Had the elevator suddenly gotten hotter?
I blinked at him, thrown off. "What are you doing?"
One corner of his mouth lifted, but he didn't move back. "From here, you look pretty affected."
Nope. I was absolutely a terrible liar.
But was I going to let that slide? Of course not.
I placed my hands on his shoulders and leaned in just a little. His gaze immediately dropped to my lips, and I murmured with a half-smile of my own: "Stop fantasizing. Now back up before I hurt you." I pushed lightly and made him back off a few inches.
Wow, look at me being all brave! This has to be a sign of oxygen deprivation.
He laughed and then sat down beside me.
Wanting to cut the topic short, I spoke before he could.
"Shouldn't someone have noticed us by now? It's been almost an hour."
"What, bored already? If you've got other elevator movie scenes in mind, I'm open to them."
Ignoring his shameless grin and the implied meaning, I tucked my hands between my knees to warm them. "Actually, I'm a little cold." Then I yawned and leaned back. "And I don't know if that's good or bad, but I'm getting sleepy."
"How can you be so different from one moment to the next, Sunshine?"
Even with my eyes closed, I could tell he was laughing.
"Today was supposed to be amazing. Being stuck here is completely unfair!"
"Why, missing a date?"
"Better! I finally escaped the dorms! I just moved in here, and right now I should've been in my own warm, peaceful apartment enjoying life. I don't even have a boyfriend." The last part came out as a mumble. If he answered, I didn't hear it.
A few minutes later, when I realized I wasn't cold anymore, I smiled and let myself drift into a peaceful sleep. Trusting a stranger enough to fall asleep beside him… absolutely not normal. But exhaustion clearly didn't care.
I tried not to open my eyes when a loud noise, like a door being forced open, dragged me out of my sweet dream.
"I'm sure my shoulder is very comfortable, but you need to wake up, sunshine. My arm is numb now. And they're about to open the door."
That voice… I snapped my eyes open and lifted my head, coming face-to-face with a pair of caramel ones. I stared at him, not sure what to say, feeling my face heat up for some strange reason. Strange, because I wasn't exactly the blushing type.
"Sorry, it wasn't on purpose. My bad."
When I looked down, I noticed the jacket draped over me and froze. So that was the warmth I'd felt. He didn't exactly look like the type to do something that thoughtful.
I handed him his jacket with a polite smile. "Thank you."
When he took it, I jumped to my feet and straightened my clothes. He stood up too, smiling.
But once he slipped the jacket back on, his expression returned to that original cocky look.
"You owe me, shorty."
"For what?"
He raised an eyebrow like the answer was obvious and I was just pretending not to know. "I let you use my shoulder and my jacket."
"You're kidding. Right?" This guy was definitely troubled. Who would expect something in return for such a thing?
He clicked his tongue and gave me a crooked smile. "Dead serious."
Whatever. No point dragging it out. "Since I'm never seeing you again, I guess it won't matter."
Right then, the door opened. I was just about to step out when he spoke again.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that… Duru Ulusoy."
What?!
This guy I had never spoken to before, who I was certain I didn't know from anywhere, had just called me by my last name?!
But if I hadn't told him — and I was very sure I didn't have the kind of disease where I'd mutter my own last name in my sleep — then how had he learned it?
I froze where I stood in complete shock.
He left the elevator with that crooked smile, leaving my name echoing in my ears.
My heartbeat didn't speed up— it spiked. Like my body realized something before my brain did.
He shouldn't have known it. But somehow… he did.
And for the first time today, I wondered if moving here had been a mistake.