Page 71 of Alive At Night

So that was that, huh? We were actually going to do this.Thisbeing sleeping in the same bed. Although, there weren’t very many other options unless the velvet armchair in the corner counted. Or the floor.

I dropped onto the side of the bed closest to me. “You’re bossy when you’re hungry.”

“Sure am.” Julian crossed his arms over his chest as he looked me over, seeming satisfied now that I’d designated which side of the bed was mine. “You should remember that for the future, Daisy.”

I rolled my eyes, ignoring how my stomach flipped when he kept staring at me with such a ridiculous amount of intensity.

“I think I’m going to take a shower,” I muttered before diving into the bathroom.

An intermission was a necessity at this point. I needed a break from Julian and how he made my blood pressure rise, my hands ball into fists, and my skin tingle. It was confusing and infuriating.

But even more infuriating was the realization halfway through my shower that I’d forgotten to bring a change of clothes into the bathroom.

Goddamnit.

Although maybe this was presenting an opportune solution: I’d just sleep in the bathroom. That way, I wouldn’t have to walk into the room in just my towel, I wouldn’t have to sleep in the same bed as Julian, and I could prolong my intermission. It was—

“Juni?” A single knock on the bathroom door. “You good in there?”

Hurrying from the shower, I wrapped myself in a towel. Judging by the amount of moisture on the mirror and steam in the air, I’d extended my intermission longer than I realized.

“I’m good,” I called. “Can you like…close your eyes, though? I’m coming out.”

There was a slight pause followed by a choked voice.

“Are you naked?”

“No!” Great, now the thought of accidentally dropping my towel in front of Julian Briggs was firmly in my brain, and it was even more mortifying than The Car Incident™. “I’m wearing a towel. Just—just close your eyes, Julian!”

“Fine.” Was that a sigh I heardthroughthe door? It was hard to tell, but I definitely made out footsteps leading away from the bathroom and dared to open the door.

Julian was on the bed, propped against the pillows, with a hand covering his eyes when I came out. “Youdoknow I’ve seen you in a towel before, right?” he muttered as I made a beeline for my suitcase.

“What? No, you haven’t.”

Pretty sure I would remember something like that happening.

“Yes, I have.” Julian cleared his throat. “When you and Gemma got stranded on Lock Island.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I dug through my luggage, searching for clothes. “Which time?”

Even though I couldn’t see Julian’s eyes, I could feel him rolling them. “The skinny-dipping time,” he said tersely.

Oh, that. Yep, I was definitely naked except for a towel that time.

“This towel barely covers my ass, though.”

Julian remained quiet for a moment, and I hurried back toward the bathroom with my clothes, standing around the corner from the bed so he wouldn’t be able to catch glimpses of me while I dressed. Although, I doubted he’d try to look.

“Your skirt barely covered your ass on Halloween,” Julian grunted after a pause, sounding…irritated by that memory.

I peeked around the corner, clutching my towel tighter. “I thought we were tryingnotto recreate Halloween.”

Julian didn’t respond. He made a slight humming noise in the back of his throat like he had something to say but knew he shouldn’t say it.

When I finished changing, I hung my towel on the shower door before reemerging into the bedroom.

“You can look now.”

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