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I snap my eyes closed as I hear clothing start to drop. Water splashes. And I think I might stop breathing.
If I thought the earlier conversation was bad, this is much, much worse. I should have left. I should have gone downstairs no matter what I was wearing. Maybe my food is still on the table, not that I have any appetite anymore.
“What’s the matter, Ziva?” he asks as I hear the soap scrape against his skin.
“Can we not talk right now?”
“Why?”
“Because you’re naked.”
“So? My mouth still works.”
“Well, mine doesn’t.”
My eyes fall open for just a moment, and they connect with Kellyn’s in the reflection of the window.
I think I might go up in flames as I snap my gaze shut once more.
“I wondered if you’d peek. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
“I can’t see anything important. You’re—you’re in a tub!”
He laughs, and I don’t know why that only sets me more on edge.
But then he stands, and I can hear the water running down his skin, hear the towel scratch against his hair, hear his heavy tread. Feel the heat of his body as he grabs the nightgown off his own bed.
When the opposite bed creaks from the weight of him, I relax my eyelids finally.
“Now can we talk?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Definitely not.”
“Ziva, it’s me. You don’t need to be afraid.”
“You are the most terrifying thing.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Is it? Is it so ridiculous when his words can scare me, hurt me, reject me? And there’s not even anything to reject, so why does he still have that much power over me?
“Why are you telling everyone I’m your sister?” I ask, thinking to claim control of the conversation.
“I thought it was an easier description than to call you my past romantic partner.”
Why do those words sting? “You could have said we’re friends!”
“Friends who share a room?”
“It’s safer if we stick together!”
“I know that, but I wasn’t about to give everyone the finer details.”
I wrap my arms around my bent knees, my face still pointed at the window. “There’s not another reason?”
“No. What secret motive could I possibly have?”
Distancing himself from me. Letting other women know he’s a romantic prospect?
