Chapter 3 COMMUNAL SHOWERS

MICHELLE's P O V

‘‘What did you just say? Take a bath?’’ I reiterated, my eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

Even though I had only been in this male dormitory for a few minutes at this point, I was already in some kind of trouble.

‘‘I’ll go first, if you don’t mind…’’ he wiggled his eyebrows, arms crossed against his muscular chest. ‘‘Or we can be all friendly and shower together…’’

What?

‘‘No, t-thank you…’’ I firmly rejected him with a hand up before I heaved my suitcase onto the bed. ‘‘I’m fine…’’

‘‘If you say so…’’ He then gave me a smug look and proceeded to strip down right in front of me.

Oh, God… I stifled the urge to close my eyes, and studied him.

He wore boxers from Calvin Klein, which were wrapped firmly around his hips, his upper abdomen resembling that of a chocolate bar. It was almost impossibly well built-showing much of his training through his body.

After that, he used his teeth to pull on the bandages that were on his hands, untying them in a hurry. These bandages were meant to shield his hands from injury during boxing matches, but there was no way they could shield me from his undeniable charm. He exuded a seductive atmosphere that was unlike anything else I've encountered---the feeling of danger was imminent when he was in close proximity to me.

I turned back around to hide my blushing face when I heard him clear his throat, which caused me to hold my breath because I knew that he was about to speak again.

‘‘By the way, what year are you?’’ Devon questioned with an air of intrigue and I exhaled, glancing over my shoulder to see that he was observing me.

‘‘Junior…’’ I said quickly before twisting back to focus on my unpacking. ‘‘I just transferred here from West Virginia. How about you?’’

Even though I had already read enough of information about him, I was nevertheless interested in hearing it directly from his mouth. ‘‘Also a junior. My hometown is a coastal community in California, so moving to Connecticut was like moving to a completely other world for me.’’

‘‘California!’’ I exclaimed in astonishment as I turned back to him with a smile, but it quickly faded when I tracked a little bead of perspiration travelling across his thick neck. Before gaining momentum and plunging over one gloriously defined peck, the drop paused on his collarbone, as did my breath. He really looked like a work of art. My fingers itched to sketch him. ‘‘I’ve always wanted to go there! The beaches look so beautiful in pictures!’’

When I turned my attention back to Devon's face, he blinked back at me; in response, I bit the inside of my lip, cleared my throat, and lowering my voice more than usual. It's possible that young men don't typically get that enthused about a city. I was already putting my foot in my mouth.

‘‘I… I mean, it sounds cool…’’ I corrected gruffly, racking my brain for something else to say. I’d always wanted to go to a beach because of the sunsets, but I'm not sure what a guy would find appealing about them. ‘‘Because of girls in bikini and… surfing? Oh, and beach parties, definitely...''

Devon Kai’s expression didn’t waver while my excitement faded into worry. Had I already messed up my chance?

It was a considerable amount of time before he turned away, drumming his knuckles against the side of a bedpost. ‘‘Yeah, it’s pretty cool, I guess…’’ he nodded, but the hesitation in his voice made my stomach sink. ‘‘Where exactly in the state of West Virginia do you hail from? There is a cousin of mine --''

I was startled enough to drop the shirt I was holding as his phone flared to life with a flurry of vibrations, and Devon looked down at the screen for a moment before raising a hand to indicate that he was going to answer that. ‘‘I'm sorry, but I need to take this...’’

I nodded, swiping up my shirt and turning back to my suitcase as he accepted a call. I gasped for air. For the few moments that I've spent in this room with him, I haven't been able to properly breathe. After being in his presence for only five minutes, I felt as if I had completely lost my mind.

The volume of Devon Kai's voice decreased, and I was only able to make out a few of the words he was saying. It piqued my interest, leading me to believe that it was his girlfriend, but I forced myself to concentrate on the task at hand and began pulling my belongings out of the suitcase. I made a quick work of filling my drawers with the clothes.

‘‘When?’’ Devon muttered into the phone, carrying to my ears as I went back to my bookbag and fished out a sketchbook. He spared me a brief glance as I set it on our desk, offering me a small, tight smile before looking down at the towel in his hand, and slung it around his neck. ‘‘Okay. I'm going to be there...''

I turned back to my bed as he spoke, doing my best not to eavesdrop. Pulling my undergarments, I mentally sent a quick ‘thank you’ to Rina for talking me into bringing boxer briefs and shorts.

What was at the time the most awkward talk of my life ultimately saved me from having to have another embarrassing conversation in the future if Devon caught me with ladies' underpants...

What exactly should I say to explain that?

In addition to averting a catastrophe with my underpants, I was feeling more confident in my façade. So far, I’d fooled the school secretary, the dorm master, and my new roommate. That was three more people than I’d expected, and probably the three most important. I couldn't conceal a little rush of pleasure at my deceit, but shame for lying rapidly swamped it.

‘‘Okay, I'll swing by after my workout…’’ Devon uttered these words with a sigh just before hanging up the phone.

I took the blazers out of the packet that contained my uniforms and unwrapped it so that I could hang them up as soon as possible before the wrinkles set in.

But when I looked around, I couldn't see a closet or any other place to put them.

After putting his phone on the bed and retrieving a basket of toiletries from beneath the bed, Devon announced, ‘‘I'm going to take a shower now...’’ The fact that he stepped towards the door and opened it took me by surprise.

‘‘Devon, where are you going?’’ I inquired, and he turned around frowning.

‘‘Showering?’’ he answered. ‘‘Didn’t I tell you just now?’’

‘‘But, isn’t that the bathroom?’’ I pointed to the corner behind me.

The unexpected laughter coming from him, showing his perfect set of teeth caused me to jump. ‘‘That’s a closet, bro. It’s a little cramped, but we can make it work if you store your suitcase under the bed…’’

Bro… he called me bro. But I immediately brushed it off my mind because the ball of dread wound itself up more tightly.

‘‘What?’’ My heart was beating so fast that it felt like it may burst through my chest as I frowned at the door that was next to the sink. ‘‘That’s a closet?’’

‘‘Yeah, and you think it was a restroom?’’ He appeared to be confused. While he was deep in concentration, he stared at the ceiling and commented, ‘‘You should've passed the bathroom about halfway down the hall. Blue door, right next to a drinking fountain...’’

‘‘W-what?’’ I stuttered as my brain short-circuited, chest heaving as my lungs struggled for air. My leg wobbled, and I perched myself on the edge of the mattress for stability. ‘‘The showers are in public?’’

‘‘Yeah…’’ Devon responded slowly, his uncertainty increasing as I attempted to conceal the fact that I was having a mental breakdown.

And as I scanned his physique, the only thing that was covering him was a pair of boxer shorts, I couldn't help but feel frightened. He would walk down the hallway to the bathroom dressed like that?

During my time here, I would be using the showers too that were shared by the entire building.

Fuck! I wasn’t prepared for this.