Our eyes dart to his phone. Which is ringing again.
“Work?” I ask. My voice is hoarse.
“No. It’s...” He stands from the table and clears his throat. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
As he walks out, I hear him chuckle. On the other side of the phone, a female voice is saying his name.
Chapter 6
Four months ago
I take a careful step out of the shower, letting my toes dig deep into the thick, soft mat. It turns out to be a lethally poor choice, because I do it in the same exact moment Liam opens the bathroom door to take a step inside.
It leads to me jumping. And flailing. And yelling:
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
“Mara? What—”
“Aaah!”
“Sorry—I didn’t—”
My entire body is slippery and frantic—not a good combination. I almost lose my balance trying to wrap the shower curtain around me. Then I do lose my balance, and I’m positive Liam can see everything.
The outie belly button Hannah always teases me about.
The sickle-shaped lacrosse scar above my right boob.
Said right boob, and the left one.
For a fraction of a second we both stand motionless. Staring at each other. Unable to react. Then I say, “Can you—could you, um, hand me that towel over there?”
“Ah—sure. Here you go. I...”
He extends his arm and turns the other way while I wrap the towel (his towel; Liam’s towel) around myself. It’s fluffy and clean and it smells good and—who uses black towels, anyway? Who produces them? Where does he even buy them, Bloodbath and Beyond?
“Mara?” He is standing under the doorframe, pointedly looking away from me.
“Yes?”
“Why are you in my bathroom?”
Crap. “Sorry. I’m so sorry. My shower isn’t working, and... I think there’s something wrong with a pipe, and... I don’t know, but I called Bob.”
“Bob?”
“The plumber. Well, a plumber. He’s coming out tomorrow morning.”
“Oh.”
“But I went for a run earlier, and I was all sweaty and smelly, so...”
“I see.”
“Sorry. I should have asked before. You can turn now, by the way. I’m decent.”
Liam does turn. But only after about ten seconds of what looks like a pretty intense internal debate. His expressions are never the easiest to read, but he seems a little flustered.