“What are you doing?” I asked Jonty as he pulled me past my bed towards the bathroom ensuite that was just off to the side of my bedroom. I was suddenly glad that I’d tidied my clothes up off the floor that morning and taken out my dirty dishes. Living in the quarters by myself meant that my cleanliness often lapsed until I had guests over or threat of inspection.

Putting his finger up to his lips in a motion to silence me, he then pulled me into the bathroom, closing the door behind us before maneuvering me across to the shower.

Jonty gently pushed me into the cubicle, stepping into it to join me in the confined space. I felt my cheeks start to glow red at the awkwardness of his closeness and I felt my heart start to race faster.

Reaching behind me, he pulled the shower curtain across then rotated the taps turning the shower on. The water started spraying from the showerhead pelting the back of my neck and hair, saturating me and clothes, cascading over the both of us as we stood with our chests touching.

He looked at me and looked into my eyes searching for something.

“We can talk on here without being overheard.” He whispered loudly enough so I could hear him above the water.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“You need to tell me what’s going on.” I said, still thinking about the kiss upon my lips. “Why did you kiss me?”

“I kissed you to throw them off. If they think we’re romantically involved, they stop watching and give us privacy. It’d be creepy if they, you know, while we…you know.” Jonty said, suddenly going red in embarrassment.

“It’s not creepy enough already that they have hidden cameras and microphones all over my apartment?” I raged, trying hard to not explode at Jonty. “And who are ‘they’

“I believe the Admiral is involved in all of this and he’s been watching you…watching us.” Jonty replied as water ran down his cheeks.

“Why would the Admiral be monitoring what I’m doing? I'm really not that important.” I whispered back.

“You are the daughter of one of the most renowned scientists of all time, one that many people would like to see eradicated. The Admiral isn’t the only one who is keeping tabs on you.” Jonty said, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve in a half hearted attempt to keep the water from going into his eyes. “Given what’s just happened, it appears that someone has decided to take it up a notch.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I said sarcastically.

“Okay. There is lots of information that you don’t know.” He replied, missing my sarcasm completely. “Prepare yourself.”