Page 48 of Up In Smoke
I nod in a friendly greeting, but Jesse’s face lights up. “Hi, Katerina!” he calls out. “Come meet my new friend!”
The older lady peers over her sunglasses and crooks an eyebrow. “This is dog, new boy. Is he good dog?”
“I think so,” Jesse says and looks down at Klaus.
We’ve paused in front of my apartment, and my neighbor—whose name is apparently Katerina—makes her way over to us. She’s always struck me as a very graceful lady, but seeing as her pumps have changed to flats over the past few years, I’d guess maybe now she’s having some joint issues.
“Are you good dog?” she asks. “Or do you piss on everything?”
“He’s a retired police dog,” I jump in and explain. “So he’s very well trained. In German as well as English! Klaus, sitzen.” I’ve been practicing that with him overnight, and I’m thrilled when his ass drops to the carpet.
It seems Katerina is impressed as well from the way she hums. “Oh, yes. I like boys who listen. Mr. Firefighter, you are not so alone now, yes? Collecting husband and dog. Good for you.” She pats my chest and saunters off to the elevator. “Good for you.”
I watch her for a moment, then turn back to Jesse with a laugh. “I’ve been here seven years and barely said more than hi to her. You’ve been here seven days and you’re already besties? I didn’t even know her name.”
“It’s Katrina Petrova, and she kind of forcefully adopted me,” Jesse admits as I get my key out. “When I came home yesterday evening, I was…” He shakes his head. “She invited me in for tea. Apparently, she came to America as a ballerina in the sixties, which is crazy considering how hot the cold war was then. Anyway, she was nice. Scary, but nice. And she has a black and white cat called Noski, which means socks.”
“Huh.” I realize I’m just standing there with my key in my hand, marveling at how Jesse just keeps impressing me. Being sober is allowing his personality to shine, like sunshine through a rain cloud. I’m not surprised people are starting to be drawn to him.
Then Klaus whines, reminding me we can’t hang out in the hallway forever.
Once through the door, we let Klaus start exploring his new space, sniffing around every inch. I follow him for a bit, only slightly concerned he might pee on the sofa or in my shoes to mark his territory like Katerina suggested. But he’s the picture of politeness, glancing back at me every thirty seconds with that smile of his that’s already worked its way into my heart.
It’s not until I follow Klaus into the bathroom do I realize that Jesse isn’t with us. Well, it’s not like my place is huge, so it’s more like I notice that rather than trailing behind the dog like I was doing, he’s gone to the kitchen and is leaning againstthe counter by the coffee machine, his arms wrapped around his body like he’s hugging himself.
Oh…damn. Something’s definitely not okay.
“You good?” I ask, wandering over.
He nods unconvincingly. “You want some coffee?”
“Sure.”
I’m pretty sure what’s happening now isn’t about hot drinks, but I’m going to need caffeine to help me stay awake after a shift anyway, so there’s no harm in letting him fix us a couple of cups.
After he passes me mine, I drift toward the living area and sit down, hoping he’ll join me. As soon as my ass hits the sofa, Klaus hops up beside me. I watch on in amusement as he waits for me to settle before lying down with his head on his paws, looking up at me with just one little wag of his tail.
I’m probably projecting again, but he seems content. I hope he knows he’s going to be here a while and that he’s safe.
This is his home now, too.
Apparently, my plan worked, because when I look back up, Jesse’s settled himself on the armchair with his coffee. I kind of wish he’d come sit on the other end of the sofa, but I guess there isn’t really room with Klaus beside me. He also looks like he might need some space between us for what he’s about to say.
I’m nervous again.
“I had a bad day yesterday,” Jesse says in a rush. His gaze is firmly fixed on his mug that his hands are wrapped around, like the warmth is fortifying him.
“Okay,” I say slowly. He doesn’t appear to be drunk or hungover, but addicts are good at hiding these things.
Except…no. I trust he wouldn’t drive with me in the car if he wasn’t safe to do so. Again, I need to stop jumping to conclusions and just let him talk. Isn’t that exactly what I’ve been encouraging him to do? He’ll absolutely stop trusting meif he thinks I’m going to judge every misstep he makes. I don’t even know the details yet.
“Are you all right now?” I ask.
He nods stiffly, giving me mixed signals. He doesn’t look all right. “Yeah. I mean, I’m still here.” He laughs ruefully and sniffs before scrubbing his face with one of his hands. “I got a last-minute job interview, except it wasn’t. The guy recognized me from my TV show and just wanted to have a bit of fun at my expense.”
My blood runs cold. “He what?” I growl, making Klaus’s ears perk up.
Jesse shakes his head. “Yeah, it sucked. Big time. It didn’t so much knock me on my ass as throw me off a cliff. I…Rico, I almost did something really dumb.” He finally meets my gaze again, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. “The bottle was in my hand.”