He turns toward me, hazel eyes staring directly into mine. The white shirt on his back hugging his shoulders and biceps like a perfectly-sized glove. He extends his arm to the side, an obvious way to showcase how toned he is, and twists his arm. He bends it and rubs the outer part of his forearm near the elbow.
“Working great. Thank you for asking,” he says, lifting the corner of his mouth into another smile.
I nod, glancing at the elevator screen. Should I be concerned we haven’t reached our floor yet? I mean, what the hell is taking this thing so long? It doesn’t ever take this long.
“Almost there,” he coos as if he read my thoughts.
“Yeah, doesn’t it seem like it’s taking a long time?” I blurt out.
Liam’s Adam’s apple bobs as he tilts his head down with a chuckle.
“Can’t stand being alone in an elevator with me, Dem?”
Alone in a closed box with the way my brain has been playing dumb when it comes to him—yeah, probably not the place I should be.
“No, this is awful.” I tilt my head at him.
His hand clenches his chest as he makes a pained—yet sarcastic—sound.
My phone dings in my hand, and I attempt to silence it, but it doesn’t deter Liam from darting his eyes to my hand.
He says nothing as it dings for a second time, and I shove it into my bag on my shoulder.
“Popular,” he finally says.
He would be physically unable to say nothing.
I shake my head at him. “You have no idea.”
His scoff is cut short by the sound of the elevator doors opening on our floor.
“After you.” He extends his hand, gesturing for me to walk out first.
“Thank you.”
His footsteps are heavy behind me, and I do my best to walk at a pace that keeps up with his long strides so I’m not holding him up. I pass his apartment on the way to mine, and just before I’m at my door I hear him call my name.
I turn my head to see him standing outside his door, keys in his hands as he looks down at them and then up at me.
“What are you doing for dinner?”
My eyes widen and I freeze in place.
“Uh, I hadn’t gotten that far yet. My train of thought ended here.” I hold up the cup of hot coffee in my hand.
Liam shifts on his feet, taking a few slow steps my way.
“Let me get us dinner.” He tips his chin up in my direction. “You have no plans. I have no plans. Sounds like we need each other.”
“Um.” I nearly stutter the simplest word. “Y-yeah, that would be okay,” I say, scratching a non-existent itch on my neck.
His tongue darts between his lips before he smiles, backpedaling a few steps.
“Have you had Alba’s Kitchen?”
My eyebrows crease. “What?”
“Alba’s Kitchen—have you had their food before?”
