‘a moment of weakness’
33}} She pulled her keys from her pocket, and unlocked the deadbolt. She always kept lights on in her apartment. She owned it flat out, and the bills were pretty minimal. Houdini didn’t come to greet her immediately, complaining not that he missed her but that he was starving to death. Which meant the enormous cat was napping somewhere. She dumped her keys and the mail on the side table, hung up her coat and scarf. She was looking forward to the start of a long weekend. She kicked off her shoes and padded her way to her room, ready to trade scrubs for pjs.Her door was cracked and a different light was on, and she didn’t remember leaving it on. Slowly, cautiously, she approached the door, and pushed it open enough to to peek inside, one hand raised and already gathering the ambient energy for fire. John had taught her that trick, and even the most stalwart burgler tended to pee himself when faced with fire.What she saw she didn’t expect. The frame was long, and it was lean, more so than she would have liked, limbs wiry in musculature. The backside wasn’t bad. Beth was not used to naked men in her room no matter how lovely they were, but she reserved judgement. There had to be a story here. The lank dark hair crowned his head, and when he turned to look at her, she dimly but quickly placed the sculpted, almost delicate face, and the blue, blue eyes. It had been a while since she’d seen him, but she hadn’t forgotten. Beth never did.“Eli?” She couldn’t help the bemused expression, her brows furrowed, lips pursed somewhere between question and a smile. “Ah, aloha…long time no see…but…but why are you in my bedroom, and..what happened to your clothes?”