“Hello, Zackary,” said the young black woman who was perched nonchalantly on his couch. Ziggy curled up next to her and wagged his tail like nothing was amiss.

“Kira, what the hell?” Zack clutched at his chest. “You nearly gave me a—” He stopped short. “Did you just call me Zackary?”

“Yeah, so?”

“You know that’s not my name, right? It’s just Zack.”

Kira cocked her head to the side, causing her long braids to slip over her shoulder. “Is it? Are you sure?”

Zack laughed. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”

He closed the door, yanked off his shoes, and made a beeline for the fridge. Kira already had one of his beers open on the table in front of her, so he neglected to offer her one. He grabbed a bottle off the top shelf. It was lukewarm. He spent a moment debating if that was better than half frozen before sighing and turning the fridge knob back a fraction of a degree.

“One of the biggest mistakes I ever made,” he joked as he trudged into his living room, “was giving you a key to my apartment.”

“Oh, come on,” Kira said brightly. “Someone has to keep you on your toes.” She batted her long eyelashes at him.

Zack mumbled something rude under his breath and plopped down on the other end of the couch. “So, what brings you here? No good parties going on?”

“Do I need a reason to visit my very best friend?” Kira flashed an innocent smile.

“No,” he answered, “but it would make me less paranoid if you had one.”

Pulling a hair tie off her wrist, Kira began piling her thick braids on top of her head. “Well, I didn’t hear from you all week, and I got concerned. If you manage to go three days without complaining about your job, it’s a miracle. I came by to see what’s up.” She finished tying her hair, reached for her beer, and took a casual sip. “So, any news?”

Zack didn’t buy the act for a second. “You’ve been talking to Alexa, haven’t you?”

Kira tilted her head, doe-like. “Of course not. Besides, you never tell her any of the good stuff.”

“Well, you clearly know something, which means she must have had a hand in it.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

Zack rolled his eyes. “Because it happened at work, so the only way you could know is if Alexa told you.”

“So, it’s a work thing, huh?” Kira grinned like the Cheshire cat. “Alexa just said you seemed weird. I didn’t know it was about your job until you told me. Since your secret’s out, you might as well spill.”

Zack opened and closed his mouth several times like a fish. “Fine. I’ll tell you. It’s . . . a problem with my job.”

“I gathered that much, darling.”

Zack rolled his eyes. Kira was one of few people with whom he felt comfortable talking about life as a PSO. That didn’t make her a patient confidante, however. “It’s this guy at work. I can’t stop thinking about him, and I need to figure out why so I can forget him.”