Free Free Falling by Debra Webb Page B

and
alive. She slipped her foot down to catch the warm water dripping
from the old, leaky spout. In the private theater of her mind, Free
stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss square on Mac’s lips. She thrust
her tongue inside his mouth and tasted his warm, unique flavor. Her
tongue, thrusting and retreating, as her arms entwined around his
neck, her body begging to be taken by him. She kissed him harder,
longer, and deeper. Her soul needing to be one with his. And then
his tongue thrust inside her mouth.
    Free’s eyes popped open. She sat up straight
in the tub and stared at her foot, her eyes widening in horror. She
tugged gently and panic seized her. Her big toe was stuck in the
spout. She tugged again, a little harder, but it wouldn’t
budge.
    “Oh, God.” Her heart thudded against her
ribcage. She’d gotten carried away with all that thrusting and
retreating and…”Oh, God,” she repeated.
    Free gripped the rim of the tub with both
hands, bit down on her lower lip and pulled her foot harder.
Nothing happened. Fear coursed through her veins. Stuck. The cold
steel spout gripped her toe in an awkwardly bent angle. How could
she have been so stupid? An occasional droplet managed to slip
around her toe, slid over the top of her foot and down around the
arch. Quickly she scanned the bathroom for anything that might aid
her in disengaging herself. Nothing. No telephone to call for help.
No blowtorch to cut herself loose—which is probably what it would
take.
    “Oh, God,” Free chanted once more. How would
she ever get out of this mess, short of summoning the fire
department? Adrenaline surged, renewing her fear.
    “Okay, okay, don’t panic,” she told herself.
Emily or Alex would be coming home anytime. Free hadn’t shut the
bathroom door. If she yelled when she heard someone come into the
house they would definitely hear her. The front door was open, but
she would hear the screen door when it slammed. All she had to do
now was relax and listen for one of her housemates to arrive. And
pray one of them came home before she shriveled into a human-sized
prune. Draining the water was not an option since it provided the
only cover for her naked body.
     
    ~*~
     
    The knock that rattled the old screen door
startled Free from the doze she had slipped into. She jerked to
attention, then shivered as her surroundings, cool water and all,
pervaded her consciousness. She had no way of knowing how long she
had been in the water, but judging by the throb in her toe and the
temperature of the water, it had been awhile.
    The screen door rattled again. Someone was at
the door, but it wasn’t Alex or Emily—they wouldn’t knock. Maybe
Lance had forgotten something in her truck. Free shivered again and
decided she would just have to take her chances. She couldn’t risk
spending any more time in this predicament.
    “Hello! Who’s there?” she shouted. Her
bathroom was the second room on the left past the staircase.
Whoever stood on her porch at the moment would hear her. Free
grimaced and tried to support her cramping leg by propping the
other one beneath it.
    “It’s Mac.”
    She cringed as the deep, masculine sound of
his voice echoed down the hall. Damn!
    Why couldn’t it have been anyone else?
Damn!
    The Girl Scouts selling cookies? Lance, Phil,
anybody? Double damn!
    She glanced down at herself and shivered
again. At least the slowly dissolving bubbles afforded her some
protection. Just to be sure, she wiggled her foot from side to side
and tugged hard. It still didn’t budge. She swallowed her pride and
did what she knew she had to.
    “Mac, the door is open,” she called out. She
moistened her lips and sucked in a bolstering breath. “I need you
to come in and help me. I’m stuck.”
    “Stuck? What do you mean stuck?” His voice
was louder now. Free could picture him at the door, his face
pressed to the screen.
    “Please, just come inside and help me.” She
closed her eyes. “You’ll see when you get in