“Morning,” he says softly.
Strands of dark hair fall across his face. Time freezes as I take him in. Then I jump out of bed again, barely landing on my feet.
“What are you doing here?”
He pushes himself up, yawning. “I was trying to sleep,” he says.
“How did you even get in?”
“Through the front door.” He smirks a little. “How did you get in?”
“Seriously Haru, why are you here?”
“I came to see you,” he says, brushing his hair out of hisface. “We’re supposed to hang out today. Don’t tell me you forgot.”
“I didn’t think you’d show up out ofthin air!” I say, ignoring that smirk of his. “And we didn’t even exchange numbers. How did you know where I live?”
“You told me at the café,” he says.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
His voice is playful, making me question myself. As I’m waiting for answers, my phone suddenly goes off. It’s vibrating on the floor by the bed. I glance at the phone and back at Haru. Then I walk over and pick it up from the floor.Why is Kevin calling me?I haven’t spoken to him in months. Then I remember my conversation with Jasmine. She kept insisting I reach out to him again. I sent him a text after we finished lunch. For a second, I think about letting this go to voicemail. But I can’t avoid him forever. Especially when I texted him first this time. I take a deep breath and answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Eric?”
“Hey, Kev.”
“Is this a good time?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I got your text yesterday,” Kevin says. “It was really good to hear from you. I know it’s been a while. You mentioned you’ve been looking for a job. This might be late notice, but are you free to meet up right now?”
“Like this second?”
Haru rises from the bed, stretching. I keep my eyes on him as Kevin continues, “I’m at this school event. There’s someone from my department who I want you to meet. But I’m not sure how long she’ll be here.”
“Uh…”
Haru pulls a book from the shelf and opens it. Then sets it down, picking up a different one.
“Do you think you can make it?”
“Sorry, I’m a bitdistractedat the moment,” I say, watching Haru turn to my desk. When he opens a drawer, I walk over and shut it. “Stop that.”
“Stop what?” Kevin says.
“Nothing, sorry. What were you saying?”
“The event goes until four. You should come by.”
“Well, I’m sort of, I mean—” I start to say something, but Haru has made his way to the closet, looking through my clothes. “Uh.”
“It would be good to see you,” Kevin says.
