The cold was pretty bitter, but we bundled up and huddled together as we walked to a nearby coffee shop.

“Have you ever had red bean donuts?” Yo asked.

“I haven’t, but I’m intrigued.”

He grabbed my gloved hand and held it the rest of the way. The gesture was so sweet, he was so sweet, I kind of didn’t know what to do with myself. I thought I didn’t want this—dating, romance, obligations, and all the other stuff that went along with it—but I knew for sure I wanted Yo. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted with him, and that’s where things got tricky. Because he was my neighbor and because I really liked him, I didn’t want to hit it and quit it like I normally would. But there was no way this could end well, right?

We still had four more nights of Hanukkah and vacation; a lot could happen in that time. I might be sick of him. He might be sick of me. Or I just might keep falling.

The coffee shop Yo took me to was incredibly cozy, with a fireplace and deep, velvet couches that enveloped anyone who dared to sit on them.

I leaned back, vanilla latte in my hand and Yo at my side, with a plate of donut balls between us. “This is the life,” I sighed.

“I don’t do a lot of this,” he said.

I shifted to face him. “Going to coffee shops?”

“That, and just, I don’t know, slowing down. Relaxing. I don’t know if you noticed or not, but I tend to be kind of wired. I work a lot, and when I’m not working, I’m usually out, with my people. That’s why I took the week off, to force myself to stop it all and just be, you know?”

I watched his body as he spoke, twisting his paper cup round and round in his hands. He had his ankle resting on his knee, though I wouldn’t call it resting, actually. His foot was jiggling non-stop.

“How is that working out for you, Yo?”

He pointed to his moving foot. “See this? This is as relaxed as I get.”

I let myself sink further into the couch. “Not everyone can be a sloth.”

He picked up one of the little donut balls. “Open.” I obeyed and he put it by my mouth, so I took a bite. I was expecting red beans inside, but I was surprised that I actually liked the taste.

“Yum, I like that.”

Yo popped the other half in my mouth. “Avi knows the guy who makes these.”

I finished chewing and took a sip of my latte. “You guys are close, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s basically my brother. After I moved here from Israel when I was ten, he came over and spent summers with my family. We got into some shit together.” He shook his head. “But he moved here for good like six or seven years ago and I rarely go more than a couple days without seeing him.”

“I love that. My sister is ten years older, but we’re like two peas in a pod. She has the mouth of a sailor and the heart of an angel. I haven’t lived in Baltimore since I left for college a decade ago, but I hope I’ll find a job here because I love living so close to her and her family. Since our parents retired to Florida, I’ve felt, I don’t know, unmoored— but now that I’m here, I’m tethered again, and I like it. I’m more secure than I have been in a long time.”

His foot was still moving, but he never took his eyes off mine when I spoke. He listened and absorbed. This wasn’t the first time I noticed this about him. I liked the feel of his attention on me. I liked knowing that my words and thoughts were important enough for him to give me all of his focus.

Yo squeezed my leg. “I get it. I take it for granted most of the time, but there’s something about this time of year that really makes you reflect on family, you know?”

The warmth of his hand seeped into my skin and I had trouble responding. And he looked so earnest, like he had no idea the effect he had on me.

“I want to respond, but can I just kiss you first?” I said.

His hand tightened on my thigh and he inhaled deeply. “Yeah. Go for it.”

I brushed my lips over his. His mouth was warm from his coffee and I wanted so much more of it. Sliding my hand around his neck, I pulled his face closer to mine and nipped and nibbled at him. He tasted so delicious, I couldn’t get enough. We were in public, so I stopped myself just short of climbing on his lap and licking his face. But oh, did I lick his mouth. His tongue was just as warm as his lips and when it slid over mine, I couldn’t stop the little moans that escaped me.

Yo pressed his forehead to mine, cupping my cheek in his wide palm. He stroked his thumb back and forth over my bottom lip while we both tried to regain our breath.

“We just made out in a coffee shop,” I said.

“We did.”

I pulled back to meet his eyes and found them so full of warmth, I had to grin. “I just needed to state that for the record.”

“It’s been filed away in the official documents.”

I moved away from him. Otherwise I would end up straddling him. “This time of year makes me reflect on family too,” I said.

Yo choked on the sip of coffee he’d just taken. “I just had my tongue down your throat and you’re talking about family?”

“First of all, if you had actually put your tongue all the way down my throat, I would have hightailed it out of here. But your tongue reached the perfect depth in my mouth. Secondly, I said I’d respond after we kissed. We kissed, so I responded.”

Yo looked stunned and I liked it. His mouth had fallen open and his eyes were frantically tracing my face, like I was a puzzle he was desperate to put together.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

I chuckled. “Most likely more writing and lighting the candles. You?”

“I’m hoping I can take you to dinner.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear and met his eyes through my eyelashes. “Yeah, I’d like that. But can we finish our coffee and donuts first, before we plan our next meal?”

He picked up another red bean-filled donut ball and I opened immediately so he could pop it in my mouth, and then he popped one in his own mouth.

“Tell me about your favorite bike ride,” I said.

Yo sighed and smoothed his palms over his jeans. “I like going up hills, which I know sounds crazy, but it’s my favorite thing to do. Some people do something called “Everesting”, where they climb the same big hill over and over until they’ve reached the height equivalent of Mount Everest. I’ve done that once, but the monotony of it almost killed me.”

“Wow, that sounds intense.”

He nodded. “It definitely is. But I’m kind of into intensity.”

“I see that about you.”

He smiled softly. “Anyway, my favorite rides are the hilliest. It’s not climbing one hill over and over. I live for the feel of cresting a steep hill that I wasn’t quite sure I’d make it up. Like, when I get to the top, I can look back for a split second and say, ‘Holy shit, I did that’, you know? There’s this one hill that’s nicknamed ‘the wall’ because the incline is so steep, it looks like it goes straight up. There’s a route I’ve mapped out that has ten or twelve of those types of crazy hills. I never feel so high as when I make it through that ride.”

“What do you do after rides like that?” I asked.

“With any high, there’s always a crash. But I try to make the rest of the day just as amazing. Read a really good book, eat a lot of pasta, take a beautiful woman to bed if I have one in my life.”

I swallowed hard. I wanted to be around when he had one of those days. I could picture him coming home, soaked with sweat and his eyes on fire.

Without realizing it, I’d moved closer and closer to him while he talked, until we were knee to knee. The plate of donuts had disappeared, so there was nothing between us besides too many clothes.

“I never thought I’d find another person’s bike rides so...fascinating,” I said.

He caught my chin between his fingers. “You’d be surprised by how many fascinating topics there are in the world, if only people would listen.”

Yo made me feel warm and limp. His voice reminded me of cozy nights, snuggling under a blanket by a fire. It was familiar and soothing, yet it felt fleeting, like I had to listen to his every word closely because it couldn’t possibly last.

In the back of my mind, I wondered when I’d start to find Yo annoying, as I was wont to do with most men. In a week, would I look back on this conversation and roll my eyes?

But I just...didn’t think so. I hated to say it was because he was different. Yo was just human, like I was, like we all were. My reaction to him was what was different. I wasn’t crawling out of my skin to escape his stories. I didn’t feel patronized when he told me about things I didn’t know. I liked him in a way I hadn’t liked a man in, well, ever.

And that was scary as hell.

We stayed in the coffee shop for a long time, talking and talking, sometimes interrupted by more kissing. Then we went out for an early dinner, returning home to light the candles once again.

“Night five,” I said.

“Only three more nights.”

He stood behind me, his arms circled around my waist, my head resting on his chest as we watched the candles burn together. The worst part of getting closer to the end of Hanukkah was the more candles there were, the hotter the menorah became, and the quicker the candles burned out. The last night was always the most melancholy for me, and this year, I thought it would be worse; that would be the end of our excuse to be together every night.

Yo played with the hem of my shirt as we stood there quietly, until he’d worked his hand underneath to my bare skin. My stomach wasn’t my favorite part of me, but from the hardness I felt pressed against my ass, he didn’t agree. He didn’t try to touch my breasts or go any further. His fingers just glided back and forth across my skin until I was mesmerized both by the candles and him.

“Your skin is so soft. I knew it would be,” he murmured.

I didn’t respond, only tipped my head back to kiss the underside of his chin.

“I’ve never had a Hanukkah like this,” I said.

He kissed down the side of my neck. “Me neither. It’s been perfect.”

“It has,” I agreed.

When the candles finally melted away and all that was left were small plumes of smoke, I walked Yo to the door.

“Today was really good,” I said.

He cupped the back of my neck. “Really good.” Leaning in, he kissed me softly, chastely. I wanted so much more from him, but this felt like the right ending to tonight. Romantic, sweet, and a promise of what was to come.

He didn’t say goodbye or see ya, he just left me with that kiss and went back to his place, right across the hall. And I... Well, I went to my bed and thought about him for a long, long time.