The next morning, Lila woke to the sound of her phone buzzing softly on the nightstand. A dull gray light seeped through her curtains. Outside, the city stirred in its usual slow rhythm car horns in the distance, muffled footsteps, the occasional hum of construction. She grabbed her phone and saw a message from her best friend: "Don't stay up thinking about him…" followed by a laughing emoji.
Lila smiled faintly and rolled over, though she knew her mind was already elsewhere. Evan.
She had replayed the moment under the rain a dozen times. The warmth of his umbrella. The way his voice had sounded deep and calm, but somehow pulling her in. And the way his eyes had lingered on hers, just a fraction too long. It was unsettling and intoxicating all at once.
She shook her head softly. It was just a coincidence, she told herself. But deep down, she knew coincidences didn't have that kind of gravity.
By mid-afternoon, Lila found herself in her favorite café, the one with exposed brick walls and dim fairy lights strung across the ceiling. She ordered her usual a caramel latte and sat by the window, her laptop open but untouched. Her thoughts kept drifting.
Then she saw him.
Evan. Sitting a few tables away, his laptop open, fingers hovering over the keys. He looked up for a moment, and their eyes met. Lila froze. He didn't look away. Instead, a slow, small smile curved his lips.
Her heart stuttered.
She busied herself with her cup of coffee, pretending to focus, but her mind was aware of every movement the way he ran his fingers through his damp hair, the tilt of his head when he looked at something on his screen, the faint scent that seemed to linger in the air around him.
It was impossible, yet he felt familiar. Like a half-remembered dream she couldn't shake.
Her phone buzzed again a message from her best friend: "Stop staring ". Lila chuckled quietly, shaking her head. But her eyes kept finding Evan.
Minutes passed. Evan closed his laptop and stood, grabbing his coat. He looked in her direction once more, and for a fleeting second, their eyes locked again this time with something unspoken, something heavier.
Before she could process it, he was gone.
Lila sat frozen, her coffee cooling beside her. Around her, the café buzzed softly, the hum of conversation and clinking cups filling the air. But in her mind, there was nothing but that silent look.
She couldn't explain it, but somewhere deep inside, she knew this was just the beginning.