“Oh, no, you will not,” Ari said firmly, cutting off her roommate as she slid her feet into her sandals. “I am giving you exactly zero seconds alone with him to embarrass me.”
“Well, I never!”
Ari rolled her eyes and swung open the door. “Hey, I’ll be ready in two…” Her words fell away as she laid eyes on a meticulously assembled display of Lego flowers and, holding them, the absolute sexiest clothed version of Judah Klein she had ever seen.He looks like he walked off the fucking cover ofEsquire, she thought, just as he said, “Good God,” under his breath.
“I’ll take that,” said Liana, sailing in between them and carefully snatching the Lego sculpture. “You two just keep staring at each other until one of you bursts into flames.”
“Ignore her,” Ari murmured, fiddling with the sleeve of her dress just to have something to do with her hands. “She was raised by wolves.”
“Maybe,” he said, laughing lowly, “but I still feel like I might burst into flames. You look… wow.”
Ari had to bite her tongue to resist suggesting they stay in. “Is it gonna be distracting? I can change.”
“Don’t you dare.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his thumb lingering on her jaw. “I’ll keep myself under control. Are you ready?”
“Just need my ba—”
“Got it.” Liana thrust her clutch into her hands. “Now, please, get out. You guys are gross. And I mean that in the most loving, supportive way possible.”
They laughed and said their goodbyes, but half a second after the door closed, Ari backed up against the hallway wall and pulled Judah down for a hungry, needy kiss that quickly turned desperate, dirty, his tongue stroking hers as if they were back in his apartmentwith him on his knees, craving a taste of her. His hands gripped her hips so tightly she knew he was using superhuman strength to stop himself from shoving them up her skirt, but she wanted it so badly that she was tempted to beg for some much-needed relief right then and—
Bing!The elevator bell dinged, and they jumped apart, hands flying to fix their appearances. Judah’s meticulously styled hair was bordering on a disheveled mess, and she knew she must look like a disaster, but it was just so hard to care about any of it.
“Yeah,” Judah murmured as he steered her down the hall with a firm hand on her lower back. “Five weeks was definitely not enough.”
“Migdal? Seriously?” Ari paused to look up at the wooden sign as he closed the cab door behind her. “Judah, you know we can just get pizza, right? Do I give off a ‘must take me to the most expensive kosher restaurant in Manhattan’ vibe?”
He shrugged. “I was in the mood for a steak. Besides, you’re not exactly dressed for pizza.”
“I don’t even know if I’m dressed for Migdal. Judah, I—”
“Arielle.” He turned to her. “I know it’s overkill. I promise, I know it’s all overkill. I know you don’t need it, and if you give me a next time, I’ll be more than happy to eat pizza with you on my couch. But right now, I’m excited for a date for the first time ever, so I made it at my favorite restaurant and let Akiva dress me and spent way too long putting together Lego flowers. Please, just let me be a dork about this.”
Her smile in response, the way she looked down at the sidewalk, was so uncharacteristically bashful, it made his heart thud in his chest. “Okay,” she said quietly, and he held the door open so she could walk inside, his eyes glued to her gently swaying hips.
As soon as the hostess saw them walk up, she called someone over to show them to their table without so much as requiring a name. Steak wasn’t the only reason Judah liked Migdal; he also appreciated their professionalism and discretion. Mira had loved going out to eat specifically because she got a kick out of people stopping by their table, but all Judah wanted to do that night was get to know the obscenely gorgeous woman on his arm.
“So this is a date,” she said with a teasing grin as he held out her chair. “What does onedoon a date, exactly? Is this the part where we share our hopes and dreams?”
“Depending on who set us up, this is the part where we play Jewish Geography for a while or talk about what we’re looking for in a partner. I think we can skip those.”
“Humor me.” Ari lifted a glass of ice water to her lips. “Whatareyou looking for in a partner, Judah Klein?”
His eyes flickered over her cleavage, and his lips turned up in the ghost of a smile.
“Judah.”
“Arielle.”
“You asked me on a date. Isn’t this the kind of thing you’re supposed to do on a date?”
“My first dates are usually in hotel lobbies or coffee shops.” He draped the linen napkin over his lap. “I generally haven’t seen them naked or spilled my guts to them repeatedly. This isn’t exactly a normal first date.”
“But—”
“Have you had a chance to decide?”
Neither of them had even noticed the server approach. “No, sorry,” Ari said, sounding flustered as she picked up her menu. “We need another minute.”
