I leaned closer to the mirror, really looking at myself for the first time since everything had happened.The bruise on my cheek was yellowing at the edges now.The cut above my eyebrow had been cleaned and had a Band-Aid over it.My eyes looked tired but clear.
I looked… better than I felt.
Better than I thought I would.
“I don’t even have a toothbrush,” I muttered.
“We can run by your house today and get your stuff,” Ender said easily.
“Why do I need to get my stuff?”I asked, frowning.
He stuck his head out of the curtain again, soap sliding down his temple.“Clove.You’ve been with the club since birth.You really need me to answer that?”
I rolled my eyes.“Because it’s safer for me to be here.”
“Good girl,” he said, then ducked back into the shower.
The words sent a shiver straight down my spine.
I braced myself on the sink and took a slow breath.
Ender was off-limits.Ender had always been off-limits.Part of the club.Practically family.Cousin-adjacent, even if I’d never once felt cousin feelings toward him.
And it wasn’t like he’d ever shown interest in me.
I told myself that for the millionth time.
“Think I can wear my cowprint shorts on the back of your bike?”I joked weakly.
He laughed.“You could, but Eden brought you some clothes this morning.They’re on the couch.”
“Sweet Eden,” I said fondly.“She’s always been my favorite.”
I stepped back into the bedroom and grabbed the jean shorts and black Stevie Nicks shirt Eden had left.I really needed clean underwear.I was currently going commando.Not that anyone could tell, though, but I knew.
I changed quickly, buttoning up the shorts just as Ender stepped out of the bathroom.
Shirtless with a towel around his neck, water still clinging to his skin.Muscles defined and familiar in a way that made my stomach flip.Broad shoulders.Strong arms.Tattoos tracing stories I’d never asked about.
The kind of man who looked like he could handle anything the world threw at him.
My mouth went dry.
He stopped and looked at me.“You okay?”
I nodded too fast.
He glanced down at his chest, then back up at me.“Like what you see?”
Like?I loved it.
“Oh, um,” I scrambled.“I was just thinking about… breakfast.I’m starving.”
He smirked, finished drying his hair, and tossed the towel back into the bathroom.He pulled a shirt on, grabbed his cut from the door handle, and shrugged it into place.
I turned away to put on my Converse with my cheeks burning.
Ender sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on his socks and boots.