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Celia’s frown deepened. “Don’t need to. I shower at night.”
“Right.” He remembered that now. Her hair hadn’t just been damp from the rain the night before.
“Besides, I’m not the one who’s all sweaty,” she said.
He watched her gaze drift over his damp shirt and down to his shorts before she looked away.
She stared at the opposite wall as she said, “Just show me where everything is and I’ll start it brewing so you can get ready.”
Trenton cleared his throat. “I don’t have any coffee.”
Her shoulders tensed. Celia slowly turned to face him again. “You’re kidding.”
“You know caffeine is—”
“A godsend, yes.” Celia’s head bobbed up and down, no smile cracking her face. “A necessity even.”
He took a breath, but couldn’t hold the words back. “You only think that because you’ve been drinking it. That’s how caffeine works on the body. The more you drink, the more the body thinks that it needs that hit before reaching the same function.”
Celia blinked at him. “So you agree that I need coffee.”
Trenton laughed. “I’m sorry. I should have realized. What if I make you what I normally have? It’s full of vitamins and will give you a boost, I promise.”
She sighed, and he took that as assent. Before he could cross to the fridge, she raised a hand.
“Wait. Today’s a weekday. Don’t you need to get ready for work?”
He glanced at the clock above the stove. “I do have to leave in a bit, but I have some time.”
She waved him off. “Shower. I can wait.”
Celia was already wearing jeans and a shirt, despite saying she wasn’t a morning person. Trenton paused, realizing she wore the same clothes as she had the night before. He’d noticed she still wore jeans when he joined her on the porch, but had thought it was due to the shared space. She didn’t seem like the type he had to worry about strolling around the condo in a short nightie.
“Your duffel bag didn’t hold up?” he asked.
She glanced down at her clothes, fiddling with a rubber band on her wrist. “It’s not waterproof.” She shifted on her bare feet. “It’ll be fine. I just need to wash everything.”
Trenton crossed to the sliding closet door across the hall from the kitchen, opening it to reveal the laundry inside. “Everything you’ll need is in here.”
Celia stepped closer, peering at the stacked machines. She took a breath, then tilted her nose away from him.
He glanced down at his sweaty workout clothes and laughed. “I guess you meant I really do need a shower.” He backed out of the hall, gesturing toward the washer. “Go ahead and get started. I’ll be back in no time, and then I’ll give you that drink I promised.”
Trenton was the type to prepare everything the night before. His memories tugged on the extra supplies taking up the bathroom. There was something about seeing two toothbrushes together again. When he stepped out in his normal dress shirt and slacks, the whooshing of the washer running filled the space.
Celia peeked at him from the couch, her legs pulled up as she hugged one of the throw pillows to her chest.
Crossing to the freezer, he pulled out two of his pre-prepped bags. He also grabbed the almond milk from the fridge and the powder from the top shelf before setting everything near the blender. It took no time before two glasses full of the vibrant smoothie were ready. He took one to her, holding it out.
She stared back at it. “That’s an interesting… green.”
He nodded. “Sorry, the kale takes over the color. I promise you’ll barely taste it.”
She took the glass from him, but didn’t take a sip, just fiddled with it. She wasn’t the first person to hesitate when given one of his smoothies.
Trenton turned back toward the kitchen before his smile could fall at the memory. He needed to clean up anyway, and made quick work of rinsing out the blender.
Celia stood, crossing over to the outer bar and setting the glass on it. She curled her fingers around it. Trenton noticed they were white again from the pressure of their grip. He dried his hands on the nearby kitchen towel and waited.
