Page 72 of Unmade

“Is that all?” I demanded. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but—” I stopped myself when I heard him mutter something. “What was that?”

“I said I’m distracted,” he griped.

“By what?”

He huffed and removed his arm from his face, then pulled himself up to his feet. “You murdered my leg.” He winced as he put pressure on it.

“Looks to be alive and kicking to me,” I said.

He snorted a snicker-sounding laugh, as if he couldn’t help himself. “Alive and kicking…”

My mouth twitched. The boy sure as fuck loved his wordplay and puns.

“What are you distracted by?” I asked again.

His mirth faded, and he went over to close his laptop. “I dunno. It’s just one of those days, I guess. And I’m hungry. Plus, I’ve been down here two hours already.”

Fair enough.

“I was thinking about an early bird myself,” I said. “Care to join forces?”

He side-eyed me and perked up a little. “Yeah, sure. I just wanna shower first.”

Right. A shower. I needed one of those. But…yeah, so, that meant…heading up to the shower room and seeing him there…

Let’s go.

“It’s a plan.” I nodded firmly and cursed myself to hell. What was I doing? Even if I was drawn to Leighton, it wasn’t as if I could act on it. Besides, I wasn’t ready to admit to an actual attraction. It could be something else. We had good chemistry. Maybe I was simply annoyed by the fact that we couldn’t form a proper friendship while he was my recruit, and the part of me that had always rebelled against authority was acting out.

Maybe I was confused again.

* * *

So far, so good.

The trick to remain in denial was to not watch him in the shower. When we’d headed into the operators’ shower room, I’d only turned on the lights in the laundry section, so the visibility in the showers wasn’t great. Then I’d dumped my clothes into my laundry bag and superglued my stare to the tiles all the way over to the shower I’d picked. He was right next to me, without walls in the way, but I had self-discipline and dimmed lighting. I’d showered with other men more times than I had showered in private, including with recruits. It wasn’t a fucking thing. Modesty didn’t exist here, just like in the service. So, I wasn’t going to treat Leighton any different. Well, with the exception that I refused to glance his way even for a second.

I didn’t need a glimpse of his naked ass.

Stepping away from the water cascading down, I poured body wash into my hand from the dispenser on the wall, and I began lathering up.

“The showers here are way better than the others,” Leighton said.

They wouldn’t be for much longer. The water damage in the recruits’ dorms on the other side of the building was almost fixed, and the shower room there had been renovated. They were just redoing the adjacent laundry room now.

“It might be the other way around soon.” Eyes closed, I finished washing my face before I took care of my junk.

He hummed but said nothing.

At least for a moment. “So, um…am I allowed to ask personal questions?”

Allowed, yes. Was it smart? Not one bit.

“As a grown man, I have the ability to tell people to mind their business,” I drawled. “You can ask me anything.”

“Smartass.”

I smiled and brought my hands back to my stomach and chest. Tension was finally leaving me, and I could relax more. I’d always liked to take my time in the shower.

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