Free First Kiss: The Ghost Bird Series: #10 (The Academy Ghost Bird Series) by C. L. Stone

go ahead of me and open the door.”
    Kota smirked and then turned toward the stairs, but before we started to descend, his bathroom door opened. Victor stepped out wearing only his usual black slacks and a towel around his bare shoulders. His torso was trim with delicate lines around his abdomen and deep indents at his hips. His wavy hair was still wet from the shower and appeared much darker than normal, almost black and contrasted against his light skin. His fire eyes were dim; he looked tired. He noticed at us at the steps and raised a smooth brown eyebrow. "Is she showering downstairs?"
    "I'm taking her over to Nathan's house," Kota said. "There's not enough hot water now."
    Victor dragged his eyes from Kota to me. "She prefers baths," he said. "Your bathroom has a tub."
    He was the only one that knew about my fear of showers. I shivered where I stood and not just from the cold. I didn’t want to talk about showers right now. "I can take one in the other bathroom," I said.
    Victor pressed his lips together as he looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded slightly and turned toward the closet, picking through the hanging shirts.
    Since he didn’t say anything else, I assumed had kept his promise not to tell the others until I was ready. As I descended the stairs behind Kota, I hoped he understood why I hadn’t said anything to Kota this time.
    Being cold wasn’t the only reason. I didn’t know where to start. Every time I hesitated, I felt the guilt of holding back. At first, it seemed such a stupid little thing to worry about when we had real worries like Mr. Hendricks and his people following us, Mr. McCoy hunting for me, and all the other problems we had been facing. Maybe back then when it had first come up, it had been the wrong time to talk about something like that.
    Now, after almost a month of quiet, of all of us going about our routines, and forcing Mr. Hendricks to stay put by not drawing attention to ourselves, I could have told them but I hadn’t. At first, I didn’t want to trouble anyone with a new problem. It’s not like they could have solved it, anyway. All I had to say was that I wanted a bath; no one had questioned it.
    Still, I knew it was probably best to tell them. I wanted to wait until I got a moment alone with Victor; maybe he could help me figure out how to tell one of the others.
    I followed Kota to the back door, and the salty, greasy smell of bacon frying hit my nose as we passed near the kitchen, making my stomach rumble.
    Kota encouraged me on. “Hurry and get a shower in,” he said. “By the time you get back, it’ll be ready.”
    I got out in the garage before he had a chance to close the door behind him and descend the few stairs. The big door was open, and I could see the snow had already started to get soggy and melty, only patches remaining now that it had warmed up. There was the start of a very soggy snowman at one corner of the house, the one we had given up on when the boys finally realized they wouldn’t be able to collect enough snow before it all melted.
    My clothes were sticking to me, and I sniffed as my nose started to run. I wiped at it with the sleeve of my jacket.
    Kota came up behind me. “You sure you don’t want me to carry you?”
    I looked over at him. “No, it’s okay.
    He grinned at me and then blurted out, “Ready, set, go!” before he took off in a jog.
    Finding a spurt of energy, I raced behind him, catching up only when we got to the road. Once he realized I was about to leap ahead, his run turned into a faster sprint, aiming right for Nathan’s front door.
    I was breathing in cold air and had to go around the wet grass so I wouldn’t slip on it in my bare feet.
    He was able to get the key in the door right before I crashed into him, breathing heavily. The short run wouldn’t normally have winded me so badly, except I was already exhausted from playing earlier.
    I leaned on him, tired and needing support.
    Kota eased me back a bit.