“We’re cracking down on vacation rentals because I’m a single woman now that Thom isn’t here anymore. Andmysafety comes first.”
Nice how I’m not included in that.
“I guess you can’t be too careful these days,” Jack pipes in cheerfully, undeterred.
“Hey… one more thing,” Pam adds, almost as an afterthought. “I, uh…” She backtracks. “You started that #GoSolo thing?”
“Yeah?” I ask, almost fearing what she’ll say.
“A few of my friends are doing it.” Pam hesitates. “I think they’re being extreme or whatever, but… they seem to like it. They rave about it.”
“Really?” This might be the closest thing to a compliment Pam’s ever given me.
Jack clears his throat, and then I realize he’s still holding me, patiently, in his arms. Right. There’s this little bit of a problem about me doing #GoSolo and being cradled by the sexiest, sweetest man I’ve ever met.
“But isn’t he… against the rules?” Pam glances at Jack, a frown bending her mouth. “I don’t know much about it.Ihaven’t read any of it, or anything. Not my cup of tea.”
No, of course not. She makes it sound like dating problems are for lesser people.
“But…” She stares at him suspiciously. Annoyance flares in me. Pam does not get to tell me how I should do Solo February.
“Good to see you, Pam,” I cut her off. “We’ve got to go.”
She stares at us a beat, and then eventually ducks back into her condo as we continue up to my floor. Soon enough, I’ve forgotten about Pam. It’s hard to worry about my downstairs neighbor when Jack is cradling me gently to his chest. When we reach my door, he eases me gingerly down on my feet. I unlock my door and slide it open. I hesitate, hand on the knob. I glance up at Jack.
He stares at me as if he’s considering adding me to hisdessert menu. Just slather some whipped cream on me, and I’ll happily hop on your plate, mister.
“Sorry about my neighbor. She’s just… a lot.”
“It’s fine.” He shrugs.
“And thanks again. For the ER visit. For the door-to-door service.”
“It’s not a problem.” And looking at him, right in his warm brown eyes, I believe him. That he really doesn’t mind helping me.
“I—”
“Hey—”
We both speak at the same time. Then we both giggle awkwardly. I want to climb him like a tree and ride him like a tire swing.
“Go ahead,” Jack says, a blush creeping on his high cheekbones.
“I just want to say thank you. I mean, really,” I say. “And… uh…” In the heat of my moment of gratitude, I reach up on the tiptoe of my good foot and kiss him.
Brazenly.
Before I can even think about it. Because this man has carried me up three flights of stairs. Because he’s the sexiest man I might have ever met, and because he’snice,like, deep,good personnice, and because damn it, I want to. I’ve wanted to kiss this man since I first saw him frosting baked goods at Margo’s.
It’s brief. It’s closed-mouthed, but I still feel a bolt of lust run straight through me. Or maybe that’s static electricity. In any case, I kiss him, and then I withdraw. He blinks at me, surprised, but I duck into my apartment like a coward, and leave him standing there on my doormat.
Eleven
JACK
Going solo might not always be easy, but it will always be worth it.
—SOLO FEBRUARY CHALLENGE
