Apple-y Ever After - Chapter 6

Of course someone had to have a medical emergency on the train in the tunnel under the East River where no one got any cell phone reception. That’s mass transit for you.

If Milo was annoyed with Saskia’s tardiness, he didn’t say anything when she entered his apartment with two giant bags full of apples. She set them down at the threshold and pulled Milo into a hug. She could feel him melt into her as he relaxed.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said.

“You’re here, and you brought the apples,” he said.

His apartment was as spartan as she might have expected. A typical Manhattan one-bedroom, the living space, dining space, and kitchen were all one open area. The available wall space displayed his antique apple peelers on floating shelves, interspersed with apple-themed artworks. Eight million people in the city and surely no one else decorated their apartment like this.

“I’ve been juicing some lemons to help keep the apples fresh, and I browned the butter. I also made some strips of parchment paper for labeling apple varieties. With the tags hanging over the sides of the dishes, we won’t lose track of what’s what.”

“You’ve thought of everything,” Saskia said.

Milo had set up side-by-side peelers, which was sweet and goofy, like riding a tandem bicycle. Given the close quarters of the apartment, Milo’s arm occasionally skimmed Saskia’s. He neither acknowledged these touches nor apologized for them, and it was impossibly titillating. She had sent this guy a photo of her tits this week, but it was these casual, unintentional touches getting her riled up. She’d thought she had him wrapped around her little finger, but now she wasn’t sure. To see if she wasn’t imagining the intention behind these touches, she inched one step to the side. Soon enough, she felt his skin graze against hers again. I am fucking magnetic, she told herself.

The two of them churned out apple crisps all day, only breaking to eat lunch. Despite keeping the windows open on the chill September day, the apartment grew hot with the sustained oven usage. Saskia peeled off layers of clothing and still sweated through her tank top. She’d anticipated this, however, and brought a change of clothes for the party itself.

When the final crisp was in the oven, she asked, “Can I hop in your shower and freshen up before the guests arrive?” Tempted as she was to invite him to join her, she didn’t want to throw off the schedule any further.

“Of course,” Milo said. He, too, had damp hair around his temples from their day of work.

He didn’t have a hair dryer, but he did have some hair gel on his sink, so she slicked back her long blond hair into a wet look. It showed off her silver jewelry better anyway. When she emerged from the bathroom in a slinky emerald green satin dress, she knew she looked hot.

“Happy birthday,” she said to Milo.