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“Before my dad died, there were two months of unknowns, and all of it became too much. I felt like I was crawling out of my skin, and I didn’t have any outlet. You have hockey, so now I feel silly for suggesting this. You don’t need an outlet.” I deflated. “I just knew I wanted to not be me for a few hours?—”
“I’m in.” He waited until I looked at him, then he continued, “I’m so in. I just need to shower off today. There was a moment this afternoon.” He cringed. “I live about thirty minutes away?—”
“You can shower at my place. If you have clothes. I’m five minutes from here.”
His brows about disappeared into his hairline. “You sure? That’d be great actually. I have to be home by five so that way we can spend more time in the rage room.”
“Yeah.” I swallowed down the flock of nerves. It wasn’t just a flutter anymore. “Cool.”
“Can you text me your address?” He had his phone out, his face hopeful, and I couldn’t disappoint him. I rattled off my number, and he sent me a text. I now had Theo’s number.
This seemed like a big deal to me. I hadn’t made a new friend in years, and now we were going to hang. He planned to use my shower. Wild. “You can park on the side of the dorm. It’s free there.”
He frowned but nodded. “I’ll see you there, Auds.”
It took all my willpower to not sprint to my car and fly home. I had no idea if I’d left a pair of underwear on the floor or a sports bra on a chair. I didn’t think how embarrassing it was that I lived in a dorm as a senior! It was so much cheaper, and they had meal options that were helpful with my scholarship. He could judge me, or—no. He wouldn’t. Theo had proved numerous times he was such a nice guy that he’d never be cruel.
And that was the niggling thought that wouldn’t go away. He wasn’t mean, so why had he slammed into Quentin so hard it broke his ankle? No. That was a different part of him. Not the Theo I knew.
I parked in my assigned spot and hustled to the dorm door, but Theo parked right freaking there. I have no time to clean. My face heated as I leaned against the entrance and watched Theo stroll up with a bag over his shoulder. He ran a hand through his hair as he approached me, his face always a second away from laughing. Damn. My skin prickled with awareness as he wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“Been a while since I’ve been in a girl’s dorm room. This is kinda fun.” He chuckled, and the sound wiggled its way all the way to my core.
I huffed out a laugh, trying not to feel jealous of all the girls who had Theo come into their dorm. But the thought of my jealousy was something to explore later, alone. Just because I was a virgin didn’t mean I didn’t have fantasies, because I definitely did. I just didn’t have time to act on anything or spend time exploring that part of my life.
“You gonna let me in or what?”
“Oh. Yeah.” I ducked my head and let us in. My room was on the ground floor, straight to the right. “Uh, I have no idea what state my room is in. I didn’t clean.”
“I’m living with my parents, Auds. I don’t care.”
“It could be embarrassing.” I clicked the lock and snuck a glance at him. His entire expression was soft and kind. He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. The warmth exploded all the way to my toes.
“Quit stalling, girl. I want to experience the rage room.”
“Right.” I pushed the door open and whipped my head around to check for anything mortifying. It was a large single-dorm room with a bathroom. I was lucky. Nothing stood out as embarrassing, and I relaxed. “Welcome.”
He grinned as he spun in a circle. “This is so you. It’s crazy.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Organized, color-coded, comfortable.” He walked toward my succulents on the windowsill. “Very Audrey of you.”
Another compliment I’d save in my heart. Anyone who actually knew me, knew I loved succulents, yet no one cared. Quentin knew, so did my mom, but they were too involved with their own lives that any of my interests besides financials weren’t talked about. It wasn’t a complaint; it was just my life.
“I’m just glad I didn’t have panties on the ground.” I forced a chuckle as I set my keys on the desk and leaned against it. “Or a bra.”
“I disagree.” His eyes twinkled. “I think that would’ve been very fun for me.”
“Shut up.” I snorted again. “Go shower. The bathroom is right through that door.” I walked by him, trying not to breathe him in. He smelled wonderful even though he’d worked all day. Goose bumps formed on my arms when our forearms brushed by accident. “Let me get you a fresh towel.”
“Thank you.”
There was a small closet across from the bathroom, and I stood on my tiptoes, hoping to grab a clean towel on the top shelf. It was just an inch out of my reach, not enough to get a chair to help. I was about to jump when a large presence came behind me. Theo’s chest pressed into my back as he reached over me to grab the towel. “I got it. No reason for you to strain yourself.”
I couldn’t even speak. My skin flushed at his nearness. His deep voice was right by my ear, and his breath hit my neck, causing a flurry of feelings to wind and weave through me. My heart beat so hard it was incredible he couldn’t physically hear it. “Uh?—”
He twisted the handle to the bathroom, the handle emitting a familiar squeak, when he barked out a laugh. “Goddamn, Audrey. Wouldn’t have expected that.”
