Sweet Subterfuge

Thunder boomed loudly, precisely overlapping the sounds of Larissa’s pounding heartbeat in her ears. Collecting herself, she
looked at the puddle gathering around Kevan’s feet and frowned subconsciously.
“It’s raining so heavily out there. The rest of her complaint died in her throat when Kevan suddenly interrupted her with a loud
sneeze.
Kevan awkwardly covered his nose. His gaze darted to and fro, likely out of embarrassment as he refused to lock eyes with
Larissa. There was even a faint flush on his pale face.
Pretending not to see his discomfort, Larissa got Mrs. Griffin to get him some tissues. Kevan swiftly turned around and wiped
away any snot that had sprayed out accidentally.
“My apologies.” His face was still red, but he was much more collected than before. Larissa did not find his prior actions to be
rude though -on the contrary, the way he looked so disheveled now made him seem a little bit more human, which well was kind
of cute.
“Hurry up and go shower!” Mrs. Griffin conjured a clean towel from nowhere and handed it to Kevan. “Any more delays and you’ll
have a lever from the cold!” She pushed Kevan toward the bathroom as she spoke.
Kevan’s expression shifted slightly when her hand touched him. He held himself back instead of blowing up for Larissa’s sake.
He then took a big step forward to put some distance between them. Such a minuscule act did not escape Larissa’s eye. The
truth was, she was quite worried for Mrs. Griffin. But luckily, Kevan did not do anything that made it hard on the poor woman.
She hurriedly called Mrs. Griffin back and said, “Please go to the third floor and help me buy an L-sized hospital gown, then buy
a pair of disposable underwear as well.”
Kevan’s clothes were completely soaked, and it was raining cats and dogs out there, so it was impossible to buy him a set of
new clothes at the mall. He would have to make do with hospital garments for now.
Mrs. Grittin knew that these were for Kevan, but she did not understand why. “Didn’t your father leave some clothes here? Kevan
can wear them, why the need to buy new ones?”
Gary stayed with Larissa at the hospital every day to the point that he had even moved his luggage from the hotel over to the
ward.
“He can’t wear my dad’s clothes.”

Gary and Kevan’s body types were still pretty different, and most importantly “He’s a clean freak, and won’t wear clothes that
someone else has worn before.”
“Clean freak?” Mrs. Griffin looked like she had heard the most ridiculous thing ever in her life. Turning to the bathroom door that
was firmly closed, she said. “He doesn’t look like he’s a clean freak!”
One could not fault Mrs. Griffin for that. If anyone else saw Kevan in his muddied state earlier, they would have found it difficult to
see him as an “extreme clean freak” too.
Larissa did not want to dwell further on this topic, and she urged Mrs. Griffin. “Please hurry up!”
Kevan’s shower was quite long. Mrs. Griffin had already returned from her errand, but the sounds of running water could still be
heard in the bathroom. Mrs. Griffin went over to knock on the door twice. “Tve put the clothes out here. You can get them later
yourself.”
Kevan’s dull voice came through the door. “Of course, thank you.”
Sitting next to Larissa, Mrs. Grillin muttered quietly to her, “I can see him being a clean freak now. Honestly, he’s taking such a
long shower!
Larissa smiled and held her hand. “Leave him be. Let’s watch TV.
About ten minutes later, Kevan finally emerged from the bathroom. He looked more normal now that the mud had been washed
away, and his face was flushed from the steam of the hot shower.
His hair was still damp, dripping onto the hospital gown’s shoulders and back, but he was no longer as disheveled as before.
Larissa knew Long ago that Kevan was a walking fashion statement-having a height of 6 feet and 3 inches, broad shoulders, a
narrow waist, fantastic proportions, as well as a prominently handsome face. Even a rag would look dignified and fashionable
when draped upon him.