Dani sank back into her own bathtub. Finally. It had been a long time coming.

No Tidwell to test her patience; he hadn't called since their fight on the phone and thankfully he hadn't showed up at her door for round two. She certainly hadn't called him. No Crews to alternate between terrifying, confounding and tormenting her; she hadn't heard from him either since she left him at his place after their burgers. No men, just Dani, her tub, some hot, sudsy water and some peace and quiet in her own home. All she was lacking was something heady and warming in a glass with ice, but she was determined that she wasn't going there.

Dani sat forward in the tub, hugging her knees and feeling her muscles relax. She had admitted to Crews today that she didn't love Tidwell. Saying that out loud had been a big deal. Now that she had acknowledged it, she felt like she was bound to act on it. But on the other hand, she supposed that you didn't have to be in love with the guy you were dating in order to carry on dating him. Things could still get back to normal, she guessed. She could still stop this runaway train before it even left the station. Problem was, she knew that Tidwell considered them to be more than just 'dating'. She had too at one point, and she still thought he was a sweet guy but that initial desire had now all but evaporated. It had felt safe and secure at first, which had been so novel to her at the time, a chance to live like other people did. But she now felt like she didn't need it any longer, she wanted her independence back again. She didn't need to feel like other people did. Roman had shaken her badly but she knew that she would get past it. So by staying with Tidwell, knowing that love was unlikely to suddenly grow, she was deceiving him. Tidwell had always treated her right and she owed him the same. From the way he had hung up on her during their last conversation, she guessed he was pretty much through with her in any case. She knew it was for the best, they just had to put an end to things with dignity, no kicking and screaming. They still had to work together, after all. They all had to work together.

She decided that it was more of a problem if you were in love with someone who you weren't dating. That could prove difficult, if that was really what was happening here. She supposed that it might all just blow over. Her relationship with Tidwell and her thing for Crews were two different issues, she decided, and they should be treated as such. Even if the onset of the latter had opened her eyes to the many holes in the former. Ending things with Tidwell did not mean that she should rush headlong into complicating matters with her partner. She should ride it out, there was no rush. If Crews made a move, then she would consider an appropriate response at the time. She didn't think it was likely given the chaste way he had behaved the previous night. She wouldn't run to him as soon as Tidwell was off the scene, giving in to all the crazy urges she had been having and winding up in an even deeper mess than she was in right now. That was something the old Dani would have done. One disaster after the other. She didn't want to wind up having to avoid her boss and her partner all day at work.

Dani laid back and closed her eyes. This was good. This was the thinking of a responsible adult for once, not the behaviour of a frightened alcoholic lurching between one bad decision and the next. She congratulated herself on this and continued her long soak before scrubbing herself clean, removing the layer of skin that had come into contact with Roman. She would emerge from this bath a new person, she thought.

This positive frame of mind continued all evening. Crews must be rubbing off on her. She fixed herself something light to eat, did some laundry and called her mom. She was grateful for the return of normality. Even when she laid back in bed, switched off the lamp on the nightstand and thought she saw Roman's slimy frame scuttle by the far wall, she wasn't scared. "Bring it on, motherfucker. You can't hurt me now.", she whispered into the dark.

She didn't need a drink. She didn't need a guy. Dani was determined to take back control of her life, which was both an understandable and constructive way to respond to having been taken hostage, she decided. She would not fall to pieces. She would not seek refuge in inappropriate relationships.

Just then her phone beeped.

It was Crews. She opened the message.

"Did you realize that you left your underwear in my bathroom?"

Dani raised both eyebrows and propped herself up on her elbow. She read it again. That definitely constituted flirting. She laughed at how he was much bolder over text message than in person. This was kind of naughty of him. As far as he knew, she could be with Tidwell right now. She wondered if he was in bed too. He was obviously thinking about her. Now she was thinking about him thinking about her thinking about him, which, she imagined, was exactly what he intended. It turned her on.

For all her sensible reflection earlier on the situation with Crews and her resolution that she didn't need some guy in her life in order for her to keep it together, she bit her lip and started to slip into fantasy once again. No, she didn't need a guy, but she was ready to admit that she just really wanted Crews. It wasn't going to go away. Despite her need for control, she knew that this was one thing she couldn't contain. The only way she could assert herself over these feelings was to go get him and make it happen herself.

She composed many responses to his text message in her mind, some innocent, some slightly suggestive and some downright filthy. She decided that the middle ground was best. "I left them there for the next time we take a swim.", she tapped into her phone and pressed 'send'.

His reply was immediate. "Tomorrow?", she read from the screen.

Dani smiled and put her phone back on the nightstand.