Jay pushed the bathroom door open, her hand still trembling on the silver handle.
The steam from the running water had filled the room with a warm, thick mist.
She stepped inside, her wet bathrobe heavy over her drenched clothes, her heart beating a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
Keifer wasn't in the shower anymore. He was sitting on the marble steps of the bathtub, his back against the cool stone.
The light from the vanity mirror hit him perfectly as he reached up, his movements slow and deliberate, peeling the soaked, orange-stained white shirt off his body.
Jay froze. Her breath hitched, trapped in her throat. His skin glistening with water droplets, his broad shoulders and the sharp, defined muscles of his chest and abdomen on full display.
Her eyes widened, locked onto him like she had forgotten how to look away.
Keifer looked up, catching her gaze. A slow, knowing smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He didn't reach for a towel to cover himself; instead, he leaned back a little, enjoying the way she was staring at him.
"Enjoying the view, wifey?" he asked, his voice a low, teasing rumble that vibrated through the small room.
Jay's brain felt like it had short-circuited. "Huh? No! I... just..." she stammered, her face turning a shade of red that was almost painful.
She tried to look at the ceiling, then the floor, but like a magnet, her gaze snapped right back to his bare chest.
She felt like she was melting under his stare. She had to say something—anything—to break the spell.
"Home is back in Sophia!" she blurted out, her voice high and panicked.
Keifer paused, his hand halfway to his hair. He blinked at her, his smirk turning into a look of genuine confusion.
"What?"
Jay's eyes went even wider. She realized what she had just said and felt like she wanted the marble floor to open up and swallow her whole.
Her cheeks were so hot she was sure they were glowing.
"I mean!" she squeaked, her hands flying up to cover her face. "I mean... Soph... Sophia and mom... and ...dad are back! She's home! The plan was canceled!"
The bathroom was silent again, save for the rhythmic drip, drip, drip of the showerhead.
Keifer's low chuckle was like a vibration she felt in her own bones.
Jay was caught in a daze, her eyes moving in a shy, slow path fto his shiny lips, she bit her own lower lip, and then down to the hard lines of his chest.
Keifer saw the way she was looking at him. He didn't say a word, his smirk deepening with a mix of pride and affection.
He slowly extended his hand toward her, palm up, while his other hand tapped the marble step beside him, inviting her to sit close.
Jay's brain was foggy. She looked at his hand, then his eyes, then back to his hand.
Like a magnet, her fingers began to reach out, inching closer and closer to his palm until their skin was just a hair's breadth apart—
KNOCK.
KNOCK.
KNOCK.
The sound was like an alarm bell. Jay startled, her hand snapping back as if she had been burned.
Keifer let out a frustrated sigh, but he stood up immediately.
Jay made a move to head for the door, but Keifer put a firm hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
"Stay here," he whispered, his voice dark and commanding. "I'll see who it is."
He didn't bother drying off. He threw his wet, orange-stained shirt back over his shoulders, leaving it completely unbuttoned.
He stepped out of the bathroom and opened the bedroom door just a crack.
It was his mother.
"Mom?" Keifer asked, trying to sound normal while water dripped from his hair onto the carpet.
"Yeah, I was here to tell you that we are back," she said, her eyes scanning his messy appearance.
"I sent Sophia earlier, but I didn't know if she actually told you or not, so I came myself."
She paused, her eyes widening as she took in his soaked shirt and damp skin. A naughty, knowing smile spread across her face.
"But... what happened to you? Why are you wet? And where is Jay?"
Keifer felt a heat crawl up his neck that had nothing to do with the shower.
"Mom, it's not like that. I... I tripped in the bathtub. And Jay's not here. She's... gone for a walk."
His mother's face fell slightly, her excitement disappearing.
"A walk? At this hour? In the dark? Well, all right then." She gave him one last suspicious look before waving her hand. "Fine. Goodnight, then."
She turned and walked away. Keifer waited until he heard her footsteps disappear down the hall.
He let out a long breath, a smile tugging at his lips despite the chaos. His heart was drumming against his ribs like a wild animal.
He turned back and pushed the bathroom door open.
"Jay, she's go—"
The words died in his throat. He froze at the entrance.
Jay was sitting on the stairs of the bathtub, her small frame looking even tinier against the white marble.
Her wet hair was loose and messy, tilted over one shoulder in a way that exposed the delicate line of her neck.
Her oversized T-shirt, heavy with water, had slipped slightly down one shoulder, revealing her pale skin and collarbone.
A single, crystal-clear drop of water sat right on her bottom lip, shimmering in the light.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide, innocent, and completely unaware of how breathtaking she looked in that moment.
The tension in the bathroom was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Keifer was inches away, his heart thudding against his ribs like a trapped bird, his eyes locked onto Jay's trembling lips.
A/n:
Alright curse me, scream
Cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
But what can I do, I have to make their moment special 😁.
So bye 👋🫂
Love u all 😘
Oh ! I forgot the spoiler 😁:
I.....love.....you 😽