The hallway on the fourteenth floor of the building was just as grand as the lobby. The dark green carpeted floors silenced Jack and Lana's steps as they walked a few paces to a door marked 1409—Jack's apartment.

Her mouth dropped as Jack swung the door open. "This, um, this is your apartment?" she asked.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Yep, this is home sweet home."

Looking around, Lana noticed the furniture was somewhat scarce, but everything was so neat and orderly. It was like she just stepped onto a page directly from a homeowner's magazine.

"It's nice I guess," Lana said, trying to contain how impressed she was.

"Thanks," Jack responded politely.

"I mean, I don't see a wine cellar," Lana quipped. "But I guess as long as you have a roof over your head, that's what matters."

"Actually... there's a wine cellar down the hall," Jack said, smiling.

"Of course there is!"

The glass door at the far end of the living room caught Lana's eye. She walked over, slid it open, and stepped out onto the balcony. The cool night breeze hit her face.

The city was in full view, and the lights from cars played like a concert's control panel across it. This is where Jack lived. This is the view that he looked at every single day.

Meanwhile, my apartment window faces a dumpster below, and Mrs. Olga's bras and underwear hanging on the clothesline outside the building across the alley.

Lana jumped when she heard Jack come out behind her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Jack, this view is unreal. You live in the most amazing place ever!"

Jack shrugged before turning to Lana. "Yeah, I guess it's nice. I don't know, sometimes it can be a pain to go up and down the elevator when you just want to get out and go somewhere. But yeah I agree, this view is hard to beat."

Lana took in the view again, completely forgetting the reason why she had come up there. She looked over at Jack, who had leaned over the railing next to her. Feeling so close to him, she began to notice his physical features again: his perfect hair, his chiseled jawline, and his muscular chest rising and falling. Yet, before she continued to study all of him, she sensed him glance her way. She quickly let out a quiet cough and turned her head back to the view.

Oh God, did he see me checking him out? And why am I checking him out? I need to get it together.

"Here, let me show you something." Jack gestured for Lana's hand, and she placed it in his. Electricity shot through Lana's entire body as Jack led her to the far-right corner of the balcony and put her in front of him. He pointed to something in the distance and said, "Look over there. It's very, very faint, but if you look closely, you can see the Griffith Observatory and, right next to that, the Hollywood sign."

Lana squinted to try to focus on what he was pointing at, but all she could mentally focus on was Jack's hand on her waist. Her breathing picked up slightly, and her insides turned. She twisted around and faced Jack. He took his hand off her waist instantly. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.

"Um, no. I, um, didn't see anything." She couldn't stop staring at his eyes, and he stole a glance down at her mouth. The current was zinging now in full force throughout her whole body. She felt shaky and prayed her body would not give her away. "Can you show me again?"

Jack cleared his throat and took a step back. Lana instantly felt colder. She didn't realize just how close he was to her. He looked out into the distance and squinted. "Actually, it may be a little too foggy out tonight. I'm having a hard time finding it again."

Lana looked back out into the distance. There was no fog. The night was crisp and clear.

Jack and Lana both jumped at the sound of a loud knock at the front door. The knocking continued, and Lana followed Jack back into the apartment. She tried to regain her composure. She felt like a frazzled mess. She thought back to why she was there. Oh, yeah, duh. To get that freaking box.

She stayed in the living room as Jack went to open the door. She sat on one of the leather couches and imagined watching The Great British Bake Off with Jack snuggled up next to her. But then she remembered: she wanted, no, needed, to stay on task and get her grandmother's box. She touched the key that was still dangling around her neck.

A tall handsome man stepped into the apartment. He was slightly shorter than Jack but still carried himself in a similar way. His eyes grew wide when he saw Lana sitting on the couch.

"Oh hey. Sorry, man. Didn't realize you had company. I thought I heard you come in, and I wanted to tell you something. But I can always come back later," the man said as he looked back at Jack with a questioning look.

"Okay, yeah. I'll pop over to your place when I'm done."

Lana stood up. "No, Jack. Really, it's okay. Feel free to chat."

Jack looked back at Lana. "Are you sure?"

Lana nodded, and Jack looked back at his friend. "What's up, man?" Jack asked and then quickly added, "Oh this is Lana by the way. Lana, this is my friend, Jeremy."

Jeremy smiled. He had a very large mouth, and it seemed like his smile took up his whole face. He stepped into the apartment and went to hug Lana.

"Lana! I've heard so much about you! It's so nice to finally meet you. I am so glad that Jack finally asked you out! I'm also very glad he'll finally shut up about whether or not to talk to you," Jeremy said. His demeanor was so warm and welcoming that Lana knew she must have been meeting one of Jack's closest friends.

Jack cleared his throat. "Okay, okay, that's enough," he said quickly as he patted his friend's back. Maybe a little too hard from the face Jeremy was making. "What do you want?"

Jeremy ignored his question and continued smiling at Lana. She blushed but was glad that someone came in to diffuse the rising tension in the room. "Wait, so did Jack give you the box back? What was your reaction? Oh my God, I want to hear everything, dude," he said as he turned back to Jack.

Lana was surprised that Jack shared that detail with Jeremy but then realized Jeremy must have been a part of the fantasy football league.

Jack quickly jumped in. "No, not yet. I accidentally gave her the wrong one. It turns out hers was the other one. I'm going to grab it real quick for her." He started to walk toward the bedroom.

"Oh wait..." Jeremy said as if guilty of something.

Jack stopped in his tracks and turned around to face him, "Oh shit Jer, please don't tell me what I think it is."

"Was hers the red one?" Jeremy added.

"Oh God, I had a feeling but didn't want it to be true," said Jack, looking at his friend.

"Yes, mine is the red one. Why? What's going on?" Lana's heart rate picked up a little as she saw the look of regret spread across Jeremy and Jack's faces.

"Jack said it was okay."

"Yeah, yeah I know. I just didn't think it through obviously," Jack added with a hint of bitterness.

"What the hell is going on?" Lana looked back and forth between both men with eyebrows raised.

"Lana, I'm so sorry, I—" Jack started but was quickly cut off by Jeremy.

"No, no, it's my fault! So hear me out: my mom is always on me to be philanthropic and kept pressuring me to contribute something to this annual auction she hosts." Jeremy paused but then quickly continued when Lana took in a deep breath. "I was nearing the deadline so I panicked and asked Jack for something. He said I could grab anything from the Goodwill pile except one of the boxes..."

Jack looked down and squeezed his eyes shut. Lana's heart sank. She knew where this was going.

"So um, I saw that cool-looking red box and just knew my mom would love it. I ended up grabbing it on my way out last time."

The room was silent for a moment, Jeremy's words echoing in Lana's mind.

"Shit, Lana, I honestly had no idea he took it. Please you have to believe me. If I would have remembered the specific box, I would have never let him grab it," Jack pleaded.

Lana sat back down on the couch. Her head was spinning. This sucks. Why does this keep happening?

Jack quickly turned back to his friend. "Jer, call your mom right now and say we want it back."

"At this hour, bro? She's already asleep. But I can text her real quick and hopefully she'll respond tomorrow morning." Jeremy quickly pulled out his phone and typed out a message. "Also, I hate to keep piling on the bad news, but I heard the auction already happened. And she said she sold out of everything." Jeremy tucked his phone back in his pocket and furrowed his brows.

Of course.

Lana pondered why it had to be this difficult to get back something that was just within her reach. It was always so close, but always slipped through her fingers. She put her hand on her forehead to try to stop the massive headache that began to brew.

"I am so sorry, bro. I know how much this sucks, especially after you did ask for her number in exchange."

Jack looked at Lana and then back at Jeremy. "Okay, so what can we do to get it back?"

At his words, Lana looked up. She wasn't too sure where Jack was going with this. How could they possibly get it back?

Jack continued, "I promised Lana that I'd get her this box back, and so that's what I'm going to do. I'm sure your mom has records and stuff of the buyers. We'll just see who bought it and go ask to buy it back. If she doesn't text back, first thing in the morning, we call her and ask."

"Dude, we can try but I have a feeling she won't answer. She's so busy and tells us not to bother her before a..." Jeremy stopped. He placed a hand on his chin and began stroking his non-existent beard. "Hmm, I have a thought."

Lana and Jack glanced at each other with the same puzzled look.

"So, my mom is having a party at her place tomorrow late afternoon. And I'm thinking she really wouldn't mind if we stopped by, and, like, asked her to give us detailed information about the buyer. It might be our best option at this point?"

Lana saw hope fill Jack's eyes. He really wanted to get her this box back. As much as she wanted to be upset with him, his sincerity melted those thoughts away.

Jeremy turned to Lana, "What do you say, Lana? Want to go to a party in Beverly Hills tomorrow?"

Lana laughed at how comical it was all becoming. It seemed to lighten the mood in the room slightly. "Um, what time were you thinking? I have work tomorrow and get off around two."

"That's perfect!" Jeremy said with a smile, "I think the party starts at three, so we can all just go after you get off."

Jack shrugged and nodded at his friend. "It might be worth a shot."

Lana looked between Jack and Jeremy and in that moment decided that she would let these boys, whom she hardly knew, take her to find her grandmother's box.

She heard a buzzing sound come from her purse. She quickly grabbed her phone and saw Chloe calling, right on the dot at 11 PM.

***

Any predictions? Curious to hear your thoughts on the story! Thank you for any comments or votes. ❤️