now his eyes were focused on her mouth. Her tongue darted out, leaving a sheen of moisture on her lips, and he was seized by the urge to kiss her. To put his thumb right in the centre of her bottom lip, then cover it with his mouth.
She would be incapable of faking anything during lovemaking. Instead, she’d be like a nighttime display of shooting stars, sublime, intense, and awe-inspiring.
He should step away now. Go. Get back on his ship and sail off. It’s what he planned to do as soon as his father’s interment was over and he’d helped Imi find her brother. He couldn’t risk an entanglement with one of his only true friends.
And yet, his hand cupped her jaw and swiped his thumb along the soft skin of her cheekbone. Her lips parted on a swift intake of breath.
"You have a smudge here," he said. He tilted his head down until their noses were almost touching and he could feel her suddenly ragged breath on his chin. "You're right, you know. Neither of us are children anymore."
Her eyes went wide. Her mouth looked deliciously soft and lush. Gods he wanted to kiss her. Right there, in his sister’s hallway, covered in kohl dust. He wanted to experience the intensity of her energy and passion lavished on him and no one else.
He should leave. Now.
And yet Imi remained motionless, too. For once not bouncing, jiggling, and fidgeting. Only a slight trembling gave away that her body was thrumming with the same desire as his, and her breathing grew heavy.
The moment stretched, the air thickening around them.
Something moved down the hallway behind Imi. Nehesy dropped his hands from her face and stepped back. His sister stood in her bedroom door, looking at him with a surprised, thoughtful expression.
Damn it. He was a fool. If he’d kissed Imi, it would destroy their friendship. What good would it do either of them when he had no intention of staying in Thinis, and no intention of settling down? And for all he knew, she didn’t want him that way at all.
His sister would probably have something to say about this when she next got him alone. Even if nothing had really happened.
It only felt like it had.
Nehesy inclined his head to both his sister and Imi, then turned and walked away.