V

had been a one-time thing. A fluke. A stran

h into it. Maybe Nathan

y Thursday lunch br

own N

his isn't t

an art exhi

tells me yo

f you'd like t

oze halfway

nked.

that chaotic orientation club list where everyone scrawled names a

t s

And he used

"hey wh

zy "wanna

itation. Considered. Respect

w... utterl

e screen and let out a squeal so loud th

understand how rare this is? What is this, 18th-

" I muttered, thumb hovering

typ

, I'd l

dele

ed a

hat

ed tha

lly, I s

s you think

me faster tha

lk about things you lo

're prote

to see t

ally dropped i

sweet. It was... observant. Like he had memorized the exact way my voice shifted when I

ompliment wrapped

on my playlist. Not even on Zoe's detailed rant about her

ould be like t

ross th

in pa

on pu

ay Ev

apartment, trying to breathe normally. When I heard the low,

rk sedan slo

ide door opened, and

my lungs

ans that somehow managed to look casual and sharp at the s

... warm,"

that low, soft kind of laugh

tter than being c

ing my face. "Ignore me. I hav

he always seemed to carry. "Good to know," he said as I slid into th

w whether to

Gal

lighting and hushed conversations. A gentle piano melody drifted through th

didn't

etimes beside me, sometimes a few ste

a swing, suspended mid-air, everythin

n this one?" he ask

sadness. More like... waiting. She

g to me. "You notice the kind o

feel. Like he saw the way my mind worked -

. Childhood dreams. Books that wrecked us.

often, but when h

meant them. Listened like he

to fill every silence. They settled be

de the

l night air, the wind kissed my b

ipped off his jacket and d

idn't h

ands back in his pock

t him, heartbe

lipping out before I could catc

n't loo

ther take my time getting it right..

d flourish in his

The kind that felt he

den tightness in my chest. I wasn't us

en for be

onven

st...

en becaus

partment with his jacket still warm aroun

and whispered, "I th

I mea

butte

oo

were start