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Darlene
to phone him when Kate returned or if she answered her cell phone.
After undressing and throwing on a pair of pajama pants, he relaxed
on the couch and put on ESPN.
    Jared awoke with a start. Recognizing he had
dozed on the couch, he checked the clock. It was just after
eleven-thirty. His senses sharpened as he heard persistent knocking
at his front door. He swiftly made it to the door and croaked, “Who
is it?”
    “Kate. Kate Edwards.” Eagerly, he swung open
the door and was surprised to see her so disheveled looking. She
wore the same jeans and tank top from earlier in the day. He
guessed she had not returned home. Her face was red and puffy as if
she’d been crying for hours. Her face flushed as she looked him
over and set her eyes downcast.
    “Come in,” he instructed and closed the door
behind her as she skittered into the apartment. This newfound
vulnerability was making him uncertain about how to handle the
situation.
    She looked anguished and he felt a pull
towards her. It was more comfortable when she was defensive and
sarcastic. Kate with her guard down made him want to reach out to
her. Initially, he had pegged her as obnoxious and volatile. The
more he was learning about her, the more he saw she was just a
scared kid who got a raw deal in life.
    She stood silently and would not meet his
eyes. After a long minute, her snarkiness resurfaced. “For god
sakes, will you put on a shirt?”
    Jared looked down at his bare chest and
realized he had not bothered with a shirt before answering the
door. He took an odd pleasure in knowing it made her embarrassed.
“Let me get changed,” he said and with a smile disappeared into his
bedroom.
     
    I shouldn’t be here, Kate told herself for
the millionth time. She had no idea what possessed her to come to
the detective’s apartment. Weariness had set in after driving
around for hours with intermittent crying spells. As it grew later
and stores closed, she had the inspiration to head over and provide
an explanation to Jared on the reasoning behind her lies. She had
been shocked when he answered the door shirtless. If she wasn’t
such a damn head case at the moment, she might have tried to jump
him right then and there. He was perfectly built with lean and hard
muscles. She imagined throwing herself against his chest and him
wrapping his strong arms around her. I really need a boyfriend, she
lamented silently.
    He returned wearing a t-shirt and khakis.
“Where’s your girlfriend?” she blurted hoping the reminder of his
other half would prevent her from slipping into a frenzied state of
lust again.
    “She’s staying at her parents. Why don’t you
sit down?” he motioned to a chair at the kitchen table.
    She did a quick survey of the apartment.
Instantly, it became obvious his girlfriend did most of the
decorating. A modern white leather sofa set was situated in the
living room while the kitchen had this sort of country chic thing
going on. A small eat-in area was outfitted with a table for two
complemented with a lace tablecloth and white French chairs. The
apartment had an open floor plan with the living room, dining room
and kitchen all connected with open doorways. It looked as though a
master bedroom and a spare bedroom were situated down the
hallway.
    After they had both settled into their
chairs, he questioned, “How did you find out where I lived?”
    She gave him an incredulous look. “I’m
psychic, remember?”
    He looked uncomfortable. “Oh.”
    She rolled her eyes at him. “Jeez, you’re
gullible. I put your name in Google and got your address,” she
answered. “By the way, for a detective, that’s a pretty dumb move
not to have your listing private. Any random psycho could show up
at your door in the middle of the night.”
    “Well, you have the dubious honor of being my
first late night Google stalker,” he answered.
    “Awesome,” she sighed. Kate felt drained at
the moment and the speech she had rehearsed in the car on the