Page 6 of Firecracker

Chapter Two

Tyler rolled out of bed at the crack of noon on Sunday.

Hey, he’d just come off a twenty-four-hour shift. He’d only had a few hours’ sleep due to not one butthreedrug overdoses they’d had to respond to…typical Saturday night. He’d crawled into bed when he got home at eight thirty to grab a few more z’s.

He yawned and stretched as he walked naked to the bathroom to crank on the shower. After that and a pot of coffee, he’d be good to go.

Two full days off stretched ahead of him. A gorgeous summer Sunday, judging from the bright sunlight streaming in the bathroom window. He’d see what Jamie and Mila were up to; maybe they’d hit the beach or something.

After a shower and a rub of a towel to his hair, he started coffee then returned to the bedroom to pull on a pair of loose athletic shorts and a faded navyChicago Fire DepartmentT-shirt. He looked at the mail that had arrived yesterday while he’d been at work. Nothing interesting.

He poured coffee into a travel mug and headed downstairs to find Jamie, but paused outside his apartment door. He needed to get bathroom measurements from Apartment Four so he could go to Home Depot and pick up some stuff. Maybe he should do that now.

He ducked back inside his apartment to grab a tape measure and a notepad. He shoved a pencil behind his ear. Juggling his coffee and the other things, he crossed the hall. But when he tried the knob, it was locked. Huh.

They hardly ever locked their doors in the building, since it was just the three friends, and the exterior doors were always locked. But he had a key, so he retrieved it then let himself into the apartment.

He’d helped Mila and Jamie unpack Arden’s things a couple of days ago. They hadn’t touched the really personal stuff, but unpacking her sheets and pillows had felt weird. Even weirder because it wasArden’ssheets and pillows. The girl who’d starred in every single one of his teenage fantasies.

The apartment even smelled different now…must be because of her things being there…an exotic fruity floral scent. He strode purposefully to the bathroom and yanked open the door.

The female scream that split the silence nearly ripped his eardrums open.

“Jesus Christ!” The items he was carrying flew out of his startled hands, the tape measure and the mug clattering to the floor, the note pad skidding down the hall. As he staggered back, he caught a glimpse of naked woman.

Smooth, tanned skin. Long dark hair. The sweep of a hip and—sweet mother of God— the curve of a breast tipped with a dark nipple. And wide, horrified eyes as she grabbed a towel and held it in front of herself.

“Get out!” she shrieked then let out another piercing scream. “Aaaaah! Help! Jamie! Help!”

Jesus, fuck, it was Arden. Tyler held up his hands. “Hey! Hey! Calm down.”

She made some frightened noises.

“It’s me, Tyler! Remember…Tyler Ramirez? Jamie’s friend?”

She gaped at him, the little blue towel she clutched not covering much. Nowhewanted to whimper. She was fucking gorgeous.

Still.

“I am so sorry.” He kept his eyes firmly on her face, smiling tentatively. “When did you get here?”

“Um.” She looked like she was having a heart attack. Good thing he was a trained EMT. “Yesterday.”

“Shit.” He grimaced. “I could’ve sworn Jamie said you were arriving Monday.”

“No.” She swallowed. “Are you really Tyler?”

He frowned. She didn’t even recognize him? “Yeah.”

“Oh. Okay. Um…could we continue this conversation when I’m dressed?”

He smacked his forehead and turned around. “Yeah. Of course. Dumbass,” he muttered under his breath. “I’ll, uh, wait in the living room.”

He picked up his things, rubbing at the hardwood floor he’d just refinished weeks ago, hoping like hell the travel mug hadn’t scratched the new finish. Looked okay. Then he strode back to the living room where they’d arranged her furniture. He was going to fucking kill Jamie.

He set his things down on the granite counter and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. Christ, that vision was seared into his retinas for the rest of eternity. Naked Arden Lennox. Holy shit.

Okay, okay, calm down, dude.

---