I shut the water off while Reid reaches out for towels. He holds one open for me and I turn around, letting him wrap it around my shoulders. When I turn back around, he’s pulling one around his hips.
We step out of the shower. Reid moves in front of the mirror and runs his fingers through his wet hair. Droplets cascade down his chest and back, which ripples with his every move. I pull the towel tighter around me, content by my view. He side-eyes me, shakes his head with a small smile, and finishes drying off.
I hand him his underwear in exchange for his towel, admiring as the material clings to his muscled thighs and bulge. My mouth waters at the thought that that was just in my mouth only minutes ago.
“Don’t give me that look,” he says, voice low. “It makes me want to rip that towel back off of you and bury my face between your legs.”
My core pounds at his words. “Mmm, maybe later.” Iwalk back into my room to grab my pajamas. It’s a simple, matching short-and-shirt silk set, the color a light, baby blue. I change quickly, give Macaroni a few pets, and head back into the bathroom as Reid vacates it.
I’d like to at least partially dry my hair but don’t want to run the blowdryer with Marley and Sara sleeping. So instead I towel dry it as much as I can and quickly do my skincare. Reid lounges on the bed in his boxer briefs, careful eyes watching my every move.
He opens his mouth to say something but whatever it was turns into a yelp. “What the fuck!” He pulls his leg up and cradles his foot.
“What happened?”
“The little fucker bit my toe!”
Sure enough, Macaroni sits at the end of the bed, tail snapping, staring at Reid.
I duck my head around the wall of the bathroom so Reid can’t see my laugh. “I’m sorry,” I choke out.
“Yeah, you sure do sound sorry,” he mutters.
I apply chapstick and turn off the light, joining Reid and a still disgruntled Macaroni in bed. I pat his head a few times then give him a kiss good night. Reid peels back the covers for me, like this is something we do every night, and I slip into them as we settle in side by side.
“Do you wanna talk about what happened with Nikolai now?”
He sighs heavily while his fingers fiddle with the top of the sheet. “He had our old manager there tonight.”
“Arun?” Reid mentioned him a few times to me when I asked who he was in some of the pictures he has in his house.
“Yeah. I guess the whole solo thing isn’t doing it for Nikolai, and he wants us to go on some sort of retreat to trytoreconnect.” He makes air quotes with his fingers on the last word.
“And you don’t want that?” I ask tentatively. This conversation is at a precipice. Reid could either shut down completely and the conversation is over, or he’ll communicate through it with me.
I’m hoping for the latter but expecting the former.
“I don’t know,” he says bitterly. “What’s done is done. I didn’t meet with Walker to try to get our careers back on track. But that seems to have been a sign to Nik that that’s what I’m working toward.”
I prop an elbow on my pillow so I can look at him. “Did you tell him that?”
“Yes.”
“And what did he say?”
He scrapes his hands down his face. “They asked me to think about it.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from talking. He needs to work this through himself.
“What?” he asks. “I can tell you have something to say.”
I place a hand on his chest and he covers it with one of his own. “It’s not my place. You have to come to this decision on your own.”
“But I want your opinion.” His eyes plead with me, and even though I risk him shutting down, I tell him anyway.
“I think you should do it. I think it’s a good idea.”
A blink is his only response, so I continue.
