Page 38 of Protecting Josie
Josie wanted to protest. Tell him she was sure it wouldn’t bother her if another female entered, but by the fierce look on his face, it was obvious he was intent on letting her have some space.
She wasn’t sure she wanted space, especially not from him, but she nodded anyway.
That guess was proven correct when, the second the door closed behind her, it took all of Josie’s inner strength not to wrench it open again. Being alone for the first time since Nate had been dragged into the cell next to hers brought back too many bad memories.
She took a deep breath. Then another. She had to figure out how to go back to her solitary lifestyle without having a panic attack every time a door shut behind her.
She slowly walked over to the line of curtained-off showers against the wall. Just like that, the thought of being clean overrode any other emotion. She dropped the blanket, took off the socks, the shirt, the boxers, and the damn bikini, and closed the shower curtain behind her, then turned the knob. The water was a light spray from the showerhead, and it was only lukewarm, but it felt absolutely heavenly.
By the time she turned off the water—after quickly soaping herself down several times and scrubbing lightly at her scalp—Josie could barely keep her eyes open. Her hair was still a disaster, but she was too exhausted to do anything more about it now. It was enough that her body was clean.She couldn’t wash away the feeling of lying in the dirt, and she still had dark lines deep under her fingernails, but the smell of finally being clean felt amazing.
“Josie?”
She heard Nate’s voice and peeked around the shower curtain, making sure she was shielded from view. He’d seen practically all of her anyway, including the way her bones protruded from her skin, but now that they weren’t in the middle of an escape from a terrorist’s prison cell, it felt more awkward being naked around him.
“Safe brought some clothes. I’ll put them here for you. Take your time getting dressed. No one will come in until you’re done.”
Then he nodded at her and left her alone once more.
Josie didn’t like seeing Nate’s back as he walked away from her, but she’d have to get used to it. Steeling herself, she stepped out of the shower stall and walked over to the pile of things he’d left behind. There was a towel on top, which she wrapped around herself.
Safe had gotten her a T-shirt that said NAVY across the front, a pair of sweatpants with the word NAVY down one leg, a pair of underwear and a sports bra. Oh, and some socks as well.
Just seeing the clean clothes made tears well in Josie’s eyes. She quickly dried herself off and donned everything. She felt like a different person, now that she had real clothes.Cleanclothes.
She opened the door a little and saw Nate standing with his back to the door, blocking anyone from entering. There was a woman standing to the side with her arms crossed,looking irritated, but the second she saw Josie, the irritation faded away.
“Oh, you’re so tiny,” the woman blurted.
Josie would’ve laughed, as she got that a lot, but Nate filled her vision. “You okay? Everything fit?”
She nodded, feeling shy all of a sudden. It hit her then that Nate still hadn’t showered. He’d just stood in the hall while she took her sweet time, getting clean. She frowned, then pointed at the door across the hall that said MEN.
Nate turned to look at where she was pointing. “Yeah, I’ll clean up once you’re settled back in the bunk room.” Then he pushed past her into the women’s room.
The sailor waiting to enter rolled her eyes as she held the door open for Nate.
Josie watched as he walked over to where she’d taken off the clothes she’d been wearing and dumped them into the trash can. Then he walked back to her and gently took her arm. “Come on, the guys should be back with something for us to eat and drink. I’ll get you settled, then shower and be back before you even know I’ve been gone.”
Josie wasn’t sure about that, but she nodded anyway.
He led her back to the room with all the bunk beds, and he was right, his teammates were all there waiting on them. And they’d set up what looked like a feast. Someone had pulled a trunk out from under one of the bunks and set it up as a table. There was a ton of food piled up, but what caught Josie’s attention was the fresh fruit.
She reached for a strawberry without thought—then froze, feeling terribly rude.
“Go on, Josie. Help yourself. I’ll be right back.” Then toher surprise, Nate kissed her on the temple before grabbing a pile of clothes from a bunk and leaving the room.
For just a moment, she panicked, before forcing herself to take a deep breath.
“You’re doing good, Josie,” Kevlar told her. “The first day or so back in civilization is always hard.” His hair was wet and it was obvious he’d taken a shower at the same time she had.
“If you can call this civilization,” Smiley bitched.
“True,” Kevlar said with a small grin. “Come on. I’ll bore you with stories about my Remi, and Safe can regale you with tales of his Wren. Did Blink tell you about Caroline and Wolf? No? Well, do we have some stories to tell you! You’ll fit right in with everyone…although it sucks that you had to go through what you did.”
The next thing she knew, Josie was sitting cross-legged on one of the bunks, with a plate heaping with food on her lap, as all the guys took turns telling her about the people she’d meet in California. No one seemed to think it was weird that she’d be going back to Riverton with them. In fact, they seemed excited to have her.
Her head was spinning by the time Nate returned. He hadn’t been gone more than fifteen minutes, but it felt as if it had been hours.
