The apartment, with its gray walls and drab carpet, was as sterile as a dentist’s office. Actually, there were framed cross-stitched Bible verses hanging on the walls at her dentist’s office, courtesy of his wife. This place didn’t have a single thing, not even a picture of his family, displayed. Was it the roommate? Did the guy have something against clutter or sentiment or basic human emotion?

“No TV?” Samiah asked.

“I stream on my laptop,” Daniel said from the kitchen. It was separated from the sparse living room by a counter that held a single fruit bowl and nothing else.

She caught a whiff of the aroma flowing from the kitchen and her mouth started to water.

“What are you doing in there?” She made her way to the kitchen.

“I wanted to treat you to a taste of home,” he said, glancing up from the cheese he’d been grating into a bowl.

Next to the stove sat a plate with julienned onions and green bell peppers. Red meat, sliced so thin it was nearly see-through, rested on a cutting board, with a long loaf of bread wrapped in cellophane just to the right of it.

“I couldn’t find proper hoagie rolls, but this will do in a pinch,” Daniel said, gesturing to the bread.

“You’re making me cheesesteak?” Samiah clasped a hand to her chest. “I feel honored.”

“As you should. I’ll cook Korean food for anyone who asks, but when it comes to my beloved cheesesteak? You have to be extra special to earn one of those.” He leaned over and treated her to another of those sweet, delicate kisses. “And, yes, you are extra special.”

She was floored by how quickly she’d come to expect those kisses. Whether quick pecks like the one he’d just given her or those that left her breathless and searching for her words, his kisses had become one of the most enjoyable parts of her day.

This was never supposed to happen.

She’d removed everything about finding a man from her checklist. It wasn’t a priority, at least not for the next five or so months. Over these past couple of weeks, she’d debated back and forth with herself, coming up with all the reasons she should tell Daniel that it was better if they go back to being just friends. But she could never bring herself to follow through with it.

It was just so damn easy to be with him. Prior to him, she’d always felt a compulsion to perform. The men she’d dated all seemed to have certain expectations of her. Or maybe she was the one who’d set those expectations for herself. Either way, it felt like work. She was constantly on.