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“There’s only one bed.”
“You know what I meant – don’t be obtuse.”
“Who in the heck says ‘obtuse’?”
“People who aren’t obtuse…”
“Is that a dig at me?”
“My point exactly.”
“Well?”
“Again with the ‘well’ – what? Well,what?”
“It’s not going to pick itself up off the floor,” he said in disbelief – and she barked out a painful laugh.
“You don’t expect me to pick that up after you dumped it – do you? First, it was the crack about me being a girl and you being a guy… and now this? Are you sexist or something?”
“Well, if you could put it about waist-high? I can get it… but with my ribs still healing, I really would prefer not to reopen a break. I’m still wrapping my chest.”
“Then how are you going to chop wood?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure just yet.”
“Why in the heck did you dump your bag then? To make a mess for your newfemaleroomie?”
“I want you to trust me – and again – I have nothing to hide from you.”
“Are you implying that I have something to hide?”
“Do you?”
Lena looked at him, feeling completely frustrated, and met his gaze levelly as he stood there waiting. After a moment of silence, he looked at the debris on the floor, then her again, and she rolled her eyes.
“I have nothing left to hide,” she said simply. “Pick it up yourself.”
… And left.
6
ORTEGA
Jake sighed heavily as the door closed behind the most beautiful woman he’d ever met in his entire life… after making the biggest, macho jerk of himself. If he had bothered to try to explain, if he hadn’t been so taken aback by her easy admission of prior drug abuse, or he hadn’t been so infatuated with the idea that this was his person, his pen-pal-that-wasn’t-a-pen-pal…?
He might have taken a few deep breaths (ha!) and settled himself before putting his foot in his mouth. Wincing, he slowly slid himself down to his knees so he could reach his clothing on the floor in order to put it away, only to hear the door open again.
“Shut up,” Lena said simply, reappearing and bending over, scooping up the clothing before tossing it on the loveseat nearby. “Can you reach it there?”
“Yes,” he replied, trying to fight back a smile from where he was on the floor on his knees.
She looked at him, hesitated, and then extended a hand.
“Just because I’ve had people kick me while I’m down – doesn’t mean I’ll do the same, no matter how tempting it is.”
“Am I tempting to you then?”
Lena’s mouth opened in shock – and he could help the wide smile that touched his lips as she stared at him and walked off again… leaving him on the floor.
