Regardless of the fact that I was now thirty-one and had lived alone since I was eighteen, I knew nothing about plumbing or cars. Every time something happened with my plumbing or my car, I vowed to myself that I would learn something about plumbing or cars. I would get that said something fixed and I’d totally forget my vow. Then I’d lament forgetting my vow in times like I was experiencing right now.

I walked out of my master bath, through my bedroom, down the hall into my open plan living-slash-kitchen-slash-dining area and out the front door. I crossed the breezeway and knocked on Derek and LaTanya’s door.

Derek knew something about plumbing. I knew this because of two things. First he was a man and men had a sixth plumbing sense. Second I knew this because he was a plumber.

LaTanya opened the door and her big, dark eyes widened with LaTanya Delight.

LaTanya Delight was different than anyone else’s delight and therefore deserved a capital letter. It was louder, brasher, brighter and cheerier. The look on her face communicated her joy at seeing me like she and I had been separated at birth and was right then being blissfully reunited; not like she’d just seen me the night before when she came over to watch Glee with me.

“Hey girl!” she squealed through a big smile. “Perfect timing. I’m about to mix a batch of mojitos. Get your ass in here and I’ll pour us some cocktails!”

I smiled at her but shook my head. “Can’t,” I told her. “Something’s up with my faucet, the office hasn’t returned my calls and I really need Derek to look at it. Is he around?”

I sensed movement at my side and LaTanya did too. We both looked that way to see Detective Mitch Lawson walking up the stairs carrying four plastic grocery bags.

If I was a Seven to Ten and in his zone which could mean in his life, I would lecture him about plastic grocery bags. Considering the state of the environment, no one should use plastic grocery bags, not even hot guys who could get away with practically anything. Since I was not and I didn’t know him and couldn’t know him for fear of expiring from pleasure should he, say, speak more than a few words to me, I’d never get the chance to lecture him about plastic grocery bags.

“Yo Mitch!” LaTanya greeted him loudly with Delight.

“Hey LaTanya,” Mitch greeted back then his beautiful eyes skimmed to me and his lips tipped up further, “Hey.”

“Hey,” I replied, locked my legs, ignored the whoosh I felt in my belly and looked back at LaTanya. She was checking out Detective Mitch Lawson as any woman should or she would be immediately reported to then thrown out of the Woman Club. I heard the rustling of bags but I ignored it and called her name to get her attention. When I got it, I repeated, “Is Derek around? I wouldn’t bother him but my faucet won’t turn off and I really need someone to look at it.”

“He’s not here, Mara, sorry, babe,” LaTanya replied. “You say the office hasn’t called you back?”

“No,” I told her and was about to ask her if she would send Derek over when he got home when I heard from my side:

“You want me to look at it?”

This came from Detective Mitch Lawson and I sucked in breath and twisted my neck so only my head was facing him. He was standing outside his open apartment door still carrying his bags and his eyes were on me.

My mind went blank. I lost the lock on my legs and my knees wobbled.

God, he was beautiful.

“Mara,” I heard from far away and even though I heard it and it was my name, I didn’t respond. “Mara!” I heard again. This time louder and sharper, my body jolted and I turned to LaTanya.

“What?” I asked.

“Mitch’ll look at it, that cool with you?” she asked me.

I blinked at her.

No. No it was not cool with me.

What did I do?

I couldn’t have him in my apartment walking through my bedroom to look at my faucet. That would mean he’d be in my apartment. That would mean he’d walk through my bedroom. And that would mean I’d have to speak more than one word to him.

Crap!

I looked to Detective Mitch Lawson and said the only thing I could say.

“That would be really kind.”

He stared at me a second then lifted the bags an inch and muttered, “Let me get rid of these and I’ll be over.”

I swallowed then called, “Okay,” to his closing door.

I watched his door close and then I kept watching his closed door wondering if the weird feeling I was having was just panic or a precursor to a heart attack. Then LaTanya called my name again so I looked at her.

“You okay?” she asked, studying me closely.

I had not, incidentally, shared my love for Detective Mitch Lawson with LaTanya, Derek, Brent, Bradon or anyone. This was because I thought they’d think I was a little insane (or a stalker). They often invited him to parties and such and if he came, I would usually make my excuses and leave. They’d never cottoned on. I figured mostly because he didn’t often attend their parties due to his being a police officer with long hours but also because he had his buds over for games and his babes over for other things. He wasn’t the type of man who went to gay men’s parties or LaTanya’s cocktail extravaganzas. The ones he went to I suspected he did just to be neighborly. Though Derek, more often than not, went to his place to watch games. Usually in order to escape LaTanya’s cocktail extravaganzas which were frequent occasions.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied to her. “Just had a tough day at work,” I continued lying. “And I’m not happy the Management Office didn’t call me back. They don’t pay my water bill.” I wasn’t lying about that.

“I hear you,” LaTanya agreed. “Service around here has taken a turn for the worse even though they upped our rent three months ago. You remember our fridge went out last month?”

I remembered. I also remembered it took three weeks to get it replaced. Derek had been none-too-happy and LaTanya had been loudly none-too-happy.

“Yeah, I remember. That sucked.”

“It sure did. Buyin’ ice all the time and livin’ outta coolers. I don’t pay rent for that shit. Fuck that.”

Fuck that indeed.

Detective Mitch Lawson’s door opened and I realized my mistake instantly. I should have run to my house and done something. I didn’t know what. Nothing needed tidying because I was freakishly tidy. There was nothing I could do with my appearance but I figured I should have tried to do something.

He started walking our way asking, “Now a good time?”

No, no time was a good time for the Ten Point Five I was secretly in love with to be in my apartment.

I nodded and said, “Sure.” Then I looked at LaTanya and said, “Later, babe.”

“Later. Remember, a mojito is waitin’ for you, Mitch gets your faucet sorted out.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, smiled and then glanced at Detective Mitch Lawson before looking down at my feet, turning and walking the short distance to my door. I opened it, walked through and held it open for him to come inside.

He did and I tried not to hyperventilate.

“Which one is it?” he asked as I closed the door behind him.

I turned, stood at the door and looked up at him. He was closer than I expected and he was taller than he seemed from afar and he seemed pretty tall from afar. I’d never been this close to him and I felt his closeness tingle pleasantly all across my skin. I was wearing heels and I felt his tallness in the depth of the tip of my head which didn’t tip back that often to look at someone seeing as I was tall.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“Faucet,” he said. “Which one? Hall or master?”

I didn’t have any clue what he was talking about. It was like he was speaking in a foreign language. All I could focus on were his eyes which I was also seeing closer than I’d ever seen before. He had great eyelashes.

Those lashes moved when his eyes narrowed.

“You okay?” he asked.

Oh God. I had to get a hold on myself.

“Yeah, fine, um…the faucet’s in my master bath,” I told him.

He stood there staring at me. I stood there staring at him. Then his lips twitched and he lifted his arm slightly in the direction of my hall.

“You wanna lead the way?” he asked.

Ohmigod! I was such an idiot!

“Right,” I muttered, looked down at my feet and led the way.

When we were both in my bathroom which, with him in it, went from a normal-sized master bath to a teeny-tiny, suffocating space I pointed to the faucet and then pointed out the obvious.

“It won’t turn off.”

“I see that,” he murmured then I stood frozen with mortification as he crouched and opened the doors to my vanity.

Why was he opening the doors to my vanity? I kept my tampons down there! You could see them! They were right at the front for easy accessibility!

Ohmigod!

He reached in, I closed my eyes in despair and wished the floor would gobble me up and suddenly the water turned off.

I opened my eyes, stared at the faucet and exclaimed, “Holy cow! You fixed it!”

He tipped his head back to look at me then he straightened out of his crouch to look down at me.

Then he said, “No, I just turned the water off.”

I blinked up at him. Then I asked, “Pardon?”

“You can turn the water off.”

“You can?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh,” I whispered then went on stupidly, “I should probably have done that before I left for work this morning.”

His mouth twitched again and he said, “Probably. Though you can’t do somethin’ you don’t know you can do.”