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Good girl.
“You should both take a dose of oral antibiotics since you were in that river,” he said once he finished cleaning her wound. He handed us each a water bottle and a pill to take. “And I’d recommend a shower.”
I nearly choked at his shower comment as I chased the pill down and drained the rest of the bottle.
“She good?” I turned at the sound of Carter’s voice to find him entering the bedroom from what I assumed was our bathroom. Thankfully, he was fully clothed in black runner shorts and a white tee. Probably what I’d wear after my shower, too.
Although, Mya and Gwen had done my shopping before we’d come to the lodge, so I had no clue what was in my bag.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Charley nodded at Carter, then went to her suitcase and grabbed her pajamas. A tank top and little shorts that were going to be the death of me while sleeping next to her.
“How’s the shower?” Mya asked Carter after the medic left us alone.
Not that we were truly alone with a camera in the room spying on us, a major inconvenience if we were to try and talk “shop.” Of course, Charley was still an outsider, so we couldn’t exactly speak freely right now regardless.
Carter frowned. “The shower was fine. Why wouldn’t it be?”
And why the tense tone? Shit. Gwen.
She came into the room a moment later wearing a tee that went to her thighs. The black shirt said, I Paused My Game For This, in neon green letters with a little controller beneath it. I was certain Gwen didn’t play video games, and it was probably an ex’s shirt she repurposed for nightwear.
“Just my luck I end up sleeping next to Mr. Grump, huh?” Gwen commented, smirking. She set her eyes on Charley, trying to sell the whole “we don’t know each other” thing. “I heard you ask about the shower.” She peered at Mya next. “If you like them burn-your-flesh hot like I do, then you’ll hate it.”
“Is there any other way to take a shower?” Charley focused on me, her eyes narrowing a touch, likely remembering sharing that little tidbit in Cape Town. Perhaps also remembering how I’d told her I usually took cold showers.
“I heard they help you live longer. Good for your heart,” I’d said, explaining my rationalization for freezing in the water. “But if I had a reason to take a long one, I’d be willing to turn up the heat.”
“I bet you would,” she’d answered, those long fingers of hers flying down the column of her slender neck as she’d spoken.
Charley tipped her head toward the open bathroom door. “We should probably get this over with.” I wasn’t sure if her nose was wrinkling at the prospect of a cold shower, or because she was worried I’d opt for a warm shower tonight to prolong our time together in the bathroom.
“There’s a privacy wall in there for you to change. A door on the toilet. Curtains for each of the showers.” Gwen gave me a lopsided smile, like the kind she’d told me to use myself for dates. “Don’t worry. She won’t see your junk.”
“Thank you for that.” I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I felt three decades older than her, not just sixteen years.
Charley didn’t wait for me and rushed into the bathroom while I searched my suitcase for something to wear. I settled on gray loose-fit running shorts and a black tee. I normally only slept in boxers, but . . .
Once in the bathroom, I dropped my change of clothes on the counter, then scanned the room, searching for any surveillance equipment. Nothing I could see, so I peeled my focus to the two showers that were both running. The curtain was drawn closed on the one Charley was showering in, but the partition between the two stalls was lower than the curtain rod. And with my height, if I wasn’t careful, I might catch sight of more than she wanted me to see.
“I went ahead and turned the second one on for you so it could warm up a little. I figured after our swim in the river, you might not want an ice cold one,” she let me know.
I removed what I was still wearing: my rubber boots, wet linen pants, boxers . . . and frown. Because I was trading that look in for a smile. Was that a peace offering from her? When were we at war, though? And for that matter, why’d you leave me that morning? I kept all that shit to myself and hopped into the shower that was lukewarm at best and tugged the curtain across. “Thank you.”
She didn’t waste time, approaching the dark green divider between us, and asked, “We’re alone, right?”
“Alone. No cameras in here.” I swiped the beads of water from my face and stepped away from the direct spray.
“And how much of me can you see right now?”
Too much. I swallowed. Grew tense. And hard. “I can see your face. Shoulders, too.”
“Just my shoulders? Nothing more, right?” She closed her eyes and shifted back, ducking beneath the spray, then she tangled her fingers through her wet locks, shoving her sweeping bangs away from her forehead.
I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. “Well, you have a nice body, and . . .” Nice body? Come on, man. “Great, in fact.” Nope, not what I should’ve said, either.
Charley opened her gorgeous blue-green eyes—they appeared a touch bluer tonight with her long, wet lashes framing her irises.
“I didn’t mean—”
