LISA

"No, no, no, there's no way I'm letting you wear that on a date," Jennie said, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

I'd just walked out of my bedroom to show her what I'd thought was a reasonable outfit for a casual let's start with drinks and see where this goes kind of date. But based on the horrified look on her face? I was dead wrong.

"What's wrong with this?" I asked, gesturing at my khaki pants and blue plaid shirt. I wouldn't have gone so far as to call myself a style expert, but I didn't think this outfit was that bad.

Jennie's eyebrows shot straight up, her eyes growing wide with disapproval. "Khakis?" she exclaimed. "For drinks?"

"They're nice," I said defensively, brushing the front of my pants with my palms.

Jennie softened for a moment, uncrossing her arms and sighing. "They are nice," she said, leaning forward from her spot on the couch to take another sip of her glass of wine, "if you're going to church on a Sunday and a picnic afterward. But you're going on a date. I beg of you, go try again." She nodded authoritatively, scrunching her brows together in a determined look.

"Fine," I muttered, turning to head back up the stairs. But I had to admit a part of me was getting a kick out of this, recalling the way she'd called me out on my cheesy pickup lines that night at the bar.

"Go put some jeans on. Dark wash, please!" she called after me as I rounded the corner to my bedroom. "And nothing too baggy," she called again.

Unbuttoning my shirt, I couldn't help but smile and shake my head at how comfortable Jennie was bossing me around. We'd only been neighbors for a couple of weeks, but it felt like we'd known each other for years. Even if things between us had a rocky start, it was nice having another adult around to share a drink with. Just having someone to talk and laugh with made the house seem not too quiet.

The only slight hiccup was Lily. It wasn't that she didn't like Jennie, but she was still suspicious about the whole special adult snuggle-time thing, something we had to tread lightly around.

Tonight, however, Lily was with her grandparents, most likely getting spoiled out of her mind. When it was clear Lily's mom wasn't going to be a part of the picture, I made sure to move the two of us closer to my parents. Honestly, having them on hand was a godsend. I loved my life with Lily and wouldn't trade our time together for the world, but the fact is, I needed backup reinforcements sometimes, no matter how much I might like attending tea parties and wearing tiaras.

Standing in front of my open closet, I pushed some shirts around on their hangers, looking for something more suitable for drinks. After tossing a pair of dark jeans on the bed, I continued rummaging around in my closet, finally landing on a gray sweater. I quickly changed into the new outfit and returned to the living room, ready to be playfully insulted by Jennie all over again.

I walked out in front of the couch to find her waiting for me with her wineglass in hand. Smiling, I raised a curious eyebrow, and she quickly set the glass down on the coffee table in front of her. Before I could say anything remotely teasing, she stood with a high-pitched squeal, clapping her hands and nodding with approval.

"Look at you! This is perfect. The jeans are great, and that sweater . . ." Jennie's gaze slid over my pecs and shoulders, her expression shifting just enough for me to feel a slight jolt of electricity between us. "It's great," she said quickly, snapping her eyes up to mine and forcing a smile.

"Glad to see you approve." I smirked.

She laughed and swatted my arm with the back of her hand. Even as she settled back into her seat on the couch, seemingly casual and unfazed, I could still feel the spark between us.

"Hey, your phone buzzed while you were changing. I didn't check to see who it was, no matter how nosy I wanted to be." She raised her eyebrows, a devious smile spreading across her face.

"One more glass of wine, and you'll be hacking into my phone in a heartbeat." I picked up my phone and typed in my passcode. It was a text from Miyeon, the woman I was supposed to be meeting for drinks in thirty minutes, telling me a work emergency had come up and she wouldn't be able to make it on our date after all.

I sighed. "Well, I hope you don't have plans for the rest of the night. My date canceled, and there's no way I'm wasting a kid-free night."

Jennie's face fell, then quickly changed to something angrier. "What the hell?" she said, rising to her feet. "She's just ghosting on you minutes before the date?"

"In fairness, I'm pretty sure ghosting is when you just stop responding to someone out of the blue. At least she had the courtesy to let me know this was over before it started." I grabbed my glass of wine from the coffee table and took a seat on the couch.

Jennie's angry expression morphed to one of outrage. "Why don't you seem surprised? Or mad?" She paced around the living room while gesturing at me emphatically.

"Because I'm not," I said between sips of wine. "It wouldn't be the first time a date pre-screened me on social media and learned I was a parent." That's why sometimes it's better to make these things a little more spur of the moment, like picking someone up at a bar.

"That's bullshit." She scoffed, plopping herself down on the opposite couch cushion, her brow furrowed in frustration. "So, you think she canceled because you have a kid?"

"Maybe, maybe not. But it happens more often than you'd think. Wait a second. Isn't that your hangup too?" I gave her a quizzical look.

"Well, no. I'm just, I'm not looking for anything serious." She stumbled over her words, obviously flustered by my question. "With anyone," she added, more to herself than to me.

I gave her a disbelieving look. "So you're telling me that if I wanted to have a fling with you—purely sexual, no strings attached—you'd be game?" As I spoke, I leaned toward her on the couch, aware again of that spark crackling between us.

She stared at me wide-eyed for a moment before blinking. "You and I are both old enough to know that that would be a terrible idea."

I held her gaze for a moment longer, memories from that first night we met flashing through my mind. Maybe she was right. Maybe a casual fling with my new tenant was a terrible idea. And yet . . . maybe it was exactly what we both needed.

I stood and picked up our empty wineglasses. "Casual sex or not, I just got stood up for a date, and that can only mean one thing."

"What's that?" she asked, crossing one perfectly sculpted leg over the other.

"It's time to order takeout."

• • •

Two more glasses of wine and one large pizza with mushrooms and olives later, Jennie and I found ourselves sitting at my kitchen table, tears streaming down our faces as we laughed.

"You did not," she said, her face red, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"What else was I supposed to do? Lily had pooped her pants, we were in the middle of a forest, and in my rush to get us out the door for our nature day, I'd forgotten to pack her an extra pair of clothes." I waved my hands in surrender.

It was the old my daughter shit her pants, so I had to tie a T-shirt around her waist like a loincloth for the rest of our hike story. Not one I was usually able to whip out on a first date.

"You're unbelievable," Jennie said through giggles, shaking her head and swirling the wine in her glass. Her cheeks were rosy from the laughter and the wine, and her hair had fallen loosely around her shoulders, slightly tousled now that she was sufficiently tipsy. I'd known she was a bombshell from the moment I saw her at the bar all those nights ago, but in this moment? She wasn't just hot. She was beautiful.

"So, tell me, Jennie," I said, cocking my head to the side and squinting at her slightly, "how'd a girl like you end up living above my garage? Did you dump some poor bastard and leave him to fend for himself in the uptown loft you used to share?" It was definitely the wine making me bold, asking the questions I'd been keeping to myself for weeks.

She smiled and shook her head. "No, it wasn't anything so exciting or dramatic—for me, at least. My roommate just got engaged, and it turns out, newly engaged couples don't really want another roommate around to cock-block them all the time."

I nodded. "That makes sense, I guess. So there really isn't anyone you were leaving behind? You're just a commitment-phobe through and through?"

"Well, I wouldn't call myself a commitment-phobe, although my friends probably would," she replied with a shrug.

Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my arms and gave her a long, measured look. "Sounds lonely," I said, my tone dropping.

"That's what bars are for." She arched an eyebrow and gave me a knowing look.

"Touché."

We sat in silence for a while, watching each other with soft, curious eyes. The more I learned about this woman, the more I wanted to know, but I still couldn't tell exactly where it was all headed.

"I should probably get going," she said with a sigh, glancing over at the clock hanging on the wall behind me.

I turned to check the time, surprised to see it was nearly midnight. Damn. It was later than I expected.

"Well, thanks for helping me pick out my clothes, even if the date was a bust," I said as we both stood and Jennie gathered her things.

"Anytime," she replied, slinging her purse strap over her shoulder. "Sorry again that bitch stood you up."

"Nah, I don't think she's a bitch. Just afraid of starting something that might get too real."

Jennie looked at me, surprised. "I can't tell if that's insightful or if we're both just drunk."

We laughed as we walked to the front door, where Jennie paused before opening it.

"I had a really nice time tonight," she said, looking down at her feet and tucking her hair behind her ear.

When she looked up at me, our eyes locked. That energy crackled between us again, and suddenly, I couldn't ignore it anymore.

Taking her cheek in the palm of my hand, I pulled her face to mine, our lips meeting in a deep, slow, sensual kiss. When we parted, she didn't respond for a second, the look on her face communicating that she was clearly taken aback. Keeping my hand on her cheek, I stared into her eyes, searching for a sign that she wanted this too.

Without a word, she dropped her purse to the floor and wrapped her arms around me, pressing her body into mine. I took her mouth again, deepening the kiss when she parted her lips for me. My hands landed on her hips, relishing their soft and supple shape, while her hands wandered over the back of my neck, her fingers threading through my hair.

A small moan escaped her as I moved my knee between her legs, feeling the heat straight through my jeans. My cock responded with a twitch, aching to be free, to be inside her again. To finish what we started.

I dug my fingers into her skin, wishing I could rip off the layers of denim between us. Our tongues moved faster and more urgently, and our breathing grew heavy. Every inch of my body felt electric around her, and when we kissed, it was like turning the energy all the way up.

Suddenly, she broke away, stepping back to leave a full foot of space between our bodies. For a moment, we both stood there, breathing heavily, watching each other with wide, searching eyes.

"I, uh . . . I have to go," she stammered, then picked her purse up off the floor, quickly opened the door, and marched out, closing it behind her.

I could hear her footsteps as she made her way up the stairs, the sound of the door to her apartment opening and closing. I stood in the doorway for a moment, my mind still charged with the electricity of that kiss.

Once I'd caught my breath and my mind stopped racing, I walked back into the kitchen and began the process of cleaning up. As I stood over the sink, rinsing the wineglasses, I thought about the look on Jennie's face right before she ran out the door.

Was it shock? Was it the look of someone who wanted more but knew she shouldn't? I didn't know what it meant, and I didn't know where this was going, but the one thing I did know?

I wanted to do that again and finish what we started.