The beard was gone, and in its place was a rather attractive length of growth.
It wasn’t a full beard, but it was enough of one to see that he didn’t shave it. Likely he buzzed it to that length if I had to guess, when it got to a certain point.
It was just long enough to call the start of a beard, and short enough that it didn’t completely take away from the line of his jaw, and the fucking dimple on his chin.
Oh, God. He had an ass chin.
I loved ass chins!
With his glasses not covering his eyes, I could see that the irises were the palest shade of gray I’d ever seen. Pairing those beautiful eyes with the dark shade of his hair, hair that looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, and the sun-kissed color of his skin, he was an all-around knockout. Though, if the muscles peeking out from his uniform were anything to go by, he was way past a knockout. More like a thirteen on the one to ten scale.
“Nobody called the cops,” he answered, pointing behind him. “I saw your dog out, and thought to come ask you why he was, only to find you knocked out on the fuc-freakin’ porch.”
My brows rose. “You saw my dog? Why were you here?”
He pointed above me at the apartment over our heads. “I’m the pacer.”
My brows rose.
“Then you already know why I’m outside, don’t you?”
His lips thinned. “I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay,” I said. “Is that a habit?”
His gray eyes flitted away.
“Unfortunately,” he mumbled.
I bit back my groan.
“I guess if you can’t help it, I’ll try to deal. Maybe I’ll invest in a pair of good earplugs.”
He grunted something, and I looked up at him.
“What?”
“Thank you,” he repeated.
I grinned. “You’re welcome, I guess. Though I didn’t do anything.”
He stared at me. “You could’ve called the super, not that he’d have done anything since the super is my brother.”
I shrugged. “I have my own abnormal sleeping problems.”
I finally stood, catching the blanket as it completely slipped off of me, and I heard a hearty laugh.
“That’s cute,” he said, tilting his head forward so I knew what he was talking about. “Where’d you find something like that in your size?”
I looked down at my onesie that my brother had bought me for Christmas, and shrugged.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I didn’t buy it, my brother did.”
His grin was much nicer than that frown he’d been wearing earlier.
Though, both looks really did wonders for his features. The man was what I would call ‘scrumptious.’
He looked hot in regular clothes like I’d seen him in the night before, but today, with him in full uniform once again…yeah, it was unbelievable.
He likely broke hearts everywhere he went.
“Do you wear that uniform anywhere but work?”
My question surprised him, and he shrugged. “Like where?”
“Like the grocery store,” I supplied.
Those poor mothers would never know what hit them.
“Sometimes,” he confirmed. “Other times I go pick up my dry cleaning in them. Most of the time, though, I don’t wear the uniform out. It’s a bit of a show stopper.”
That was for sure.
“Couldn’t they have found something more comfortable for you?” I questioned.
He shrugged. “I’m sure they could have found a different size, but the uniform itself is supposed to act as a protection of sorts. Loose clothing equals to shit getting caught in moving parts that shouldn’t be getting caught there.”
Well, I wasn’t complaining. If I got pulled over by him and received a ticket…I stopped. I had gotten a ticket from him, and though he didn’t technically pull me over, he did do all the other things.
Sighing, I turned around and bent over, gathering my blanket up in my arms.
“Have a good day, Officer.” I started toward my door. “Lou, you rat. Get in here!”
I turned just in time to see the officer’s eyes move from my ass to my face.
“What’s your name again, anyway?” I questioned.
He grinned. “Go look on the ticket.”
With that, he left, leaving me watching him go.
And oh, what a damn good sight it was!
But before he got all the way to where I now saw a motorcycle parked at the curb, he turned and looked at me.
“What was your weird sleeping problem?” he demanded.
I grinned. “If you ever see me wandering the parking lot at night, maybe steer me back into my apartment.”
His eyes widened.
The bad thing was that I’d been completely joking.
Not about the sleepwalking part, but about the part where I would be in the parking lot.
I hadn’t done anything that extreme since I was a kid, and hopefully wouldn’t be up for any repeat performances any time soon.
But fate has a way of fucking you over and making it all okay at the same time.
Which I found out later that night.Chapter 4I’ve lived a full life, and by that, I mean I’ve overeaten most of the time.