The Road That Leads to Us (Us 1)

He was so close to me that I could see each individual eyelash and the tiny droplets of water clinging to them.

“You’re beautiful.”

Dean laughed.

“Oh, shit,” I muttered, making a face, “did I say that out loud?”

He nodded. “Most guys probably wouldn’t appreciate being called beautiful, but I’ll take it.” He winked.

Before things could get too serious again I kicked off the wall and dove underwater.

After being in the car all day, and dealing with the hot blazing sun, being able to swim felt amazing.

I should’ve been worried about getting caught, but Dean was probably stressing enough for both of us.

Sure enough, when I surfaced, Dean said from the other end of the pool, “Uh, Willow, do you think maybe we should head inside?”

“Not yet party pooper.”

He sighed heavily but let it go.

We swam for another fifteen or so minutes before making our way inside.

Dean kept muttering about the receptionist finding us, but we encountered no one on our way back up to our room.

“See?” I said when the door closed behind us. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“I guess not,” he agreed reluctantly, using a towel to dry his hair.

I shivered in the cool room and wrapped my arms around myself.

“Go shower before you get sick,” Dean scolded, rifling through his bag.

“Don’t be such a worrier.”

“I’m not,” he defended, “but you are shivering.”

He had a point there.

“I won’t be long,” I told him, knowing he’d want a shower too.

I grabbed everything I needed and closed the bathroom door behind me.

Maybe it should’ve been weird sharing a room with Dean, but it wasn’t. I didn’t feel awkward at all, and I felt more comfortable having him near.

I stepped into the shower and audibly sighed at the feel of the warm water on my skin.

I washed my hair and reveled in how nice it felt to be clean. True, I’d showered and washed my hair the night before, but when you were traveling all day in the summer heat you ended up a sweaty, sticky mess by the end of the day.

I scrubbed my body with my favorite cucumber scented body wash and watched as the soap bubbles swirled around the drain before disappearing.

I turned the water off and dried my body before slipping into my pajamas. I brushed through my hair quickly and braided the damp strands.

I hadn’t been in the bathroom more than twenty minutes, but when I stepped into our room I found Dean fast asleep on his bed. He was lying diagonally across it on his back, with his arm crossed over his face. I knew he was asleep because of the soft snoring sound he kept making.

I warred between waking him up so he could shower or letting him sleep.

I opted to let him sleep. He could always shower before we left in the morning.