Font Size:

“You look like you’ve been chased by a ghost,” she says.

“Very funny,” I mutter, slipping past her toward the elevator.

She follows, nudging my shoulder. “Okay, seriously. What happened? You’ve been off all week. And don’t say it’s school stress, because I’ve seen you during finals. That was worse.”

“It’s nothing,” I lie as the elevator doors close.

She snorts. “You’re a terrible liar.”

The elevator hums as it rises. I stare at the floor numbers, wishing the ride were longer so I’d have more time to come up with an explanation that doesn’t involve a dangerous man with eyes like ice and a presence that sticks to my skin.

When we reach my floor, we step into the hallway, and I finally exhale. “I met someone,” I say before I can stop myself.

Suzy’s eyebrows fly up. “Oh?Oh?Eden, that’s usually something people lead with.”

“It’s not like that,” I insist, unlocking my door. “I’ve run into him a few times. Accidentally.”

She steps inside and kicks her shoes off, giving me that look—the one that says she’s already imagining a romance montage. “Is he cute?”

“Suzy.”

“Hot?”

I close the door behind us. “He’s… intense.”

She squints at me, turning serious. “Intense how? Like, academic intense, or the other kind?”

“The other kind.”

She flops onto my couch. “Okay, spill. What’s his name?”

“Simon.”

“And?”

“And nothing. We talked for a few minutes.”

“So where’s the panic coming from?”

I hesitate. My fingers tighten around my bag strap. “He’s… I don’t know. Confusing.”

Her head tilts. “Confusing how?”

I sit across from her, smoothing my palms over my knees. “He feels… familiar. Like I’ve been near him before withoutrealizing it. And when he looks at me, it’s like he’s seeingtoo much.”

Her face softens. “Do you feel unsafe with him?”

I open my mouth. Close it. Think.

“No,” I answer slowly. “Not unsafe. Just… on edge.”

Suzy sighs, leaning back. “Eden, maybe you’re attracted to him and your brain doesn’t know what to do with that.”

I bury my face in my hands. “God, no. That’s not it.”

But even as I say it, the memory of Simon’s gaze—steady, consuming—flares in my mind. My cheeks warm despite myself.

Suzy watches me carefully. “You’ve got to be careful, okay? New York is full of strange people. Just… don’t get pulled into something without knowing what it is.”