Free Channel 20 Something by Amy Patrick Page A

seemed to gleam in the dark.
    “Right.” I thought for a minute. If Aric was anything like Hale, we could be friends. I could invite him up, let him in. We could go to each other’s apartments without any threat of something happening. But where Hale’s nearness was pleasant and comforting, being close to Aric was anything but comfortable. Every nerve in my body was disrupted and alive.
    “Aric… thank you for the ride. But I forgot to mention my ‘saying yes’ policy doesn’t take effect until tomorrow. ”
    He exhaled loudly, pretending exaggerated disappointment. “All right then. Do you need a ride to work tomorrow?”
    I opened the door of his truck. “No—that’s okay. My dad and brothers can help me get my car unstuck. I’ll get a ride with one of them. Thanks, though. Sleep well.”
    “Oh, I will. I’ll be completely relaxed.” He gave me a you’re-missing-out-on-something grin. “Good night, Heidi.”
    I wished him a good night and walked up the sidewalk, unable to stop myself from imagining all the ways Aric Serrano might get relaxed before sleeping.

Chapter Eight
Snake Bites and Beards
    When I arrived for work Saturday, Aric’s Tahoe was already in the lot. Colleen’s desk in the newsroom was empty, so I assumed she was out on a story. Her shift started early in the morning, whereas Aric and I came in in the afternoon because we were anchoring the late news.
    I put my things under my desk and looked over the assignments file for the day. Colleen had left a note about a man who’d survived a massive snake bite while turkey hunting this morning. He was at the Baptist Memorial Hospital. She’d scribbled a room number next to the hospital’s phone number.
    According to the schedule, she was covering an awareness walk right now then heading to a hot air balloon festival from there. The Mississippi State football game was at one o’clock. If Aric and I went together, we could swing by the hospital and talk to the snake bite victim and shoot some video and my stand-up before going to the game to get highlights and interviews for his sportscast.
    I went to the sports office to coordinate schedules with him but stopped short because he was on the phone. He sat with his back to me, wearing shorts and a polo, his long tan legs stretched out in front of him with his feet on the desk. He was leaning back in his chair, massaging his own neck with one large hand while holding the phone to his ear with the other.
    The sound of his voice, low and affectionate, kept me standing there when I should’ve left immediately to give him privacy.
    “ …I miss you too… well, November’s not too far away.”
    I couldn’t hear every word, but the ones I did pick up set an unexpected burn smoldering in my gut. It was clear from his tone he cared for the person on the other end of that call. It struck me that I’d been unbelievably presumptuous with all my defensive claims of “I have a boyfriend.” For all I knew, he’d left a girlfriend behind in Minnesota or California and was pining away for her every day.
    “Love you, too , älskar dig. Adjö, Lillemor .” Mr. Accent-free had just morphed into a full-blown Swede for a minute. And told someone named Lillemor he loved her. The burn traveled up to my face. What an idiot I was. Aric must have thought I was so conceited for suggesting, repeatedly, that his kind offers of help meant something more. I turned to sneak away before he could see me eavesdropping.
    “Heidi.” The friendly greeting met my back. Emphasis on friend .
    Fastening a smile on my face, I pushed down my humiliation and turned around. “Hi. I didn’t mean to disturb your call.”
    He stood and slid the phone into his pocket. “No, not at all. Ready to get to work, partner?”
    “Absolutely.” I worked to recover my composure, determined to be as pleasant and businesslike as he was. “Are you ready to learn everything you ever wanted to know about snake bites?”
    “Uh… I guess I