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His small smile warms my insides. “Thank you.”
“Uh huh,” I say, shutting the curtain. Reaching for the soap, I wash my body, rinse off, and shut off the water as soon as no more suds surround my feet.
Phillip is sitting on the counter with his eyes closed when I poke my head between the wall and curtain. It's hard not to laugh at how tight he squeezes his lids shut.
“You can open your eyes. I need you to hand me a towel.”
His eyes flash open and he gets to his feet. I wait for him to hand me a towel, goose bumps covering my arms as cool air sweeps over my skin. Our fingers briefly touch from the exchange and I pull back as quickly as I can, closing the curtain again. The next time I pull back the curtain, I'm dry and have a towel around my waist. “Can I have some privacy now?”
He nods and turns to face the door. Yeah, he isn't going to leave, and it's not like I haven't gotten dressed in front of others before. We're both men after all. Keeping my eyes on him, I dress in sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt.
“Are you gonna shower after me?”
Turning around, he reaches from the sink and turns on the water. “No. Washing my face and brushing my teeth are good enough for now. I prefer to shower in the mornings. It helps me wake up.”
“Let me get out so you can change then.”
“I'll change in the room.”
“I'll stay in here until you're done then.”
“Can't you just turn around like I did?” He tugs on his pants, giving a silent plea with his eyes.
“Alright. Go on. Hurry up, it's getting late.”
Without arguing he leaves the bathroom and starts taking off his clothes without warning. I get a brief peek of his bare back before quickly turning around. Clenching my fists, I keep my eyes on the wall in front of me, not looking at him or moving until he's done and under the covers. Phillip adjusts his blankets, leaving only a sheet covering him in the bed.
I look in the closet, and I was right about there being extra sheets and a pillow. I lay everything on the floor next to him and he sits up as soon as I lower myself to my makeshift bed, his eyebrows bunching together. “How are we supposed to watch the movie with you down there?”
“We aren't. You are, and if you try to call the cops or anything, it'll be the last call you make.”
“But you said we'd watch it together earlier.”
“I did, huh?”
“Yup, so get up here, big guy.”
I laugh. “Alright. Only for a little while. I can barely keep my eyes open.” Today has definitely required more energy than usual. Taking my blanket with me, I walk around the bed and sit as close to the edge as possible. He grabs my phone from the nightstand closest to him and hands it to me. He fills in the gap between us before I find the movie and hit Play.
“What are you doing?” I look over on my left, making sure I really have nowhere left to move.
“Making it easier for us to both watch the tiny screen, duh. Also, I'm getting cold and you're warm.”
Huffing, I stiffen up when he rests his head on my shoulder. The action doesn't bother me as much as my temptation to wrap my arm around him does. It's because I want him to fall asleep quicker. What other reason could there be? The sooner he's out, the sooner I can get back to the floor and pass out myself.
“Use the blanket then.”
“I told you I can't. I'll get too hot.”
“You're a strange guy, you know that?” Rolling my eyes, I lift my arm so he can snuggle closer. It needs to feel wrong. Why doesn't it feel wrong? My exhaustion is clouding my mind and he feels warm too. Warmth always settles me.
He buries his head against my chest and I settle my hand on his hip, not meaning to. “A little bit, but I think you'll grow to like it soon.”
“Will I?” I grab one of the pillows behind me, position it over my legs, and rest the phone in front of it.
“Yes.”
“What makes you think we'll spend enough time together for that to happen?”
