Page 175
My head whips toward the front of my apartment as Lenny reaches for the knob.
"Where are you—"
The door slams shut.
"Going…"
I sigh.
For a second, I just stare straight ahead, trying to connect the dots.
Then, I walk toward the guest room again, just in case. My palm lands on the door as I drop my forehead to it. "Come on V," I whisper under my breath.
I rotate around, sliding my back down the wood until my ass hits the ground. Pulling my legs in, I prop my elbows on my knees and drop my head into my hands.
I sit like that, my neck bobbing as my temples bump against my thumbs for a minute, two—maybe five—thinking of all the reasons the hallway seems to be getting smaller by the second.
Eventually—thankfully—there's a knock on the door.
I jump up, racing to pull it open, surprised to see the white Drippy's box in Lenny's hands.
I stare at it, my eyes flicking to hers, then back to the box.
Then she lifts the lid.
And it clicks.
"You're a genius," I say, yanking her toward me.
I kiss her hard—maybe as hard as I ever have.
Lenny melts into me for just a moment before she pulls away, then bolts toward the kitchen counter.
She goes to work on the cardboard, tearing and folding something I can't quite make out until she asks for a pen.
When I hand her one, she scribbles something across the back of the torn lid—the Drippy's logo bright on the other side—then walks to the guest room and slides it underneath the door.
"What if she doesn't see it," I ask, holding my breath.
Lenny lifts one shoulder. "What if she does?"
We stand there for what feels like a lifetime, both of us staring at the thin strip of light peeking beneath the door.
The seconds stretch—ten, twenty.
I inhale deeply, and Lenny's eyes flit to mine.
"What if she—"
A soft shuffle stops me in my tracks.
We both straighten, gazes locked on each other, ears perked, listening for any sound that means it worked.
And when the lock clicks open, I take my first full breath since I heard it close.
I stride toward it instantly. "V?" I say instinctively before remembering she can't hear me.
The knob turns painfully slowly. And then the door cracks open just enough for one wide brown eye to peek through.
