Chapter 32 – Steam and Shadows
Sam's POV
If there was one place I dreaded more than Declan’s smirk or the dorm supervisor’s glare, it was the showers.
Not because of the water. Not even because of the steam that clung to your skin and made it impossible to breathe. No—the problem was the lack of walls. Just a row of showers, side by side, with nothing but fog and towels separating boys from secrets.
And I had the biggest secret of all.
I thought I’d gotten good at timing it—slipping in early, slipping out late, keeping my head down. But tonight… tonight the universe wasn’t on my side.
The dorm had been loud all evening, guys blowing off steam after restriction duty. By the time I finally dragged myself toward the showers, towel over my shoulder, the sound of running water and voices already filled the tiled room.
Great. Just great.
I stepped inside, steam wrapping around me instantly, fogging my vision. Shadows moved behind it—broad shoulders, wet hair, laughter that echoed against the tiles. My pulse jumped.
“You picked a bad time,” Elias’s voice drifted from somewhere in the mist.
I nearly tripped. “What are you doing here?”
“Showering,” he said dryly. “What are you doing here?”
“Same thing,” I shot back, clutching my towel tighter.
He chuckled. “Relax, Hale. It’s not like anyone’s staring.”
Easy for him to say.
I found an empty spot at the far end, turning the water on, keeping my head down as droplets pounded against my shoulders. The spray was hot, scalding almost, but it did nothing to ease the tension coiled in my body.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Elias moving closer. Not close enough to be suspicious—but close enough.
“You were quiet at dinner,” he said casually over the water.
“I was eating,” I muttered.
“You always have an excuse.”
I tilted my face under the water, letting it stream down my hair to hide the heat creeping up my cheeks. “Maybe I just don’t like talking.”
“Funny,” he said. “Because you talk plenty when you’re trying to prove someone wrong.”
I bit back a smile. “That’s different.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. You’re annoying.”
His laugh echoed through the steam. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
I turned slightly, water dripping down my face. He was only two showers away now, running his hands through his wet hair, muscles flexing in a way that made my throat go dry.
Stop it, Sam. Stop looking.
“You keep staring,” Elias said suddenly, voice low.
I jerked my head away. “I’m not staring!”
“Sure you’re not.”
He was smirking—I could hear it in his tone even without looking. My chest tightened. If I slipped up, if I gave myself away here of all places…
I forced my voice steady. “You’ve got a big ego, Cross.”
“Maybe,” he said lightly. “But you still didn’t deny it.”
I let out a sharp breath, the steam suffocating me. This was too much—too close. The air felt heavy, charged.
When I finally risked another glance, he was looking at me. Not a casual glance, not teasing. Really looking. Like he could peel the layers back and see what was underneath.
The heat in my chest spread lower, dangerous and dizzying.
I cleared my throat. “Why are you always… hovering around me?”
He didn’t look away. “Because I want to know what your deal is.”
“My deal?”
“You’re different,” Elias said simply. “You don’t act like the rest of them. You don’t even act like you belong here.”
My pulse jumped. “Maybe I don’t.”
He tilted his head, studying me through the steam. “So what are you hiding, Hale?”
My throat went dry. The hiss of water was the only sound between us for a moment.
I forced a laugh, too sharp, too quick. “Maybe I’m just better at faking it than you think.”
“Or maybe,” he said slowly, stepping out of his stream of water, “you’re not faking it at all.”
His nearness sent my heart into overdrive. I could feel the heat radiating off him even through the steam, my nerves screaming at me to back away, to say something, anything.
Instead, my mouth betrayed me. “And what if I am hiding something?”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Elias’s gaze flicked over me, unreadable. Then he leaned in, just slightly, his voice so low it almost got lost in the hiss of water.
“Then I guess I’ll have to figure out what it is.”
My breath caught.
Before I could respond, the sound of voices filled the doorway—Declan and his crew barging in, laughing loudly, the steam parting around them like sharks cutting through water.
I froze. Elias straightened immediately, slipping back under the spray, his expression unreadable.
Declan’s eyes swept the room, then landed on me. His smirk was sharp, dangerous.
“Well, well,” he drawled. “Looks like our quiet little Hale decided to join the big boys tonight.”
My heart pounded. Elias glanced at me once, quick but deliberate, like a warning.
I forced a grin I didn’t feel. “Don’t flatter yourself, Ward. I just needed a shower.”
Declan chuckled, stepping closer, the steam twisting around him like smoke. “Careful. You might drown if you’re not careful.”
The threat in his voice was clear.
And suddenly I realized—whatever had just passed between me and Elias was dangerous. But what was coming with Declan? That could destroy me.