Despite the long shower, she still felt strangely off-balance. She had found herself in the shower, rinsing off the second time, about to scrub down for a third when she stopped herself. She had stood there then, letting the warm water run down her body, feeling distant from herself—detached.
Finally, she turned off the water and let it drip from her. The air in the room was warm enough that she did not begin to feel chilled. It was only the vague sensation of her hair clinging thickly to her head and along her back that made her decide to get out and towel off.
It took her some amount of time to get her hair properly dried and brushed out. She momentarily considered just pulling it back into a ponytail, as she so often did aboard the ship.
That’s convenient—maybe even cute, but not sexy.
She worked her hair into shape and, seeing the waves of it fall down beyond her shoulders, felt somewhat better. The face that looked back at her in the mirror looked young and alive, not at all reflecting the dulled emotions she carried. She managed a smile and her twin in the mirror looked almost genuinely happy. Her smile widened and she really did feel better.
Sliding on the first of the boots, she relieved that it seemed to fasten easily. She knew that she had a tendency to eat too much when she was on leave, and got much less exercise. So far, it did not seem to show—at least not in her legs.
She stood, letting the dark skirt fall above her knees. Opting for some modesty, she had chosen the longer skirt over the one that barely covered her buttocks. She was still an officer, after all, and needed to demonstrate some restraint.
Turning to present a profile to the mirror, she nodded her approval at what she saw there and smoothed the fabric down along her hips one more time. Smiling, she dimmed the lights and exited the room.
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