“Under the cloak of darkness,” I laugh. “Okay, I’ll make you a deal. If you leave the apartment without headphones, and say ten words to literally anyone else besides me and theguy who delivers your acai bowls, I’ll text Liv and at least give her the option of seeing me again.”
“The guy who delivers my acai bowls leaves them on my doorstep,” Eli says, draining the last of his coffee.
I huff out a laugh. “Alright, let’s sweeten the deal. If you chicken out, I get to drive Sally on my date tonight.”
“Now you’re full of confidence on a second date.”
I shrug, “I’m calling it our first.”
“You’ve already slept with her.”
“So we have a deal?” I ask, holding out my hand and ignoring his comment.
Eli shakes my hand, but his eyes flick toward his office in the apartment’s second bedroom. Like suddenly, he has work to do.
Chapter 11
Liv
“Then he just left?”
Andy hops up on my desk and swings her feet, picking up a Zelda action figurine I keep on my desk for good luck.
“Andy, it was a fake date.”
“That ended in a mind-blowing orgasm.”
I try to keep my eyes on my computer, but I know my smirk gives me away.
“Multiple orgasms?!?” She glances across our living room. “I’ll never be able to look at our front door again without thinking about you getting railed against it.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” I try to resume typing.
“No, thank you, Lemon Pie, you’re my sex hero. While I was spooning a labradoodle, you were crashing the custard truck in our kitchen.”
I nearly spit out my oat milk latte, choking on a laugh. “I—” I gasp, wiping my mouth, “I don’t even know what that means—” Another burst of laughter escapes. “But please,pleasedon’t ever say it again.”
“What? You got your butter churned. Good for you.” Andy shrugs and jumps off my desk. “When do you plan to board the boney express again?”
I can not catch my breath, but shake my head, “I don’t think I’ll be boarding…” I wave my hand, “I don’t think I’ll be seeing him again at all.”
“I thought you had a good time?” she asks, pulling open the refrigerator door and emerging with a handful of grapes and a Diet Coke.
“I did.” The memory of the night rushes in—how he actually listened when I talked about my work, how easily he opened up about his family. And I can still feel his hands on my body, the way he seemed to know exactly what I needed at every moment of the night. “But he seemed pretty ready to leave after we were, um…finished.”
“So, is he upstairs with the recluse right now?” Andy asks, heading for the door.
“Adeline Vale, so help me god.”
“What? I want to see inside that guy’s apartment…do you think there’s like a sex dungeon?”
“A dungeon on the third floor? You know, those two are the nicest apartments in the building.”
“Yeah, and your man is up there.”
“He’s not my man. It was a one-night thing.”
“So let’s count this off,” Andy says, ticking her fingers. “He agrees to fake date you, does actual homework, and now knows more about you than I do. Then he stands up to the Wicked Witch of Nob Hill, takes you out for arguably the best pizza in the City, and then makes you come in our entryway—twice—andyoudon’t want to see him again?”
