In My Skin

CH 27 || The Whole Night?

I woke with a start. The early signs of twilight plunged the room into a soft mix of gray. We must have slept for several hours.

I finally realized that my head rested on a hard but strangely comfortable arm.

I rolled over and sat up. Killian was lying on his back, the covers pushed to the side. I was surprised to find him awake and watching me. "You're up!" I said in a slightly squeaky voice.

He grumbled something under his breath.

I leaned closer. "What was that?"

"Aren't you always freezing? You're like a small packed heater," he groaned.

My face flamed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's too hot." His shirt had risen, revealing skin stretched over tight muscles and I quickly averted my gaze.

"Hey, you were the one who pulled me in, complaining it was too cold," I muttered.

"Ugh." He dragged his hand down his face.

To busy myself, I snatched the thermometer and checked him again. I exhaled. No wonder he was feeling too hot. The fever was going down. Finally.

A knock sounded, and Cody came in. "Oh, you're up," he said, smiling.

I tucked my hands under my legs to stop twitching. "Yeah..."

"Thank you for checking on him. Suzy said to remind you that you still need to pack. We're leaving around noon."

"Ah! Alright. I better go pack then." I jumped up and fled the room.

God, what had I been thinking?

I stared at the pile of dirty clothes lying in front of me. Suz and I had both forgotten to do laundry. "Suz? Do you have another hoodie?"

Her raven hair was tucked behind her ears and several strands escaped as she looked down at her bright orange Garfield hoodie. "This is my last one..."

"Can't you ask Nick to lend you one?" I asked hopefully.

Her head swiveled from side to side. "I don't think he even brought any luggage."

Great.

After I'd escaped Killian's room, I'd gotten a few more hours of sleep. Suzy had burst into the room ten minutes ago. We were planning on leaving in an hour and I would be leaving in—I checked my ensemble—tank top and yoga pants. It was fourteen degrees outside. Amazing.

I plopped onto our queen-sized bed.

"Just ask Killian. Don't you take his hoodies all the time?" She grinned at me.

I threw a pillow at her. "Very funny."

"I'm serious though? It's the least he can do after you ditched your best friend on New Year's Eve to—"

"Hey! It was an accident. Sort of." I lifted my head and pointed at her. "And don't you come at me with ditching. I remember someone dragging me on a Girl's Night out just to ditch right after."

She clicked her tongue. Then she scooped up the rest of her clothes in one go and unceremoniously stuffed them into her bag. "Fine. But still, just ask him."

I made a conscious effort to keep from blushing. "No. Didn't you see his face when he gave Alicia his jacket? I'm not going to—"I searched for the right words— "leech off him, alright? There's been enough of at."

Suz regarded me for a few seconds. "That was Cody's jacket. And besides, I don't think it's the same."

"Maybe."

"On that note... Spill. What happened?"

I turned away, ignoring her sparkling eyes, and rummaged through my bag again. "Nothing happened."

"Then talk. If there's nothing."

"He was sick. I made sure he wouldn't die."

She wiggled her eyebrows at me. "The whole night?"

"We fell asleep. That's it."

"But if that's the case, he owes you right now. Plus, you lend him your scarf. The odds are in your favor. It's the perfect time to snatch some clothes."

My eyes darted around. "He found me locked outside on the balcony about to jump down."

The resounding silence was deafening.

"You..." She wiped at her eyes, her shoulders quivering. "You're really making me speechless."

"Just shut it then," I said and stuck my tongue out at her.

I found an oversized gray hoodie stuck behind my pillow. Maybe this one would do? I held it up. A huge yellow spot laughed at me from its sleeve. Oh right, I'd spilled curry on that one. Maybe not then. I scouted the room, found the one I'd worn on Girls' Night, and sniffed it. My nose wrinkled at the smell of booze. Yikes.

Suz watched me agonize for a while before she disappeared through the door. Five minutes later, she returned, a large PSU hoodie in hand. "Here."

I eyed the sweatshirt, feeling as if she was trying to hand me a bomb. "Where'd you get that?"

Her reply came instantly. "Cody."

"Oh. Okay." I should have thought of him. I pulled it over my head and paused. It smelled....good. Familiar. I gave her a hard stare. "This is Killian's hoodie, isn't it?"

She blinked her dark almond eyes at me with a blank look. "Why would you think so?"

"It smells like—" I realized my mistake too late.

A mischievous grin spread over her small face. "I see... You two must be really close to recognize what he smells like immediately."

I glared at her.

Her shoulders lifted and she skipped over to her cosmetic bag. "They share a bathroom maybe they use the same soap. Unless you know exactly what Killian smells like, if you know what I mean."

"Very funny... I told you I don't want to owe him or anything," I mumbled. "It's really starting to get annoying. You saw his face with Alicia the other day. He's not as chill about these things as you might think."

"I don't think he minds if you rely on him a little," she stated.

"I think I relied on him a few too many times already, Suz. It's not healthy."

She rolled her eyes. "It's Cody's hoodie, okay? Your nose must be wrong. Or do you sniff Cody as well?"

Maybe, last night messed with my head and my nose was wrong. Thankfully, it was just a PSU hoodie, so it could be basically anyone's and nobody would ask.