Hidden Gems by Carrie Alexander

certain look with a coordinated outfit and her hair in a braided knot. “I’m all out of sorts.”
    “I understand,” Jamie said. Grudgingly, for him. “But I’m not letting this drop for good,” he added because he couldn’t seem to help it. “You should think about the possibility that our friendship won’t be ruined if we become lovers. It might even be enhanced.”
    “You’re such an optimist.”
    He smiled. “And that’s a good thing.”
    “I’ll think about it. But I can’t make a decision so fast.” Even though she always made decisions fast. “Will you wait? A reprieve is all I need to get my head straight.”
    Man and dog cocked their heads at her.
    “All I need,” she repeated, hoping that he couldn’t see that her heart was saying something more.
    All I need is you.
    “That and breakfast.” Jamie took her hand and turned Sally loose. The dog bounded into the crosswalk, feathered tail waving like a semaphore. They jogged after her, stretching their legs, and the tension inside Marissa finally let go.

    “DO YOU THINK she’s gone?”
    “I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
    Jamie angled his head toward their brownstone. “I hear music. Maroon Five.”
    “Then she’s still there. Damn.” Marissa slowly climbed the steps. “I really don’t want a roommate again. It’s been nice, having the place to myself. My first time completely on my own.”
    Jamie followed. She’d talked often about her family in Miami, so he knew that she’d grown up poor but ambitious, sharing a tiny bedroom with her sister, dreaming of life in the big city. “I don’t want her, either, but if I have to take the bullet, I will.”
    “No!” Marissa looked startled by her own vehemence. “That is, I don’t expect you to sacrifice yourself for my sake. She’ll find a place.”
    He weighed the possibilities. “Are you worried that we’d sleep together?”
    “Who? Us?”
    He could only hope. “Me and Shandi.”
    Cool now, Marissa raised an eyebrow. “Would you?”
    “Hell, no.” When he ran into Shandi these days, he couldn’t remember why he’d ever been involved with her. Thinking about it, he saw that she’d dazzled him with her freewheeling zest, somewhat like Marissa. Shandi Lee was an experience. Three years ago, he’d still been new to the city lifestyle, recently removed from a comfortable suburban home. He had commuted to college, then put in a short stint at a small-town paper before realizing that he’d become too settled.
    But he’d progressed since his first days in the city. He’d become a lot smarter about what kind of woman he wanted in his life.
    “You liked her once,” Marissa ventured.
    “Uh, I still do.” Even if he didn’t entirely trust her.
    “You liked her in a romantic way.”
    “Well, you were with…what was his name?”
    “Ivan. He’s a cancer researcher now, you know, at Sloan Kettering.”
    “Impressive.” Marissa’s men usually had careers of importance or wealth. Jamie would never accomplish either with his average-paying job at the Village Observer. His big attempt at ambition was ghost-writing a biography with a rock legend, a project that had hit a major pothole when he’d realized the man was functionally illiterate.
    Marissa had unlocked the front door. She turned her eyes on him. They were clear and unblinking, framed in a fringe of dark lashes. “No, I don’t want Ivan back.”
    “And I don’t want Shandi.”
    “Then we’re agreed. We’ll all be just friends.”
    Little did she know. After Sally’s sojourn in the park, they’d gone to Blue Dog’s Café, a popular coffeehouse with huge breakfasts and free doggie biscuits at the counter. Marissa had excused herself and come back with her hair finger-combed and the baggy T-shirt knotted above her belly button. Without makeup, her face glowed. Her bare lips were full and soft. He’d found it tough to pull his gaze away, although her natural beauty was daunting. She could emerge from a