Sydney Sawyer gripped her phone tightly and mumbled a soft reply.
But the other end of the line went silent. In a daze, she thought she heard the door to the apartment next door open, and then…
Her doorbell rang.
The familiar voice was still on the other end of the line:
"I'm at your door."
...
The kitten that had been lying on Sydney Sawyer's lap hopped to the floor at the sound, stretching out luxuriously. Sydney, on the other hand, scrambled into the bathroom to quickly fix her hair in the mirror.
'O-okay. I'm presentable enough.'
When she opened the door, Sebastian Lockwood was standing right there. "Hello, Uncle."
Unlike his daytime attire, he was now in a minimalist black loungewear set that accentuated his tall, slender frame. Compared to his elegant, aloof daytime demeanor, he now looked much more relaxed.
"Did my cat run over here?" he asked, his gaze lowered as he looked at her.
"Yeah."
'Sydney's mind raced. 'Should I invite him in for a bit? It is a rare opportunity, after all. But it's so late… a man and a woman, alone… that doesn't seem appropriate, does it?''
In a split second, her mind spun, countless thoughts flashing by.
A cat's meow brought her back to her senses.
The kitten heard its owner's voice and scurried past Sydney's feet to rub against Sebastian Lockwood's leg.
He bent down, scooped the cat into his arms with one hand, and looked at Sydney. "Thank you for taking care of him. I was busy with some reading and just saw the message in the residents' group chat. I hope he wasn't too much trouble."
"Not at all. I really like cats." Sydney always felt a little flustered and awkward when facing him.
'Watching the kitten snuggle against him in his arms, she suddenly felt a pang of jealousy...'
'That cat is so lucky. It gets to roll around in his arms.'
"How old is he?" Sydney asked softly.
"A little over three months."
"What's his name?"
"Timmy. He was incredibly timid when I first found him." The way Sebastian enunciated his words had a particular quality, a charm that was impossible to describe but wonderful to hear.
"That's a unique name. Very cute. But it's too dangerous for him to be climbing out of windows."
'Sydney was just surprised that the cat was a rescue.'
"I just brought him home two days ago. I'd actually scheduled someone to come seal the windows tomorrow on my day off. He's usually so timid he won't even go near the windowsill. I can't believe he slipped out while I wasn't paying attention."
"He doesn't seem that timid to me," Sydney laughed. 'And to think his full name is Timmy Lockwood.'
Sebastian stroked the cat's fur. "It's getting late, so I won't disturb you further. Thanks again."
After they said their goodbyes, Sydney closed the door and returned to her apartment, collapsing onto the sofa like a deflated balloon. 'Is that all we said? Just a few sentences?'
'I wasn't even busy. It wouldn't have been a bother at all.'
**
After getting ready for bed, Sydney lay down and stared at Sebastian Lockwood's phone number for a long time before carefully saving the contact.
Just before going to sleep, she opened WeChat and discovered that the app, having scanned her contacts, was suggesting a new friend to add: Sebastian Lockwood.
Sydney bit her lip. 'Should I add him?'
'Isn't it too forward? What if he rejects the request?'
After psyching herself up for what felt like an eternity, she hesitantly tapped "Add." Once the friend request was sent, her heart began to pound. She waited for a long time, but there was no response.
'Did he see it and decide not to add me? Or is he just asleep?'
As time ticked by, her anticipation slowly faded into resignation. Sydney sighed. Just as she was about to put her phone away and go to sleep, she suddenly noticed a new chat window on her WeChat.
'He accepted my friend request!'
She tapped open the chat page, where a system prompt appeared:
[I've accepted your friend request. We can chat now.]
Sydney sat bolt upright in bed, her heart thumping—THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—each beat more forceful than the last. It felt like it was about to leap out of her throat as she stared at the dialogue box.
'She felt like someone on the brink of death who'd just been granted a miraculous recovery. She was so excited she wanted to scream!'
'All those years ago, she couldn't even manage to get his phone number. And now, she was actually his friend on WeChat?'
Sydney grew tense all over. She even cleared her throat for no reason. 'Should I say something?' she wondered.
'Send a sticker? Or just say hi?'
She hesitated, and the seconds ticked by. In a flash, it was past midnight...
'Is it too late to message him now? If he asks why I added him, what am I supposed to say?'
She had too many reservations. Sydney sighed. 'I'm still such a coward.'
'But now that we're friends, I can see his Moments.'
Sebastian's profile picture was of Timmy. He was pure white and looked utterly adorable.
Sydney nodded. She'd never imagined that she would one day be able to see his Moments.
She was inexplicably excited and nervous...
She tapped once. When nothing happened—whether because the touchscreen didn't register it or for some other reason—she subconsciously tapped a couple more times.
Then something strange happened.
Instead of opening his Moments, her phone vibrated once, and a notification appeared in their chat:
[You poked "Sebastian Lockwood"]
Sydney's mind went blank!
It was already past midnight.
'Who am I? Where am I? What have I just done?'
'In the middle of the night... Surely Sebastian won't think I'm some kind of creep, deliberately trying to hit on him!'
'No, wait. Calm down!'
'I think you can undo a poke,' Sydney thought, taking a deep breath. Just as she was about to retract it, her phone vibrated again.
Sebastian Lockwood: [?]
Sydney gritted her teeth. 'He's still awake?'
Undoing it now would just be more awkward. She couldn't exactly admit she'd been trying to stalk his Moments. Pursing her lips, she typed: [Still up so late?]
She added a cute, playful emoji.
Sebastian Lockwood: [Just reviewing some files.]
Sydney Sawyer: [Still working at this hour? Being a doctor sounds tough.]
[It's not so bad. Did you need something?]
[Oh, it's nothing. You should get some rest. I won't bother you anymore. Good night.]
Sydney stared intently at the screen. To her relief, Sebastian didn't reply, and she finally let out a sigh.
'Looking back at their chat history, she felt like a complete moron. No matter how she read it, the conversation looked like a desperate attempt to get his attention. So cringe. This isn't how it was supposed to go.'
Meanwhile, Sebastian was looking at their chat history, the corner of his lip twitching into a smile.
'What was that all about?'
'This girl pokes me in the middle of the night, then says it's nothing? Was that on purpose?'
He glanced at the soundly sleeping Timmy, feeling a bit helpless. The cat was usually so timid—how had he dared to climb out the window to the neighbor's today? He should have just been named "Boldy Lockwood" from the start.
...
Sydney lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling utterly idiotic.
First, she'd nearly been caught by the elevator doors, and now she'd done this. Just then, her phone vibrated, signaling a new WeChat message from Sebastian.
She opened it to find another voice message.
Sydney bit her lip. Holding her breath, she nervously tapped play and carefully pressed the phone to her ear...
"Thanks again for today. You get some rest, too. Good night—"
The message was short. His voice was low and deep, and he drew out the final syllable slightly. As the sound caressed her ear, it seemed to carry a seductive, entangling quality, stirring a sudden flush of heat within her.
Sydney clutched the covers, feeling like even her breath was hot.
She listened to it several more times, giggling to herself like an idiot before hitting "Save."
For years, she'd thought her feelings for him were just a fleeting infatuation from her youth, the simple joy of a first crush. But now she realized...
...her feelings for him had never changed.
'In fact, she liked him even more now.'