Page 19 of Only Lovers in the Building

Even as far back as when she was dating Darren, Lily had trouble imagining their future. He was a Midwesterner, born and raised in Cleveland. He’d come to the East Coast for college but had no intention of staying. He studied podiatry and would take over his father’s practice someday. Lily, pre-law and political science, born and raised in Long Island, did not see where she fit in his plan. Now, thanks to Instagram, she didn’t have to rely on imagination. The images were there for her to peruse at will. They would have a lakeside wedding with a hundred or so guests. Darren, heavier than she remembered, hairline receding, would nonetheless look handsome in his tuxedo. He would tear up when she showed up in her wedding gown for a First Look moment captured by their photographer. He would vow to be forever by her side. They’d honeymoon in South Carolina. Who wouldn’t want that? It was all so wholesome. Why had she thrown it away?

“What do you want in general?” he asked. “No need to get specific.”

“I want something stable,” Lily replied. She’d never yearned for stability before. When drowning in a pool, you don’t dream of the sea. Her life was a testament to what a stable upbringing could produce. Her parents, both highly educated and firmly planted in the middle class, had given her brother and her everything required to succeed. What she’d always wanted, more than anything, was to shake things up.

Click!

Lily and Ben both caught the sound of the camera shutter. The photographer was a young woman in a lime-green bikini. Brown skin, loose curly hair. Camera dangling from her neck. She was stunning.

“Hey there! I’d kill to know what you two are chatting about.”

Lily held up Blurred Lines. “This!”

“It must be a banger,” she said. “Are you two buddy-reading? That’s so cute!”

“It’s an exclusive book club,” Ben informed her. “And we haven’t read a word.”

“So far we’ve only set some ground rules.”

“Exclusive! How sexy! I’m Sierra, by the way.”

Ben took over the introductions from there. “Lily, this is Sierra Jay, the resident vlogger. Sierra, this is Lily. She’s new.”

“Hey, Lily! Nice to meet you.”

“Same. Are you going to shoot video?”

“Just some photos. I’ve got to catch this gorgeous light.” She pointed to the far side of the pool. “I’ll be over there. You won’t even know I’m here.”

Sierra left them and got busy, setting up her tripods.

“She’s a swimwear influencer with a million followers on YouTube,” Ben said. “Bikinis are big business.”

“I could never,” Lily said. “I’m far too self-conscious.”

She went on a crash diet just to go on a corporate retreat and never once wore her bathing suit. There hadn’t been any time.

“That’s a shame,” he said. “If there was a Lily channel, I’d subscribe.”

“Be careful. You could get hooked.”

“Hey!” Sierra called out from the deep end of the pool. “Is that book any good?”

“Don’t know yet,” Lily replied. “It’s gotten a lot of hype. We’ll see.”

“What’s it about?” she asked.

The nuanced answer came from Ben. “The exploration of the generational divide, with an older female protagonist and a younger male love interest, through the lens of a contemporary romance embedded with a friends-to-lovers trope.”

“What the hell was that?” Lily asked.

“What? . . . You disagree?”

How would she know? She hadn’t read past the tagline: In matters of the heart, where do you draw the line?

“Is this how it’s going to be?” she asked. “You showing off your genius at every turn?”

Ben smirked. “I’ll try not to.”