“We’ll make sure he takes you home,” Jess added

“You may not have to. He offered me a ride whenever I wanted one. In fact, he’s supposed to give me a ride tonight.” Jess and Gab exchanged excited looks. “You seem to be enjoying this quite a bit.”

“Well, first and foremost we want you to be happy,” Gab explained.

“But you have to understand, honey, the thought of Adam smitten, brings us a great deal of pleasure for many reasons.”

“So, how long will Beth be gone?” I asked, changing the subject to another close friend who usually joined us for these Girls’ Nights.

“A few weeks,” Gabrielle replied. “Since she’s going to be in charge of the non-profit side of the legal clinic Braden and I are starting, we have her down in D.C. observing a similar practice. She’s staying in her family’s townhouse down there.”

“It’s nice to have a parent who’s a senator,” Jess noted.

“It’s nice to have a parent you can stand to be around,” I added dryly.

Time flew by quickly and my phone rang in the middle of a giggling fit that Gabrielle brought on telling me stories about her former clients. When I saw the name, adrenaline shot through my body and I got butterflies in my stomach. I told myself to get a grip and remember that this was the same guy who had answered “Lily Adler” when our ninth grade Biology teacher had asked him to name an asexual organism.

“I assume that’s you, Adam, since I don’t know anyone named ‘Phone Sex’.”

“I liked your book.”

“You finished it?” I saw my friends look up and make all kinds of excited faces.

“You know, I’m sure it’s purely coincidental, but your main characters look a lot like us,” he said smugly. I rolled my eyes.

“Are you calling to point that out to me?”

“No, I’m calling to tell you I’ll meet you in the lobby in five minutes.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Bring Gabrielle down with you. We’ll bring Cameron and arrange a trade.”

“We’ll be there,” I answered and ended the call, looking up to see my friends smiling at me gleefully, just like Bruce last night.

Gabrielle and I said our goodbyes to Jess and got our things together, heading for the lobby. She went over to chat with her former doorman, so I picked up a copy of the Metro, a free newspaper, and stood leaning against a wall. I started to read the coverage of a big mob trial that was about to begin. Apparently, the government had some important witness who could put the favored son of a famous South Philly crime family behind bars.

My concentration was broken a couple of minutes later when I felt a hand at the small of my back. My jacket was thin, and so even over the top of it, it felt nice. I smelled Acqua di Gio and a warm, excited feeling filled me up inside.

“Well, if it isn’t Lilah Alden, erotic novelist.”

“So you liked my book, huh?” I asked without turning around.

“I couldn’t put it down.”

“I assume you can read with one hand then,” I joked.

“You have a dirty mind, Ms. Adler. I like that in a woman.”

“I’ll bet.” I laughed.

“Reading about the Moretti trial, I see. They’re talking about doing some of the related cases in Common Pleas. I’m hoping they’ll assign me to one of them.”

“Couldn’t that be dangerous?” I asked, trying not to sound like I cared as much as I did.

He rested a hand on my hip and leaned in so close that I could feel him smile against my ear. “Why, Lilith, are you worried about me?” he asked in a quiet, sultry voice. I pulled in a deep breath and steadied my nerves. Then I folded my paper and spun around quickly, so that we were literally toe to toe. I looked up at him and gave him my best cocky smile.

“If anything happens to you, I’ll have to start driving again. Let’s go, Phone Sex.”

Cameron must have already gone upstairs, and Gabrielle and Braden were probably halfway to bed by that time. They were a very passionate couple, even for newlyweds. We stepped out into the November night and I pulled my thin coat around me more tightly. Adam must have noticed, because he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. I looked up at him with surprise. “It’s cold and that jacket can’t be very warm,” he said in answer to my silent question.

“Thanks,” I mumbled and snuggled up against him closer. It didn’t help all that much, but Lord, he smelled good.

His car was only about another block away, and so we were out of the cold in minutes. We got in and he started the engine, letting it warm up for a minute. The Black Keyes started singing Lonely Boy, and he turned it down.

“What’s that perfume you’re wearing?” he asked, looking over at me.

“Coco Chanel. It’s one of the things I splurge on so that I can still feel like a girl.”

“You’re a girl. Trust me.” He glanced at me again and his eyes dropped to my body for just a second before he looked away. “What else do you splurge on?” he asked, as he pulled out into traffic. I became hyper aware of how close he was in the enclosed space of the car. Now that he had put his arm around me, all I could think of was how much I wanted him wrapped around me again.

“Not that much, some cute shoes, some pretty lingerie. Everything else goes to my books,” I answered, feeling distracted.

“Can I read the rest of them?”

“You actually want to?” I asked, surprised.

“I like good smut,” he said with a smile. Feeling emboldened by the praise, I decided to take a chance.

“If you meant it about giving me a ride, and you’re going to be at O’Malley’s on Friday, maybe I’ll take you up on it,” I said, casually. “I have to be there for the annual party for law librarians, and Jess and Gab asked me to hang out afterwards.”

I was doing my best to seem completely nonchalant, but meanwhile, my stomach felt like a tight bundle of nerves, and if my heart beat any harder, I was going to break a rib. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had made me feel this way.

“A holiday party for law librarians. Sounds pretty wild,” he joked.

“Last year Bruce and I were almost comatose by the end. It doesn’t help that because it’s an officially sponsored event they won’t serve alcohol.”

“Why do they hold it in a pub then?” he asked, furrowing his brow.

“I can only assume it’s some kind of cruel joke,” I answered.

“Well, in answer to your question, yes, I’ll give you a ride. It’s my civic duty to keep a beaten up Ford Fiesta off the roadways.”

“I probably would have just taken the bus.”

“The bus? Why don’t you just wear a ‘mug me’ sign?”

“When I’m a famous …”

“Yeah, yeah. I know, Hemingway.”

Chapter Six

Soon he was parking. We went through the ritual of the sticking front door, the broken inner door. When we got inside, I saw M. Davis, the elderly man from the second floor, come down the stairs. He seemed like a sweet old guy. He looked at Adam and did a double take.

“Hey, I recognize you!” he said to Adam and came over to us like he had found an old friend. I thought maybe they knew each other socially or something.

“I recognize you too,” Adam answered, a smile slowly forming on his lips.

“Yeah, you weren’t the fella who was prosecutin’ me, but you were there with him. I’m Maximillian Davis!” He smiled at Adam, who was now grinning from ear to ear.

“Right, Mr. Davis! You were the gentleman who committed all the moving violations on your way to make a booty call.” I must have looked shocked, and Adam must have seen it in his peripheral vision, because he almost lost it.

“You do remember! My Viagra had kicked in, but I didn’t know how long I had!” I could see Adam struggling not to laugh, and I knew that he wanted desperately to look at me, but that he couldn’t do it without cracking up.

“Ms. Adler here, is close friends with your former lawyer.”

“Oh, I remember her! She was a cutie pie and, oh boy, she was feisty! I think that other prosecutor had a crush on her,” he said with a knowing smile. “Bet you guys get all the cute lady lawyers, huh?”

“Ms. Adler, also a lawyer,” Adam answered, practically overflowing with amusement as he implied that he was ‘getting’ me. I wanted to strangle him.

“Nice to meet you,” I said evenly. He finally turned to me and the ‘sweet’ old guy proceeded to check me out!

“The pleasure’s all mine, cupcake. If she’s as feisty as her friend, I’ll bet she keeps you busy,” he said, giving Adam a wink and an elbow.

“Oh yeah! She gives me a workout, man,” Adam said with a smirk and I glared.

“I need to get upstairs,” I growled through gritted teeth. “Now!”

“You know how it is when they’re in the mood,” Adam said, barely containing himself. I gave him a homicidal look and stalked off. He followed cheerfully.

“Have fun! Let me know if you need to borrow some Viagra!”

I fumed and stomped up the steps as the chuckles of my dirty old man neighbor disappeared in the distance. When we got to my apartment door, I unlocked it with a huff, threw it open and turned to Adam angrily.

“Will you get in here?!” I growled.

“I’d love to come in for a while, thanks,” he replied with a smile. As soon as he was inside I shut the door with a bang behind him, spun around, and faced him furiously.

“Do you have to imply to everyone in this building that we’re sleeping together?” I demanded, marching up to stand toe to toe with him and giving him my best irate glare.

“I didn’t say anything to the guy from the charm school, the Ninja or the Sopranos,” he answered defensively.

“You promised Donna that you wouldn’t make me holler too loudly,” I seethed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you valued her moral judgment so highly.” He didn’t look sorry. He looked extremely amused. Bastard!

“I just prefer that you not tell people who you just met that I give you a workout.”

“I’ve met him before.”

“Would you say that kind of stuff if we really were sleeping together?!”

“That’s an interesting point. Maybe we should explore that.”

“Do you want to f**k me, Adam?”

“Is this a trick question?”

“Just answer!”

“Yes?”

“Then may I suggest that you consider employing a new strategy? Like treating me with respect, and eventually, maybe even asking me out on a f**king date?!” It’s amazing what anger can do to help one overcome fear of rejection.

“Would you agree to go out on a date with me if I asked you?”

“If you promised to genuinely make an effort to treat me with respect!”

“So does this mean I make you feel something?” he asked merrily.

“Yes! Enraged!” I narrowed my eyes and glowered at him.

“You’re really adorable when you’re all worked up like this, you know.”

“Bunny rabbits are adorable! I am passionate!”

“See, I do make you feel something besides rage,” he pointed out with a satisfied smile. “We have chemistry.”

“So does an H bomb.”

“Look, I realize this is crazy.” He laughed. “Really I do, trust me, but what the hell. Adler, do you want to go on a date with me?”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly. “But we should start with the socializing together at O’Malley’s on Friday.”

“Pre-date socialization. I’m down with that. And if we manage that without bloodshed, you want to have an actual date on Saturday?”

“Well, um, there’s this author party thing on Saturday night at that club, Inferno. Fiery Ladies and Red Hot Books? Inferno? Get it?” I looked at the ceiling. “Anyway, I’m supposed to go as Lilah Alden. I was thinking about having some fun with it, since I’m an erotic novelist. I was, you know, going to dress kind of sexy and …”

“Hell, yes! I want to go.” My gaze flew back to him.

“You do? Oh. Uh, okay.” This conversation was so surreal that I felt like I was on the verge of having an out-of-body experience.

“See, we’re getting along better already. You should have asked me if I wanted to f**k you a long time ago.”

“Are you trying to make me kill you?” I glared at him for a moment, but as he stood there smiling at me, suddenly I couldn’t help it; slowly, I smiled too.

“Goodnight Adler, make sure you dream about me. Your fans are probably looking forward to a sequel,” he said, turning and heading back toward the stairs.

“Goodnight Roth,” I called after him. “Try not to wake the neighbors when you holler my name in your sleep.”

I watched him disappear down the steps and went over to the window to surreptitiously watch him get into his car and drive away. Then, and only then, I allowed myself to freak out a little because, oh my God, Adam and I – Adam and I – were going to go on a date! It was so weird but it was so … stirring.

Monday when I got home from work. I saw the new neighbor coming out of his apartment. To my surprise, he made eye contact with me and smiled.

“Hi there, Dan McGuire, 404. Nice to meet you,” he said, approaching me. I shook his outstretched hand and smiled back.