That's odd, she thought as she heard the door open. There was only one person who would just let himself in, and he almost always gave her fair warning, if only to make sure she was alone. He had a key, not because they were exclusive, but because she allowed him to use her shower, his apartment being too far from his job for convenience, and they had had an easy on again off again friends with benefits relationship.
They both saw, read had sex, with other people, but seemed to always come back to each other. It was comfortable yet still exciting. They each knew just the right places to touch, hands and mouths. In a strange kind of way they were connected, but not tied. Her friends knew him as Mr. Wednesday because that was when he would usually show up, so she usually kept her Wednesday nights open for him. He hadn't called or come over in weeks.
She put her book aside, thinking to change out of her flannel jammies, but went out to meet him in them, curious what prompted this unannounced visit on a Monday. She could tell the minute he had had a bad night. He was a paramedic, trained during his days as a Navy corpsman, three tours of duty in Afghanistan was all she really knew. He didn't talk about the details, just told her because she noticed a tattoo on his chest.
