Free Next To You by Sandra Antonelli

All she saw was a dark blue lapel and his fingers poking low through the greenery. Batman licked them. She started laughing all over again.
    ‘What’s so funny?’
    Caroline giggled. ‘You ever see that Bugs Bunny cartoon where Elmer Fudd sings kill the wabbit to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries? ’
    ‘That’s What’s Opera Doc .’
    ‘Yeah, that’s the one. I was just … thinking about it.’
    ‘It’s classic Warner Brothers. Personally, I prefer The Rabbit of Seville . Sometimes, when I shave, I think of Bugs taking off Elmer’s five o’clock shadow with a little lawn mower.’
    She giggled again. ‘I have something for you,’ she said, moving from the ivy. ‘I’ll bring it over.’
    ‘What is it, a little lawn mower I can use to shave off my five o’clock shadow? Hair tonic that’ll make my scalp spout flowers?’
    Inside, Caroline put her glass in the sink. She took the jacket from the hanger in the kitchen, folded it over her arm, and took it across the landing to his place. Rather than knocking, she waited, and listened for his footfalls, for sound of movement inside his apartment.
    She heard nothing until he opened the door. He smelled even better in person than his jacket had wrapped around her body. Well, hello there, Caroline!
    ‘I left that on your terrace, didn’t I?’ he said.
    ‘I may have saved it from the certain doom of Batman’s teeth, but it has a bit of his hair all over it.’
    Besides the big grin and Tom Ford suit, William also wore a pair of silver wire-framed glasses with blue tinted lenses. ‘Tell me something … I’m sorry, please come in.’ He stepped back, holding the door wider for her to pass. She went in and stood beside the Edwardian coatrack, handing him his jacket. Without a glance at the garment, he hung it on the rack, and walked backward, leading her into his home.
    The layout of his large apartment was a mirror image of hers. The front door opened into a small foyer that spread out into a large living room with a curving bank of bay windows. The long hallway ran past two bedrooms and bathroom. Further along were the dining room and kitchen. The master bedroom, which included an attached bathroom, sat just off the dining room. Like her place, his bedroom had a set of French doors that led out to the terrace.
    With a peek down the hall, Caroline noted that his white and black kitchen had butcher-block finished countertops. The interior of her place was a buttery yellow. His was a sage green. They both had gleaming birch floors scattered with rugs, and while her furnishings were striped or floral, his were rich browns mixed with shades of deep greens and reds.
    In the living room, William sank onto the long end of a wide, L-shaped, mocha-colored couch. Caroline perched on the edge of the matching ottoman and gaped at his entertainment system setup. ‘Holy shit,’ she said. ‘That thing is huge. It’s the biggest TV I have ever seen.’
    ‘Don’t believe anyone who says size doesn’t matter. Would you like some coffee?’
    She shook her head. ‘I’ve met my two cup quota this morning, but thank you.’
    ‘Tell me,’ he frowned. ‘Did I offend you in any way last night? With my rosé-colored glasses I’m afraid I may have painted a few of the neighbors with a bit more color than necessary.’
    ‘You were a polite, perfect gentleman, and we drank Chianti, didn’t we?’
    ‘Hmm, I was afraid of that too.’
    ‘Of Chianti?’
    ‘No, of being a perfect gentleman.’
    ‘Why is that bad?’
    Will smiled. He didn’t think he was flirting, like he had last night—and he had flirted last night—but that was only because this was so easy; it was as if he’d known her for two years, not two days. That feeling was rare, and he appreciated the instantaneous camaraderie. He thought she did too. ‘My conservative attire, saying please and thank you, and offering ladies my seat on the bus, often gives the impression I don’t know how to have fun, and I