“What?”
“Yeah,” Colleen agreed. “That was weird, although Bobby and Wes seem convinced that everyone knows that everyone hides important things—even money—in their freezers.”
“I had some coconut milk ice cream and a six-month supply of Trader Joe’s frozen green beans,” Ashley lamented. “From when they were on sale.”
“Not anymore,” Colleen said.
“So my TV’s still there? And my computer?” Ashley asked, silently taking a mental inventory of anything of value in her apartment. “All my clothes are still in my closet?”
“Yeah—I hung everything back up.”
“Oh, God, really? My clothes were on the floor…? Is that weird? It feels weird.”
“If I had to guess,” Colleen said, “I’d say the perp was either trying to piss you off or search through all your pockets.”
“For what?”
“You tell me,” Colleen said.
“I havenoidea. Crap, I’m almost out of time…”
“Are you really going to play paintball?”
“God help me,” Ashley said. “Yes. I’m on a team—ateam, Col. This SEAL World thing is entirely aboutteams. Oh, my God, what am I doing here? But my team is with Clark and Kenneth and two, no, make thatthreemanly-men douche-nozzle types.”
“Wait, Clark and Kenneth are there with you…?” Colleen’s voice went up an octave in disbelief.
“Yup. Surprise! Daddy sent Clarkie to… God, I don’t even know why he sent him. Maybe to make sure I don’t run off with some Navy SEAL…?”
“Ooh, what a good idea,” Colleen said. “Are there… many Navy SEALs available for running off with…?
“No,” Ashley said. “I mean, I maybe… I mean… I thought Jim was different, but now I’m not so sure…”
“Jim?” Colleen jumped on the name. “Slade? Please tell me it’s Jim Slade! Oh my God, Ashley, he’s great! I was going to try to set you up with him, but you went to New York, and when you came back you were in your never-gonna-date-again phase.”
“It’s not a phase,” Ashley said. “It’s a lifestyle choice. It just makes everything so much easier. I just wish…”
Ash had spent the entire session at the paintball field flashing hot and cold with shock and… something that felt embarrassingly like desire. What was wrong with her?
The more pressing question was, what was wrong with Jim? Somehow—by making penis jokes…? Really…?—Ashley had unwittingly signaled interest in him. Or at least that’s how he’d interpreted the fact that she’d sat at his outdoor table making penis jokes. She’d thought she was being funny—instead he’d heardCome have sex with me.God, she was an idiot.
And she was double the idiot because she’d liked it. His touch. The warmth of his big hands on her body… So maybe shehadbeen saying… that… with those jokes… Except, no, she was pretty sure she hadn’t been. But now that he’d brought up the idea, she’d discovered she didn’t entirely hate it.
And wasn’tthatan understatement…?
And really, what did it mean about her, that her immediate response wasn’t completely appropriate indignation about his disrespect, and was instead mixed with the weakened knees and rapid heartbeats ofOh, yes please…?
He was smart. He was funny. And smart and funny always,alwaystrumpedhot, although he was that, too…
“You do know,” Colleen said carefully after Ashley’s silence had dragged on a bit too long, “that there are plenty of options that don’t include the long-term. You could run off with, say, some handy, nearby, totally imperfect, too-manly-man Navy SEAL like Jim for a period of time significantly shorter than a lifetime. A night, for example? Or maybe two…?”
“Iamaware of that, thanks, but… Should I come home?” Ashley asked.
“What?” Colleen said. “No! Definitely not. I cleaned up the green beans. Also… I don’t want to be creepy, but… it might be better if you’renothere until we find whoever it was who broke in.”
“We, Nancy Drew?” Ashley asked. “You and the Hardy Boys?”
“Me, the Hardy Boys—and the police,” Colleen corrected her. “Detective Booker wanted me to ask who’s got your alarm code, besides me.”
