I wiggle my arm and she threads hers through mine.

“Do you need to lock up?”

“I got it!” Juniper jiggles a set of keys.

“What did you think of the movie?” I ask as we stroll down Main Street toward our apartment building.

“It was okay. But it was quite different than the book. The character names were all changed except for the main ones. And some of the background stories and character genders and business names were different.”

“In other words, the book is better.”

“You’re learning. The book is always better.”

We arrive at the apartment building and I unlock the door for her. When we reach her apartment, I want to lean down and kiss her. Guessing by the blush on her cheeks, she wouldn’t mind. But kissing when we’re friends and not dating is bulldozing. I’ll wait until she has officially agreed to give me a chance.

“Good night, Ginny.” I kiss her cheek before backing away.

“Good night,” she mutters before rushing into her apartment.

I blow out a breath. If anticipation makes things sweeter, I may explode by the time I get my lips on hers.

Chapter 16

Hedgehog – the most unlikely of matchmakers

Virginia

“Hey, Harry,” I murmur as I remove my hedgehog from his cage. “How was your day?”

He does a little yawn since he’s just waking up after having slept all day. Lucky hedgehog.

“Are you ready for some run around the house time?”

I swear at the word ‘run’ he perks up. Harry has a ton of energy. I would have a ton of energy if I slept twelve hours a day, too.

I set him down on the living room floor and he begins to zoom here, there, and everywhere. I sit on the floor, lean against the sofa, and watch him. This is my favorite way to spend time after a workday. I will never be a runner but watching little Harry zoom around the room? Totally relaxing.

After a while, my stomach rumbles. I stand and go to the kitchen in search of something to eat. The air is stifling in here. Colorado is having a bit of a heatwave today.

No one is allowed to have air-conditioning in town. It’s banned since it’s bad for the environment and everything bad for the environment is pretty much banned here. I don’t mind. I can’t afford the higher electricity bills anyway.

I open the window. Hopefully, I’ll get a breeze flowing through the apartment.

A dog barks and I freeze. Harry’s terrified of dogs. I glance behind me in time to catch him racing through the living room and down the hallway.

I chase after him as he dives under the bed. I search for him and discover him all rolled up in a protective ball as far away from me as possible.

“There’s no reason to worry, little boy. The big bad doggy is far away and he can’t get in here.”

I continue to murmur reassurances to Harry, but he stays curled up in a protective ball. I check my watch and notice fifteen minutes have passed. After a scare, I can usually coax him out in five minutes.

I start to worry. I can’t leave him under the bed all terrified. Poor little guy.

I creep out of the room before rushing out my front door to Dylan’s apartment. I bang on the door until it’s open.

“What’s wrong?”

Water drips from Dylan’s wet hair down his shoulders over his bare chest to the towel wrapped around his hips. He must have been in the shower and didn’t have time to get dressed when I knocked.