Page 8 of Only Lovers in the Building

“I want something stable,” Lily replied. She’d never yearned for stability before. When drowning in a pool, you don’t dream

of the sea. Her life was a testament to what a stable upbringing could produce. Her parents, both highly educated and firmly

planted in the middle class, had given her brother and her everything required to succeed. What she’d always wanted, more

than anything, was to shake things up.

Click!

Lily and Ben both caught the sound of the camera shutter. The photographer was a young woman in a lime-green bikini. Brown

skin, loose curly hair. Camera dangling from her neck. She was stunning.

“Hey there! I’d kill to know what you two are chatting about.”

Lily held up Blurred Lines. “This!”

“It must be a banger,” she said. “Are you two buddy-reading? That’s so cute!”

“It’s an exclusive book club,” Ben informed her. “And we haven’t read a word.”

“So far we’ve only set some ground rules.”

“Exclusive! How sexy! I’m Sierra, by the way.”

Ben took over the introductions from there. “Lily, this is Sierra Jay, the resident vlogger. Sierra, this is Lily. She’s new.”

“Hey, Lily! Nice to meet you.”

“Same. Are you going to shoot video?”

“Just some photos. I’ve got to catch this gorgeous light.” She pointed to the far side of the pool. “I’ll be over there. You

won’t even know I’m here.”

Sierra left them and got busy, setting up her tripods.

“She’s a swimwear influencer with a million followers on YouTube,” Ben said. “Bikinis are big business.”

“I could never,” Lily said. “I’m far too self-conscious.”

She went on a crash diet just to go on a corporate retreat and never once wore her bathing suit. There hadn’t been any time.

“That’s a shame,” he said. “If there was a Lily channel, I’d subscribe.”

“Be careful. You could get hooked.”

“Hey!” Sierra called out from the deep end of the pool. “Is that book any good?”

“Don’t know yet,” Lily replied. “It’s gotten a lot of hype. We’ll see.”

“What’s it about?” she asked.

The nuanced answer came from Ben. “The exploration of the generational divide, with an older female protagonist and a younger

male love interest, through the lens of a contemporary romance embedded with a friends-to-lovers trope.”

“What the hell was that?” Lily asked.

“What?... You disagree?”

How would she know? She hadn’t read past the tagline: In matters of the heart, where do you draw the line?

“Is this how it’s going to be?” she asked. “You showing off your genius at every turn?”

Ben smirked. “I’ll try not to.”

Lily took in his smirk, attitude, and even his body posture. He was adorable.

Sierra waded over to their end of the pool. “Hey! While you two sort that out, hand over the book. I could use a prop.”

Lily wouldn’t let her precious copy, a gift no less, go anywhere near the water. She tossed over Ben’s copy instead. “Here

you go!”

“Thanks, doll!”

They watched, heads close as Sierra stretched out on the pool’s edge, twisting, turning, posing, the book open on her lap

or propped under her head.

“That’s going to be a good shot,” Lily whispered.

“She’s a pro,” Ben whispered back.

“I didn’t know Blurred Lines was about a May–December relationship.”

“I prefer age-gap romance,” he said. “How old are you, by the way?”

“Old enough to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.”

It was easier to make a joke than simply say her age. Lily was patient with herself. It took effort to shut the doors on a

defining decade, even though it was for the best.

“Who’s showing off now?” Ben said.

“I’m thirty,” she said.

“Thirty-two.” Ben took her hand and curled his fingers tightly around hers. He might as well have taken her heart in his hands.

“Are we going to read this book or not?”

Lily sighed. “Likely not. It’s so hot already.”

The sun was creeping higher. The light Sierra had wanted to catch had turned harsh. She wrapped up her photo shoot. All the

while, Lily’s hand was still in Ben’s. Hadn’t he noticed?

Before leaving, Sierra returned the book. The warped cover broke Lily’s heart. “I’ll tag you on Instagram,” she said. “What’s

your handle?”

“I’m @LegalLyon everywhere. Lyon with a Y .”

“Got it. How about you, Ben?”

“I’m on BookTap,” he said. “Tag me there.”

“BookTap?” Sierra scoffed. “Is that a real thing?”

“Wow,” Lily said, watching her go. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so irrelevant.”

“At least you’re on Instagram,” Ben said. He stood and stretched. “I’d tell her I’m on X, but I don’t like how it sounds.”

“Sounds like a misdemeanor with a heavy fine.”

He laughed. “Come. Let’s swim.”

“We can’t!” Lily protested. “First rule of book club is that we have to read, even a single page.”

“And then we swim?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“Fine.”

They finished the first chapter. They swam. They rode the elevator back to their floor, the fourth, wrapped in beach towels.

Ben told her he had a full day ahead, teaching a Saturday poetry seminar. He said most of the students had signed up to meet

graduation credit requirements. Some, however, were eager and showed promise.

“I’m sure you’re a great professor,” she said.

Again, that hint of pride in his eyes. “I do all right,” he said. “How’s your day shaping up?”

Lily had nothing to do except wash her hair and meet Noah later, for happy hour. “A whole lot of nothing.”

He laughed. “You’re my hero. Same time tomorrow, or a little later? I’d like to run first.”

“Sure,” she said, sunshine in her heart. “How about nine? We’ll meet by the pool.”

“That’s a plan.” He left her with a wink goodbye.

Lily let herself into her place. Her summer was off to an excellent start.