“I’ll give it back,” she said quietly.
“I was half asleep. That doesn’t count.”
She blinked up at an unfamiliar ceiling—soft gray, with tiny glow-in-the-dark stars she definitely hadn’t put there. Then last night came rushing back: the rain, the broken umbrella, the stranger with the kind eyes and the oversized hoodie.
Oh no. I stayed at his apartment.
She smiled. That was eight. Later, when the rain had finally stopped and the sun broke through the clouds, Theo walked her to the bus stop. They stood a little closer than strangers should. When the bus arrived, Lila hesitated.
“Maybe.” He shrugged, but his ears were pink. “But you smiled seven times since you walked in here. And I’d like to make it eight.”
Lila buried her face in the pillow, mortified and smiling at the same time. The kitchen was small but impossibly cozy. String lights shaped like tiny strawberries hung over the sink. A teapot shaped like a sleepy cat sat on the stove. And there—leaning against the counter, scrolling through his phone with one hand and holding a mug with the other—was Theo. Cutely Together -Chapter 2- By Ellaraia
“I’m never speaking again,” Lila announced, wrapping her arms around herself. “Just so you know.”
She snorted. “Did you just quote your own apartment sign?”
She leaned her head against the cold glass, hugged his hoodie tighter, and realized she was already counting down to the next rain. “I’ll give it back,” she said quietly
As the bus pulled away, she watched him through the window, still standing there, still smiling. Her phone buzzed almost immediately.
He laughed, pulling out his phone. “What’s your number?”