“Sorry,” I mutter. I clearly don’t do well in confined spaces.
Voices from the main level below trickle up the staircase.
“Traveling somewhere, Scott?” Rose snaps. “Hopefully to California where you’re actually needed.” Rose sounds more ticked off than usual.
“Who’s Scott?” Daisy asks in a whisper.
I think she’s the only one without this info. Someone should have told her sooner.
“The producer,” Ryke says, “for the show.”
I consider edging closer to the staircase to see if I can catch a glimpse of him. Rose has spent plenty of nights complaining about the misogynistic producer. She has to deal with him though, for the sake of the reality show.
My feet stay glued to the floorboards, too anxious about the bathrooms to move just yet.
“I’m needed here,” Scott says. “It just takes people time to realize what’s good for them.”
Ryke crosses his arms over his chest, listening intently with Daisy and Lo. They’re all eavesdropping while I internally freak about the bathrooms.
I don’t actually think monkeys are in our cabinets.
I don’t discount the turtles though.
Lo whispers, “I already hate this guy.”
“Same,” Ryke says. “If he fucks with one of the girls—”
“It’s not going to happen,” Lo cuts him off. “Connor already ran a background check on him.”
“I don’t have as much faith in Connor as you do,” Ryke whispers.
Lo actually pats his brother’s back and says, “Then have faith in me.” He’s known Daisy, Rose, and me almost all his life. Lo wouldn’t let Scott harass us without a major fight.
Ryke lets out a tense breath and just nods.
I count five doors along this hallway. Daisy has her hand on a brass knob to one of them. Is that the hall bathroom then?
I catch the tail end of Scott’s comment. “…showing your tits would increase the ratings.”
My jaw unhinges. What?!
“So would shoving my foot up your ass,” Rose refutes.
Lo clenches his teeth.
“I’m going down there,” Ryke whispers.
“No,” Daisy says, grabbing Ryke by the forearm. She stops him before he heads down the hallway. “We need to show Lo and Lily the bathrooms. And Rose won’t appreciate you coming to her defense.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “Rose can handle anything.”
Ryke reluctantly redirects his course of action, and he rests his hand on the small of Daisy’s back, silently telling her to open the bathroom door.
This is it.
The old wood creaks as she opens it wide. We all slowly walk in, and my mouth just drops further. No turtles or monkeys or even mold.
The two showers are huge. Too large, in fact. As if they’re made for communal purposes. Oh my God. What if they’re made specifically for orgies? What if production believes that I’ll hook up with multiple people in them?
“What is this?” Lo asks with a deep glare.
“We’re all sharing one bathroom,” Ryke announces, leaning against one of the four sinks.
“Rose would have said something…” I trail off.
Daisy says, “I don’t think Rose knew before today.”
“Lily…” Lo places a hand on my shoulder, concern cloaking his gorgeous face. I must look petrified. At least, that’s exactly how I feel.
My privacy has been slowly stripped for months, and now it’s almost all disappeared.
“I don’t like this,” I mutter under my breath.
My immediate thought isn’t damn, we can’t fuck in the shower. It’s my third or fourth thought, which （I think） is progress. My first thought is how embarrassing it’ll be if Ryke or Connor walks in on me showering. Oh no…what if a cameraman sees me naked? What if he catches it on film?
“They can’t film in the bathrooms. It’s in the contract,” Lo reminds me.
“Are you sure you can’t read my mind?” I whisper, the humor lost in my voice.
He hugs me close. There is nowhere safer than in Loren Hale’s arms.
“Do you jack off in the shower?” Daisy asks casually to Ryke, a smile to her voice. It instantly causes Lo to tense. She’s become almost too open around his brother.
Ryke doesn’t miss a beat. “I don’t have to jack off, sweetheart.”
“Wow, the pent up frustration must hurt then,” she says with sarcasm. “No wonder you’re so moody.”