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The main part of the house was a four-bedroom living space that had been rented out over the years to various groups of people. Once, apparently, it had been a fraternity house. Once, it had been lived in by this local band. All of these people used to throw massive, raging parties at the place, often featuring live music.
Niles didn’t live in that part of it. He lived in the upper apartment, in the attic, which was a one bedroom with a loft and kitchenette and full use of the upper tier deck.
She didn’t even know who lived in the main living space, she realized. There was also a basement two-bedroom apartment, and she didn’t know who lived there either, though Laura, who waitressed at The Blue Moon, used to live there and Dahlia had hung out there a few times.
She could have driven there.
Probably should have, because it turned out to be a longer walk than she had remembered, and she showed up a little out of breath and rumpled and about ten minutes late.
She climbed up the steps to the upper tier of the deck and walked past all of Niles’s shit. He had more things on the deck than in his apartment. As long as it was warm, when people came over, they hung out outside. He had a grill and a bunch of chairs and various sculptures that doubled as ash trays even though he didn’t smoke.
She knocked on the door to his apartment and he opened it up.
He was wearing a different scarf than he had at work.
She wished she would have changed clothes.
“You eat meat, right?” he said.
“Yeah,” she said, coming inside. “I mean, not all the time.”
“Okay,” he said. “I was going to grill, but then I thought, if you were vegetarian, maybe I’d go for rice or pasta or beans.”
“Are you going to cook for me?”
“Wait, did you already eat?”
“I didn’t think about it.” She must be nervous. “But I guess we do need to eat. It’s dinnertime, and people eat. I just didn’t mean to put you to any trouble. You already had to clean, and I’m the one who asked for this not to be in public and—”
“It’s fine,” he said, grinning. “Meat and veggies on the grill takes, like, no time and effort. So, if that’s cool, it’s not a big deal.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Hey, I want to do this,” he said. “I’m totally trying to impress you. It might not seem like it, but—”
“It’s working,” she said, feeling shy.
He gave her a small smile that also seemed shy.
Then they just looked at each other for what seemed like a really long time.
“I’m thinking about kissing you,” he murmured. “I’m realizing we’ve never done that.”
“Didn’t we?” She furrowed her brow. “Oh, I guess we haven’t.” She shrugged, laughing a little. “Okay.”
“Well, now, I fucked it up,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “I should have just done it. Now, it’s weird.”
“It’s not,” she insisted.
He let out a breath, contemplating her lips. His voice was scratchy. “No?”
“No,” she whispered.
He moved closer. He seemed to glide on that snake tail of his. He reached up and cupped her face with one of his hands, and his fingers were warm and large.
Her eyes fluttered closed.
His lips were warm, too.
