EXTRACT FOR
Summer Fling
(Asrai Devin)

Kyle McLachlan hummed the Nickelback song that he last heard in his truck as he walked into his parents' house. They were out at his sister's place, a short drive out of town, today, so he didn't announce his arrival.

With no car parked in the driveway, he assumed their tenant was out as well. Their tenant was a new elementary teacher, whom he hadn't met despite her living there nearly ten months. Maybe she went with them today.

The basement door was ajar, so he used his foot to open it. He hauled his two bags downstairs. His teammates always razed him for carrying too much luggage. He couldn't decide what he wanted to wear, so he packed more than once choice. In this case he would stay for a whole two weeks. It seemed like a good idea, now that time seemed endless. Not much went on in Bow Island, AB these days.

Having a bit of downtime might be good for him. Playing professional hockey in Calgary kept him on the go, even more after the team won the Cup. Hard to believe it only happened a month ago.

And that danged tenant, Sabrina, or something, she hadn't even come to the game. Supposedly she was a huge fan of his team's biggest rival. But having lived with his parents for the last year, one might think the woman might be swayed a little to change her loyalties.

He rolled his eyes at himself. "You're getting soft in the head, McLachlan," he muttered out loud to himself. Who cared who this girl was, anyway? They hadn't met before, and they wouldn't become close in two weeks.

He stopped at the bottom step and took a deep breath. He was home again. He opened the door to his bedroom. At least the one he occupied until he left to play hockey just before his eighteenth birthday. He dropped his bags on the bed and looked around. 

His mother changed the bedspread. And decorated the room. He frowned deeply. It smelled too good in this room. Nothing like the musty basement bedroom of his youth. It smelled as if someone female now occupied the room. 

"Shit." Someone female occupied this room. They gave his room away. He froze in place. They gave away his room. Why hadn't his mother informed him of the change? She had to know he would go straight to his room. Or what was his room. 

Before he could gather his wits, let alone his bags, a shadow appeared in the doorway. The first thing he noticed was her wet hair, slicked back from her face. He glanced down and found her wearing only a towel. He swallowed hard and wished he thought before he barged in. 

No wait, this was not his fault. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and he found his mouth was dry. He wasn't sure why. She wasn't remarkable, and he'd grown used to having remarkable women throw themselves at him regularly. Well, not regularly. Frequently. Often.

She was tall and barely raised her head to look at him. He was unnerved by her eye contact. She looked sturdy under the snugly held towel. A bit stacked on top as well. Not that he lingered. He kept his eyes above her neck as she scrutinized him. "I said excuse me," she said, harshly.

Kyle shook his head, realizing he missed her first words. Okay, so not the first impression he planned. "Hi, uh, sorry. This is, er, was, my room. No one told me you moved into it. So I'll just grab my stuff and head upstairs. I'm Kyle."

"I know," she said. "I'd rather have this conversation when I'm dressed." Her tone got bitchier by the second.

Kyle grabbed his bags and exited the room without looking at her again. Okay, that was the worst first impression in the universe. He cursed his mother as he climbed the stairs with his bags. He entered the guest room. 

Well, the time had come. He was just a guest in this house now.