“Especially to the sexiest guy in the building,” Dina replied. “It’s hilarious.”
Kelly Bateman nibbled at the crispy corner of her grilled cheese, still mortified by the words that had popped out of her mouth before she could stop them. Seriously, she was embarrassed as hell at her own behavior.
What was I thinking?
Amy had already changed into yoga pants and a cropped sweatshirt after her evening workout class, while Dina loaded the dishwasher with methodical precision. All the plates were lined up, then the saucers, and then the bowls. The top rack was the same, with all the glasses in neat rows like little soldiers. According to Dina, loading the dishwasher was a science, not an art.
Kelly groaned, shaking her head at her own idiocy.
"It was mortifying. Absolutely mortifying. And in my defense, he didn’t look like the sexiest guy in the building."
But he had looked pretty damn handsome, come to think of it. Sure, he’d been dressed rather haphazardly, but she could easily see his muscular frame and flat abs through his t-shirt. His scruffy beard couldn’t hide his square jaw or the dimples she’d glimpsed when he’d given her a reassuring smile that he wasn’t a serial killer or an axe murderer.
“Next time I see him, I’ll apologize,” Kelly said, giving up on her dinner. “Not that I expect to anytime in the future. This is the first time I’ve seen him since I moved in three months ago, after all.”
“If he’s the one we think he is, but I’m sure it is him,” Dina said. “As for not seeing him, he travels a lot. I’ve seen him with a suitcase many times.”
“Maybe it’s not who you were thinking,” Kelly said hopefully. “Maybe it’s someone completely different who doesn’t live in the building, isn’t a neighbor, and is sort of creepy.”
“It’s him,” Amy replied, assurance in her tone. “I wonder who was more embarrassed? You for saying it, or him for having the Cheeto?”
Definitely me.
"It was all because I was trying to shove that ridiculously overstuffed trash bag down the chute. We should take the trash out more often."
"I can’t argue that point," Amy agreed.
"Anyway, I'm there grunting and shoving when this guy walks in. I didn’t know who he was. He could have been some creep that wandered into the building. Or worse.”
“We have a doorman,” Dina pointed out. “Creeps shouldn’t be wandering the halls of our building, but of course, nothing is foolproof.”
"He offered to help, which was nice. But then,” Kelly paused dramatically, "I had to go and blurt out,You've got a Cheeto stuck to your shirt." She mimicked her own awkward delivery,voice rising with embarrassment. "Who says that to a stranger? I mean, who?"
Me, that’s who. Awkward much?
Amy and Dina burst into laughter again, their smiles wide.
"I haven’t laughed this much in days." Amy wiped a tear from her eye. "Not 'hello' or 'thanks' but 'hey, there's processed cheese bits on your clothes'."
"I panicked! He was standing there being all..." Kelly waved her hand vaguely, "tall and handsome, and maybe a roaming killer, I just said the first thing I noticed."
"Well," Dina said, still chuckling, "you would be surprised how few ax murderers there are milling about. Honestly, if movies are to be believed, we have a shortage."
"Not an ax murderer," Amy added, refilling her wine glass from the bottle on the kitchen island. "Probably just rich and sexy."
“Why do you think he’s rich?” Kelly asked.
“One, because I’ve seen him wear expensive suits and shoes,” Dina explained. “Two, because I’ve seen him with absolutely drop-dead gorgeous women. And three, because he lives in this building. Therefore…loaded.”
Kelly snorted. "We live here, and we're definitely not rich."
"I suppose he could be poor, but I doubt it," Amy teased, but then shrugged. "The only reason we live here is because my parents own the apartment. They rent it to us at a reasonable rate because they're convinced I'd be murdered within a week without a doorman and security. They believe ax murderers roam the streets of the city free and unchecked."
"Your parents are adorably paranoid," Kelly said.
Her own parents were simply paranoid without the adorable part. Her siblings weren’t much better. She currently had a text from her older brother, Rob, on her phone that she hadn’t replied to yet.
Frankly, she didn’t want to. He always found a way to belittle her life while sounding superior in all ways.
