"Well," he swallowed and she turned around to walk beside him, "I'm going to do everything I can 'not' to make you show me either of those skills."
She laughed and he warmed up again. "Good. I'd rather not have to involve EMTs, and my cousin, who's a nurse, said that if she gives someone an injury, she's not going to treat it. I think I'm going to follow her lead. Especially when it comes to a man's... thing."
The warmth he was feeling changed to a rush of heat up his neck and up to the tips of his ears, coming close to activating a fight or flight reaction.
When she looked at him, arching an eyebrow in his direction, he lifted a hand and rubbed it across the back of his neck.
"Thing?" He couldn't help but smile when she started to shake with laughter. "You're going to be a Licensed Nurse and you're calling it a 'thing.'"
She shrugged. "It sounds less clinical than phallus."
He nodded.
"And a little less cringe than 'wang' or 'sausage' or 'weenie.'"
He shook his head. "Yeah, sausage always reminds me of those cans of Vienna Sausages."
She lifted up her hand and made a space between her thumb and the tip of her pointer finger. "Teeny Weenies?"
"Yeah... Glad you didn't use those."
"What about the Romance Book versions of 'prick,' 'cock.'" She almost snorted a laugh as she covered her mouth lightly with both hands. "Member!"
They both laughed out loud at that and when she pulled out her keys, he gave her a little sidelong glance.
She only seemed to notice right before she put the key in the lock. Lexie turned her head to follow his sightline and then back up to his eyes. "What? Worried that I'll use these on you?"
He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "I'm trying to hope that I won't do anything that makes you want to use those on me."
She rolled her eyes as she swung the door inward. "Not yet. Come on in."
When he hesitated, she raised an eyebrow in defiance.
"Or do you want me to leave you out here?"
He stepped in and held the door open for himself as she moved inside, watching her as she moved.
There was an innate confidence in the way she walked. The way she carried herself made him smile. His mother and aunts had always told him that people who carry themselves with their shoulders back and had an easy smile were the best people.
It didn't hurt that they all carried themselves that way. His sister, too. He'd been raised by and around a number of strong, capable women. It was probably those traits that made him feel connected to Lexie so quickly.
He followed her down the flight of steps, keeping an eye on the area around them.
She got the door open and turned to look at him. "On the lookout for danger?"
He shrugged. It paid to be aware.
Lexie stepped inside and held the door open for him to follow.
Another quick look around the floor and he stepped inside.
"Four apartments on the floor?"
"Yep." She flicked on the light in the kitchen and then the living area. "And three floors."
The rooms were clean and colorful. At least from what he could see.
Potted plants said that she either liked caring for them, or if she was like his friend Boy back home, she liked to buy them and start over again when they died.
