Page 38 of Dead Pretty

But then it wasn’t exactly a normal situation.

There’s already a dead rat in there. It can’t get any worse.

Okay, it can get worse. Like a psycho could be waiting for me in there.

But I try not to freak myself out.

I take a fortifying breath and swing open the door.

My apartment is still pitch-black. Because I didn’t get a chance to turn any lights on.

I reach my hand out, searching for the light switch on the wall. Finding it, I flick it on. But nothing happens.

And that’s because your lightbulb blew out, dumbass.

I don’t have a spare one in the apartment to replace it with either.

Double, triple, and quadruple fuck.

I can’t spend the whole night with the living room in darkness. I just can’t.

What am I going to do?

I could ask Jack if he has a spare bulb I could borrow.

On a sigh, I lock the door behind me, walk over to Jack’s place, lift a hand, and knock on his door.

The door swings open a few moments later.

“Hey.” I give him an awkward smile. “You, uh, don’t happen to have a spare lightbulb I could borrow, do you?”

“Yours blown?”

“Yep.”

“I’m guessing we all have the same fittings, so, yeah, sure, give me a sec.” He goes back inside his apartment, leaving the door open and me in the hallway.

I lean into the doorway. “I appreciate this,” I tell him. “I’ll go to the store first thing tomorrow morning and get you one to replace it.”

“No need.” He appears back in the doorway. “Do you have a stepladder?”

I give him a confused look. “No. Why?”

His eyes drag up and down the length of me, and I forget to breathe for a moment. My pulse quickens, and I suddenly feel a lot warmer than I did a second ago.

His eyes finally come back to mine. They look a lot darker than they did. “Well …” The word comes out croaky. He clears his throat. “Unless you can grow a good few feet in the next minute or so, you’re going to need one to reach the light fitting.”

“Ah. Right. Yeah.” My cheeks are hot with embarrassment—and also the stupid attraction I have to this guy.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got one.”

He disappears again, giving my face and body a moment to cool down before he’s back again with a stepladder in his other hand.

“Do you want me to replace the lightbulb for you?” he asks.

He thinks I’m useless. He wouldn’t be wrong.

“No. I’ve got it.” I reach out to take the stepladder and bulb from him. “I’ll bring the ladder back when I’m done.”