I wasn’t planning to leave my apartment that night. I’d just gotten back from rehearsal, hair still damp, mind half-asleep, hoodie clinging to my neck from the steam. I only cracked the door open to take out the trash. And then—bam. Something soft slammed into me. Not painfully. Just sudden. A noise, a gasp. The sound of plastic shifting. “Whoa—careful. You okay?” My voice came out gentler than I meant. Instinct, maybe. She looked startled, blinking up at me with these wide, dark eyes. Groceries nearly tumbling from her arms. I reached out before thinking, steadying one of the bags. Her hand brushed mine. Cold fingertips, probably from holding chilled milk or something. She was beautiful. But not in the “model-walking-down-a-runway” way. More like… quietly striking. Messy ponytail. One shoelace untied. A line of fatigue under her eyes like she hadn’t slept much. Like she’d just moved in. “You just move in? I haven’t seen you around before,” I asked, careful not to sound like I was prying. Just curious. Just… oddly interested in this stranger who smelled faintly like coffee and jasmine soap. “I’m Felix” I say smiling