Page 6 of Only Lovers in the Building

Ben knocked and called to her from the hall. “May I come in?”

“No!” Lily cried.

She lacked sufficient insight into her own psyche to interact with her neighbor in any way. What had gotten into her? She

was spiraling . This was not a good look for a fun and fabulous thirty-year-old.

“Come on, Lily.”

“No!”

There was no need to drag this out. She knew full well where this was headed. In the last twenty-four hours, she’d become

his Crazy Next-door Neighbor. Everybody had one; she’d lived in the city long enough to know. Gradually, he’d start avoiding

her, timing his comings and goings to keep from running into her in the hall or joining her in an elevator.

Ben knocked again. This time the door, which wasn’t locked or even shut properly, swung open. There he stood, filling her

doorway just as he had his own a moment earlier. His demeanor did not match the moment. His face was strained to control his

laughter.

“Why are you here when your date is waiting?” she snapped.

“Date?” He ran a hand through his hair. When left to its own devices, it was thick, curly, and a little wild. “She’s my cousin, Roxanna. Honestly, she’s more like a sister.”

“Your... cousin?”

“Yes.”

If leaping to conclusions were an Olympic sport, she’d win gold.

“Go back,” she insisted. “It’s rude to leave her alone.”

“I wouldn’t worry about her,” he said. “She’s raiding my refrigerator for day-old pasta. She likes to hang out at my place

before her shift at the bar.”

“She’s a bartender, too?”

“No.” A pause. “She’s the bartender. I covered for her last night because her baby—God, there are so many things to clear up.”

Lily stood in the middle of her living room, feeling helpless, her phone and hairbrush still clutched in her hands like weapons.

She set them down on the nearest surface and capitulated. “Come in.”

Ben stepped inside and gingerly shut the door. He looked at her for a long while, saying nothing, until the silence became

unbearable.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Ben,” he said. “Professor, literary translator, occasional part-time bartender.”

“You could’ve said any of those things last night or this morning,” she said. “You had me thinking you were working your way

through grad school.”

“You liked the bartender,” he said. “Besides, that’s who you met last night. Did you really want to hear my PhD thesis?”

Lily shrugged. “Why not?”

“Most people’s eyes glaze over when I tell them what I do,” he said. “Maybe you’re the exception. Forgive me?”

Who was she to judge? Miami was truly the multiverse: no one was who they claimed they were, not even herself.

She sighed. “Of course... And I’m sorry I jumped all over you. All I want for this summer is to chill by the pool and read,

not pick fights with my neighbor. This is not who I am, not really. My life has been stagnant for so long. I hoped a change

in scene might work, but it’s painfully clear I can’t function outside of my daily routines. I’ve never felt so scattered,

so insecure.”

“Who are you, really?” he asked.

Her answer mirrored his. “I’m Lily, a failed corporate lawyer from New York who quit her job on a whim and booked an Airbnb

in Miami for the summer to avoid going home and dealing with the fallout.”

He seemed to take that in without judgment. “Nice to meet you, Lily.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Ben. I wish we could start over,” she said.

“We are,” he said. “This is what we’re doing.”

It wasn’t enough. She would give anything for a second chance at a first impression.

“May I hold you?” he asked. “You look like you could use a hug.”

“Yes, of course. But do you see what you did there?” she said. “Asking to hold me instead of just grabbing me? I should have

been that considerate of your feelings in the elevator.”

He pulled her in his arms and held her close. “Let’s forget the elevator.”

“I can’t.” Lily rested her head against his chest, felt the steady beat of his heart. “It’s just one in a string of bad decisions

I’ve made in an alarmingly short time.”

“Think of it this way. If you hadn’t decided to stay in Miami, you wouldn’t have booked this apartment and ended up at the bar. We wouldn’t have met at all. I had no plans for the summer, and now I have you.”

“Sweet of you to say. I’m one gaff away from being the neighbor you’ll have to hide from.”

“Never.”

He released her, and the air between them stirred. Longing for his warmth, she struggled to find something meaningful to say.

“So... you translate books?”

“Poetry, mainly.”

“Any particular language?”

“Spanish.”

“Are you any good?”

His gaze sharpened with pride. “Yes.”

There was a knock on the door, and a woman called out. “Hey! It’s me!”

“Roxanna,” Ben said.

“Right.”

Lily tightened the knot of her robe and went to the door. Ben’s cousin stood in the hall with her arms akimbo. From this close,

it was obvious that Roxanna and Ben were related. The resemblance was striking. They had the same thick black hair, dark eyes,

and golden honey complexion. They even had similar tattoos. Roxanna’s ink was more colorful and floral, but the craftsmanship

was the same. Her smile was benign, but her words were direct.

“If you’re running a secret book club, I want in,” she said. “I read The Sweetest Lie , too, and I have thoughts.”

Lily was curious to get her take on Max and Emma, but Ben was quicker to reply. From inside her apartment, he said, “You’re

going to have to troll her on BookTap like everyone else.”

“Would you like to come in?” Lily offered.

“I’m heading to work,” Roxanna replied. “Come up to the bar when you’re free. The first drink is on the house.”

Technically, she’d already had her complimentary first drink. Roxanna didn’t have to know that. “Thanks. How about later? I’m meeting...” Crap! Lily brought her hands to her tangled hair. “I’m supposed to meet Noah for happy hour.”

“Relax,” Roxanna said. “Noah won’t show up until sunset. He never does. If he gets there early, I’ll keep him entertained.”

“Thanks!”

This was the sort of sisterhood and allyship the world needed right now!

Roxanna left Lily standing in a cloud of rose-scented perfume. Ben approached and touched her arm. “I should get out of your

way,” he said. “Also, don’t go inviting random people to join our book club. It’s just for us.”

“Roxanna is your cousin,” she reminded him. “Actually, she’s more like a sister.”

“I know, and I love her,” he said. “It doesn’t change that three’s a crowd. When do we meet by the pool?”

“Tomorrow, around ten?”

He made a face. “Can you do early? The pool is deserted at eight or nine.”

“I can do early. How about eight?”

“Perfect. What are we reading?”

“ Blurred Lines by Kayla Clark.”

“Come by for coffee first.”

“If you insist.”

“I insist.”

Lily waited until she heard the door across the hall click shut before plugging his name into a search engine.

Benedicto Romero is a Cuban American academic who specializes in literary translations... on the faculty of the University

of Miami... works include War and Reason , Light before Dawn , The Lamb ... recipient of a PEN award for translation and a MacArthur Fellowship...

Lily blinked and read that last bit again. The man she’d accused of trolling, just for poking holes into her hot take on a

romance novel, was a MacArthur Fellow—or stated more plainly, a certified genius.