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“Your clothes are soaking wet,” he reminded me. “At least let me throw them in the dryer. You want something to eat or drink while we wait?”
I stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed, crossing my arms over my exposed body. “Don’t you have anything I can borrow? Just some sweatpants and a t-shirt or something to wear home.”
He sat up and scratched his head. “Yeah, I guess. But Lana…why are you in such a hurry to leave? If the roles were reversed…you’d think I was a jerk if I tried to take off like you’re doing. After what we just did…”
“Don’t try to guilt trip me, okay? I just want to go home.”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said, jumping out of bed.
The sight of his naked body only angered me more. What kind of man looked like that!? He might as well have been a Calvin Klein model or some Greek statue. And here he was, just walking around like a normal guy. Maybe it wasn’t fair for me to be mad at him about it, but I was. Fair or not.
“Can you put a robe or something on too!?” I added in desperation.
His face twisted up. “Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“I’m just…I’m confused. And seeing you,” I waved my hands in exasperation over his perfect body. “It’s not helping.”
“Lana, why don’t you just take a deep breath and talk to me for a moment,” he begged, stepping closer.
I wanted to run, but I was naked and stuck that way until he decided to lend me some clothes. I hated being stuck, and it pushed me dangerously close to lashing out even more than I already had.
He took me into his arms, pressing me against his warm chest. I laid my cheek against his shoulder and resented just how good it felt for him to hold me, to feel his bare skin on mine.
“I’ll go get you some clothes, okay?” he said softly, kissing my forehead.
I was panicking inside as he walked away. I hadn’t thought any of this through. It didn’t feel like I even had a chance to. I didn’t go looking for any of this to happen. It just did, whether I liked it or not. It all unfolded too quickly for me to stop and think about what came after giving into this guilty pleasure.
He walked out and returned a few minutes later with a folded stack of clothes in his hands—a pair of sweatpants, boxer briefs, and a white cotton t-shirt.
“They’re too big for you, but it’ll be good enough to get you home. If you’re sure, that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I have to do,” I insisted.
That was true, and not just because of Claire. I needed to clear my head and sleep alone, in my own room, where there were no old high school flames around to tempt and confuse me. It would have been easier if he could have just stopped being so impossibly kind and sweet. That was the most annoying part about all of this. For as big of a jerk as I came to believe Keith Mullins was…he didn’t actually act like one nearly enough.
I went into his bathroom and slipped into the borrowed clothes. I had to pull the drawstring of the sweatpants so tight that the fabric punched up like a drawstring bag around my waist, but it would do.
When I came back out, he handed me a pair of slippers. “I’ll grab you a jacket and umbrella too.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, feeling guiltier with each passing second.
But right along with the guilt came more panic about what would come out of this. He awkwardly helped me get everything together to leave, but just before walking out the door—I couldn’t stop myself from saying something.
“Keith?”
“Yeah?” He crossed his arms and stared back at me in the darkness. We never turned a single light on the whole time we were there.
“We’re good, right?” I asked, swallowing hard. My mouth was impossibly dry. “I mean, I just don’t want anything to get messed up between us…since we work together and all. The marina is important to me, and I know it’s important to you, too. I don’t want something stupid to ruin it.”
His brows furrowed as he scratched his chin and stared off for a moment. “Something stupid?”
“You know what I mean. Something…unnecessary.”
“Uh-huh,” he grunted, nodding his head even though he didn’t really seem to understand. Or maybe he did understand, and he just didn’t like it. “I take it you don’t intend on anything like this happening again.”
“Well, no. Of course not. It shouldn’t, right? We work together.”
“You said that already.” Frustration broke through his tone. “Look, don’t worry about it, Lana. You know me. I’m good at the no-strings-attached thing, right? Too good at it, in fact. We can both just…forget this ever happened.”
