She laughed and waved him on, but honestly she wanted to procrastinate too. She wasn’t quite finished with her normal Sunday tasks, but then again she had all day.
When she went back into the apartment, Everett had moved to the computer, though he still had his comforter wrapped around him as he played a game with his headphones on. He jumped when she tapped him on the shoulder. “Want to drive over to Frostee’s this afternoon? We haven’t gone out for ice cream in a while.”
He glanced at the computer. “Maybe. I’m gonna be online with Mikey later.”
“I could call his mom and ask if he can come over to play.”
“I’m not five, Mom. Don’t be weird.”
She nodded and hoped to God she could comply.
Lily was turning away when he added, “You don’t have to be here all the time. You can go do something on your own.” He shot her a meaningful look, as if he were thinking of her not-quite-a-date explanation for that dinner.
She felt for all the world like a junior high kid trying not to look pitiful in front of the high schoolers, which didn’t make any sense.
“Maybe I will,” she said defensively, but he only nodded and raised his eyebrows in encouragement.
Sheesh.
Goaded into not being a loser, Lily went to the kitchen and filled two of her favorite mugs with coffee before heading outside.
“I brought you a cup of procrastination!” she called as she came around the corner of Alex’s building. He hauled a box out of his SUV and set it on the cement before popping up with a smile. He hadn’t even opened the unit yet, so she hoped she hadn’t too obviously rushed over.
“Coffee? My God, you’re a genius.”
“Just black, hope that’s okay.”
“Anything that hasn’t been sitting in the kitchen of a break room for fourteen hours is absolutely perfect.”
She tipped her head toward the box. “Moving more stuff in?”
“Oh yeah. You know. Sorting through it to see what we should keep. Want to sit down?” He gestured to the now-empty cargo area of his vehicle.
“I should probably get back . . .”
“Wow, you truly suck at procrastinating.”
She laughed and gave in, handing him her cup so she could scoot herself up. He settled a few inches away.
“Thanks again for dinner,” he said.
“It was really nice.” She meant it. She’d been thinking about him, she’d even searched for him online that morning.
His byline photo had looked so serious she’d immediately laughed. He hadn’t looked that solemn even when she’d told him she couldn’t help him with the gate. When she scrolled through a few pages, she noticed he mostly covered local politics, though he’d written several pieces on health and community. He’d also covered a lot of the protests and counterprotests of the past few years, and she cringed as she read about him needing stitches on his scalp after a bottle was thrown.
Alex was older than she’d thought, which she often found with men. No childbearing years to spring back from, and once they got wrinkles, they could grow a beard. She’d pegged him in his midthirties, but he was forty-one. That boyish grin did a lot for him.
Now she worried he’d searched for her too. After all, he was a reporter.
She’d returned to her maiden name, but how hard would it be to see past that? Though Brown was a common surname. She’d stumbled into good camouflage, though she’d really meant it as a public declaration of her rejection of Jones.
“How’s school going?” he asked.
Lily groaned. “My final is this week. I can’t wait to be done. Two more classes and I’ll have my degree.”
He tilted his head to watch her, a half smile lifting up one corner of his mouth.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. You just look very happy when you say that. Proud.”
Her face heated with self-consciousness. “Yeah, I guess I am proud.”
“You should be. I certainly didn’t work full time and raise a kid while I was in school, so I’m impressed. It’s a big deal.”
Jesus, he was sweet. “Thanks.” She felt a blush heat her cheeks, but the rest of her body prickled with a more complicated tension. Pleasure at his attention, and a kind of animal impulse to run and hide.
“Are you wrapping up here?” she asked, gesturing toward one of the boxes.
“No, still slowly going through things, taking my time. I don’t want to get rid of anything important, so I work here for a while, then review a few things with my uncle. We always wind up talking, so it’s slower than it should be. What are you up to today?”