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Alli, one of the other girls, jumped in next. “Oh, and they’re always filming Law and Order outside my office building. It’s so annoying, they block off all this space. And the tourists are the worst—they clump around and cause a traffic jam. ”
I didn’t even catch the name of the guy who now piped up, but it didn’t hamper my amusement. “I know, right? The mayor always gets coffee at my café, and while the regulars couldn’t care less, sometimes out-of-towners just overrun the place. ” He let out a beleaguered sigh. “Sometimes they don’t even buy anything. ”
I bit back a smile. This sounded remarkably similar to the way friends in L. A. talked about celebrities—like they saw them all the time, but whatever.
“I haven’t see a single celebrity since I moved here,” Sabeen said grumpily. She flicked some ash past me. “What about you?”
“Oh. ” I shrugged, unable to ignore the cackling imp that danced inside me. “I don’t know. Last week I got drinks with Abraham Krasner. He’s—”
“The Leopard’s center,” several voices finished.
“How did that happen?”
I laughed. “It’s actually not fair for me to use that as a celebrity sighting. We grew up together. ”
That took a moment to sink through the alcoholic fog. “Wait, so—you know each other? You’re friends?”
I nodded happily. “Uh-huh. ”
And then, before I knew it, my new friends had snatched up my purse and were scrambling through it. I jumped to my feet, throwing a frantic look at Sabeen. She shrugged unrepentantly and finished off her cheap beer.
“Guys, give it back. ” I stretched out my hand. Alli fished out my phone and then flung my purse at me. Not a very smart move, because it was still open. Several pens and a hair clip spilled out when it hit the roof, and I had to run around picking them up before I could refocus on my phone. They were all covered with white chalk.
“‘Abraham’. ” Alli grinned. “Ohmygod, he’s in your phone. ”
“Don’t. ” I considered launching myself at her, tackling her to the ground and wrestling my phone away, but I honestly couldn’t see that ending well.
And now it was too late. She held the phone up and waited. “Hi! Is this Abe Krasner?”
There was a pause, and then she laughed. “This is her friend Alli. We’re at a party. You should come. ”
Right. Because the one thing I needed in life was for Abe to think I was trying to lure him to hang out with me. Or that I was so middle school I needed to get my friends to ask him to come over. “Alli, give it back. ”
“We’re in the East Village. Near East 4th and 1st Ave. ” She rattled off the apartment’s address. “We’re on the roof. ”
I wanted to ream her out, but I barely knew her and didn’t want this to get any more out of hand then it already was. Instead, I stuck my hand out once more, and this time, she passed my cell over.
I pressed it to my ear and walked away from the group. “Abe. I am so sorry. Don’t listen to her. ”
“You’re on a rooftop?” His voice sounded a little tinny. “You’re afraid of heights. ”
I let out a huff of laughter. “And yet!”
“Are you drunk on a rooftop?”
I edged a little closer to the drop, wondering how near I could get before my feet started tingling. About two feet, as it turned out, and the pinpricks ramped into gear. I shuffled my feet three inches forward, which felt much like shoving through molasses, and the tingles ran up my calves and kicked my heart into double-time. “Logically, I can see how that sounds like a bad idea, but in reality, it’s just fine. ” I edged backward until the tingles went away and my chest expanded. I sucked in deep breaths and shuddered slightly. “It’s not like I’m going to topple over. ”
“Okay, I should be there in twenty minutes. ”
“Abraham. No. I didn’t mean for them to call you. You don’t have to come. ”
“Don’t fall off the roof before I get there. ” He signed off.
I wandered back to the group. “Now, why did you have to do that?”
Alli looked up. “Is he coming?”
“No. ”
Twenty minutes later, a trio went out for more beer, and when they came back they brought Abe with them.
I didn’t notice until the attention swiveled, since I was having an extremely intense conversation on foreign affairs with a guy with thickly framed glasses. But when people made loud, alcohol-fueled noises, both of us looked toward the fire escape.
Abraham jumped up onto the roof with the grace only those with immense strength could muster. His arms swung easily, his hair looked a little mussed, and his gaze swept the rooftop, searching for me. I bit my lip, not sure if I should jump and wave or wait.
Then I saw him see me, if the brightness of recognition was any indicator. He strode toward me without any hesitation, like he couldn’t even see anything else, like I was the ultimate destination, and stopped only a foot away.
It was hard to keep my old feelings in check with my inhibitions loosened. I was positive my pupils were dilated and my heart racing, so I overcompensated in the other direction by speaking harshly. “What are you doing here?”
Confusion tinged his gaze. “I was invited. ”
As though to drive the point home, one of Nita’s friends came over and sloppily slapped Abe on the back. “Krasner, my man!”
Abe tossed me a look that said See? before gripping the guy’s palm and shaking it firmly. In a moment they were laughing like old friends, but just before the others worked up the nerve to creep over, he excused himself with a nod my way. Then he positioned himself in front of me, with his back to the rest of the roof. He was so broad and stood so close that it was almost like we were in our own little private bubble.
Too private. I wanted to kiss him, and only the smallest corner of my mind, the one that kept chanting he’s not interested kept me from reaching out. Again, I tried to push him back verbally. “You didn’t have to come. ”
He smiled wryly and folded his legs gracefully to the ground. “Yeah, but what would I tell our parents? You’ve been in New York for two seconds and already fell off a roof?”
I laughed, but still shook my head as I followed his lead and sat. “You don’t have to worry about me. ”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t watch out for you. ”
I raised a brow. “And who watches out for you?”
His smile deepened in the corners of his mouth. “Fifty-two other guys. We all watch out for each other. ”
I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them. “You’re a good person, Abraham. ”
His eyes crinkled at the corners like they did whenever he smiled deeply. “You have to think that. You’re family. ”
For some reason—the alcohol, no doubt—that made tears prick at my eyes. Family. If that was true, why hadn’t I spoken to him for four years? Why did it still hurt so much that he thought of me as a sister?
Abe had always been able to read emotions, and he skipped topics as easily as the winds changed. “So tell me how you like New York, after a month here. ”
I was able to fold away my oddness and bob my head back and forth. “I like it. ”