Page 31 of Absolutely Not in Love
“We need to warm you up,” I say.
“The water was really cold.” She lets out a little laugh. “At first, I tried to stop it with my hands. Like I could somehow staunch the flow. It seems ridiculous now, but I just…panicked.”
“Water was gushing from your bedroom wall. I think your panic was justified.”
“When I realized there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it, I did the only other thing I could think of,” she says. “I ran to getyou.”
Heat spreads through my chest at her admission. Ilikethat I’m the person she ran to for help. I mean,yes,I’m her only neighbor. But still. It has to mean something that she trusts me enough to have asked in the first place.
I lift her still-freezing hands and blow on them softly, and she lets out a tiny gasp.
“Does that help?” I ask, my voice low.
Her lips part as she gives the tiniest nod, her body arching toward me the slightest bit. “Thank you, Felix,” she whispers.
If we stand here like this for more than a few more seconds, I’m going to wrap my arms around her, pull her against me, and use a lot more than my hands to warm her up. For once, it doesn’t seem like she’d stop me, but I don’t want to take advantage of the situation.
“So, what do we do first?” Gracie says, her voice almost a whisper.
I focus on her words, force my brain to answer logically.
“We shower,” I say.
Gracie’s eyes go wide, and she smiles, letting out a little laugh.
It’s only then that I realize what I’ve said.
Apparently, the logical part of my brain is on vacation.
“Notwe,” I quickly correct. “That’s not what I meant. I meanyou.Youshower.” I drop her hands and press my palms against my face with a groan. “Can I try again?”
Gracie giggles and bites her lip. “I don’t know. This is pretty entertaining.”
“What I should have said isyoucan shower while I call my dad. He’s a developer, and I’m sure he’s handled something like this before. He’ll be able to tell me the best path forward.”
Gracie presses her lips together like she’s suppressing a smile, then slowly nods. “Okay. A warm shower sounds nice. Thank you for offering.”
“It’s my fault this happened, and it’s my responsibility to fix it. A shower is the least I can offer you. Once you’re dry, we can figure out what’s next.”
“Can what’s next involve me borrowing your dryer?”
“Definitely,” I say.
Together, we walk back to her living room. The water is slowly making its way down the hallway, seeping into the floors, her area rug, the sneakers that are sitting by the chair next to the window.
I motion to her cello. It’s out of its case and leaning against a cello stand in the corner. Water hasn’t reached it yet, but I’d still feel better if we didn’t leave it in the apartment. “We should take that with us, right? Even just the humidity from all this water probably isn’t good for it.”
“Definitely not,” she says, rushing forward to pick it up.
I move in behind her and grab her case and the cello stand, then we head over to my apartment where my front door is still standing open.
Gracie takes two steps into the kitchen, then freezes, her eyes roving around the wide, open space. “Well,thisdoesn’t feel fair,” she says.
I grimace. “Yeah, so…your apartment was already outfitted as living space,” I say a little sheepishly. “The building used to be a publishing house, and the managing editor lived at your place.” I motion to my spacious living room. “The printing press lived in mine.”
She takes a few more steps forward, her eyes moving from floor to ceiling, then back again. “I mean, it makes sense,” she finally says. “Especially since you own the building. But in my head, your apartment was exactly like mine. Which, now that I think about it, doesn’t make any sense because that would leave a lot of empty space filling up the rest of the building.”
Her teeth chatter the slightest bit while she talks, which only makes me walk faster, but then I hesitate, debating whether to take her to my bathroom or the one off the guest bedroom.
