After leaving the ruined rental, Poppy and Alex check into the colorful Larrea Palm Springs Hotel, where the biggest immediate relief is that the room is cold. Alex, who has clearly been desperate to clean up during the drive and while they packed at Nikolai’s apartment, asks if he can shower first. Poppy wants more physical intimacy, but she remembers Alex once explaining how much he hates shower sex, so she lets him go alone.

While Alex showers, Poppy sits on the new balcony and notices how completely the storm has passed. The rain is gone, but her body still carries the aftereffects of what happened between them: bruised lips, a loosened tension, and the sense that something has shifted. When Alex comes out clean and wrapped in a towel, Poppy is strongly attracted to him, but she suppresses that impulse because she still feels dirty and wants her own turn.

Poppy then takes a long, unusually satisfying shower. Even though she generally dislikes the whole process of showering, this one feels restorative after the discomfort, heat, and emotional intensity of the trip. Cleaning herself thoroughly becomes a way of resetting after everything that has happened.

When Poppy comes out, Alex is already asleep on top of the bedding with the lights on. Poppy briefly considers climbing into bed beside him because she wants closeness and comfort, but she stops herself. Remembering the chaos that followed the last time anything happened between them, Poppy decides not to assume sex means they should now share a bed or that Alex wants the same kind of intimacy she does.

Instead, Poppy covers Alex with the comforter, turns off the lights, and gets into the other bed. Her choice shows a new resolve: no matter how strong her feelings are, she does not want to pressure Alex, misread the moment, or let their physical relationship destroy the friendship she is determined to keep.