After we finished our coffee, we went to Venice Beach and meandered down the boardwalk for a while, but it had been a long day and we’d both pretty much reached our sightseeing limits. After half an hour we made our way back to the car, and by the time we were back on the 405, the sun had almost completely set.,

The drive back to my apartment was uneventful and pretty quiet, but not in an uncomfortable way. I was trying to think of ways to talk her into staying for a while, maybe ordering something in for dinner, but when we arrived she immediately pulled her keys from her bag and planted herself by her car.

“Jack, thank you so much,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you spending your day like this.”

I didn’t like the way this sounded. I chuckled slightly as I moved next to her. “That sounds like the kind of thank-you you get after tutoring someone all day in physics or something. I wasn’t trying to do you a favor, Grace, I was hanging out with you because I like to hang out with you. You make it sound like it was a hassle for me or something.” I couldn’t help the note of irritation I could hear in my tone.

She rubbed her eyes and gave me a weary look. I was instantly contrite. “I’m sorry, Grace; you were sincere, I know you were. I should just be glad you didn’t jump into your car and race off without a backward glance.”

She rolled her eyes. “Like that would ever happen to someone like you.”

“Like me? What does that mean?”

“It means no woman in her right mind would ditch you. I’m still amazed you haven’t ditched me.”

I kissed her. I leaned over and kissed her full on the mouth, and it took me a second to realize I’d done it, but then I was kissing her, and then suddenly I wasn’t kissing her, and I knew I’d just made a really bad move. Her eyes were big and she didn’t say anything, just stared at me with a look of surprise.

“Guess I shouldn’t have done that,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

She moved past me and opened the door, then turned on the car and backed out. I watched her drive away, then ran upstairs to jump on the treadmill to expend some of my anger before it sent my fist flying into a wall.

GRACE

THE PHONE RANG. I let the machine get it, and when I heard it was Missy, I swung an arm over to the bedside table to pick up the cordless. “I’m here.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t call me!” Missy yelled. “How was it? When did you get home? What did you guys do?”

“He kissed me,” I said.