Liam
There’s something about this woman that sets me on fire whenever I’m near her.
I stand at the open door of my apartment and take it all in.
She’s beautiful. It’s not just Athena’s face that is striking. It’s everything about her.
The soft smile on her lips, the wisps of hair that are trailing across her cheek, and the subtle way she’s tilting her head as she rakes me from head-to-toe make her hot as fuck in my eyes.
I had no idea if she’d show up with the bouquet.
I placed the order online this morning, hoping that she’d get a laugh out of it. I half-expected her to send someone else to put the flowers in my hand, but I’m glad she’s here.
“You ordered a surprise them bouquet, so surprise,” she says with a laugh.
I glance down at the small blue-hued bouquet that’s sitting in a circular vase. Did she lug that here from her store? The woman is fearless if she took a breakable vase filled with water on a journey around Manhattan.
“I didn’t realize it came with that,” I point out, taking the flowers from her.
The vase has some weight to it.
“It doesn’t,” she says, edging a few inches to the left. “I didn’t know if you’d have anything to put the flowers in, so I threw it in at no cost.”
I owe her again.
I’m a lucky bastard.
I watch as her gaze flits from my face to the room behind me. She’s checking out my apartment. It’s not large, but it’s comfortable.
A one-bedroom with a view of the river was what sold me on the place.
“Do you want to come in for a bit?”
She studies me, her brow knitting in concentration. I admit I didn’t expect a pause, so I fil
l in the silence with a question. “Do you need to be somewhere else?”
A shake of her head confirms what I already suspected. “No.”
“I don’t have any alcohol to offer you, but I’ve got sparkling water.”
A half-step forward and a nod of her chin are all I need. I step aside to let Athena into my home.
***
I drape her leather jacket over the arm of the sofa as she stands at the windows that overlook the East River.
The small floral arrangement she brought with her has found its home on my reclaimed wood coffee table.
Athena took it from my hands when I stood in the center of the room silently debating where to place it.
I’m not a fresh flower kind of guy.
I’ve never lived with a woman, and since I’m not in the habit of ordering them for myself, flowers haven’t played a part in the décor of this place.
My home is suited to me. It’s simple and straightforward. The majority of my furniture is second-hand pieces I picked up in an antique shop an old friend owns.
I’ll take comfort over design any day of the week.