“And let's just say we both needed cold showers afterward,” I mumble through my fingers, “before my mother knocked on the door.”
The room erupts in excited chatter as everyone talks at once.
“How was it?” Sophia asks with the kind of grin that suggests she already knows the answer.
“Mind blowing,” I admit, then immediately want to take it back. “But nothing penetrating. We kept our clothes on. Mostly.”
“Mostly?” Blair laughs. “Stella Rhodes, what exactly happened in that apartment?”
“A lot of heavy breathing and strategic positioning,” I say, my face burning. “And hands under shirts. And some very creative use of fabric friction.”
“Oh, my God,” Jess gasps. “Did you dry hump Brandon Grimaldi?”
“Don't say it like that!” I protest, though that's exactly what happened. “It was intense. And confusing. And we've managed to avoid each other all week with dumb excuses about work being busy. And now everything's weird, and I don't know what any of it means.”
“It means you have feelings for each other,” Blair says matter-of-factly.
“But what if Brandon doesn't feel the same way? What if he was just caught up in the moment because we were playing house for a week?” The fear I've been carrying around all week finally comes spilling out. “What if I'm reading too much into everything?”
“Stella,” Jess says, leaning forward with the kind of serious expression she usually reserves for investigative journalism, “I've known Brandon for years. I've watched him with women at parties, on dates, in casual hookup situations. He's charming, he's a gentleman, but he's also guarded. He doesn't let people get close.”
“He's close with all of us,” I point out.
“Not the same way he is with you,” Blair says immediately.
The other women nod in agreement, and I look around at their faces, feeling like I'm missing something obvious.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, he brings you actual meals when you're working late, not just coffee,” Sophia says, as she counts off on her fingers. “He remembers which client meetings stress you out and texts you good luck before them. He automatically saves you the seat next to him at group dinners, and when you're talking, he turns his whole body toward you like nothing else in the room matters.”
“Plus,” Jess adds, “you two have your own language. All those inside jokes and looks across the room. And Stella, you fix hiscollar without thinking about it, you steal food off his plate like it's yours, and when he's telling a story, you finish his sentences.”
“He has a key to your apartment,” Blair mentions.
“Well, he's my neighbor. That's more of an emergency thing.”
“He drops everything when you need help,” Natalie adds.
“That's just friendship,” I protest, but something in my chest is fluttering.
“No, honey,” Blair says softly. “That's not just friendship. That's a man who's completely gone for someone and doesn't know how to say it.”
“I don't know if you've noticed, Stella, but he's not dating,” Sophia points out. “He hasn't been on a real date with anyone else since you two became close. And until your mother started laying on the pressure, neither of you have seemed interested in meeting other people anymore.”
“That's not true. I went to trivia night with Mason. And I had asked Brandon to give me lessons on how to catch a guy's attention.”
“Did Mason ever text you?” Natalie asks.
“He did.”
“And?” Natalie pushes for more.
“It's complicated.”
“Complicated how?” Sophia asks.
“Well,” I say as I look around the room, all eyes on me. “His text came in while I was kissing Brandon. And it felt weird to reply. And then I may have told him I'd get back to him because I wasn't sure what was going on with Brandon.”
