Tonight was different. Tonight, Mia had made a decision. She wrote her phone number on a piece of paper—neat, small, just ten digits and the word “Coffee?” —and tucked it into a plastic sleeve to keep it dry from the rain. Then she waited.
Mia held up the paper. “I brought my number just in case. But if you’re free now…”
Mia’s heart slammed against her ribs. She pointed down, toward the street, toward the little park between their buildings. Then she held up the paper with her number. mia li owen
She typed it into her own phone, fingers trembling slightly.
Owen’s eyes widened. Then he grinned. “So you have been watching me.” Tonight was different
Mia grabbed her coat and ran for the stairs. She didn’t take the elevator. She needed the time to breathe, to steady herself. By the time she reached the courtyard, the rain had softened to a mist. And there he was, standing under the dim glow of a streetlamp, hands in his pockets, looking slightly bewildered and very much alive.
She was looking. Always looking.
“Hi,” she said, suddenly aware that she had never heard her own voice in the space between them.