He was a grumpy fucker when he woke up, more so than usual.
“Oh, Ash. You make it so easy.”
I grinned when I saw his shower caddy sitting on the tiny counter.
By mutual agreement, neither of us kept anything other than our towels in the bathroom. Anything left out in communal spaces was fair game, and he’d just handed me the motherlode.
I put my caddy on the other side of the sink and looked around. Maybe he’d left some more.
A T-shirt was crumpled up on the floor in the corner.
I snatched it up and shook it open. It was an old Our Lady Peace band shirt.
“Hipster.” I rolled my eyes and balled the shirt up.
I knew who they were because Dec loved them. I doubted Ash had ever heard one of their songs.
My eyes fell on the bottle of cologne sticking out of his caddy.
I didn’t wear cologne. Mostly because I’d never bothered to find one that suited me. Crystal had given me a bottle of Axe when I was sixteen, but that shit had nearly choked me when I’d tested it out.
Ash wore expensive shit—because of course he did—but even I had to admit that it smelled damn good on him.
I bit my lip and turned around to make sure I’d locked the door behind me, then reached into his caddy, pulled out the bottle of cologne, and uncapped it.
I lifted it to my nose and took a sniff.
It smelled different than when he wore it. In the bottle, the fragrance was dark and musky with a slightly woodsy accent. On his skin, it was sweeter, more subtle.
Jeez, I was acting like a creeper. I capped the bottle and shoved it into his caddy.
What was wrong with me?
I toyed with the shirt in my hands. What was the best course of action?
Hiding the caddy was the simple solution, but where? If I put it in my room, he’d find it. I did have a lock on my footlocker, but he’d get pissed if I locked it away.
I mean, I wanted to piss him off, but I also wanted to mess with him.
An idea popped into my head, and I grinned.
Perfect.
I unlocked the bathroom door, rushed into the kitchen, and pulled open the middle cupboard. The top shelf was empty, and I stood on my tiptoes and slid the caddy onto the shelf.
Perfect.
He’d never find it, and it wasn’t in my room. It was in a communal space, so he’d get extra mad.
I hurried back into the bathroom and turned on the water.
I still had his shirt clutched in my hand, and I lifted it to my nose as I leaned against the counter.
It smelled exactly like him.
I pulled in a shuddering breath, then tossed it back onto the floor.
I needed to get over this… obsession with him.