In a New York Minute(65)

“Okay, look,” I said through my teeth as we smiled for the camera. “If I tell you everything, will you promise to be cool just this once?”

“Of course,” she said, staring straight ahead as the photographer finished shooting, then meandered back into the crowd.

I turned toward Eleanor again. “I like her,” I said as I dug at the collar of my shirt, which seemed to have shrunk two sizes over the course of this conversation.

“That’s it? You like her?”

“I like her, and I’m thinking about asking her out to dinner now that she’s done working for us, yes.”

“Well, you might want to go show off your charm and wit, because I think she’s about to head out the door.”

I followed Eleanor’s gaze across the room, to where Franny was hugging Lola.

“Crap,” I muttered under my breath.

“Tell her we want a photo with her!” Eleanor shouted after me.

I wove my way through the crowd as I watched Franny disappear toward the elevators. I took off for the entrance, trying to walk at a fast enough pace to reach her without looking like a weirdo running through his own party. But once I got there, she was nowhere to be found. I pushed the button, but the elevator was stuck at the first floor and didn’t seem to be moving. Luckily, I had walked the building weeks prior, and knew that the stairwell was always unlocked in case of a fire. I made a dash for it.

Four flights later, I flung the door open directly onto the street. I could see her curls, bouncing just twenty feet ahead of me. So close.

“Franny!” I shouted, cupping my hands to my face to amplify my voice. She turned back, glancing around as she tried to determine where the voice was coming from. I gave her a wave and then slow-jogged to where she stood.

“Hey,” she said, a confused look on her face.

“I was going to grab you for a photo for Architectural Digest,” I said. “But you’re leaving.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I made sure to connect with them,” she said. “They took a few photos already.”

“Oh.” I tried to keep the disappointment from my voice. “Good.”

She tucked her hair behind both ears. “It’s just that I can only play fake extrovert for so long,” she said. “You might not believe it, but underneath this”—she waved a hand up and down her body—“lurks a secret introvert.”

“Well, I’m just a straight-up introvert, so I get it.” I squeezed the back of my neck with my hand.

“The space looks amazing, Hayes,” she said. “I’m really happy I got to be a part of it.”

“Can I get you a Lyft?” I asked, unsure of what else to say. “Or a bike?”

“I’m just going to walk to the subway,” she said, her face bright. “Though if you wanna lend me your jacket just in case, you can.”

I laughed. I liked that we could joke about it all now, that whatever awkward weirdness that had hovered over our initial meeting had transitioned into something relaxed, playful. Intimate, even.

And yet at this moment, I still didn’t know what to say next. All I knew was that I didn’t want her to go. I wanted to do anything to make this night last, to keep her here, drenched in the light of passing cars and buildings. She was all color, a painting so lovely you couldn’t help but stop and marvel at it.

“Well,” she said, adjusting the bag hanging off her shoulder. “Good night”—she gave me a sweet smile and raised her brows—“Hayes-y.”

“Good night, Francesca,” I offered back, crossing my arms smugly across my chest.

She looked at me, brows still high, and let out a laugh.

“What?” I asked.

“I wasn’t expecting a Francesca,” she said. “You surprised me.”

“Well, hopefully, it won’t be the last time,” I said, stammering slightly. “That I surprise you. Or you surprise me. Or we surprise each other? I don’t know where I’m going with this.” I couldn’t figure out the right words to say to her.

“Good night, Hayes,” she said with one final smile. I stood there as she headed down West Thirteenth Street, losing her to New York City once again.

Feeling the weight of her absence deep in my chest, I turned toward the building and headed back to the party inside. I still had at least an hour of schmoozing left. I let my hand graze the edge of the building, feeling the cool cement against my fingertips. Anything to bring me back to reality.

Just as I reached to pull open the doors to the lobby, I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned to find Franny, slightly out of breath. She exhaled as she took a final step, meeting me almost toe to toe.

“Surprise,” she said, still breathless.

I furrowed my brow in confusion and opened my mouth to reply. But before I could get a word out, her lips were there, soft against mine, lingering for what felt like years or a split second—it was hard to tell. Time didn’t so much stop, but rather sped forward, blasted me off to space and back down to Earth again. The tips of her fingers brushed my cheek, and the sensation of her skin against mine set off an electrical fire inside my skull. I reached for her face, her delicate curls brushing against my fingers.

Before my brain could catch up with my body and process what was happening, she leaned back with an enormous smile, her eyes alight with something feral. And without a word, she dashed down the street and into the night, leaving me standing dumbstruck.