High on tiptoe and contorting myself to cover all of the things that counted, I danced around Levi’s bathroom in search of a towel.
There weren’t any in plain sight, and since the asshole had shoved me without permission into the fucking shower fully clothed, I’d had no choice but to strip down and wash away the cold of the rain.
Sure, the warmth of the water from his rain shower head had been soothing, and the steady pressure on my back had gone a long way to easing the ache the cold had created. But I didn’t want to be trapped in his house, naked and vulnerable, while he took my clothes who knew where.
I was angry—depleted. So fucking tired of this back-and-forth between us that I felt like I’d been living it for years. We were two ships passing in the night, and when this was all over, we’d be miles in opposite directions.
There was absolutely no point in trying this hard. No point in torturing ourselves.
I sighed and shut my eyes as I let my own advice wash over me.
No point in fighting.
My shoulders sagged with the sudden loss of tension.
I need to let it all go.
Resolved to my new finding from my foray into self-discovery, I opened the cabinet under the sink and shut it, moved to the tall cabinet on the wall, and finally, found sanctuary in the form of a towel inside.
I wrapped the plush, navy blue fabric around myself and sank into the comfort of it, briefly inhaling the fresh laundry scent. It was indistinct, thankfully, rather than the linen embodiment of all things Levi Fox, so I gave myself over to the security it provided.
The shower and pep talk had taken me ninety percent of the way, but the fluffy gloriousness of the towel was the closer.
I was finally relaxed.
With fresh eyes and renewed interest, I surveyed the bathroom tile, a glossy white and gray swirl of marble, and the high-end fixtures, and I tried to find Levi in their opulence.
He was a cop in a small-town police department and basic in his needs from all accounts. He drove a beat-up truck and wore simple clothes, but this house—it was something else.
I moved then, cocooning myself in the towel as though it were a blanket, and exited the bathroom into the bedroom. It was big, if not ostentatious, and the ceiling was coffered.
Thought and detail had so obviously gone into the design of this home—most of it focused on looking grandiose. The more I saw, the more I felt like it was in competition with everything I knew about Levi.
But how well do you really know him?
The sarcastic, scorned part of me wanted to writhe around in the question and use it to build all of my walls back up, but for once, the practical part of me was louder.
I didn’t know everything there was to know about Levi Fox.
Hell, I didn’t even know a fraction of it.
But I knew this house didn’t fit him.
As for why he lived in it despite the discrepancy, I had no clue.
Neat and tidy, a thick pile of clothes sat waiting on the edge of the bed. It’d clearly been arranged with care rather than being tossed mindlessly, and upon closer inspection, I discovered my phone, dried and wiped down, sitting next to it.
I picked it up and toyed with it, killing time while I fought with myself over whether to call Camilla or not.
She’d be wondering about my well-being, of that I was sure, but she’d also be forthright and overly pushy about what she thought the meaning of it all was. I wasn’t really in the mood for a lecture.
Settling on middle ground, I shot her a quick text.
Me: I’m fine. Got caught in the rain and am drying out before heading home.
Camilla: Where are you drying out?
The little snooper. Couldn’t let anything lie.
Me: I’ll let you know when I’m on my way so you don’t worry.
Camilla: ARE YOU AT LEVI’S??
Me: Bye.
Camilla: OMG, you are!! I knew it! But don’t worry, I’ll leave you alone about it.
The reprieve was surprising but not unwelcome. I was so tired of explaining myself.
Me: Thank you.
Camilla: For now. It’ll be easier to beat it out of you in person.
Jesus. Great. Something to look forward to.
Me: You’re so considerate.
Camilla: Of course I am. I’m the best. But what about Sam? Aren’t you supposed to meet him for dinner tonight?
Me: I’ll text him. Now leave me alone.
Camilla: Sure, sure. Get back to whatever you’re doing. I’m sure it’s interesting.
Me: I’m flipping you off right now.
Camilla: HAHA
Quickly backing out of Camilla’s message thread before she could trap me with any more crap, I scrolled down to find Sam’s name and opened his message. The last one, where we’d agreed to dinner tonight at El Loco, sat waiting at the top.
Me: Hey, Grandpa Sam. We’re still on for dinner tonight, but I need a little extra time.
Sam: Sure, girl. You all right?
Me: Yeah, thanks. Just got caught in the rain. No big deal.
Sam: Caught in the rain? Rain don’t melt ya, you know.
Me: I know. I was just out in it for a while and not at home. My clothes are drying.
Sam: Where in Sam Hill did you find a dryer?
Vague, Ivy. Be vague.
Me: I’m at a friend’s house.
Sam: What friend? Last I checked, you had no friends here.
Gee, thanks. I considered my options for a minute before settling on the truth.
Me: Levi.
Sam: Uh-huh.
He didn’t actually say anything, but there was a whole hell of a lot in his implication.
Me: Sam…it’s not like that.
Sam: Sure, it ain’t. How about we reschedule for tomorrow night?
Me: Tonight is fine. Just make it 8 instead of 7.
I waited for a full two minutes, but I didn’t get anything back. I decided to assume that meant eight worked for him.
Done with talking to all of these annoying people, I tossed the phone on the bed, stripped off my towel Sherpa, and got down to the business of getting dressed.
Underwear, pajama pants, two layers of tops—all of it went on with ease.
It wasn’t until I was fully encased, covered from head to foot, that I noticed.
These clothes, like the towel, were Levi’s. But what the towel had lacked in personal affiliation, the clothes carried in spades.
They smelled bold and powerful and endlessly rich in a restrained mix of leather and citrus. I wasn’t sure where he acquired those specific scents, as I’d never seen him in leather or holding fruit, but it was him all the same.
And considering I was inside his home, I wasn’t likely to escape the olfactory web of Levi Fox anytime soon.