When I entered the lottery to have my application fee waived for a shot at attending Wiltshire University I never thought I would get in. I mean, Wiltshire University is THE University; you know, the one that people would literally cut off their lef...
If I thought the hallway was nice, the apartment was ten times better. I went with Zane and Sawyer every year to help Zane's parents move his brothers, Kyle and Colton, in and out of their college apartments but none of those places looked like this. Then again, their dorms didn't look like mine either, and not just because mine was missing a stack of empty pizza boxes taller than me piled next to the door.
Trash aside, compared to Tanner's apartment, Zane's brothers were living in shanties. The rustic wood look tile from the hall extended into the well-lit entry, to my left, in the direction Tanner disappeared, double glass doors separated a room with two desks, to my right a large opening revealed a modern rustic kitchen. Hurrying after Tanner I stepped into an open concept living space, barely sparing it a glance as I trailed down a short hallway, pausing as Tanner retrieved towels and a laundry basket from behind a set of bi-fold doors before entering into a bedroom set off to the right.
Tanner put the towels on a king size bed, disappearing into an attached bathroom with the laundry basket. Hovering awkwardly in the doorway I peered into the masculine space. The same mid-wall to ceiling windows I glimpsed spanning the living room ran down one wall, wrapping the corner and extending halfway down the next. A sleek bed flanked by mid-century modern nightstands occupied the wall where the windows ended; a matching dresser with mirror adorned the opposite wall. The room was neat, the bed made with a dark blue and grey comforter, the only clutter in sight being a smattering of books neatly piled on the nightstands and dressers.
"Ok, I think I've got everything I need." Tanner emerged from the bathroom setting a different towel and a smattering of shower supplies on the bed before opening the dresser and pulling out several items, half of which he took back into the bathroom.
"I've got two towels, a pair of sweats, socks, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt in there for you," Tanner explained, shrugging one shoulder. "They'll be big on you, but at least they're dry." The sympathetic look in his eyes left me wishing I could hide behind my hair. This whole ordeal was so embarrassing. I could just imagine what Tanner and his friends thought of me; the words pathetic and hopeless sprung to mind.
"I left a laundry basket in there. Toss your wet stuff in the basket and we can take care of it later." Tanner gripped the back of his neck with one hand, peering around the bedroom and bathroom. "Can you think of anything else?"
"I think that is above and beyond. I'll just go wait out in the other room and let you shower first." As eager as I was to get warm and dry, I had to let Tanner have the first shower, it would be rude to take further advantage of him.
"Sorry, I wasn't clear." He smiled, dropping his arm down to his side, "I'm going to use my roommate's shower. I never go in there, so I can't attest to how clean it is, so I'm going to brave those wilds; you've had a rough enough night already." He chuckled at his own joke, his grin widening, and I had to lock my knees; damn that immunity to his charm seemed to be wearing off. "There's a tub in there too. Feel free to use it if you want," Tanner said, collecting his pile before heading out of the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.
I stared at the closed bedroom door unable to wrap my head around Tanner; he was totally unlike every other person I'd met at Wiltshire so far. A hard shiver racked my body reminding me just how badly I needed to get out of my wet clothes. Trying to step in the wet spots Tanner left behind so as to not further mar the carpet, I made my way into the bathroom. A long counter with a single sink held the towels and clothing Tanner left for me.
More than ready to get out of the wet nastiness that currently clung to my body I glanced around. Where is the door? Bathrooms always have a door, right? But I don't see one anywhere. Panicked, I stuck my head back out into the bedroom making sure I didn't somehow miss a freaking door. Confirming that I wasn't that oblivious, I shifted back, so I was fully in the bathroom, and stared at the gaping opening. Closer inspection of the frame revealed a pocket door. Different, but a door is a door.
Sliding the panel shut, I debated whether I should go lock the bedroom door. Tanner had been super nice, but something was unnerving about getting naked in an unfamiliar space without being locked in. Relief flooded through me when I spotted the latch on the opposing wall. Engaging the lock, I tugged on the door, making sure it was secure. Satisfied no one would be walking in on me naked, although to be honest, they wouldn't be getting much of a view, I turned to exam the shower-tub combo.
A deep soaker tub took up the entire back wall of the room, encased in sliding glass doors. Sliding the door open I turned the single faucet, fiddling with it until water sprayed out of the shower head above. Stripping out of my sodden clothing and setting them into the basket like Tanner instructed, I tested the water shocked to find it warm already. The sting of the hot water felt marvelous as the sudden warmth racked my body with another bout of shivering.
As the last of the mud rinsed down the drain, I was overcome by the desire to immerse myself in the warmth of the water. A hot bath would feel amazing; even the ends of my hair ached with the effort of today. Unable to resist the desire to soak, I quickly washed my face and body using the bar of hotel soap Tanner left for me; the mini cleansers were nicer than anything I'd ever used from a hotel before. Deciding clean hair was worth the risk that the hotel shampoo and conditioner would leave my hair a hot mess I lathered up, using every last drop of the conditioner in the tiny bottle. Clean, I flipped a lever I hoped would switch the water to the tub and plugged the drain. I sank to the bottom of the tub pouring the rest of the mini shampoo under the flowing water to create some bubbles.
Pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs, I took stock of my situation as the soothing warmth of the water swelled up around me. I'm naked in a stranger's apartment, but he's cute, and hey someone is talking to me. Plus, I'm pretty sure I could rule out his being an axe murder. All of my clothing is at the very least wet, some of it is probably ruined, but I'm clean, and I have dry clothes to wear tonight. Tanner's friends at least found something, but they seemed to check the other spots in the time it took the two of us to clear out one, so how much did they really find? Maybe whoever took everything got bored after the bell tower and just dumped everything into a pile? I sighed, shutting off the water and sinking down into the meager bubbles.
My bag, along with my phone and computer, is still down in the trunk of Tanner's car; I'll need to get it to check on everything in there. My electronics aren't waterproof like Tanner's, but hopefully my bag kept them mostly dry; I really don't need the expense of replacing them. My scholarship was pretty expansive, but it definitely didn't cover my personal belongings, and I wasn't entirely sure it would cover replacing my books; books felt like a once a semester kind of a deal. Oh, and someone hates me for some unknown reason and wants me gone enough to move me out on their own. That probably should have been number one on my list...
There were too many variables in play still for me to get a sense of what level of panicking I should be subscribing to right now. It was too much to hope for that I would walk away from this without at least one item ruined, but a full-on panic attack was premature. Sinking down further so my face floated at the water's edge I closed my eyes. Tomorrow I would get everything back to my dorm and talk to the dean. For now, bubbles were calling my name, I let them overtake me sinking to the bottom of the tub.
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