Page 55 of The Explorer
“We’re up and we’ll be ready,” I assured Victor.
“Who is it and when will they be here?” Aubri called in quick succession.
“He doesn’t know, but Victor is bringing the visitors here.”
Sticking her head out from the bathroom, Aubri grinned. “Tell Victor to stop and buy some croissants on the way.”
“Did you hear that?”
“Uh-huh. Tell Aubri that I’m not her servant.”
“He’s not your servant.”
Aubri came into the bedroom again and spoke closer to my Neuro Link: “Victor, just buy eight croissants and stop bitching all the time. It’s the least you can do after being an ass to my cousin.”
“She’s never going to let that go, is she?” he asked me.
“Nope, so you better be nice from now on.”
From Victor’s panting, I reckoned that he was walking fast.
“Why don’t you have a hover board?” It annoyed me that whoever had come to visit us had to stand around and wait because the French insisted on walking everywhere.
“I do, but since I’ll be walking back with them to your apartment, I thought… argh, why would I even try and explain myself to you?” With an exasperated huff, Victor ended the call.
I quickly made the bed and picked up some clothes from the floor. At least the place was small and didn’t take long to tidy up.
Knocking on the bathroom door with my fist, I called to Aubri, “Hurry, I want a shower too.”
She was whistling in there.
It would take our visitors and Victor at least twenty minutes to walk here from the landing spot, and even longer if Victor stopped to buy croissants.
“Aubri, come on, hurry up.”
“Stop knocking on the door. If you’re in such a hurry, just come and join me.”
I blinked my eyes, trying to decide if she was serious.
Aubri had avoided talking about what happened between us our first week here. She didn’t play-wrestle with me like she used to and there was a new guardedness to the way she was around me. I’d taken the hint and pulled back. If we were to live together for a year, I couldn’t afford to put my cards on the table and have her reject me. I still had hopes that once she had processed the physical attraction between us, she would want more.
Was today my lucky day?
Opening the door a little, I asked, “Do you mean that?”
“I’m almost done, but I’ll share the shower with you.”
This had to be an invitation and although her timing was awful, I closed the door and stepped out of my briefs.
The shower wall was frosted glass, allowing me to see nothing but the outline of her body. Damp air was filling the small bathroom as I took the few steps, opened the shower door, and stepped inside the tiny shower that barely had room for the both of us.
I’d used up all my confidence to get me into the shower with her and now I was left with doubt about what to do. My heart felt as if it was running hurdles and that I could easily slip and fall if I made a wrong move.
“You’re blocking all the water,” Aubri said and looked up at me. Her red hair was wet and lying heavy on her shoulders.
Taking a chance, I placed my hands under her arms. “Want me to lift you up?”
She seemed a little nervous, but still lifted her arms and placed them around my neck.
