Not when the only thing I can see is the single queen bed in the middle of the room. Can you say awkward?

“Ummm . . .” I pry my eyes away from the bed and try to keep some of the hope out of my voice. “Is this okay?”

After seeing him shirtless for so long today, it has to be okay. I don’t know if it will be possible to lie so close to him and not make a move.

“Yeah, I mean, sure.” He trips over his words in a very un-Jasper-like manner. “This is fine with me if it is for you.”

Oh, I am so, so, so fine with it.

“Yeah, I’m okay with it.” Trying to sound like you don’t want to throw someone on a bed and rip their clothes off is much harder than I ever knew, but I think I’m succeeding. Maybe? “Is it okay if I hop in the shower first? I’ll hurry so you can take one after.”

I need to get away from him for a minute. I need to cool off and get myself together so I can act like a normal human being.

“Yeah, go ahead.” He lets go of my hand and flips the latch on the door. “No need to hurry, though, I’m a bit of a night owl so I’ll be fine.”

He’s a night owl? I’ve learned so much about him during our time together and each new tidbit feels like a gift. I love knowing this about him.

“Cool, thanks.” I turn and rush into the bathroom.

I flip on the lights and lock the door behind me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath to gather my wits before I move to the deep shower and crank it all the way to hot.

I slip the straps of my dress off my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground before peeling off my bathing suit.

“Fuck.” My change of clothes is in the back of my Jeep, and while I don’t mind going to bed commando, I worry that might be a little bit too forward.

The steam from the shower billows around the curtain and the mirror begins to fog. I step in, avoiding getting my hair wet by instinct even though it was already soaked from the river. The hot water hits my skin and my muscles loosen, the stress washing away with the salty remnants of the day.

I think about the heroine in the book I’m reading. The way she takes charge of her wants and needs. When she was in this situation, she didn’t sink into her head. No! She took what she wanted, and there’s no reason I shouldn’t do the same.