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I left the hallway and moved back to the living room. I had a bag of shit in the back of my truck, but I wasn’t sure if those clothes would smell any better than what I was wearing. Debating whether I should just run over to my apartment building, I looked over in surprise as Kara tiptoed out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel.
“You change your mind on the joint shower?” I asked, reaching for the hem of my shirt.
“Just forgot all my stuff was packed,” she replied sheepishly, awkwardly bending down to grab her bag off the floor. “Be out in a few minutes!”
I laughed as her towel slipped and she yelped, trying to carry the bag and hold the towel up at the same time.
God, she was sweet. She’d always been sweet.
Making a decision, I grabbed her keys off the top of the backpack she’d left by the doorway and let myself out of her apartment, locking the door behind me. It would only take a couple of minutes to run home and get some clothes, but I wasn’t about to leave her apartment unlocked.
Kara meant it when she’d said she could fight her own battles, and I respected her for it, but I also knew that she wasn’t hard like the rest of us—for lack of a better word. Get her with Charlie and the two of them were crazy, but Kara alone? She’d rather run than stand her ground. Confrontation had never been something she was comfortable with, and while that wasn’t a bad thing, I knew from experience that it gave others the impression that they could do whatever they wanted and get away with it.
I glanced around the parking lot as I strode toward my building. It was still pretty empty, but it looked like people were slowly making their way back home. There wasn’t any sign of Officer Asshole, though, which was good. I didn’t have any idea why he was bothering Kara, but I was going to put a stop to it if it happened again.
Trying to figure out where I’d seen the guy before, I let myself into my apartment. Something about the cop was familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. I had to have met him before or at least seen him around. I had a feeling once I figured that out, I’d know why he was being a dick.
As I was grabbing what I needed in the bedroom, the front door opened and I paused. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or not that it wasn’t someone trying to rob us—just my dickhead brother coming home. I straightened, ready to go out and confront him when I thought of Kara, sheepishly smiling at me in nothing but a towel.
I’d deal with Curtis later—when she wasn’t waiting for me, all wet and sweet smelling from her shower.
Thankfully, he didn’t say a word as he passed my doorway and I completely ignored him as he went into his room and shut the door. I guessed he wasn’t anxious for round two as I was.
By the time I got back to Kara and Charlie’s apartment, Kara was out of the shower and sitting with Charlie at their kitchen table.
Well… fuck.
“Well, hello there,” Charlie said, grinning. “I see you have a key.”
“Took Kara’s,” I replied, lifting the keys up to show her. “Glad you’re home.”
“You sound very excited to see me,” Charlie replied drolly. “Sorry to rain on your sex parade.”
“Oh, shut up,” Kara said, reaching over to flick her.
“What?” Charlie replied. “He even brought clothes!”
“I was gonna take a shower,” I said.
“And you couldn’t have showered at your own apartment?” Charlie asked in amusement. “Less than a block away?”
Huh. Now I kind of felt like an idiot.
“I told him he could shower here,” Kara said, getting up from the table. “He wants to use my nice soaps.”
“Is that right?” Charlie asked, trying to hold back a smile.
“I can go back,” I said with a shrug. I’d been in such a hurry to get back to Kara, I hadn’t even stopped to think I could shower at home. It wasn’t really a big deal for me to shower at my place real quick. Of course, there was a good chance Curtis wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut long enough for me to get cleaned up—but I wasn’t real worried about that. It was going to happen sooner or later.
“No,” Kara said, coming toward me. “Just take a shower here.”
She towed me to the bathroom as Charlie snickered.
“She gave Curtis a ride home,” Kara said as we reached the bathroom. She grimaced, looking me over. “I guess he didn’t want to take Roxanne out in this. Did you see him?”
“Heard him come in,” I replied. “Didn’t talk to him.”
