“It’s been too damn long since I had one of those,” London said. “All right, tell us about him. And when did this even start? We all just gave Craig the boot a few weeks ago.”

“His name is Daniel and he started at my job the Monday after the video went viral.” She nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. “I had absolutely no intentions of dating, I promise. It kinda just happened.” She smiled. “I like him. He’s sweet.”

“And he can get you pregnant with a simple kiss. I’m jealous,” Taylor said.

“So, you guys aren’t upset that I’ve already broken the rules?”

“The whole point of this thing is finding joy,” Taylor said. “And when I look at your face right now all I see is joy.” With a teasing grin, she asked, “My only question is, does he have friends?”

Her lungs expanded with gratitude.

“So what does this mean for the boyfriend project?” she asked.

“It means that you’re way ahead of us.” London looked at Taylor. “I’m not sure we can call ourselves Hashtag Squad Goals if there’s only one person in the squad reaching her goals. We’d better get our asses in gear.”

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Samiah’s heart started breakdancing like the people in those eighties hip hop videos she’d caught herself watching on VH1 as she approached the nondescript gray door. The excited flutter in her chest had become a common occurrence. She’d texted Daniel a couple of minutes ago to let him know that she’d arrived. Before she could knock, the door opened and he greeted her with the kind of smile one reserved for opening presents on Christmas morning, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

She held up a pink-and-brown paper sack. “I brought cupcakes. I figured if we use them as incentive, we’ll get more work done.”

His brow arched as he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “I can think of a better incentive, but I guess cupcakes will work.”

She couldn’t decide if it was his voice or his words that had her panties on the verge of evaporating. Probably both.

He relieved her of her laptop case and the bag of cupcakes and moved to the side so she could enter. “Come in. I was just fixing us lunch.”

She entered the apartment, more curious than she dared to admit. It was the first time he’d invited her to his place since they began seeing each other in earnest, a fact that had started to bug her. Samiah understood his explanation of not wanting to expose her to his mercurial roommate, but after either hanging out at her place or going out to restaurants, it was nice to finally get this tiny peek into his world.

It wasn’t much.