AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He runs a slow, careful eye over me, taking his time as he sums me up. I don’t know if it’s the tiny room or the fact that it’s so stuffy in here that we must be sharing oxygen, but my body feels hyper-aware of his focus. I desperately want to cross my arms in a self-conscious manner, but I resist.
Finally, he quirks an eyebrow. “You look more like someone who’d rent a yurt on Airbnb than book a hotel.”
My mouth stretches into a smile. I’m impressed by how shrewd he is, and what he said sounded adventurous and unique—a compliment, I decide. “Yes! That’s totally me.”
“Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, with no plumbing,” he adds.
Oh. Not so much a compliment, then. More a… comment on my personal hygiene?
Frick.Maybe my armpits really do smell sweaty.
While he fiddles with the broken blind on the window overlooking a street light, I give my left armpit another quick sniff. Still can’t smell anything, but now I’m revisiting the possibility of him having a German Shepherd nose.
Yet another reason not to share a bed with this man. He’ll probably be able to smell my morning breath a mile away. Especially if I can’t brush my teeth tonight.Eek!
Instead of revealing any of my internal stressing, I give him a bright smile, then gesture to the bathroom. “Want to shower first?”
I’m extending an olive branch—a chance for him to use the bathroom before I stink it up with my apparent B.O.
Or a chance for him to feel at one with his dolphin buddies, who knows.
“I do.” He’s already in the bathroom and closing the door.
What a charming human. But I’ve almost come to expect this behavior by now.
And it’s kind of fun to push his buttons, poke the bear.
What can I say? I live life on the edge.
I make my way across the room, close the frilly curtains, then flop onto the bed (surprisingly comfy, by the way). I take the opportunity to dig through my handbag to figure out what I’m working with for the night.
As expected, it’s mostly sticky candy, pens, and books. Nothing remotely sleepover appropriate, unless I want to knit myself some underwear for tomorrow.
Ughhh.
The shower turns on in the bathroom and I’m hit with the very real realization that there’s a naked man not five feet away from me. A tall, muscular man with gorgeous eyes and an angular jawline. This makes me feel… things. In my stomach.
Weird, squishy things that I have no business feeling.
Things my stomach never felt with Justin.
Justin and I were partners in a more… convenient sense. More nerdy talk than dirty talk, if you catch my drift. We walked to work together in the morning, cooked dinner together in the evening. Discussed projects we handled that day while we ate. Rinse and repeat. We were similar, had similar interests, and it just made sense for us to be more than co-workers.
Until it hit me that it really didn’t.
But that’s a whole other can of worms. Right now, I have a situation in the bathroom and I do not want to think of himrinsing and repeatinganything.
I need a pep talk, badly. And pep talks mean Prisha.
We’ve been attached at the hip since we were paired as roommates during freshman year at Boston College. We knew it was meant to be when we both showed up to the dorms with a year’s supply of tampons, a Channing Tatum poster, and a shower caddy that could double as a shopping cart.
I decide to text her. I certainly can’t risk calling and having Liam overhear.
Annie:SOS. Stuck in an airport hotel for the night with a hot grumpy stranger.
Prisha:That sounds like the beginning of averygood book. Is it the type with spicy scenes in it?
Prisha:*hundreds of chili pepper emojis*
