“Okay.” I sighed. “But you have to be quick. Haven’s out. If she comes back and sees you, then I’m in for another cleanse and lecture about letting destructive energy into our space.”
“Deal.” He pushed past the threshold.
“Wait, hold on.” I waved my hands for him to stop.
“Seriously?” He leaned his head back as if the ceiling would answer all his prayers. “Yara, could you just?—”
“You’re tracking in water.” I hurried to the bathroom, grabbing a stack of towels.
David looked pissed but kept his commentary to himself. I laid the towels on the ground one after another. With each one placed, David stepped forward as if he were traveling on a row of lily pads.
“Slow down, slow down,” I protested when he kept catching up to me.
“This is ridiculous,” he complained, but stopped on one towel to give me a slight lead.
“I’m not the one who tripped.” I glanced up at him.
David’s hands were on his waist. The position made his soaked t-shirt (which looked a size or two too small) stretch across his chest. The dull gray of his shirt highlighted the reddish undertones of his white skin. I could make out every tight curve of hismuscles. Besides being impressive on the football field, David was an avid runner. We’d bumped into one another far too many times on the nature trails back in our hometown. His wardrobe had changed little since then. Thus, the too-small t-shirt.
“Are we waiting for an alien invasion or for the polar ice caps to stop melting?” David’s voice pulled me away from the foggy nature trails and a memory of him telling me to wait for him whenever the trail got too steep or too remote. He never believed in my ability to gouge an attacker’s pupils using my safety keychain (despite how often I used to ruin his day at our community center karate lessons when we were in seventh grade).
“You joke, but I think we’re closer to an alien invasion than not,” I teased. His scowl made me laugh. I still jumped into action, though.
Our towel bridge reached the bathroom mat laid out in front of the shower. I smiled, satisfied with the outcome. David seemed more pissed than ever. Although he won his dare, I felt like the victor tonight. His disapproval was catnip to me.
“You can use my soap in the caddy.” I pointed at a blue bottle.
“Lucky me,” he mumbled and went to remove his shirt.
“Whoa, whoa.” I slapped my hand over my eyes. He snorted.
“Well, you were taking so long to leave, I figured you wanted a peek,” he teased.
“You figured wrong.” I waved my hands, trying to feel my way out of the bathroom while keeping my eyes shut. David’s deep laugh tugged at my core. I slammed the door behind me, only to have it open a few seconds later. He tossed a pile of clothes out.
“Excuse me?” I yelped when the clothes fell at my heels. “Are you some sort of speed undresser?”
He ignored my question. “Wash those.”
“I take ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous’ like a normal human.”
The door shut again. I huffed as the shower started, the curtain rings scraping across the rod.
I’d have to wash his clothes or listen to him complain and put them in the washer himself. If the clothes didn’t get in the wash now, that meant I’d have to endure his presence for even longer.
I took the L, complaining under my breath the whole time. Before picking up the wet (potentially cursed) pile, I grabbed a pair of disposable gloves from the kitchen.
“Slipped or catapulted?” I mumbled with a creased brow as I carted the dripping pieces into our small laundry area.
As usual, Haven still had a load in the wash. I switched her clothes over and poured an insane amount of detergent into the machine. I smiled at the thought of David walking around with not just his skin but clothes smelling like me … Someone could interpret that the wrong way.
And you’d like that, wouldn’t you?Especiallyif he ran into anyone from home.
I frowned. No. Absolutely not. I wanted a lot of things, but wanting to be seen as David’s and vice versa had never been one of them.
I wasn’t dense enough to deny attraction. He was good-looking in a way that snuck up on people. At first glance, he was strikingly average with his dark hair, strong nose, and crooked smile. Upon second glance, the dark in his eyes seemed like an ode to a Gothic hero, and the way he spoke, ever low and steady, was reminiscent of every villain from some canceled-before-its-time paranormal TV series. A third glance risked complete fascination. Luckily, I’ve seen all of his sides. And most of them I didn’t like. Looks only got someone so far. And unfortunately for David, there were a plethora of kind lookers in the world.
After turning on the washing machine, I slipped into my room. Textbooks, notepads, and colored highlighters littered my desk. Before David’s knock, I’d been deep into studying, trying to get a head start this semester, so I would have enough time to dedicate to my campus organization’s events. Even though the semester just started a couple of weeks ago, my calendar was full of expectations.
