A scream pierced my ears.
Okay. So, she was.
“Lucas!” Rosie bellowed, jumping and managing to climb up my body as if I had been nothing more than a pole. “A rat! Is that a rat!?” A hand landed on my face, another one on my shoulder. One of her knees reached my armpit. “No, no, no, no. Please, tell me that’s not a rat!”
Throwing my arms around her waist, I adjusted her around me so her legs would close around my hips. “I’m not going to tell you any of that.”
“Why the hell not?!”
Chuckling, I placed my hands on the back of her thighs and turned us around so she’d face the opposite way. “Because there’s a huge rat in the apartment and I’m not going to lie to you, Ro. Not ever.”
Another scream.
Pivoting, I tried my best to carry her to the other side of the studio while she squirmed in my arms and left me with no choice but to place one of my palms on a perky and rounded ass I promised myself I wouldn’t think about. “Hey, Ro?” I told her, holding back a groan when she wiggled right against my crotch. “I’m going to put you to safety, okay? But it’s going to be easier if you stop moving. Please.”
That seemed to put a stop to all her squirming because she froze in my arms. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Lucas.” She tried to hop off from my embrace, but I didn’t let her. “Am I too heavy? I’m such a jerk. Let me—”
“Stay right where you are,” I told her as I carried her the rest of the way with only a light limp and placed her on the counter very gently. “It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not.” Her expression was remorseful, pained. “I shouldn’t have jumped on you like that.”
And yet, I hadn’t even cared about her doing so. I hadn’t cared about the tightness gripping the now weak muscles under her weight. Or the soreness I’ll suffer in a few hours after our dancing session. To be honest, I was sick and tired of paying attention to any of that. I was sick of not being able to do whatever I pleased because of this goddamn injury.
Swallowing, I answered the only way I could: “Don’t worry about it. I don’t.”
She nodded her head, and one more time, she shocked me by not pressing. Pushing me to talk about it. Instead, she lowered her voice. “I’m terrified of rodents.” She lifted both legs and placed her bare feet on the counter. “And now I can’t stop thinking about that…”—she shivered—“that creature eating away at my toes.”
Her expression was of pure disgust, and it made me smile. “It won’t eat your toes.”
“It could,” she hissed.
“I mean, sure, it could. But you’re high up now. It won’t reach you here.”
Rosie groaned. “You’re not making it better. I’m going to have nightmares now, Lucas. We’ll have to sleep with the lights on and I might have to wake you up to bring me water to my bedside table because I’ll be scared of something biting my feet if I step on the floor. You’re digging your own grave here, really.”
I sighed, but it was more for show. “I’ll do that if you need me to. That’s who I am. A good roommate and an even better friend.”
Rosie’s lips fell and she muttered something under her breath.
“Now stay put, okay?” I told her before she lost it again. Then, I moved back to the record player, located the rodent, and not without effort, managed to corner it and shove it back into the empty box with a magazine that had been lying around.
Once ready, I held the box—with the rat—and started making my way back to Rosie.
She stopped me with a hand. “Do not move one more step with that thing in there, buddy.”
“Buddy? Really?” I feigned outrage. “How about ‘Oh, Lucas, my sexy and skilled knight in shining armor’？ Now that’s a nickname that suits me and I can get on board with.”
She shot a threatening glance in my direction.
Before I could say anything, a knock on the door came.
“Oh my God,” Rosie whispered. “What if that’s another one of them?”
“Well,” I said, heading for the entrance. “Then, I hope they brought snacks.”
Leaving a fuming Rosie on the counter behind me, I opened the door with the box under my arm and I was welcomed by a face with features I recognized from a much older woman.
“Hi,” a brown-haired woman with one of those edgy haircuts I’d seen around said. “I’m Adele’s daughter, Alexia. I hope I’m not…” She trailed off, her gaze falling behind me. “I hope I’m not interrupting something.”