The Apartment (Apartment #1) by Amanda Black Page B

on until it was time to go back to her bleak reality. There was no doubt in her mind that this would never be more than a fling.
    It was a limited-time offer she couldn’t ignore. Sort of like whenever the McRib made a reappearance: she would gorge herself stupid on them in fear that each time she ate one it might turn out to be her last.
    And this guy tasted way the hell better than a McRib.
    Lily knew she would go back. Even she couldn’t fool herself that much, and no amount of guilt could keep her away. She reminded herself that she wasn’t married yet; this was her last chance for adventure. However, knowing how easily she tended to cling to things, she forced herself to acknowledge that she needed to get a grip early on. He could leave any day and didn’t even want to know her name. He was only providing one thing right now, and when he was gone, she would never have it again. She kept telling herself repeatedly to just have a good time while it lasted, and for God’s sake, stop thinking about it.
    Shaking off her wayward thoughts, Lily dove back into her housework. She had just folded the last of George’s clean shirts when she remembered that she was supposed to spend the afternoon with Scott. She went back into her bedroom and grabbed her cell phone from its charger. After making sure that she hadn’t missed any calls while she was vacuuming, Lily quickly pulled up his number and hit the send button, waiting as it rang.
    And rang.
    When it finally went to voicemail, she left him a brief message and jumped in the shower. After she was dressed she tried him again. On her fourth try, he finally answered.
    “Mmm… yeah?” he murmured into the phone.
    “Jesus, Scott, it’s almost eleven. You’re still sleeping?” Her tone came off much harsher than she had intended.
    “Ugh.” His groan echoed through the phone, followed by the rustling of sheets. “Sorry, babe,” he mumbled around a loud yawn. “I’m still sleeping it off.”
    “Out late again with Ryan and the guys?”
    “Yeah.” She could hear him rubbing his hands over his face, trying to wake up. “Card game over at Mark’s. What’s up?”
    “Well, I thought you wanted to hang out today. I was just calling to see what was going on before I went to the grocery store.” A week ago they would have been arguing by now—she would have called him all morning and been offended that he had yet again made plans and not followed through with them. But now? Now she had to remind herself that Scott even existed.
    If she was being honest with herself, she had been too busy wondering how soon was too soon to return to the apartment. She had been too worried about how she was going to last all weekend without seeing her beautiful stranger again.
    Seeing Scott had become a chore.
    Engulfed by a fresh wave of guilt, Lily focused on the conversation again. “Anyway, I was about to go get some stuff to make for dinner. Did you want to come pick me up?”
    “Ugh, now?” he groaned again, coughing sharply. “Babe, I’m really fucking hungover here. I could use another hour or two. Besides, the Honda is running for shit right now. I didn’t even take it out last night.”
    “Okay,” she sighed.
    “Listen. Let me rest a little bit more. You go to the store and come get me when you’re done. We’ll have a movie night at your place.”
    “Alright, but that won’t even take me half an hour. You said you needed some time.” Lily could hear him groaning into his pillow, his annoyance becoming more apparent the longer he was kept awake.
    “Then go do something else first. How ’bout you go to the gym? You like that, right?”
    After a few seconds of silence Lily finally answered. “You know, Scott, I think that’s a fine idea.”
    “M’kay, see you later,” he mumbled, already drifting back to sleep. “Love you.”
    “Yeah.”
Click
.
    * * *
    Twenty minutes later, Lily was pulling her car into a parking space in front of the gym. But this time,