Sunday Snippet: One Hot Mess

Happy US Mother's Day to those who celebrate. For those with parental issues, I hope you find joy and peace.

Had the rare experience of seeing the northern lights in Ohio. I can honestly say I haven't been so excited about something in a long time. The mysteries of space are awesome!

Fairly busy week with work projects and other odds and ends. Finished up a couple of manuscripts and started a new one. I have another ongoing developmental edit that I need to dive back into this week.

Not a bad week of viewing even with a few distractions. I'm at a weird place with watching right now. I'm kind of leaning toward doing binge marathons again and I'm not sure I want to fall down that rabbit hole again.

Caught two episodes of Suspects and enjoyed both. This show is kind of choppy and that adds something to the experience. I love the cases and how things are rarely what they seem from the initial starting point.

Finished up the third season of Madame Blanc Mysteries. I'd love to see another series of this show. The cast is a lot of fun.

Watched two episodes of Silent Witness. I've realized that after the next one, I'm completely caught up with the show. I really like the current cast and I'm excited to see what the next season brings.

Enjoyed an episode of Death in Paradise. This is one I hadn't seen before and I liked the case. I'm also enjoying Jack's tenure as DI.

I think I finished out the first season of Elementary. I'm actually thrilled with how the Moriarity plot played out. I love seeing Joan kind of step in to the role of consulting detective with ease and grace. The things she sees that Sherlock doesn't is always interesting.

Watched another episode of The Batman. Nice to see Ethan back again. I'm a little bummed we haven't seen Chen for a while and I can't remember if she comes back or not.

Enjoyed the Valentine episode of Classic Rugrats. I do remember this one but not everything about it. Nice to see some longer length episodes also.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from One Hot Mess, a novella that brings a couple together after a night of revelry.

Here's the miniblurb:

Eva Twine and Van Jefferson have a very friendly rivalry when their teams compete for the galaxy championship. But when Van questions what Eva will wear to the celebratory masquerade, she decides to rock his very foundation.

And a sneaky peek…

Van Jefferson stood under a blast of steaming water, letting it work the kinks out of his shoulders. The Interplanetary Police Force battle of the precincts ended on a high note for him. His squadron from Venus took top honors.

Knocked the Mars crew down a peg.

No easy feat, the team from the red planet had won the battle five years running and the rivalry, while friendly, finally took a step in the right direction. Van shut off the shower and stepped out of the stall. About damn time. If he had to listen to Eva Twine cackle and crow about winning again he'd have lost his mind.

The woman made him insane. And usually not in a good way. Even though he found her wildly attractive. She also frustrated the life out of him sometimes.

The creak of a door and an off-key humming sound alerted him to someone's presence.

Speak of the devil.

Eva sauntered into the head—how she could do that with an injured foot, he'd never understand—and started stripping off her clothes.

"If you give me a few, you can have the place to yourself." Van walked into the changing area and pried open his locker.

Eva smirked and shoved her pants past her hips. "I kinda have to hurry. Doc took an x-ray and gave me fifteen to get showered and back to the infirmary." Her fingers slid under the waistband of her panties. "If you can't handle the show, you'd better leave now."

Right. He'd go hang out in the quadrant wearing a towel so she could shower. Not likely.

He raised a brow. "I doubt you have anything I haven't seen before." He reached for his shirt.

Eva chuckled and tugged her tank over her head. "Good to know." She crisscrossed her arms and pulled her sports bra off, giving him her back as she turned. "Congrats on the victory, by the way. They carted me out before I had a chance to say anything."

Van waited a beat, thinking she'd add a snarky insult to the compliment. She glanced over her shoulder, one eyebrow arched.

He nodded. "Thanks."

She grabbed a towel and flung it over around her neck. "You headed out or sticking around for the festivities?"

The IPF planned a huge masquerade to top off the week. All participants in the battle automatically received invitations.

Van grinned. "I'm staying. My chief informed us if anyone tried to beg off, he'd bust us all back to beat cop."

Eva snorted. "That would suck balls." Grabbing her kit she headed toward the showers. "Guess I'll see you there then. Don't forget your costume." She called back over her shoulder. "Remember no beat cop uniforms allowed."

Van chuckled. "I've got it covered." He grabbed his pants. "You?"

She turned the water on and let it heat up. "Oh yeah. No worries."

He couldn't resist. "Let me guess? You're gonna show up as a sky hawg rider." His gaze slid to her discarded tank, the logo of the sky cycle manufacturer emblazoned across the front.

Eva's smirked again. "Ha-ha." She stepped under the spray of water. "Get out of here. I'm down to seven minutes."

Effectively dismissed, Van finished dressing and exited the head. The exchange with Eva had gone better than he'd hoped. Defeat had toned down her brash bravado.

Or maybe pain did. He'd noticed she'd favored her injured foot when she stepped under the water. He hoped it wouldn't keep her from the party.

This story took on a life of its own and I'm happy it did. Eva and Van are so much fun!

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye