Penny joined me in the kitchen on Friday morning after she got out of her shower. Her hair was wrapped up in a pink towel, and she’d already put on her makeup. I nodded at the counter. “There’s fresh coffee in the pot if you want some.”

“Hell yes, I want some,” Penny said, grabbing a mug and filling it to the brim with dark, steaming coffee. She brought it over to where I was sitting at the kitchen island and sat down on the stool beside me. She leaned her elbows on the granite surface and peered over at what I was doing on my laptop. “What are you looking at?”

“Apartments,” I said, turning the screen to her so she could see the one I was looking at. It was a small studio suite. The living room was also the bedroom and the kitchen. The bathroom was tiny with a stand-up shower and no bathtub. I loved baths, but I was going to have to make certain sacrifices if I wanted to make it on my own in this city.

Penny arched an eyebrow. “I think you can do better than that. And look how far away it is from me!”

“I know. But it’s within my budget, which is hard to find, and it has a cute little patio. And it’s not too far from my work.”

“It would take you an extra twenty minutes to get to work from there than it does from here,” Penny said flatly.

“Yeah. I know. Compromises, Penny. Compromises.”

“You’ve made enough of those. I’m telling you. Just stay here until you find the place that meets all your needs. I like having you here. I’m in no rush to get rid of you. And if that ever changes, I’ll tell you. I’m honest. You know that.”

I laughed. “That you are.”

“So forget that place. Don’t stress about having to find something right away. You’ve only been here for a month and a half. You have plenty of time.”

“Two months,” I said.

“Huh?”

“I’ve been here for two months now.”

“Oh. It doesn’t feel like it. It feels like it’s only been a week.”

“I appreciate that, but it feels like two months for me. I miss having a bedroom. And a bed. I want to have a place that’s mine.”

“I know, babe,” Penny said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “You’ll find one in time. Waiting sucks, but soon something will pop up that checks all your boxes and you’ll be able to have everything you need. Hopefully, it will be close to me.”

I smiled. “Hopefully.”

I sighed and closed the laptop. “Well, I have to get ready for work. Are you done in the bathroom?”

“Yep. Knock yourself out. I’m going to make some eggs. Want me to whip some up for you, too, for when you’re done in the shower?”

“Sure,” I said as I slid off the stool and padded down the hall to the bathroom. I started the shower and stripped out of my new silk pajamas. I stepped under the hot water and let it kiss my skin, wishing the water droplets were Derek’s lips.

I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. He followed me around in my dreams and my waking hours like a sexy ghost. When I woke up, I’d feel the lingering press of his hands on my hips, my ass, and the heat of his tongue on my clit.

Waking up horny every single damn day had been a big change of pace for me. So had being forced to take care of myself before getting out of bed. If I didn’t, I was cursed with dirty thoughts, wet panties, and tingly skin until I took care of things.

The shower was refreshing. When I got out, I slapped on all my favorite moisturizers and went back out to the kitchen to sit with Penny and eat our eggs. She’d thrown in cheese and peppers and onions and sprinkled the top with raw cherry tomatoes. They were delicious. I wolfed the whole thing down in less than five minutes and then went to my bag to get my makeup out.

Penny let me sit at her vanity in her room to put my face on while she dressed for work. She hated having to dress reserved for the bank, but she did it with tasteful style. I slapped on some red lipstick, did winged eyeliner, and finished it off with some mascara.

“You look hot,” Penny told me as she buttoned up her pastel blue blouse. The color looked amazing on her with her blond hair and tanned skin.

“Thank you,” I said, getting up from the vanity to check myself out. “I need to make more money if I’m going to take this whole moving out thing seriously. And if you’re willing to let me stay longer, I’ll take advantage of it and build up a nice little savings account for emergencies.”

“Good idea,” Penny nodded. She stooped down and grabbed a pair of black pumps from the back of her closet. She slid them on and glanced up at me. “So, have you heard from him recently?”

“Derek?”

“No. The other guys I could be talking about,” she said dryly.

“Sorry. No. I haven’t. It’s really annoying. I keep thinking my phone is vibrating, but it’s just my imagination playing tricks on me. That’s how badly I want to talk to him.”

“Why don’t you just call him, then?”

I was surprised by her question. “You actually want me to reach out to him? As in you think it’s a good idea that I’m talking to him.”

Penny went to her dresser and opened up the old wooden jewelry box on top. She grabbed her bracelet, clipped it on, and slipped a pair of dangly silver earrings in her lobes. “I never said that. But if you’re agonizing over it, you should just call. It’s not the nineteen fifties anymore, babe.”

That was true. I could call him and take the initiative. But I was also afraid to hear from him. What if things had changed? What if he’d lost interest?

“You won’t know until you call,” Penny said in a singsong voice as she went out the door and down the hall to douse her hair in hairspray one last time.

It felt good to be back on the job. I’d asked to slow things down a bit and take some afternoon shifts. I was a little worried about jumping back into the busy nights and had ridiculous paranoia about The Hand sitting and waiting for me at one of my tables. It was better to start early and leave at five.

At the end of the workday, I grabbed my purse and cardigan from my locker. Then, I went out through the back door to the parking lot. The sun was shining. It was a beautiful evening.

It got even more beautiful when I got to my car to find Derek leaning up against it like a fallen angel.

“Hey there, good lookin’,” he said, looking me up and down.

I couldn’t contain the smile that stretched my cheeks. “Hi.”

Derek pushed himself off the car and walked over to me. He put his hand under my chin to tilt my face up and kissed me. I giggled when his lips touched mine, and he smiled too. It felt really nice to smile with him. His kiss felt better than the warmth of the sun on my cheeks.

“What are you doing here?” I asked a little breathlessly when we parted.

“I wanted to take you out.”

“Out? Like on a date.”

“Exactly like a date.”

My smile stretched my cheeks even more. I knew I was probably bright red. But I didn’t care. I nodded and looked down at myself, wishing I’d brought a change of clothes. “I would love that,” I said as I looked up at him. Damn the dress. I would have a good time regardless.

“Good. Because I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.” He took my hand and led me a few stalls over to his truck. He opened the door for me.

I peered up at him. “What would you have done if I did say no?”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“But if I did?”

He pursed his lips. “I’d throw you over my shoulder and steal you away and force you to drink margaritas with me.”

I giggled as I climbed up into the truck. He reached across my body and buckled me in. His fingers grazed my hip and heat shot straight to my pussy. He patted my bare thigh before closing the door and walking around the hood of the truck.

Good lord, he was too sexy. His brow was furrowed against the brightness of the sun, and his muscles shifted under his tanned skin. He was wearing dark jeans and a white T-shirt, and all I wanted to do was peel it all off him as he got into the driver’s seat and started the truck.

“So. Margaritas?” I asked.

He grinned. “I hope you like them.”

“There are people out there who don’t like margaritas? They can’t be trusted.”

He threw his head back and laughed as he pulled out of the parking stall. The sound of it made me come undone. I started giggling and couldn’t take my eyes off him as he grinned. How was it possible that a man like him could ever be a danger to me? It was simply ludicrous.

Derek brought me to a little Mexican restaurant with a patio full of picnic tables and yellow umbrellas. He ordered us chicken and fish tacos to share, and we both ordered a margarita. When they arrived, I was astounded at the size of the glasses they came in, but I didn’t hold back from pulling it toward me and sipping it back through the neon orange straw.

Derek arched an eyebrow. “You look even hotter with that in your mouth.”

I giggled. “Stop it.”

“I don’t want to. I mean it. You’re fucking with my head, Evelyn. Big time.”

I paused. Was that his way of telling me he cared about me too? It sure felt like it. “There’s a chance you might be on my mind a lot,” I said carefully.

“Oh, yeah? What am I doing while I’m on your mind? Are you picturing me naked?”

Heat rushed up my neck to my cheeks. I distracted myself by taking a big gulp of my drink. He was laughing at me as I tried to collect myself. “Maybe you are. Maybe you aren’t. You’ll never know.”

“I feel like I know,” he said coyly.

I rolled my eyes. “Penny was right. You are trouble, aren’t you?”

Derek leaned in close. “You have no idea.”

More fire below my belly. Damn it. He was such a tease. He had to know what he was doing to me. He just had to. He was too good-looking for his own good, and I was only more attracted to him as his playful personality started to reveal itself.

We sat and laughed and sipped our drinks until the sun went down and all the other tables emptied out. The lights strung above from a lamppost to the roof of the tiny Mexican restaurant flickered on, and the vibe shifted from summertime casual to romantic evening really quickly.

I knew I was done for when he ordered us another round of margaritas and a sexy Spanish song started playing through the outdoor speakers.