"I tossed the condom on the floor. Right here." He points to an empty area on his hardwood floor.
"What? You threw it… on the floor?"
Spencer leans over on his knees, searching under the bed. "Yes."
"The floor?"
"Yes."
"You just threw it down?"
"Yes, that's what I do every time."
"Every time?" My mouth falls open in disgust. How did I not know this was going on?
"Yes. What did you think I did with them?"
My eyes widen when I realize he's serious. "Put them in the trash like a normal person."
"I don’t have a trash bin in the bedroom." He leans over further to check under the bed, his right arm getting lost as he feels under the space.
"Obviously."
Spencer stands up, wiping off the knees of his tight-fitting jeans. "I haven't needed a trash can in here.”
"Spencer, I've been here five days." We’re on our second box of condoms.
"I'll pick up a trash can after your shift today." He flops onto the bed and sprawls across it to look on the other side. It’s a great view, leaving his ass firm and clenched.
"Yeah…about that." Spencer has been my shadow at work every single day. While Ridge and his team have been out looking to break up whatever crime ring left a dead guy at a house in the woods, Spencer’s filing non-confidential phone messages at the nurses’ desk.
The first few days, none of us at the hospital could complain about having a hot guy follow me around, but now his constant presence is harder to explain to my boss. This has to end.
Soon.
I toss the towel into his wicker hamper next to the bathroom door. "I think…maybe…today I should go alone."
He looks up from searching the other side. "No."
"No?"
He slides off the bed and crosses his arms, straightening to his full, imposing height. Sometimes I forget how tall—and intimidating—Spencer is. Even while naked.
Except I’ve spent the last five days with him. Spencer might look tough, but underneath all that black clothing is a guy who watched two hours of Mary Tyler Moore reruns with me last night. I don’t find him so scary.
We continue our silent stare-off, and when I don’t give in, Spencer relaxes his posture. “This is serious, Joslin.”
"Nothing has happened to me. Nothing has happened to anyone. The plants in my house are probably dying." It’s the truth, and he can't deny it. Much to all the guys’ irritation, there hasn't been a peep of any criminal element activity in days. Apparently, even gangsters take time off for the holidays.
"I didn’t see any plants at your house the last time I was there."
Damn. It would be my luck to jump into bed with a guy who’s super observant. "They're there."
"No."
"But Spencer, the plants." This time, it's me who crosses my arms in defiance.
It doesn't work. "No."
