Page 91 of Hot Knot Summer
Jess lets out an excited squeal. “Are you telling me you’ve found yourself in the middle of an Alpha pack? Because if so, I’m both insanely jealous and demanding more photographic evidence immediately.”
I laugh despite myself. “I’m just... confused.”
“Confused is a step up from heartbroken, which is where you were a week ago. I’d call that progress.” She pauses. “How are you, really?”
“I’m okay,” I say, surprised to find I mean it. “Better than I expected to be, given everything.”
“Good. You deserve good things, Em.”
“Enough about my disaster of a love life,” I deflect. “How are you? How’s work?”
Jess groans dramatically. “Don’t even ask. Three double shifts this week, and the ER has been an absolute nightmare. Some virus going around that has everyone projectile vomiting. I’ve gone through six sets of scrubs.”
“Gross,” I laugh. “Anything exciting happening outside of work?”
“Oh God,” she moans. “I wasn’t going to tell you because it’s too mortifying, but since you’ve already embraced chaos by sleeping with a hot firefighter, I might as well join you in the land of questionable life choices.”
“Now you have to tell me,” I insist, leaning forward eagerly.
“So there’s this new guy who moved in next door,”she begins. “Absolutely gorgeous. Like, illegal levels of attractive. The kind of face that will get me in trouble.”
“And?” I prompt when she pauses.
“And I may have accidentally traumatized him for life by showing up almost naked on his doorstep at midnight.”
I burst out laughing. “You WHAT?”
“It wasn’t my fault!” she protested. “My demon cat locked me out! I’d left a window open because of the heatwave, and the little monster slipped out. Then, as I went after her, the door swung shut behind me. Then it somehow got back in through the window—evil thing.”
“Oh, no.”
“You see, recently, there were two stray dogs wandering the street, and I didn’t want Lord Murderfloof to get hurt. And naturally, it had to be the one night I decided to sleep in the nude.”
“Oh my God,” I wheeze, trying to catch my breath. “What did you do?”
“What could I do? I grabbed old Mr. Rosenberg’s faded Panama shirt from the clothesline. The thing barely covered me and made me look like someone’s retired grandmother, and here I am knocking on the hot new neighbor’s door, praying he still had the spare key my old roommate used to leave with the previous tenant next door.”
I’m laughing so hard now. “Please tell me he was home.”
“Oh, he was,” Jess confirms grimly. “Opened the door in his boxers, took one look at me standing there, and just... froze. Like, blue screen of death froze.”
“What did you say?” I manage between gasps of laughter.
“‘Hi, I’m your neighbor, and I’m locked out, and I know this is weird, but do you have my spare key?’ All in one breath while trying to look dignified.”
“And did he have the key?”
“Eventually, he unfroze enough to let me in while he looked for it. Gave me his robe, which I still have because I’m too mortified to return it. And get this, I’m pretty sure I saw him through his window the next day, walking around his apartment completely naked. So, now we’re even, I guess?”
“Jess,” I say solemnly. “This is the beginning of a beautiful love story.”
“Or the beginning of me changing my name and moving to a different country,” she retorts. “I can’t even look him in the eye when we pass in the yard now. And he’s so hot, Emma. Like, unfairly hot. Tall, dark, just the right amount of scruff, arms that could— Wait, I’m getting distracted.
“Nah, I’m traumatized. There’s a difference.” She sighs. “Anyway, gotta run. They just paged me for another shift because Anderson called in sick. Again. I swear that man has the immune system of a newborn mouse.”
“Go save lives,” I tell her. “And maybe invest in some emergency pajamas for your midnight adventures.”
“Hardy har,” she deadpans. “Love you, disaster queen. Call me when you’ve figured out which firefighter you’re keeping. Or if you’re keeping all three, in which case I demand full details.”
