Page 26 of The Cabin

“Sol. Get. In. The Car.” Listen, I know it’s bad. I know I shouldn’t. Butdamn, the way his voice gets growly and his eyes darken makes me shiver. I feel the goosebumps prickle my skin. So demanding. Which is definitely not what I need! Some alpha male to boss me around. Yes, that would be horrible. Very un-hot. Not at all thrilling or sexy or steamy. Ew, who would want this perfectly sculpted creature in front of me to ravish them? Tell them what to do? Throw them around a little? That would be awful. Can’t think of anything worse.

Okay, if we’re keeping on the honest trend here, yes, my spicy book addiction has infected my brain and completely taken over. Sue me.

“Listen, can this please not be a fight, just this one time? Get in the car and I’ll take you back to my cabin and you can shower.” He sounds tired, maybe exasperated.

Oh no. No, no, no. I am not going back to his cabin toshower. I cannot do any naked things in his cabin. Ever.

“I have to go into town anyway to check on my car. It’s no big deal.” I wave him off. I’d also like to find a bookstore, maybe…increase my supply.

“Fine, I’ll drive you into town and then we’ll come back up and then you can shower.” Does he not understand that I am not getting into that truck smelling like this? I’ve never felt more strongly about something.

“Oh, no I –” I barely get a word out before I’m interrupted.

“Goddamnit Sol, get in the fucking car!” Have you seenTheNotebook? You know when Ryan Gosling is yelling at Rachel McAdams, begging her to tell him what she wants? Yuuuuup, yup, yup, yup. What a thing to check off my bucket list in the middle of nowhere having not showered in a week. I had my Ryan Gosling moment. Right here with Grayson. Shit. Wow.

He leans over the cab and opens my door, eyes locking with mine expectantly. Well, here I go, completely ruining my chances of ever checking off the ‘desperately running to each other and kissing in the rain experience’. Because he is never going to interact with me again after my stench fills up his car.

I climb in, storing my backpack at my feet. He starts to drive again and like always, we’re silent. After a few minutes, he rolls down his window to match mine. Oh my god. He can totally smell me. This is mortifying and I want to disappear into thin air right the hell now. I’m so distracted by my humiliation that I don’t notice arriving at Bob’s or the fact that Grayson goes in without me. I’m about to storm in there and give him a piece of my mind when he comes back through the entrance and slides into the truck.

“Uh, what was that?” I cry, incredulous.

He shrugs. “I went in to check on your car like you asked.”

“I didn’t ask you to do anything! I just said I needed to stop there!”

“And we did. All good. Anywhere else?” This man. So confusing. I don’t get him.

“All good? What does that mean? I can get my car back?”

“Oh, no, he said he needs another week. Backorder on parts or something.” I let my head fall forward and bash into the dashboard. “Okay, so anywhere else?” His tone is that of a man who has to deal with someone very exhausting every day.

I do need to go somewhere else: a bookstore. But I know there isn’t one right in town and I will not subject him to my smell longer than necessary. I pause. Is that why he went in there without me? Because he couldn’t stand being in the truck with me anymore? Do I need to change my name and move somewhere very far away?

“I’m good. Just the Y.” His sigh is so full of irritation that I just fling my head up and let it smash into the headrest in defeat. I mean, it can’t really get much worse. Might as well go all out and get an actual shower out of it. Make the best of my ass backward situation.

—

I’m standing in the middle of Grayson’s living room terrified to move, trying not to let my smell get on anything. He comes out of the bathroom and nods his head back in its direction.

“Towels are in there, soap, whatever you need.”

“Thanks.” I still don’t move.

“Are you okay?” I just nod. I’m hoping he’ll leave so I don’t have to panic the whole time I’m showering that there will be an emergency and he’ll need to come in the bathroom and I’ll be naked and will do something horrifying like slip and fall and then he’ll have to pick me up, naked, and take me to his truck, naked, and then my spirit will have to leave my body to save me from the mortification. “It’s better than the Y, I promise.” Oof. Haven’t seen his smile in a while. He’s been so grumpy.

I let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I’d probably still be hiking down the hill, not even halfway. And that’s not including the bookstore.”

“Bookstore? Like in Surley?” You can tell by his facial expression he thinks I’m nuts. I probably am nuts.

“Uh, yeah, I’ve been reading so much and I’d like new books. Especially if I’m going to be up here another week.” A grunt of approval (Disapproval? I don’t know.) comes from his chest and he thankfully leaves out the front door. Probably to chop some wood or something. He always finds a way to make unnecessary noise.

The bathroom turned out really nice. Very clean and simple, but it works. Turning the water on, I give myself a pep talk while waiting for it to heat up. You can do this. You can take your clothes off and be naked in Grayson’s shower. That is not weird or scary at all.

I shove the clothes as deep down into my backpack as possible before zipping it up and hoping it’s airtight or something. Is that a thing? Airtight backpacks?

A very embarrassing moan comes out of me when I step into the glorious hot water. I have totally been taking hot showers for granted. Now this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. To be clean, to actually wash my hair fully, what a luxury. I reach for my soap and realize I accidentally grabbed the lotion instead. (They’re in very similar looking bottles, okay?) A quick look tells me that Grayson has body wash in here I’m going to have to use. Is that weird? I don’t really have a choice.

It is a very big mistake. I haven’t even put any on my skin before the scent makes me lose my mind. My nipples pebble, and my breasts feel heavy. When I finally run my soapy hands over them, I’m fighting a tidal wave of dirty thoughts. Everything feels hypersensitive. I have to clench my teeth just to clean between my legs. It's all bordering on obscene. I’ve gotta get the hell out of here.

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