Yes, by pretending it never happened...

As the bathroom door clicked shut, steam hissing faintly from the other side, and you were left standing in the middle of the room, your reflection still locked in the mirror. You swallowed hard, dragging the delicate lingerie off your hips and tossing it onto the bed as though it might burn you if you held on too long.

Your hands shook a little as you dug through the dresser until you found one of the other packs you and Jamal had bought together. The tighter briefs, still snug, still showing off more than you were used to, but normal. Safer. You stepped into a pair, the elastic snapping softly around your waist, hugging your pale skin in a way that made your thighs look thicker, your ass more pronounced. Even in these, you looked… different. More filled out. More confident.

You pulled on some of the clothes from yesterday’s mall trip, the fitted jeans Jamal had nudged you toward, the soft shirt that clung to your torso without being obvious. You turned once in the mirror. For the first time in your life you thought you looked sexy, these clothes make you look thicker than you ever thought you’d be, but not obscene. You could walk outside like this and you could let people see you.

Bt the time Jamal came out of the bathroom, towel just like in the dream slung loose around his hips and hair damp, you were sitting casually on the edge of your bed, scrolling idly through your phone pretending like nothing at all had happened.

For a second, he just looked at you. His eyes traveled down and back up, and then he smirked, easy, confident, like he hadn’t nearly sprinted to the bathroom minutes ago.

“Damn,” he said, tilting his head. “Those jeans… they fit you real good, bro. Should’ve known you’d clean up like this.”

The compliment landed heavy in your chest, heat curling low in your stomach. You tried to play it off, glancing away with a shrug. “Thanks. You picked them, so, I would think they make me look good.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d make them look this good.” His grin was sharp, teasing, but his voice carried something warmer beneath it.

Your face flushed hot. The memory of his eyes on you bent over, the way his body had reacted, came flooding back, tangled with the dream still lingering in your head. You tried to laugh it off, shaking your head. “You’re ridiculous.”

Jamal just chuckled, slinging his gym bag onto the floor and grabbing a fresh shirt from his drawer. He didn’t push it further, didn’t bring up what he’d walked in on. And you were grateful for that. At least on the surface. Beneath, though, you couldn’t stop replaying it. The way he’d looked at you, like you were something worth staring at.

“Anyway,” he said, tugging the shirt over his head. “You ready? Club fair’s gonna be packed, and if we don’t get there early, you’ll end up signing up for underwater basket weaving or some shit.”

You laughed despite yourself, sliding on your sneakers. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

Together you stepped out into the hall, pretending nothing had happened. Pretending you weren’t both carrying a secret image of the other burned into your minds.

And as you walked beside him, the compliment lingered, humming in your chest like a live wire.