Tackling the Canvas

Chapter 19

Nora

If I'm honest, I've never—never—had sex in the shower before. But, gosh, it felt amazing. The heat of the water cascading over us, mixed with the intensity of Owen's touch, made every sensation feel heightened. The cool tile against my back, contrasting with the warmth of his body pressing into mine, sent shivers down my spine.

And after it, when we stood there catching our breath, his forehead resting gently against mine, I realized just how close I felt to him. The moment wasn't just physical—it felt deeper, more intimate than anything I'd ever experienced before.

Honestly, I never thought I'd like shower sex, but with Owen... it was something else entirely.

That's when it hit me. My breath caught in my throat, and a sudden rush of panic surged through me.

We didn't use condoms. Fuck.

I pulled back slightly from Owen, who was still catching his breath, completely unaware of the tidal wave of thoughts crashing through my mind. My heart started racing, the high from our moment instantly replaced by a wave of cold reality.

How could I have been so careless?

Owen was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, his chest still rising and falling from the intensity of what had just happened. He looked so relaxed, and here I was, spiraling.

I should say something, right? But part of me didn't want to ruin the moment. Another part of me, though, knew we had to talk about it, to figure out what the hell we were going to do next.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. The last thing I needed was for him to see how freaked out I was. But the truth was, I had no idea what to do.

"You alright?" His soft, concerned voice pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts.

"I– uh, yeah. Everything's fine." I forced a smile, trying to sound convincing. But it wasn't. Not even close.

I could feel his eyes on me, searching for something beneath my words, sensing the tension I was failing to hide. Owen wasn't stupid, and I knew he'd pick up on this eventually. But how could I say it? Hey, by the way, we might have just made the biggest mistake ever?

No. Not right now.

I turned, trying to focus on the warm water cascading down, letting it mask the storm raging in my mind. The last thing I wanted was to ruin this, to ruin us, but the knot in my stomach wouldn't go away.

I tried to steady my breathing, but the weight of what just happened clung to me like a shadow. Owen's hands gently slid up my arms, his touch so familiar, so comforting, but right now it only reminded me of the looming uncertainty.

He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my shoulder. "Nora... you don't seem fine."

I closed my eyes, trying to gather myself, but the truth was buzzing in my mind, drowning out everything else. I swallowed hard. "Owen, we didn't..." I paused, my voice barely above a whisper, "...we didn't use anything."

He stilled behind me, his hands pausing mid-caress. The silence between us suddenly felt heavy, suffocating. I could feel the tension in his body shift as realization sank in.

"Shit," he muttered, pulling back slightly. "I didn't even think about it—"

"Neither did I." I turned to face him, my heart racing as I looked into his eyes. "What if...?" I couldn't even finish the sentence, the words getting stuck in my throat.

Owen ran a hand through his wet hair, his expression serious now, no longer playful. "Okay, okay. Let's just... take a deep breath. We'll figure it out."