She just wanted to stand under the shower until the hot water ran out. It had been such a relief to brush her teeth and wash off the pound of makeup from her face, and now the heat and steam were easing the aches from her neck and back. Instead of standing there, however, Kait finished rinsing the conditioner from her hair and turned the water off before opening the shower door. Grabbing one towel, she twisted her hair up turban style and then took the other to dry off with. The mirror was fogged over and she could only make out her blur as she wrapped the towel around herself and tucked in the ends.
She heard the sound of voices outside the door and, for a moment, thought Jace was talking to her. That didn’t make any sense though, as his cadence was more conversational and not nearly obnoxious enough to be directed at her. It was when she heard the answering voice that her heart skipped a tiny little beat. It was part panic, part excitement...the kind that was overjoyed that her best friend was right outside the door when she hadn’t seen him in what felt like forever, as well as the kind that brought a pink flush to her cheeks. Taking a moment to give herself a mental kick because of the latter, she pulled the towel off her head and wiped the steam from a portion of the mirror to check her reflection. It was still cloudy, but she ran her fingers through her wet hair - or tried, though she seemed to be tangling it more than anything else. Giving up, she stuck her tongue out at the blurred image of herself. The only saving grace was that she knew Tyler wouldn’t even notice if she looked like a drowned rat.
Yanking open the door, Kait jumped him. She didn’t even notice Jace standing there. Her arms wrapped around Tyler’s neck and she hugged him tight, clinging to him like a spider monkey while she rattled off a million questions. “When did you get here? How did you get here? Do you even know what day it is? Where were you last night? Were you in town? Why didn’t you come out to the tavern? Are you hungry? How long are you staying? Did you...bring any friends home?”
The questions slowed by the time she got to the last one, the thought of him bringing home someone special not sitting well with her, though she blamed it on her empty stomach. Finally, she remembered they weren’t alone in the hallway and the flush in her cheeks deepened. Clearing her throat, she loosened her hold on him and slipped one hand between them to ensure her towel was still secure before she stepped away. “Sorry, I’m still a little wet.” Jace’s cough earned him a quick glare. “From the shower! I’m just…” She returned her attention to her bestie. “I'm gonna be in your bed. Room! Your bedroom. I’m gonna go borrow a shirt. And pants.”
She squeezed her eyes shut as she turned toward his bedroom door, but then spun right around to scoot back into the bathroom. “Just...shut up,” she said with another look at the elder Lockheart as she gathered her discarded clothes up off the floor and then retreated to Tyler’s room.