Felicity decides to take a shower to clear her head

"I think I’m going to shower," I said abruptly, peeling myself off the sill. The words tasted metallic, like I’d bitten my tongue. "Wash off the exam stink."

Bella smirked, stretching out on her bed like a cat. "Translation: you want to cry in private. Classic Flick move."

I flipped her off with a half-hearted grin, grabbing my towel from the back of the door. The bathroom tiles were icy under my bare feet, shockingly white compared to the peach-colored ones back home—back at what used to be home. The shower roared to life, steam quickly fogging the mirror until my reflection disappeared entirely. Good. I didn’t want to see the red-rimmed eyes staring back at me anyway.

Twenty minutes later, I emerged pink-skinned and wrapped in a towel that barely covered my thighs, my damp hair dripping down my back. The landing was dim, the only light spilling from the half-open door of Bella’s parents’ bedroom. That’s when I nearly collided with Mr. Hartwell, his broad shoulders filling the space as he stepped out in a black workout shirt that clung to every ridge of his torso. The scent of clean sweat and something woodsy hit me first—unexpectedly sharp compared to the cocoon of steam I’d just left.

"Sorry, Felicity," he murmured, sidestepping with an athlete’s grace. His biceps flexed as he adjusted the towel slung over his shoulder, veins standing out against tanned skin. I’d seen him at Bella’s netball games, sure, shouting encouragement from the sidelines in a windbreaker, but this was... different. Up close, the silver threading through his stubble made his jawline look even more defined, and his eyes—dark blue, almost navy—flicked down my body for a fraction of a second too long.

"No worries," I managed, suddenly hyperaware of how the towel was slipping near my hip. My pulse jumped when his fingertips brushed my elbow as he passed, ostensibly to steady me, but the contact sent a traitorous shiver up my spine. The hallway seemed to narrow, the air thick with the mingling scents of his aftershave and my strawberry shampoo.