Chapter 5
Tim could hear faint music from the other side of the door when he rang the doorbell.
A minute later, the door swung open and a petite brunette stood in the doorway. With one hand on the door and the other on her hip, she looked him up and down in an appreciative way.
She looked over her shoulder and called out, “Hey, Zoe! Someone sent you a stripper-gram.”
“What?”
Zoe turned the corner from the kitchen. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of him and her mouth parted, then closed again. A pretty blush colored her cheeks.
As embarrassing as it was to be confused with a stripper, although it wasn’t the first time a woman had made that assumption of him when he knocked on a door in uniform, it was worth it to see Zoe’s reaction.
He’d had a hard time keeping her out of his thoughts this past week. Teasing her and watching her get riled up and nervous and more riled up the more nervous she’d gotten had been amusing. When Mrs. Wilson called to inform him a moving truck had blocked the road for most of the day, he’d jumped at the chance to check on Zoe. Sure, he could have checked on her out of neighborly concern, especially since he’d watched over the house for her parents, but having an additional excuse hadn’t hurt.
Zoe pulled her friend away from the door by the shoulders. “Elba, this is my neighbor Officer Larken.”
“Tim is fine.” He held out his hand.
She shook it with surprisingly firm grip. “Yes, you are. I’m Elba.”
“Elba like—”
“No, not like elbow with ana,” she said with a scowl.
“I was going to say like the island.”
She turned to Zoe. “He’s hotandsmart. You should totally sleep with him.”
“Oh my god.” Zoe pushed her friend away from the door. “I apologize for my friend. She lost her filter in a tragic spelunking accident. Is there something I can help you with?”
“I received a call from one of the neighbors about a moving truck blocking the road. You were the only one I knew who had moved in lately, so I thought I’d stop by to see how you were settling in.”
“It was only blocking half the road and it left hours ago. It was old lady Wilson, wasn’t it? I can’t believe she still has it out for me.”
“Why would she have it out for you?” Elba asked.
“I shaved her cat when I was fifteen.”
“You—what?”
Zoe sighed. “She used to have this long-haired Persian cat when I was in high school that she let run around outside. One summer I found the poor thing panting under some bushes trying to stay cool. So I took it to the groomer and had it shaved.”
Elba cocked her head. “I can’t imagine why an old lady would be mad that you shaved her pussy.”
Tim swiped a hand over his mouth, unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile.
“I swear I told you that story,” Zoe said.
“Oh no. No, no. I would have remembered a story about you shaving an old lady’s pussy.”
“Would you stop saying it that way?” Zoe swatted Elba’s arm.
“Are you kidding? This is gold! I can’t believe I’ve missed out on twelve years of teasing you about shaving an old lady’s pussy.” Elba bent at the waist, overcome with hilarity.
Tim had a hard time keeping a straight face. He was going to laugh about this for a good long while.
Zoe pulled her friend farther away from the door. “As you can see, I’m settling in and still have a lot of unpacking to do. Have a good night and please ignore any screams you may hear coming from the house. I’m going to watch a horror movie.”
