He held up his hands in surrender. “Fair enough.”
“Well, now that we’ve determined that Ada’s been body-snatched, let’s get back to it so we can all get to work on time tonight to watch the Miles/Ally drama unfold,” Eliza said cheerily.
“There’s not much left,” I assured them, deciding that moving on was the best idea.
Paper plates were thrown away in a trash bag near the door, and I handed Adleigh the keys to my old apartment so I could stay behind and put the pizza away before joining them.
Everyone filed out of the apartment fueled by pizza and craft beer, and I took a minute to breathe in the quiet solitude of my new place without anyone being in it.
“You would have been immediately irritated with Miles,” Charlie said from behind me.
“Holy shit!” I growled, whirling around and brandishing the greasy fork in my hand at Charlie.Who was notably silent during that whole dating conversation.
Charlie spared it a confused glance. “Awfully jumpy for a black belt, Kelly.”
I snorted a laugh. “Hardly a black belt, English. And you keep sneaking up on me. What do you expect?”
“That you could hear you’re not alone?” he said, moving closer. “A little situational awareness, perhaps? Maybe solid peripheral vision?”
“Maybe you should announce your presence,” I countered, then started looking around for something to put the pizza leftovers in. Only I hadn’t unpacked anything yet, so there wasn’t anything to find.
Charlie started consolidating the leftovers into one box. “Sorry if you’re disappointed about Miles.”
“Oh God, no. I was just joking around. I would never.”
“What?”
“He’s like five years younger than I am, Charlie. Also, we’re friends, but that’s it. Please give me some credit.”
“Oh.”
“Not that he isn’t a nice guy. I’m just... listen, the last guy I went out with literally threw up in the bushes—not on my shoes—and went home alone in the Uber because he’d accidentally gotten drunk at a whiskey tasting, trying to impress me. Since then, I’ve gotten excessively picky when it comes to dating. I never want to relive that ever again.”
Charlie countered with, “I don’t think Miles would do that.”
“Literally only one person on the planet would do that, and I ended up on a date with him. So I don’t exactly have the best luck. Know what I mean?” I bumped his shoulder playfully. “Besides, I tried dating guys from the bar, and it didn’t work out for me.”
He bumped my shoulder back. “Well, maybe we should try it again. See if the second time’s a charm.”
I looked over at him, turning my head sharply. “Excuse me?”
He reached over and tucked one of my shorter flyaways behind my ear. His fingers lingered against the curve of my jaw. His calloused hand was rough against the softness of my skin.
My heart jumped into a sprint, pounding against my chest as if it could beat down the door and escape. His head dipped. I licked suddenly dry lips. I wanted to rock onto my tiptoes and meet him halfway. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him toward me.
I wanted this kiss more than I wanted my next breath.
“Ada—"
“I’m going to use this bathroom,” Adleigh announced, breezing into the apartment. “The other ones are occupado.”
Son of a bitch.
Charlie and I jumped apart again, but I wasn’t sure Adleigh noticed us. Eliza was next through the door with a handful of clothes on hangers and a whole bunch of shoes tucked beneath her arms.
I took the opportunity to abandon the pizza and run.
fourteen
