Kayla POV

When she did not die after the embarrassment of looking like a slob with food on her face, she apologized a hundred times to him.

"Hey, it's okay," Isom said, then glanced over at the remnants of her dinner on the table. "Although, I hope you don't call that dinner?"

"Yes, it was."

"Oh, you need a nice, home cooked meal. You should swing by my place sometime, I'll cook you an amazing dinner."

She was unsure of what to say to that.

"Umm...sure."

No way, there was no way he invited her over for dinner. For now, she had to keep her composure while he fixed her furniture.

"Do you have any tools? Screwdriver, hammer?"

She shook her head. Again, embarrassed that she looked so naïve.

"Don't worry, let me run up to my apartment, I'll be right back."

She watched him leave and then she took a breath. She did not realize she was holding her breath. Why did a cute guy make her into an idiot?

She quickly group texted her bestie.

Hot neighbor guy is helping me put my furniture together

Amari: Score!

Sharynn: Does hot neighbor guy have a name?

Amari: Isom. Shar, he is fine, fine! And nice. Like a gentleman and err'thang

Sharynn: Just get to know him then, stop overthinking it like I know you are

Amari: You know she is! She thought he wanted me but he lusting after her big time.

Her friends were having a field day going back and forth, she could not even jump back into the conversation.

Sharynn: Kay, do you like him?

She thought hard on it. Sure she did, and not because he was super-hot. He seemed so cool and laid back. Maybe she should go with the flow.

Yes, I do

Amari: Don't do anything I would do.

Sharynn: Please don't

She chuckled at them and then heard a knock on the door. She made sure it was Isom and then opened the door for him. He walked in carrying a toolbox and a brown paper bag.

"Thank you so much for helping me. I didn't have anyone I could ask to help me. You met my best friend, fixing things is not her thing. My other friend knows even less."

"No brothers or...boy friends?"

She blushed at that. "No."

"No worries." He sat the toolbox down on her table. He handed her the brown paper bag. "Here, this is for you."

"For me?" She took the bag and opened it. It was a round loaf of bread. "What-"

"My sister is in school to be a baker, she makes me all kinds of bread and I'm overloaded with it. It's really good. Homemade, fresh, the only kind I eat. Call it a housewarming gift."

It was the weirdest housewarming gift, but she would take it. She loved bread! Never had homemade bread a day in her life, unless she counted St. Louis Bread Company, that is Panera to everyone not in St. Louis. That was technically not homemade, so yes, this was a first.

"Now let me get to this so you can have a bed."

She tried helping, but best she could do was hand him the right screws and bolts, the right tools and help hold piece together. He was a professional about it and looked so damn hot while doing it. Locs now secure in a large, messy bun. Changed into a tank top, showing his nice built arms. His focus totally on the work, but she kept glancing at his face and looking at those eyes, imagined them staring into her eyes, laying in the bed that he was now fixing.

She shook away her lustful thoughts. She wished she could offer more help. Or do something to pay him back, but what could she do?

She did not cook, she could have offered him a meal.

Maybe...ask him out to dinner?

That made her nervous to think about.

In no time, her bed was built, along with the television stand and coffee table. He helped her set up the TV, and she put a little décor on the coffee table, and then tried making up the futon as an appropriate couch.

Not that she would get much company, her two friends, that's it. She could probably leave it out as a bed mostly.

"Here, let me help." Isom already grabbed the ends of the futon cover to slip over the mattress.

Maybe he thought she was weird, only a futon for a bed and couch. Then again, it was a studio apartment, there were not a lot of options.

"This is pretty smart, having a futon," he said as they covered the futon together. "I think my first apartment I had an air mattress for months before I got a bed.

She realized she did not know much about him, and she wanted to know more.

"When was your first apartment? Like..." She did not want to ask if it was like her at twenty-four or earlier or maybe he was even older than her, and just looked young.

He smiled at her. "Eighteen."

Damn! He had been on his own since then? Even in college she did not feel she was adulting by staying on campus all four years. Her mother insisted she had to, and she could not get an off-campus apartment. Her mother still paid the bulk of her tuition and sent her an allowance, so she couldn't say no.

"So, no college, dorm-life, like me."

"Naaa! I immediately started working. Well, I did an apprenticeship, then studied to become a licensed cosmetologist. Been working doing hair since I was sixteen."

"You do hair? Like a barber?"

He grinned at her with a little smirk on his lips, but didn't say anything. Now she wondered why he'd gone quiet. She hoped she did not say anything wrong.

"Why would you assume I'm a barber when I say I do hair? Because I'm a man?"

"Uh...huh? Ummm, I'm not sure I understand. Aren't you a barber?"

He chuckled and walked over to her. "First of all, I said I went to cosmetology school. That's for many hair, women, men, they, anyone. Barber school is for barber's, and I would have said that if that's what I did."

She felt embarrassed for her assumption, looking away so he could not see it all over her face.

"That's cute, you're embarrassed."

"I'm sorry," was all she could say, looking down.

"Na, don't be, it's cool. Lots of people assume that. Not a lot of men go to cosmetology school." He stepped a little closer to her, forcing her to look up at him. "Another thing I want to make clear, I think you're very attractive."

The words she wanted to say were caught in her throat, and she gasped for air.

"You okay?" He immediately gave her back a gentle pat. "You need something to drink?"

"I'm fine." She walked away from him and into her kitchen, grabbed her melted Slurpee from earlier. Took a sip to cool herself down. Better than nothing.

Hot and sexy man, that knew a thing or two about doing women's hair, that helped her move into her apartment, and just built her furniture for her, gifted her with fresh bread and an offer to cook a meal for her, was attracted to her.

What in the Twilight Zone?

"Can I take you out to dinner?" she blurted out while she had a little courage in her. "To pay you back for helping me move in and fix my furniture and..." Her mind trailed off because there was nothing else to say to complete that sentence.

"I'm usually the one asking the girl I like out, but sure, I accept." He grinned as he walked over to her kitchen table, pulled out his phone from his pants pocket. "Let's exchange numbers so we can chat about it."

She did not know the first thing about planning a date for a guy, but she had two best friends who did. Everything was coming up roses.