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Eddy and Violet decided to go to a bar, so Lily was alone as she walked into Violet’s fancy Union Square apartment building and got onto the elevator, pressing number 14 for their floor. It was a newer building with a housing lottery, so Violet had gotten lucky and scored a deal on the rent, and Lily was happy to temporarily live on Violet’s pull-out couch. She loved Union Square. It was one of her favorite parts of the city.
Lily remembered the granola bar in her tote bag, and she rummaged for it, gasping in delight once it was located. Hiding at the party meant she hadn’t had much time to eat. She took a large chomp, grateful and starving. Then she jumped when someone suddenly shouted, “Hold the elevator!”
A hand shot out, keeping the elevator doors from closing. And then Lily saw him.
Her neighbor who lived down the hall.
He was slightly out of breath as he stepped into the elevator, and he flashed a quick smile at Lily, so beautiful it was nearly blinding. She tried not to openly stare at him. But that was difficult. Because he was fine as hell.
Fine as Hell Neighbor was tall. At barely five three, Lily had to tilt her head back a little to look at his face. And look she did at his smooth, medium brown complexion and his full goatee that actually connected. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt and blue jeans with black Vans.
“Thanks,” he said, running a quick hand over his hair that was cut into a fade. “I appreciate you.”
“Um,” Lily uttered, her mouth full of granola. “You’re welcome, um, yeah.”
She did this every time she saw him, mumbled nonsensical replies. She was still looking at him now as he leaned back against the elevator wall, his posture indicating a slight aloofness about him. His limbs were long and muscular. Sometimes when she was lucky, she ran into him as he was leaving the gym on the ground floor of their building, and his skin would be damp and glistening with sweat. Her dignity was the only thing that kept her from drooling. She swallowed thickly at the thought now and glanced away. His presence always left her senses prickling with awareness. She felt like maybe they’d met before in passing but she couldn’t remember when or where. He’d definitely popped up in her dreams a few times, dressed as an old-school, sexy elevator operator with a double-breasted jacket and matching hat.
Her confusing infatuation with him was low-key embarrassing because, in reality, they’d never exchanged more than polite greetings.
The elevator door closed, and they were alone. Lily’s thoughts clambered over one another as she tried to think of something to say.
“Nutri-Grain,” Fine as Hell Neighbor said, pointing at the bar in Lily’s hand that she’d forgotten existed. “I love those. I hate when the crumbs get everywhere, though.”
She struggled to form a response and look at him at the same time. She glanced down, and that was when she noticed he was carrying a thick paperback. Fine as Hell Neighbor always had a book or a notebook when she saw him. Once, he’d been holding a copy of The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin, and Lily had been too tongue-tied to mention that it was one of her favorite books. She angled her head slightly, trying to get a better glimpse at the book he held now, when the elevator abruptly stopped on the seventh floor. An East Asian man, who looked to be in his fifties, stepped inside, carrying a tray of cupcakes. He sighed in visible relief at the sight of Fine as Hell Neighbor.
“You’re just the person I wanted to see,” the man said, hurrying to her neighbor’s side. “I need your advice. It’s a big night for me.”
“What’s up, Henry?” Fine as Hell Neighbor eyed the cupcakes. “Did you make these yourself? Can I have one?” He reached for the tray and Henry slapped his hand away. Lily laughed, and her neighbor’s gaze shot to her. His lips spread into an embarrassed grin, and Lily’s brain short-circuited.
“No, these aren’t for you,” Henry said. “They’re for Yolanda. Today is her half birthday. I made these for her to celebrate. And because I am going to ask her out to dinner.”
“For real? That’s what’s up, Henry!” Fine as Hell Neighbor patted the older man on the back. “It’s about time. She’s been giving you hints for a while.”
Henry shook his head and pulled nervously at the collar of his shirt. “What if she says no? What if she hates the cupcakes? She said cupcakes were her favorite dessert, so I found this recipe on Google. I don’t like sweets, so I didn’t try the cupcakes myself. Remind me what to say. I forgot everything you told me. I’m not a ladies’ man like you. You talk to women so easily.”