Page 68 of Only Lovers in the Building

“This is why I don’t do casual,” Lily said. “Those agreements are tricky and typically expire after three months.”

“Do they? No one told me.”

“At which time, the parties must return to the negotiating table and decide either to keep it casual or hash out a new deal.”

He offered her a grim smile. “I knew I should’ve hired a lawyer.”

“How long were you seeing her?” Lily asked. It had to have been a while if the whole building knew about it.

“We would’ve hit the six-month mark in June,” he said. “But there’s more to it than that. Bella is Rox’s best friend’s younger sister.”

“No!”

“Yes,” he said gravely. “And my friend, too, I should add. What do the rules say about that?”

“It’s prohibited by statute,” Lily said. “Unless, of course, you’re damn sure of your feelings.”

“I had feelings, but not to the degree that she had.”

Lily asked one final question. “Do you still have feelings?”

When they locked eyes this time, she was trapped.

“You know I don’t,” he said.

“I only know what you tell me, Ben.”

“I’ll tell you this,” he said. “I can’t have another relationship blow up in my face.”

Most of her relationships had ended without fanfare. She blocked the man’s number and deleted any photos. Afterward, she’d order in and open a bottle of wine. Lily wasn’t one to key anyone’s car or cause a fuss at their place of employment. She wouldn’t have taken time out of her busy day to drop off an ex’s personal items, either. Anything left behind at her apartment would be donated to charity or disposed of responsibly. Valuable pieces were shipped to the owner with a handwritten note. Her mother had raised a lady.

Ben packed up the box. “That thing Socrates said about the unexamined life? Turns out he was on to something. My father could write lyrically about power dynamics and politics and never once look within. That’s what I’m trying to do this summer. Take some time to sort myself out.”

“Sounds to me we’re on the same quest,” Lily said.

“You’re going to be fine, Lily,” he said. “My life is an electric storm. Pulling someone else into it would be criminal.”

“Don’t be dramatic.”

“It’s true. I can’t risk it,” he said. “Not after the mess with Bella. If I’ve learned anything, it matters how things end.”

Lily heard the warning; nevertheless, she persisted. “We wouldn’t have to worry about that. I’m leaving at the end of summer.”

Her words were met with silence. He was thinking it over, analyzing every possible outcome. What if it weren’t that complicated? In six weeks, she’d be gone. It would hurt, but she’d be back in her city and would get over it.

“In other words, we’d keep it casual,” he said finally.

“Yes,” she said, keeping her tone as casual as possible. “And we wouldn’t have to return to the negotiating table because I’d be gone. It would be just for the summer.”

“Where have I heard that before?”

Well, she had more in common with the horny spring breakers of his youth than she’d initially thought.

“You don’t do casual,” he reminded her.

“You’re right.” She let out a defeated sigh. There wasn’t a casual bone in her thirty-year-old body.

Ben pushed back his chair and left the table to retrieve his backpack. From it, he withdrew a copy of Around Midnight. “For you.”