Lily
The inquisition started the next morning.
I peeked out the peephole of my apartment with Jen behind me, breathing down my neck.
“Is he there? Can you see any light through the crack in the floor?” she whispered.
I pulled my head back and sighed. “I can’t see anything.”
“I still can’t believe he moved in across the hall. It’s like one of those romance movies.” Her voice had a dreamy quality to it, which made my face sour.
“Or one of those psycho-killer ones where he collects women in his basement. Should I be worried? I should be, shouldn’t I?”
Jen shook her head. “Nope. I’m really good at reading people and I definitely didn’t get psycho-killer vibes off him. Plus, silly, apartments don’t have basements.”
I looked out the peephole again. “I can’t wait any more. I have to go, I’m gonna be late for work.”
I slowly removed the chain from the lock, trying to stay as silent as possible. Then I turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door, nodding goodbye to Jen. I took three careful, quiet steps out into the hallway.
No sooner was I free from the doorway than Jen slammed the door behind me, creating an echo all the way down the hall.
I froze mid step, my shoulders pinched up around my ears.
Fuck! There’s no way he didn’t hear that.
I started to rush down the hall, past his door.
But sure enough, less than a second later, his door flew open. He was dressed in his work boots and parka, holding two paper cups of coffee.
“Morning, Lily.” He spoke like it was totally normal and no big deal for him to be there. “Got you a cup of coffee. Holiday Blend, your favorite.”
I eyed the paper cup skeptically.
“Relax. It’s good, I promise.” He thrust it toward me. “You headed to the office?”
I took the cup. “Yeah. And I’m late, so I really should get going.”
“Perfect. I’m supposed to meet with Dan at ten. We can share a cab.”
Nine hours later…
Jen practically assaulted me when I got home, wanting to know what happened.
“So, tell me what happened! Did you guys make out in the elevator?”
I made a face. “Are you serious? I’m a little offended that you aren’t more worried that I might have a stalker.”
Jen blew raspberry. “Girl, I told you, he’s not a stalker. You’ve known this guy forever. I think it’s cute that he brought you coffee. He knows it’s your favorite!”
“It was morning. Everyone drinks coffee in the morning. Thanks for the door-slam by the way.” I frowned.
She shrugged. “Just trying to do my part. You know, since it’s the holidays and all. Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if you guys got together in time for New Year’s? Then you could kiss him when the ball drops.”
“Jen.”
“Yes.”
“Please stop.”
“Okay, but if I end up being right, you have to make me your lasagna.”
Rhys continued to scare me with coffee each morning, even when he wasn’t headed to my office. As much as I hate to admit it, after a while I started to expect and even enjoy them. Rhys was hard to hate. He wasn’t aggressive. Just…sweet.
Not that I was falling for him or anything.
Ugh. I was so confused.
“So where’s your studio, anyway?” I finally asked as we rode the elevator down to the lobby one day.
“Over in West Chelsea.”
“Oooh,” I teased. “Fancy.”
He glanced down and shook his head. “It helps to be near the galleries. The VIP’s like being able to come to the studio to experience a ‘real-life artist’.” He made air quotes with his fingers as we exited toward the street.
We paused out on the sidewalk, coffees in hand. It had been an unseasonably warm holiday so far with no snow in sight. Still, the air was crisp and cool, and the light of the morning was bright.
“Rhys, I am really proud of you. I don’t know if I’ve told you that. You’ve made something for yourself.”
He looked down at his cup and then locked his eyes with me. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
We stood in comfortable silence as pedestrians swirled around us.
“You gonna be home tonight?” he asked finally.
“Yeah, why?”
He offered a small smile and started to take a step backward, in the direction of his studio. “No reason. Have a great day at work, Liliana.”
Then he turned and left.