“Yeah,” she said. “So are you.”
They shared a prolonged look. Lily felt her cheeks get hot under Nick’s focused gaze. It made her feel like she was the only person in the room, or, more accurately, the only person standing on the corner of University Place and 14th Street. Nick’s eyes were a deep, chocolate brown. She could probably stare into them all night. But it was a foolish thought, because that wasn’t what friends did.
“Don’t stand in the middle of the fucking sidewalk!”
Lily and Nick both jerked to attention as the man with the hot dog cart pushed by, enveloping them in his aroma of beef and sauerkraut. “Fucking tourists,” he grumbled.
Lily burst out laughing, and Nick smiled. “I’ve traveled all over the world and that’s the first time I’ve ever been called a tourist.”
“First time for everything,” she said.
They reached their building and took the elevator up to their floor. It wasn’t lost on Lily that when she and Nick were together, she enjoyed spending time with him more than sticking to their plan to find her wedding date. If she were being honest, part of her wished Nick had just agreed to be her date in the first place. But now she knew why he’d turned her down and didn’t want to date. He had a thing about commitment. A wedding date didn’t equal a full-blown relationship, but maybe he was afraid of what one date could lead to. And ultimately, that was good for Lily. She didn’t need to waste time again pining after someone who was unavailable. She’d only end up getting hurt and be left standing with egg on her face, and she’d already had enough of that this year. She and Nick were friend-zoning each other, and that was fine. Well, it was fine as long as she didn’t have any more romanticized thoughts about staring into his eyes all night.
“I guess this is good night,” Lily said reluctantly as they reached her door.
At the same time Nick said, “I can give you my copy of The Nermana Chronicles. It’s in my apartment.”
“Okay,” she said quickly. Too quickly.
Jesus, could you be more of a thirst bucket?
She followed Nick down the hall, excited and intrigued that he was inviting her inside of his apartment. As he unlocked the door, he shot her a nervous glance.
“Um, so I’m still setting things up.”
She started to say Okay, but her words caught in her throat when she witnessed the vast emptiness inside Nick’s apartment. The door closed behind them in a loud thud and it echoed throughout the space. There was a lone yellow armchair in the middle of the room. He had a flat-screen television set up on two milk crates. A laptop was placed on the kitchen island, and stacks of books lined the living room wall. It looked like he barely lived here. Like he didn’t plan to stay.
“I have to get more furniture,” he said, biting his lip self-consciously. “I’ve never had a place to myself before. I’ve never been able to afford it before. I’m still getting used to the idea. I don’t know how to fill it.”
She felt bad that he sat inside like this every day. It lacked warmth. The sense of home.
“I wish you would have told me that when we were at IKEA. We could have at least picked out a nice, sturdy bookshelf.”
Laughing, Nick walked over to his stack of books and grabbed The Nermana Chronicles, bringing it back to Lily. “You can keep it for as long as you like.”
“You shouldn’t say that. I read so slowly now if I’m not on vacation. You won’t see this book for at least another six months.”
He shrugged, smiling. “That’s cool.”
Lily opened his door and stepped into the hallway. “Okay, whatever you say.”
Nick leaned against the doorjamb, watching her, his lips still spread in a smile. Her gaze fell to the stretch of skin visible where the hem of his shirt rose. She should definitely stop staring. She didn’t, though.
“You know that offer to come over and talk about The Fifth Season still stands,” Nick said.
Lily pulled her eyes back up to his face. “You’ll have to let me know when you’re free.”
“I can be free whenever you want.”
Lily paused. He’d be free whenever she wanted him to be? How could she possibly focus on being his friend, or trying to date someone else, when he said things like that to her?
Nick was still leaning, watching. And Lily was struggling for a response when the elevator doors opened, revealing Violet and her two enormous suitcases.
“Hi!” Violet said, beaming and pushing her sunglasses up onto her head. Only Violet was confident enough to wear sunglasses at night. She hustled toward Lily and Nick in her all-black ensemble. She glanced back and forth between the two of them, her eyebrows quirked in curiosity.