have some weird collection of underwear from girls he has slept with.
He leads me to the bathroom. I feel more comfortable in here than I imagined, only because I have been in this bathroom quite a few times.
Hardin turns on the water and pulls his shirt over his head.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Taking a shower?”
“Oh, I thought I was taking one first.”
“Take one with me,” he says casually.
“Um . . . no! I won’t.” I laugh. I can’t take a shower with him.
“Why not? I’ve already seen you, you have seen me. What’s the big deal?” he groans.
“I don’t know . . . I just don’t want to.” I know he has already seen me naked but this just seems so intimate. More intimate even than what we just did.
“Fine. You go first, then,” he says, but his voice has picked up a slight edge.
I smile sweetly and ignore his sour tone and undress. His eyes scan my body and then look away. My hand reaches behind the curtain to check the temperature of the water and I step in.
Hardin stays silent while I wet my hair. Too silent. “Hardin?” I call. Did he leave the bathroom?
“Yeah?”
“I thought maybe you left.”
He pulls back the curtain a little and pops his wavy head in. “Nope, still here.”
“Is something wrong?” I ask him, frowning sympathetically. He shakes his head in response but doesn’t say anything. Is he really pouting like a child because I won’t take a shower with him? I almost want to tell him to join me, but I want him to get the point that he can’t just get his way all the time. His head disappears from the shower and I hear him sit down on the toilet.
The shampoo and body wash are both strong musky scents. I miss my vanilla shampoo, but this is fine for one night. It probably would have made more sense for Hardin to stay with me in my room, but Steph would be in there, and it would be awkward to explain everything, and I don’t imagine Hardin would be as affectionate if she was around. The thought bothers me, but I push it back.
“Could you hand me a towel?” I ask him and shut off the water. “Or two, if you have enough.” I like to have one for my hair and one for my body.
His hand pushes through the curtain holding two towels. I thank him, and he mutters something that I don’t understand.
He pulls his jeans down as I dry off and turns the water back on. His long arms pull back the curtain and I can’t help but stare at his naked body. The more I get to see him this way, the more beautiful the designs printed on his skin are to me. I continue to stare as he steps into the shower. The water sprays onto his dark hair and he closes the curtain. I should have taken one with him, not because he is pouting, but because now I really want to.
“I’m going to go back to your room,” I tell him, figuring he’s ignoring me anyway.
He jerks the curtain back, causing the rings to scrape against the rod. “No, you’re not.”
“Okay, what is your problem?” I snap.
“Nothing, you’re just not going back by yourself. There are thirty guys living here, so you don’t need to be wandering the halls.”
“No, there’s something else; you have been pouting since I said you couldn’t take a shower with me.”
“No . . . I haven’t.”
“Tell me why or I will go out there in this towel,” I threaten, knowing I would never actually do it. His eyes narrow and he reaches out for my arm to stop me, splashing water on the floor.
“I just don’t like being told no.” His voice is low but much softer than it was moments ago.
I imagine that when it comes to girls Hardin hardly, if ever, hears the word no. My mind tells me to tell him to get used to it, but I haven’t told him no until this point, either. As soon as he touches me, I do whatever he wants.
“Well, I am not like the other girls, Hardin,” I snap, my jealousy coming forward.
A small smile plays on his lips as the water runs over his face. “I know, Tess. I know.” He closes the curtain and I pull my clothes on and he turns the water off.
“You can wear some of my clothes to bed,” he tells