his eyes and stared at me. “Wait. You’re going with me?”
My eyes widened. Did I just say that? Holy cow. I did. “No. I didn’t mean that.”
“Too late. You agreed.”
“No, I didn’t. I just said some place like that. But not actually that.” Panic flooded me. I needed to get out of here. “Anyway, I came to tell you I got fired. I think I’ll be a few days late paying rent, since I might not get paid much for three weeks.”
He held up a hand, stopping me mid-sentence. “No worries. We’ll work it out. It shouldn’t take you long to find another job, and I can help you figure out some places to apply. I have a few friends with businesses that might be looking to hire.”
“It’s okay. I already have a new job. But it’s going to be a while before I get paid enough to make my rent payment. I guess this is the end of their two-week pay cycle, so my first check will only have three days on it. But after that—”
“Wait…you already got another job? That has to be some kind of record.”
“Actually, I got the job before I got fired. Which is probably why I did something so crazy—since I knew I didn’t have anything to lose except working two jobs at once.” I gave a little choke of laughter at his amazed expression. “It’s been a crazy night.”
“I’ll say.”
“But not all bad. I think my new job is going to be awesome, and the pay is way better than what I’ve been making. But it was still rough dealing with what Bryce said, you know? I mean, I know I’m too skinny, but how dare he make assumptions about me? And I didn’t like getting yelled at by Patrick when he fired me.”
“First of all, you’re not too skinny. But yeah, that all must have sucked.” His eyes softened with sympathy. “You know what you need?”
“What?”
“A long soak in my hot tub.”
“But it’s freezing cold outside.”
“Just take a big warm towel or a robe out with you for the dash back inside. Come on.”
To my surprise, I found myself considering it. But the last thing I needed tonight was facing Mr. Perfect in a swimsuit. “Just me? Alone, right?”
He blinked, clearly trying to catch up to what I meant. “Oh, yeah. No, I was going to turn on a movie and eat my popcorn. But I’ll go take the cover off and turn on the lights for you if you want to get in.”
“Okay. But don’t turn on the lights over it. Just take the cover off.”
He smiled. “It’ll be ready for you. Hurry up and get changed.”
I nodded and left, actually excited. A few minutes later, I’d dug out my long-abandoned swimsuit from the back of my bottom drawer. It was a splotchy blue, faded by chlorine and being washed too many times. There was nothing special about the design, just a basic one piece—which was all I needed. The biggest problem I had was that I didn’t own a robe. I’d freeze running back to my house wet with nothing but a towel wrapped around me. The only thing I could find was the thermal blanket I kept in my closet for really cold nights. I’d dry off when I got inside.
I put my hair up in a bun so it wouldn’t get wet and slipped on some flip flops. When I got downstairs, I peered out through the sliding glass door and saw the hot tub glowing with faint blue lights at the back of Damien’s yard. Damien himself was nowhere in sight.
Determined but shy, I wrapped the blanket around me, braced for the cold, and dashed across the dark yard like a scared rabbit. Only when I stood at the edge of the hot tub, huddled in my blanket, did I realize that Damien might very well be watching me through the window. I swung around and checked all of his lit-up windows, but I didn’t see a sign of him. Most had the blinds down, and even through his sliding glass door—through which I could see most of his living room and kitchen—I didn’t see him anywhere.
Moving as quickly as I could, I dropped my blanket onto a nearby deck chair, stepped out of my flip flops, and slung myself over the side of the hot tub. It was anything but elegant. Especially when one foot landed on the built-in seat and the other slipped over the