My face burns.
"Oh, babe." She sighs. "You've got it bad."
"I barely know him."
"Doesn't matter." She steals one of my fries. "Sometimes it just hits you like that. Like lightning."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I just left Daniel. Because I'm a mess. Because—" I drop my burger. "Because what if I'm wrong about him too?"
I can't stop thinking about the man.
I've tried everything. Reruns ofLove Is Blind, the Sophie Kinsella book I grabbed from the library, scrolling endlessly through TikTok. Nothing works. Every time I close my eyes, I see his face. Feel his lips on mine.
Rain hammers the window. Reeves and his girlfriend are already asleep.
I grab my keys before I can talk myself out of it.
The drive takes twenty minutes. Rain pounds my windshield, blurs the streetlights into smears of gold. My hands shake on the wheel. This is crazy. This is absolutely insane. This is reckless and impulsive, and everything I shouldn't be doing right now. This is—
His brownstone building appears through the downpour.
I park, kill the engine. Sit there, breathing hard.
Then I'm out of the car, running up his steps, water soaking through my sneakers, my jacket, my hair plastered to my face.
I knock. Wait.
I'm shaking violently.
The door finally opens.
Julian stands there in grey sweats and a white t-shirt, hair messy, eyes widening when he sees me.
"Liza—"
I don't let him finish. I step forward, grab his neck and pull him to me.
He cups my face, kisses me.
His kiss is soft and gentle at first, but quickly turns desperate—his tongue sliding against mine, his large hands threading through my wet hair.
This. This is what I want.
Not someone who controls me. Someone whoseesme.
Julian's hungry but tender, his touch soft even as he pulls me inside, kicks the door shut. His hands roam my waist, my hips, pulling me flush against him.
I gasp into his mouth.
He lifts me, presses me against the door. My legs wrap around him instinctively.
"You're soaked," he breathes against my lips.
"Don't care."
