Scott slides up next to me, grabbing a donut out of the box then plopping down in the seat next to Jett. “I heard you had an exciting night the other day.” He gives me a knowing smirk.
“Oh, you mean when Jett and Alice came to visit my neighborhood?” I sigh, leaning to my side and laying my head on Alice’s shoulder. “What’d you think of the area, Al?”
“Nice streetlights,” she says, patting my hair. “Could do without the blood in the street though.”
“Yeah, well, the neighbors are trying something new.”
Scott puts his face in his hands and groans.
“Hey,” Alice says casually, like she’s asking about the weather. “So…”
I don’t look up. “So?”
“So,” she repeats, drawing out the syllable. “I didn’t get to tell you the other night because you ran off back to your apartment before I could corner you, but I have news.”
“That tone concerns me.” My eyes open but I don’t move. I see Jett and Scott both looking now, Scott curiously and Jett knowingly.
“It should.”
I finally stand back up, looking at her. She’s grinning.
Oh no. “What did you do?” I ask.
“I didn’tdoanything,” she assures, which feels like a lie. “I simply… met someone.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Wow. Supportive.”
“You have terrible taste in men,” I point out. “Statistically speaking.”
“Thank you!” Jett chimes in. I get the feeling he already knew about this and was hoping for someone to back him up.
Alice gasps. “You don’t even know who it is!”
“I don’t need to. You’re attracted to chaos.”
“If I remember correctly, that’s the exact reason you got partnered with Jett,” Scott points out.
“He’s right,” Jett agrees, eyeing up Alice in that intense way he always does but she never notices. The whole damn station knows it; pretty sure Alice is the only one who doesn’t.
“That means less coming from the woman who lives in a crime hotspot by choice,” Alice rolls her eyes, still not noticing the yearning in Jett’s eyes. He gives a momentary look to Scott who looks mournfully back at him.
Maybe someday Jett, but not today apparently.
I nudge Alice’s shoulder. “Rent is cheap.”
“Excuses, excuses.”
I shake my head, grabbing one of the disposable coffee cups and pouring some of the crappy station coffee in it. It’s better than running with minimal caffeine. “Fine, tell us about him.”
Her grin turns borderline smug. “He’s a firefighter.”
I stare at her. “You’re kidding.”
“I am not.”
“That’s the most cliché thing I’ve ever heard,” I grumble.
