Chapter 7
Nell woke up the next morning, stiff and sore from her night spent on the floor of the 'fresher. She groaned and stretched her limbs, trying to work the kinks out of her back and shoulders before she got up. Taking in her surroundings she spotted the shower in the corner, realising that was exactly what she needed. Nell turned on the hot jet of water, the steam filling the small space. Discarding her dusty and crumpled clothes, Nell stepped in to the shower, feeling the scaldingly hot water wash away the dust and grime from her journey. She tilted her face to the spray, washing away the remnants of her salty tears from the night before. Grabbing a bar of citrus-scented soap, Nell scrubbed at her skin until it was red and thoroughly clean. She let the hot stream of water rinse the suds from her hair and body before shutting off the water and stepping out of the shower, wringing out her hair and wrapping a clean, fluffy towel around her body.
As Nell left the 'fresher she heard a rapid knock at her door. Without thinking she palmed open the door, coming face to face with Poe Dameron.
Poe made a small choking sound as he took in Nell's appearance "Nell! Um, hi, sorry...this is obviously a bad time...I, er...nice...towel?" Poe winced at his lame attempt at greeting Nell. Running a hand through his ebony curls, he looked flushed anywhere but at the towel-clad girl in the doorway.
"Anyway Nell, I err...I wanted to see if she wanted to join me for breakfast? Jess and Snap are a little the worse for wear after last night and I thought you might not have anyone to go with."
Nell tried to hide her grin at the pilot's obvious embarrassment.
"Yeah, that'd be great. Come in, I was just about to change..."
"Well, I mean, you don't have to – I'm sure nobody would mind if you just wore the towel" Poe smirked, biting that lip again, as he followed her in to the room letting the door slide closed behind them. Nell jokingly swatted him on the arm, going over to the hold all and grabbing a few items. She ducked in to the fresher, sliding the door closed behind her. Nell looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was starting to dry in messy waves around her shoulders, but her moss green eyes were clear and her pale skin was soft and smooth. She'd do. Changing in to a pair of soft black leggings and a grey long-sleeved t shirt she looked herself over in the mirror before stepping back out of the room to join Poe.
Nell pulled on a pair of dark green socks, followed by her tall brown boots and opened the door, waiting for Poe to lead the way back to the mess.
" So, I'll bet you've never tried Shuuva fruit before? It's native to this planet and makes a great start to the day..." Poe said, once again placing his hand on Nell's lower back, invoking that same spike of heat in her abdomen.
Nell had a feeling this pilot was going to be trouble, but leaned in to his touch anyway, enjoying the heat he radiated. She felt safe.
