I wasn’t capable of shutting my brain off for the sake of getting laid, even if that meant it was going to be me and my hand for the rest of my life.
After letting the spray wash over me for a few more minutes, I turned off the tap and stepped out of the shower, reaching for my towel on the hook it usually hung on. Except my fingers only grasped the air.
“Shit.” I opened the cabinet under the sink, hoping an extra towel was in there, but I came up short. Water dripped down my body, pooling onto the bathmat.
I didn’t think Sierra was in the house because I was pretty sure I heard the front door shut before I hopped in the shower. I hadn’t heard her bedroom door open or close in the last fifteen minutes at least.
I weighed my options. My phone was charging in my room, so I couldn’t send Sierra a text to ask her to grab me a towel. I could yell for her, but it was unlikely she was back in the house, so that wasn’t an option either. I could also just run into my room from the bathroom to dry off in there. It would only take a couple seconds since the bathroom was literally two steps away.
That was really my only option, unless I wanted to stand in the bathroom and air dry, which I did not want to do.
For good measure, I pressed my ear against the door. Silent as a mouse. The only noise I could pick up was the hum of the air conditioning and maybe the jingle of Pancho’s collar in Sierra’s room. She generally left him in there with the door closed when she ran errands, so I assumed he was just scratching his ears.
I took a deep breath, for some reason needing to hype myself up to walk around the corner naked.
This is fine. It’s my house, and no one is here right now.
Twisting the door handle, I opened the door.
To my surprise—and hers—Sierra was not actually outside. She was in the house. In the hallway. Directly in front of the bathroom door.
“Oh my God!” she shrieked, covering her eyes with both hands, her cheeks already flaming. “I amsosorry!”
As embarrassing as the wholesituation was, I didn’t miss the way her eyes flicked down and back up in the millisecond before she realized what was happening.
My hands flew to cover my crotch, water droplets still clinging to my chest and dripping off the ends of my hair. “No, I’m sorry. I thought you were outside. I, uh, didn’t have any towels in the bathroom.”
She was still covering her eyes as she turned away from me, toward her bedroom. “It’s okay. It’s your house. You’re allowed to walk around naked if you want to.” She opened her door, stepping inside while repeatedly muttering, “Oh my God,” before slamming the door.
I chuckled a little at her reaction, despite it being a completely valid one. Wanting to tease her a little, I called out, “Nothing you haven’t seen before, Skip!” then headed into my own room to grab a damn towel.
I immediately sent her a text once I was safely in my room.
Jokes aside, I really am sorry, Sierra.
Won’t happen again.
She sent back a thumbs-up reaction, and I squeezed my eyes in a grimace.
Well, that could have gone ten times better.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
sierra
Iwaited for five minutes before cracking the door to make sure Hayden was in his room. I didn’t know if I could face him after our little run-in in the hallway.
“Nothing you haven’t seen before, Skip!”His teasing echoed in my head as I paced the floor. My phone had buzzed with some texts from him apologizing, but how the fuck was one supposed to respond to seeing their childhood best friend turned lover turned stranger turned roommate naked in the hallway?
It wasn’t like I could just say,No big deal. You’re right, I have seen it before.
I mean, I could, but I didn’t think that was the appropriate response. So, instead, I did what any normal person would do and reacted to the messages with a thumbs-up.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t a great response either, but I panicked.
The coast was clear, so I snuck out of my room, tiptoeing down the hallway. I peeked around the corner todouble-check he wasn’t in the kitchen or sitting on the couch.
If that was the case, I guess I would be camping out in my room for the foreseeable future. I could always sneak out the window like I was fourteen, but I was all for practicality these days.
