Page 111 of Firecracker

Maybe he’d gone out somewhere with other friends. He did get together sometimes with coworkers, like their baseball games or going out for beers.

She turned down the side street and trudged along the sidewalk. A man walked toward her, shadowy in the darkness. Was Tyler coming to meet her? But no…she could tell from the man’s gait and size it wasn’t Tyler. The street was deserted otherwise. She tightened her grip on her purse, aware of the sizeable amount of cash she was carrying. Her gaze darted around, and she debated crossing to the other side of the street as she and the man neared each other.

It was fine. Just a guy in the neighborhood. She’d walked home alone numerous times the nights that Tyler was working.

The man passed by her without incident and she let out her breath. Geez. She was the one who kept telling Tyler she was a grown woman and could look after herself. Why was she so fearful?

Because she wasn’t stupid. She could talk all she wanted about being a grown woman responsible for herself, but she knew shit happened, and part of being a grown woman was making sure she didn’t get herself into foolish situations.

Maybe part of being an independent woman was taking some kind of self-defense course. It wouldn’t hurt. And she didn’t want to rely on Tyler or anyone to look after her. She’d check into that tomorrow.

She quickened her steps the last few blocks to home, letting herself into the wrought iron gate with relief.

Inside the building, she paused outside her apartment door. Light gleamed beneath Tyler’s door and she heard the faint sounds of a TV show. Why hadn’t he come to get her? Was he alone?

Why did she care?Straightening her shoulders, she let herself into her apartment and quietly closed the door. She dropped her keys into the basket on the kitchen counter, ran a glass of water and drank it, then dragged her weary butt down the hall to fall into bed.

* * *

Thursday’s shopping trip was a success. Arden enjoyed helping pick out the new toilet, tub, shower, and vanity, along with taps, faucets, and the shower attachment. She pored over tile samples, paint chips, and options for the vanity top—marble, granite, tile. Neither Jamie nor Tyler seemed to care that much about the choices, tapping their fingers as she deliberated, shrugging when she debated shaker gray versus gray pinstripe.

“I’d go with white and white,” Jamie said.

Arden shook her head. Clearly, Mila must have had a hand in the décor of the other apartments.

She ended up picking out hexagon-shaped floor tiles similar to Tyler’s except a more speckled gray color, white subway tiles for the walls, and a deep gray paint color.

That was the fun stuff. Then she had to cool her heels while they picked up grout and underlay and other boring stuff she didn’t know anything about.

Eventually they left with Tyler’s truck loaded up and Jamie’s credit card smoking as he tucked it back into his wallet. Ha.

Luckily her second bedroom was mostly empty and they could store things in there. She helped carry as much as she could, but Jamie and Tyler had to deal with the heavier items.

“This is so exciting!” she said when they were done and Jamie had left. “I can’t wait to see it.”

“Still gonna be a while,” Tyler cautioned her. “Remember this is a part-time gig for me.”

“I know. Don’t worry, I can be patient. By the way, can I use your bathroom to get ready to go out tonight?”

“Of course. Where are you going?”

“It’s our girls’ night out. Remember? We’re going to take Mila out to a club to dance and flirt with guys and get drunk now she’s single again.”

“Oh, right.”

She waited for him to say more, remembering that he hadn’t been thrilled when she’d talked about going out and flirting with guys.

He slid a hand around the back of her neck, leaned in, and kissed her forehead. “You have fun. I’m gonna go see what Jamie’s doing for dinner.”

He left and she heard his footsteps thudding down the stairs.

She stared at the open door. Huh.

Slowly, she gathered up what she needed to get ready and headed across to Tyler’s apartment. As she twirled some waves in her hair with the flat iron and redid her makeup, she thought about last night…about how Tyler hadn’t come to pick her up after work even though he could have. How they hadn’t spent the night together. And how he didn’t mind at all that she was going out with Mila and Emma tonight.

Was he losing interest in her?

Her insides squeezed uncomfortably.

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