“And I’m completely okay with the friends-only thing,” I added. “And I mean it.”

He nodded quickly. “Yeah, me too. But I do owe you another coffee, and it’s completely normal for friends to meet for coffee.”

“It totally is.”

He stared at me and I tried to ignore the rise and fall of his chest, his pink lips, or the grey clarity of his eyes. “Uh, yeah coffee… I was thinking maybe next weekend or before a movie or something. Because that’s what friends do, right?”

My smile widened. “Absolutely. So? Next weekend?”

“And every afternoon on the bus,” he said. “Well, not coffee. But if you can save me a seat, we can talk at least. It’s okay if you can’t. Don’t go kicking some old lady out of a seat on my behalf.”

“I won’t. But I do have a lot more questions, and there’s so much we didn’t get around to talking about.”

He smirked. “A question a day? Will five minutes be long enough?”

“Probably not. But you do have my number if you’d rather text.”

He blushed again. “I do.”

“I better get going.” God, leaving him was the last thing I felt like doing. “But Monday, yeah? On the bus?”

“On the 353 at 5:06. I’ll be the one with the matching shoes and scarf.”

“I’ll be the one… well, I’ll just be the one on the bus that’s probably smiling at you.”

Jordan’s smile became more of a grin and his cheeks tinted pink. “There’s a good chance I’ll also be the one who trips over, takes out some poor guy in his fall, and yells out motherfucker really loudly, horrifying just about everyone on the bus.”

I chuckled and met his gaze. “I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you today,” I admitted, ignoring my thumping heart. “And I really love these Thai mango fries, and I’m certain I’ll need to have them again soon. And I think I’ve laughed more today than I have in a long time, and I’d really like to see you again.”

He swallowed hard and nodded. “I’d really like that too.”

I licked my lips and my hands itched to touch him, just a palm on his arm, or maybe squeeze his hand, but we weren’t there yet. I didn’t even know if he was comfortable with that…

“In case you didn’t know, you’re kind of great, Jordan,” I said before I lost my nerve. I stood up in a vain attempt to try and leave, but I turned around to face him. “And well, I’ll look forward to Monday. Unless you wanted to text me tomorrow sometime. Or later tonight when I get home. Or I could text you, which would probably be better.”

“Hey,” he said, smirking. “Nervous rambling is my thing.”

“Shut up, you make me nervous.”