He’s so close, so beautiful; all I would have to do is move and do something about it.And why not?I’ve got nothing to lose.
* * *
Make Your Choice:
what are you waiting for?kiss him(go to 18)
it’s too soon.I want a slow burn(go to 21)
go back(go to 9)
“He’s infuriating.I don’t know what I ever saw in him.”I’m out of breath, on my third trip from my old place to my new one, and I’m so exhausted that I could fall asleep in this lobby.
It wouldn’t be so bad; this bag of clothes would make a pretty good pillow.
“He’s a jerk,” Alice says.“You’re a thousand times better than Sterling Ross.”
The elevator opens, and I push my suitcase ahead of me with my foot, watching it roll in and promptly fall over.I manage to hit the button with my elbow and sag against the wall.I’m ready to lie down.
If only my mattress wasn’t still at my old apartment.
“I’d better go,” I tell her.“If I wake up early enough, I can finish this research and go back to never talking to him.”
“I’m telling you, I’m more than happy to fly out there and remove his balls for you.Some cultures consider them a delicacy?—”
“Goodbye.”I hang up, still laughing.
A hand shoots through the elevator doors before they close, and a man I’ve never seen before steps on.Soft brown hair, pink lips, and wired with enough muscle that I’m having trouble remembering my own name.He’s wearing a guitar strapped to his back and a smile that could weaken the knees of the coldest fish.
Heck, he’d probably make Sterling swoon.
“Let me help,” he says, kneeling down to right my suitcase.The chain around his neck jangles as he stands back up.“I’m Lucky, by the way.”
You’re gorgeous,is what I want to say back.
“Birmingham?”I ask instead, curious about his accent.
“No, but that’s the best anyone’s guessed before.Manchester.”
Ah.“Sorry, that was rude of me.I’m Mia.”
The elevator opens on seven, and we both step out, but when Lucky stops beside me, I realize he’s waiting for me to take him to my door.“Oh, um, I should probably take that myself.It’s not that I don’t trust you.It’s only that?—”
“I’m a strange old man?”He chuckles as he pushes his hair out of his face.
“You can’t be more than what, thirty-five?”
“You’re good at this.”
I shrug, but, yes, I am.It feels good to impress him.“I’m a reporter.It’s my job to notice things.”
Lucky passes me my suitcase, stealing a kiss on the cheek that lights up my nervous system.“Well, if you want to not be strangers, come by sometime.I’m in 704.”
“I’ll do that.”
I watch him leave, a little sway in his hips that I know he’s doing on purpose.
No, we definitely won’t be strangers.
