Page 36 of Firecracker

“Does the nonprofit have many volunteers?”

“Oh yeah. Couldn’t do it without them.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I need to go dry my hair. And do my homework.” She picked up her bundle of toiletries.

“You can leave your stuff here.” He nodded at it. “Just leave it in my bathroom. It’ll be a while before you can use your own, and it won’t get in my way.”

“You sure?”

“Hell yeah. And you can have a bath any time. I hardly ever take baths.”

Her lips twitched and opened her mouth to make the joke.

He laughed, reading her mind. “Don’t worry, Idoshower. I’ll be over to your place in a while to do more work. Just gonna grab some breakfast.”

“Right. Okay.” She returned to the bathroom, set her bottles and shaver on the shelf above the bathtub and hung her sponge from the faucet. This was kind of weird. Another funny little intimacy for a couple who barely knew each other.

But she was getting to know Tyler Ramirez. Grown-up Tyler Ramirez. And she really liked him.

Chapter Eight

He needed a shower.

Tyler grinned, remembering his earlier conversation with Arden. Yeah, bubble baths weren’t his thing, although he could be persuaded if Arden asked him to join her.

He let out a low groan. Keeping her firmly in the friend zone was getting harder and harder the more they hung out. He hadn’t offered her his bathtub to feed his spank bank with hot fantasies about wet, soapy Arden, but that’s what was happening, dammit.

It was now nearly seven and he’d been working most of the day, stopping for a sandwich midafternoon. He was dirty and sweaty again but felt a sense of accomplishment. He was also starving.

Until she left for work, Arden had been curled up with her laptop in the living room—when she wasn’t hovering around the bathroom asking if she could help.

That was cute.

He pulled his T-shirt off over his head as he crossed the hall between their apartments.

He heard noises in the foyer at the bottom of the stairs and moved to peer down at Jamie and Mila coming in. “Hey, guys! You eat yet?”

They both looked up at him. Mila grinned. “Tyler. You have no shirt on. Come down here so I can objectify your gorgeous body.”

He laughed.

Jamie shook his head. “Haven’t eaten.”

“I was gonna order pizza. Want in?”

“Yeah. That’d be good.”

“Can’t,” Mila said. “Going over to Garth’s place.”

“Order something, Jamie,” Tyler called. “I need a quick shower. Be down in ten.”

“Bring beer!”

He flashed a thumbs-up and headed back to his place.

Forty minutes later, he and Jamie had each consumed two beers and now had pizza. As they loaded plates up, Mila walked in. She’d changed into a short baby doll dress with a jean jacket over it. “That smells great.”

She wandered over and helped herself to a piece of the Italian special.

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