By half past nine, the sun was blazing, so we decided to pack it up. Nathan glanced at my sweat-soaked T-shirt, and his gaze grew a little more intense. I was a bit embarrassed because I was just too much for anyone to handle. Nathan spaced out a few times while we were playing.

But Nathan was a real gentleman. Even though he could see my body, all he did was blush, nothing more.

“You’re all sweaty. Did you bring a change of clothes?” Nathan asked. “I was thinking we could grab breakfast.”

I shook my head. “Nope, didn’t bring any. How about we just eat downstairs at my place? I’ll go up and take a quick shower first.”

Nathan nodded. “Perfect. I brought a change, too. Mind if I shower at your place?”

My heart was racing like crazy. “Sure,” I said, nodding. Nathan’s face turned red again.

By the time we got back to my place, it was already past ten. I had Nathan pick up some breakfast to go, and we ate together at home.

Once we got inside, I went for a shower and let Nathan use the guest bathroom. I slipped into a fitted long dress and walked out, while Nathan was still in the shower. The sound of the running water was driving me a little crazy.

But I couldn’t let myself come off as too thirsty. The push and pull of flirting in the beginning was what really decided who would have the upper hand later. If I made the first move again, I’d want to slap myself silly. I already crashed and burned from being too forward before. If I didn’t learn my lesson, I’d only have myself to blame.

I was making the coffee, but in the quiet living room, the only sound was the water running in the bathroom. It felt like a feather brushing right at my heartstrings, teasing me nonstop. I kept sneaking glances at the bathroom door.

Just as I was about to dig into breakfast, the doorbell rang. I had no idea who could be showing up at that hour.

I hurried to the door and checked the security camera. To my surprise, it was Ryan, standing there with a bunch of bags in his hands. I slapped my forehead. I forgot he lived in that complex, too. And he had mentioned something about me coming over to visit his new place. The doorbell kept ringing, but I just couldn’t bring myself to open it.

Right then, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen. Sure enough, it was Ryan calling.

At that moment, Ryan pressed his ear to the door, then looked up at the camera with a pitiful expression. “Victoria, you’re home, aren’t you?”

Clutching my phone, I tapped my forehead in exasperation. Ryan really was pretty sharp. Left with no choice, I opened the door and looked at him. “Why are you here?”

“I brought over some fruit and gifts,” Ryan said, handing me all the bags. “Oh, and Yvonne said she’s coming over for lunch later. She wants me to show her some Rubik’s cube tricks.”

“What?” I blinked in surprise, pulling out my phone and scrolling through Jared’s texts. Sure enough, about ten minutes ago, he’d said he was bringing Yvonne over.

I shot Ryan a look. “How did you know Yvonne was coming? Do you guys have each other’s numbers?”

Ryan shook his head. “Nope, but she swiped my business card from my office yesterday and called me.”

I didn’t expect Yvonne and Ryan to get along so fast.

Just as I was trying to stop Ryan from sticking around for lunch, Nathan stepped out.