Page 42 of You Chive Me Crazy

He had a skimpy white towel wrapped around his waist.

Nothing else.

His chiseled abs were on full display, and that remarkable chest of his was taunting me, tempting me, daring me to take another look. He had definitely filled out since school.

I tried to avert my gaze, but it was nearly impossible.

Apparently, his body was steel.

And my eyes were magnets.

I could finally control my thunderous thoughts and pigheaded pupils by focusing on a dark spot on the wall.

Until the spot moved.

And then I realized what I was looking at.

It was the biggest, hairiest spider I had ever seen in my entire life, triggering my arachnophobia, and causing me to completely freak out. I screamed at the top of any lungs and ran to Lucas for protection, practically knocking him over as I wrapped myself around him like a boa constrictor.

That was when something even more shocking happened.

His towel slipped off his waist and fell to the floor.

ChapterNine

LUCAS

The frantic sound of Zoe screaming scared the crap out of me, but what surprised me more was the way she catapulted six feet in the air toward me. She latched her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist like a baby spider monkey holding on for dear life as its mother swings through the trees.

“What happened?” I said, barely able to breathe because she was holding me so tight. “Are you okay?”

She adamantly shook her head no, like she was suffering. I wanted to help, but I needed to know what the problem was.

“Zoe—talk to me,” I said. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

“No,” she gasped. “But I’m super uncomfortable with this situation.”

“Uncomfortable? How?” I said, more confused than ever, and concerned that she might be uncomfortable because of the placement of my hands. There wasn’t a lot I could do about that if I was planning to remain standing without losing my balance. “Tell me what’s happening. Describe what’s going on right now. Remember, we need to watch out for signs of worsening symptoms. Confusion. Concentration, Balance issues. Irritability . . .”

“Confusion.” She glanced over my shoulder, to the floor, her eyes going wider.

“Good. Now, we’re getting somewhere,” I said. “What are you confused about?”

Zoe finally seemed to snap out of her panic and huffed. “I’m trying to figure out why you’re completely calm when the world’s largest spider is going to eat us alive, not to mention the fact that you’re naked!”

Getting a brief glimpse of the white cloth on the floor behind me, I blinked. “Oh . . .”

I hadn’t even noticed that my towel had fallen off.

As for the spider, I didn’t see it, nor was I afraid of it. In fact, I thought spiders were fascinating little creatures. At the moment, I was more concerned about covering myself up.

“I need to put you down now, Zoe,” I said as I tried to disengage her arms. “Let me get my towel.”

Zoe clamped on tighter. “Do you have a death wish?” She glanced over my shoulder. “That spider is now on your towel.”

“Relax! It’s just a spider.” I held onto Zoe and turned around to look, then froze when I saw a tarantula the size of a small dinner plate directly on top of my towel on the floor.

“That’s a huge freaking spider!” I said.