Page 24 of An Irish Summer

“Oh my god,” I said, wishing my hands weren’t holding up my towel so I could cover my face in embarrassment. His laugh came from somewhere low in his throat, and I knew my blush had turned to blotches across my chest, which was exposed. “I’m so sorry,” I said.

“Happens all the time,” he said, shrugging. I envied his nonchalance. “Side effect of communal toilets.”

“I can wait,” I said. “You go first.”

“They’re communal, Chelsea,” he said. “We can both go.”

The longer we stood in the hallway, the harder it got to continue making eye contact. Especially when his shirtless body revealed a new smattering of tattoos, including a eucalyptus branch just below his collarbone and what looked like an antique mirror on the front of his ribs. I blinked a few times before I could catch the rest, determined not to make this interaction any weirder.

“You’re right,” I said, despite how badly I wanted to disappear back into my room and wait until he was done. “That is what communal means.”Duh.

“After you.” He held out his hand, and I followed the gesture on shaky legs. I’d been in the shower before at the same time as other staff members, including Collin for all I knew, but it was much easier when I didn’t have to see them in towels beforehand.

I walked directly from the doorway into a stall, exhaling only once I was inside.

“I’m going to put music on,” Collin said loud enough for me to hear over the running water. “Hope that’s okay with you.”

“And if it isn’t?”

“I’m going to put music on,” he said again, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

Before I could say another word, Ed Sheeran’s “Galway Girl” blasted from Collin’s phone speakers and filled the bathroom.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I shouted from my stall, trying to hide my laughter. How could a man be so hot and so corny at the same time?

“What?” he said. “A bloke can’t enjoy a little Ed Sheeran in the shower?”

“Guilty pleasure?”

“No one should ever feel guilty about pleasure,” he said.

I was glad he couldn’t see me, not only because I was naked, but because I was sure I was blushing like a teenager. I’d thought our conversation had been light, but the deeper tone in his voice took us to a place I had no intention of going.

“Isn’t this song a little on the nose?” I said eventually, trying to get back on solid ground.

“It’s a classic,” he said. “You don’t have to read so much into everything, you know.”

“I don’t.”

“You do.”

Did I?

“I’m not arguing with you from the shower,” I said. “Showering is supposed to be relaxing.”

“It would be if you didn’t insist on arguing with me,” he said, effectively shutting me up. I had a whole night of him ahead of me and if I was going to survive, I needed to pace myself.

He shut off the water first, so I stalled long enough to hear him leave the bathroom before getting out myself. I looked inthe hallway to make sure the coast was clear, then shuffled into my room.

I spent more time trying to forget what Collin looked like half naked than I did getting ready, and frankly, I failed at both. I forgot to put product in my hair, so my curls were unruly, and the image of Collin seemed to be burned on the back of my eyelids. Eventually I threw on a pair of loose ripped jeans and a battered crew neck sweatshirt from college and headed down the hall to collect Flo.

“You’re lucky you’re hot,” she said as soon as she opened the door.

“Excuse me?”

“That’s how you can get away with wearing house clothes outside the house,” she said.

“Some of us don’t have a choice,” I said, looking down at my old sweatshirt and hoping its vibe was more curated vintage than just old. “We don’t all have your style.” She twirled in her doorway, flaunting a pair of cotton overalls and a patterned headscarf. I snapped my fingers in applause, and she looped her arm through mine to lead us downstairs.

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