“There’s no ladies’ room?” I glanced around the empty hall for some sort of sign.
He held up his key. “I only have access to the men’s. They started locking them last year to make sure only student-athletes had access. You could ask the guy up front for a key, but I promise, the space is big enough for the both of us.”
“Okay,” I said, lamely.
“Don’t worry,” he assured. “You’ll have privacy. I swear.”
Oh, finding privacy definitely wasn’t what concerned me. The thought of how my body would react to a naked Dakota only a few feet away from me was my current and only worry.
I gave Dakota a nod and followed him into the locker room.
Chapter 18
Dakotahadalockerfull of fresh clothes. The shirt and sweats he offered me looked new and smelled like dryer sheets.
“Towards the back are the showers with curtains.” He gestured over his shoulder. “There are plenty to choose from. I’m going to pick one of the showers up front so I can keep an eye out. But guys hardly come up to the second floor this late into the night. It’s easier to use the bathrooms downstairs.”
“You get a lot of late-night workouts in?” I set the clothes and towel he gave me down on the wooden bench. My hands worked to peel off my soaked shoes and socks.
“When I can’t sleep, I run.” Dakota started removing his shoes too, but he didn’t stop there.
I tried to keep my eyes normal when he pulled off his shirt. He removed a brown, leather necklace I never realized he wore underneath. Next went his sweats. The original blue fabric now looked black because it was drenched. I swallowed when I got a glimpse of his toned thighs. He wore black boxers, and I instantly knew that sight would be what I’d dream of tonight.
In an attempt to not be a total creep, I moved my gaze towards the tattoos on his back. Images of dragons and thick forests trailed down his skin and into the waistband of his underwear. Dakota kept his back to me as he undressed. He took care not to reveal his front as he rummaged through his locker for another towel.
My mind raced with things to say. The quiet felt unnatural and almost made me want to run. Fortunately, he broke the silence for both of us.
“The water takes a moment to heat up, but it will,” he promised and then, moved towards the end of the room where the showers didn’t include curtains.
Once I heard a showerhead turn on, I finally let myself take a deep breath. I stared up at the white ceiling, willing my mind to stop telling me to go on the same side of the showers as him. I’ve come up with a ton of bad ideas in my day, but this could by far be the worst.
What person in their right mind would go shower next to someone they turned down? There were too many showers in here to have a legit excuse to join him… Except, when I removed the rest of my clothing, I found my feet leading me towards where I heard running water.
I might regret going back on my promise after this. Tomorrow, there was a ninety percent chance I would wake up and spend half my day cringing and the other half avoiding all eye contact with Dakota. But none of that mattered now because I had a small amount of courage. I planned on not wasting it by claiming the open shower across from his.
Dakota’s back was to me, so he didn’t notice my presence at first. His hair was already sopping wet, sticking to his neck as he wiped his hands across his face.
I’m not sure why I walked up with my arm covering my boobs. My breasts were far too large and saggy to censor. I took another calming breath, resolving to let every soft, flabby part of my body do its thing. If I was going to do this, I’d have to be confident. There was no use in showering across from a university football player with a body of steel and smile of gold if you didn’t look like you deserved it.
And I deserved something. Anything, because I was finally willing to give as much as I got.
I turned the shower on and like Dakota warned, the water started out lukewarm. He glanced over at the squeak of the turning handle. His eyes landed on my face first. How gentleman-like. I appreciated the effort. I appreciated him even more, when his gaze traveled lower towards my breasts, stomach, and then between my legs.
Dakota didn’t look surprised to see me across from him. More importantly, he didn’t look surprised by the various rolls and stretch marks my clothes hid.
He turned his body towards me so his front was exposed and back to the shower’s stream. His chest rose and fell like he was taking deep breaths. I made sure my body turned completely to him too. I kept an innocent look on my face as I worked soap over myself.
I moved my hands across my body, welcoming him to watch the show. Praying he’d keep his gaze on me because that’s how far gone I’d become. I couldn’t take the lingering stares, biting lips, and making excuses to touch. I gave it a good go, I think. But each day that went by, pulling away from Dakota felt more and more difficult. He was quite possibly the opposite of Tyler. No one could fake caring this much, for this long. What was there to gain from being warm and soft and open? He had everything to lose and each day, Dakota revealed that much to me.
I wanted to try something new. I wanted to push away my fears and focus on the person in front of me. Focus on the guy who had shown me time and time again that he didn’t deserve to be pushed away.
Dakota still breathed heavily as I lathered myself up with suds. The soap washed over me, providing temporary coverage over my hardened nipples and soaking pussy. My gaze flickered down his torso. I smiled a little when I realized he was a grower.
When he’d first noticed I stepped into the shower, he’d been a respectable size. Nothing exceptional. But, now that he’d gotten a good look at me under the water, he hardened enough to put him in the category of exceptional.
As he raked his fingers through his hair, I knew he was doing his best to stay on his side of the showers. If he wasn’t naked, I would have figured maybe he wasn’t that into me. Thankfully, his excited cock indicated otherwise.
“What are you doing, Emmy?” he asked in a low voice. His eyes were back on my breasts. I wiped away some suds with my cloth to give him an unobstructed view.
