The warmth of the alcohol spread through my limbs, dulling the sharp edges of my mind. The night air outside was crisp, cutting through the remnants of our drinks like a blade. We didn’t say much as we walked, just let the weight of the evening settle between us. Adrian had his hands in his pockets, his stride easy, unbothered. I, on the other hand, counted each step. One, two, three. One, two, three. A rhythm to keep me grounded.

  The market square was empty at this hour, the shops closed, the cobblestone streets slick from the light drizzle that had passed earlier. The old fountain in the center still gurgled softly, the only sound apart from the occasional rustling of trees. We sat at the edge of it, the stone cool beneath us.

  Adrian stretched his arms out behind him, tilting his head back. “I like this,” he murmured. “Being out here when the world is quiet.” I exhaled slowly. “Fewer people. Less noise.”

  “Less bullshit.” That made me laugh, just a little.

  For a while, we just existed—he relaxed, me tapping absentmindedly against the stone of a fountain. His eyes flickered to my fingers but he didn’t comment this time. Then, out of nowhere, I asked, “Have you ever done something stupid?”

  He smirked, running a hand through his dark hair. “Oh, all the time. I think that’s just being human.” I turned to look at him. “Have you ever… hurt someone with it? I mean, by accident?” His expression shifted slightly, not alarmed, not suspicious, just obviously considering. “Yeah,” he said finally. “Of course. Everyone does that at some point.”

  My heart pounded.

  “But it’s not like I wanted to. I’m not proud of it is what I’m trying to say,” he added. That part stuck in my head. It’s not like I wanted to. I swallowed. The alcohol made it easier to say things I normally wouldn’t. “Nobody ever listened to me like this before,” I admitted.

  Adrian turned his head to look at me, really look at me, like he was searching for something beyond the words. “Maybe they weren’t the right people.”

  The words settled over me like a strange kind of comfort. “This is getting too deep for this time”, he started laughing loudly with a chuckle that made me laugh too, but I immediately turned my head down to silence it by pressing my lips together. I suddenly remembered what I had done before the bar. The so-called “hurt by accident”. But in my case, it was a full-blown unalivement, which I almost spilled to a complete stranger.

  He shifted slightly, his knee brushing against mine. “We could meet again tomorrow,” he said, voice smooth, almost teasing. “Same time, same bar.” A pause. Then, “As a routine.” That made me smile again.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Or,” he continued, tilting his head, “do you have another routine for Saturdays?” I hesitated for a split second too long.

  His lips twitched like he’d caught it. Like he knew there was something there, something behind my careful pauses and measured words.

  “Why?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.

  Adrian opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, I let out a dry, breathy laugh. “Wait, let me guess,” I said, smirking. “You got drunk in a bar, saw a hot girl, thought maybe tonight’s your lucky night, and somehow—” I gestured between us. “—this happened instead. And now you’re here, doing some free therapy session with a lunatic instead of getting laid.”

  His brows flicked up in amusement, but I could see the way his jaw tightened just slightly like he wasn’t used to people putting words in his mouth. “It’s fine,” I said before he could respond. “You’re free to go now. No hard feelings. I got caught up in things. My fault.” I flashed him a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “Have a good night.”

  Adrian leaned back slightly, watching me with a look I couldn’t quite read. I exhaled sharply. “You don’t have to be nice about it either. I get it. You’re a nice guy. You don’t want to hurt my feelings, but it’s fine. I’m good.”

  For the first time tonight, he actually seemed startled. Not offended. Just almost a bit thrown off. Like he hadn’t expected me to pull the rug out from under him first. For a moment, he just stared at me, fingers flexing slightly against the stone of the fountain. Then, without a word, he pushed himself up, brushing off his jeans.

  I felt a strange pang in my chest as he took a step back. But then, he turned again. Met my eyes.

  And with that same smooth, unreadable expression, he said, “See you tomorrow. At Nine.” And just like that, he walked away.

  “Listen,” I called after him, my voice sharper than I intended. “I won’t be there.” He didn’t stop walking.

  “I could be a killer, you know,” I added, folding my arms across my chest. And well, that wasn’t even a lie. It was meant to be sarcastic, biting, something to put distance between us before it could get whatever the hell this was turning into.

  Adrian lifted a hand in a lazy wave, his back still turned to me. “Don’t mind.” I blinked as he kept walking.

  “You don’t even know my name!” I yelled, feeling some strange frustration bubbling up in me, a mixture of disbelief and something I didn’t want to name.

  He didn’t stop. Didn’t even slow down.

  “I’m Kathy. My name is Kathy.”, I don’t know what the hell is driving me right now. That made him turn. Walking backward now, his hands tucked into his pockets, his smile—God, that smile—stretching wide and easy across his whole face.

  “See you tomorrow at nine, Kathy.”

  And then he was gone in the shadows.

  For a moment, I just stood there, the cool night air pressing against my skin, my heart pounding against my ribs in an uneven rhythm.

  One, two, three. One, two—shit. No.

  I shook my head, exhaling hard as I turned in the opposite direction. I needed to get home. I needed to reset. This was a joke. A fluke. A random encounter that meant nothing.

  And yet as I walked, counting my steps, feeling the usual urges creeping up at the edges of my mind, something was off. The sharp, crawling need to fix everything in my head, to make sure the world was in its right order—it was still there but muted.

  Almost dulled, like something else had distracted it, like something else had taken its place.

  A ridiculous thought bloomed in my head. One I immediately pushed down, buried, and denied.

  But as much as I wanted to pretend otherwise, my heart was doing something it hadn’t done in a long time. Or had it ever?