The water was still warm on her skin as Loretta stepped out of the bathroom, her hair damp and sticking to her shoulders in inky strands.
The lavender-scented steam curled behind her like a ghost, wrapping her in a calm she hadn’t felt in days.
She wrapped a towel around herself and wandered back into her bedroom.
She opened her closet, half-mindedly flipping through her usual nightwear, an oversized tee with a faded logo, cotton shorts stretched from too many washes. But her fingers brushed against something smooth. She paused.
The plum-colored lingerie slip.
She had almost forgotten about it.
She’d bought it impulsively months ago, thinking maybe it would be fun to feel... pretty.
For herself. Or maybe, secretly, she had hoped someone would see her in it. Not that she’d ever ad
