"I bet she's hot and you're just trying to hide her from me." He tapped the code into the stairwell lock pad and wrenched open the door. He didn't have an elevator key card, but he could get into my apartment anytime through the stairs.
I was too tired to tackle him. "It's bad manners to ambush a woman on her day off, man."
"Oh, now she's a woman, is she?" Spencer jogged up the two sets of stairs, his mirth over the situation practically a taste inthe air. "I'll knock first." He did just that at the top of the stairs, but he didn't wait for her to answer. I had to hope that Gemma didn't walk around the apartment naked or something nutty like that. I wouldn't put it past her, but surely if she was living with a man…?
Spencer opened the door that led directly into my apartment, and I followed with a weary sigh. "Maybe you'll run her off. Have at it."
That only made him laugh again, and he strode into the foyer, his sneakers squeaking over the black marble flooring. He panned a look around the open living space until he spotted her gaming setup to the right. Gemma had tucked herself into the enormous, black leather chair, and she had a fluffy pink blanket cocooned around her body. Her headset blinked with a steady, purple light, and she wore a pair of blue-light glasses as she kept her attention fixed on her fantasy-based game. Only the sound of her clicking mouse and tapping keys filled the quiet space.
Spencer rotated an O mouth to me. "She's ageek?" Mini barked suddenly, skidding out of my bedroom and making a beeline for Spencer. "Oh shit." Spencer stumbled back.
I had to admit, if I hadn’t known Mini was a spineless bunny rabbit at her core, I would have been intimidated, too. She looked ferocious, and she stopped two feet from us with her lips drawn over her sharp canines. A growl rumbled from her chest and straight to my fight-or-flight response. "Mini, chill," I drawled.
She twitched a look at me, her ears pricking and expression falling into one of immediate docility. She whined. Spencer gave me an eyebrow quirk. "You have a pet werewolf?"
"Not me." I gestured with my chin to the still-oblivious Gemma. "Roommate."
Spencer slowly eased behind me like I was a shield between him and Mini. She hadn't taken her keen gaze off him, and hermuscles bunched like she was ready for a fight. Spencer bent around me to look at Gemma again. "What's the point of having a guard dog if she can't hear her bark?"
Good question. Gemma, so far, had displayed a shocking lack of self-preservation, if you asked me. She'd thought nothing of signing a lease she didn't fully understand, and she'd almost gone for a walkaloneat night in a major city. Shaking my head, I crossed the living room and came to a stop behind her chair. I spun it, startling her, and she stared up at me with her thick-lashed, cornflower blue eyes. I mimed taking off headphones, and she obliged, letting them hang off her neck.
"Hey, you're back."
I gestured with my thumb behind me. "That's Spencer. He wanted to say hi."
Spencer gave a wave, flinching away from Mini as she growled at him again. "Hi."
"Mini, bed," Gemma ordered.
The dog gave her a look like she was crazy. I stifled a laugh. I had to begrudgingly admit that Mini had the right idea in this instance. With one last stink eye for Spencer, Mini skulked off to her bed, but she stood at attention next to the kennel instead of lying down.
Gemma stood, taking off her glasses and unearthing herself from her pink, fluffy cloud. She was wearing a pair of low-slung sweats and a crop top that had the band of her sports bra sticking out from underneath it. Irrationally, I almost swathed her back in the blanket, and I was sure it was because Spencer's eyes went silver dollar huge. She waved. "Hi, I'm Gemma."
"Gemma," Spencer said slowly, like he was tasting her name. "Well, this is a surprise."
I glared. "Gemma, Spencer. Spencer, Gemma. You happy?"
Spencer grinned wolfishly. "Oh, I'm happy. How is it living with Dr. Crabby?"
Gemma snickered, sauntering across the living room to come stand in her bare feet with him in the foyer. "It wasn't my first choice." She had put her long blond hair into a style I recognized from my past interactions with her—two little half-up buns on top of her head and the rest of it sweeping the middle of her back. She looked like a mochi dessert, and Spencer looked like he wanted to eat her for a post-workout snack.
"Yeah, I did it in med school. Nearly killed me." Spencer held out a hand for her to shake. "Sorry for your trials."
Gemma took his hand, her eyes sparkling. "I might need to hit you up for survival tactics."
"Sounds like a date," Spencer said with a straight, white smile.
"Don't youhavea date tonight?" I reminded him. Why did I sound so bitter? Why did I care? Why was I coming to join them instead of showering and getting dressed? I had this insane need to stand here and babysit Gemma like she wasn't a grown woman who routinely handled her own shit.
It was because Spencer was a charming predator, and she didn't know. That was all. He had a trail of broken hearts a mile long behind him, and I didn't want Gemma blaming me for my best friend's idiocy. Yes. That made perfect sense.
Spencer gave me a side look. "Thanks, bro."
"Some other time, then," Gemma smiled affably. Did anything affect this chick? "It's nice meeting one of Rook's friends—I honestly didn't think he was capable of having them."
Spencer looked at Gemma like she was the winning set of numbers to his lottery ticket. "A fair assumption, really."
"Do you come around often?" she asked, putting her blue-light glasses on her head.
