I saw him first, but he’d argue that was a lie.

He kept to himself, sitting in a corner booth at Daze. A pencil balanced behind his ear as he flipped through a tattered notebook and sipped on whiskey. He’d been sitting in that corner booth since I’d arrived two hours ago and hadn’t once looked up. The only person he took note of was the bartender, who wandered over every now and then to top off his drink.

I sat in the booth across from him, glancing over every now and then, sipping on my drink of choice for the night: vodka.

I used to drink tequila, but it made me too emotional.

I once tried bourbon, but it made me too sick.

So, vodka was my safest bet.

He was different in almost every way. He was huge, built, fit, and shredded. His black T-shirt clung to his body in all the right places, and his lips didn’t have a smile on them, but those eyes…

Those sweet, sad, hazel eyes were exactly as I remembered, except now they weren’t hidden behind glasses.

Many drunken women wandered up to Elliott’s booth, trying to grab his attention, but he never gave it to them. He just nodded them away and kept his head down, focused on his notebook. Every once in a while, he’d take his pencil from behind his ear and write something down.

“You sittin’ alone?” a drunken man said, stumbling to my booth, sliding in across from me.

“Oh, well, actually—”

“Let me buy you a drink,” he blurted out, reaching out to touch my hand, his covered in oil and grease. His white T-shirt was stained with the same filth, as if he’d lived under the hood of a car for the past ten years.

“No, it’s okay, really. Thank you,” I said, trying my best to keep calm while I pulled my arms closer to my body.

“Co-come on,” he begged pitifully, reaching out even more. “Let’s get a drink and have a good time together.”

My lips parted to speak, but I stopped when another voice spoke up. “Jimmy, move on.” I looked up at the corner booth, where Elliott was still marking up his notebook but speaking to Jimmy.

Jimmy sat back a little and groaned. “Come on, Elliott, don’t be a—”

“Jimmy,” he said, his voice even sterner, still looking down. “Move on.”

Jimmy grumbled but stood and walked away.

“Thank you,” I said to Elliott.

He nodded once, still looking down. “Jimmy means no harm. He’s just landed on hard times.”

“Haven’t we all at some point?” I lightly chuckled.

For a split second, he glanced my way, then he returned his stare back to his notes.

Then, he paused.

He sat up straighter.

Narrowed his hazel eyes.

Then, he closed the notebook.

When his head rose and his body rotated toward me, my heart started aggressively pounding against my ribcage, uncertain of what would happen next.

He stood up first and then I followed his suit, smoothing my hands over my leather jacket.

“Jasmine,” he said as he breathed out, his eyes filled with confusion.

“Elliott.”

“What are you…” he started, but his words trailed off.

A small twitch found his bottom lip, and he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black jeans. My eyes danced across his face, taking in every part of him, trying to note the things that had changed, trying to grasp the parts that remained the same.

Most things had changed.

His beard was trimmed short—I’d never seen him with facial hair, and I instantly loved it. His left arm bore several tattoos, and I tried to take in every single one.

He was so grown up now.

There weren’t many parts of him that were the same, but those eyes…

Those beautiful hazel eyes…

He picked up his whiskey glass and drank the final drop before putting it back down. “What are you…” He paused, shutting his eyes. “What are y-you doing here?” His small stutter made my heart twist.

“Looking for you.” I didn’t know what else to say, what else to feel. My eyes watered over, and the fire in my gut began to burn me from inside as the whole situation became overwhelming. Seeing him sent a wave of emotions through me. “I’m sorry, I know this is weird and stalkerish and not what you might want, and I know this is a lot to take in, but I wanted to see you because”—my hands started shaking, and I couldn’t find the words for what I needed to express—“because…” I twitched a little, growing nervous. “Well, because…because…” My eyes glassed over looking at the skinny boy who seemed so fragile. “Because…” My voice trembled, and Elliott narrowed his eyes my way.

“Jasmine?”

“Yes?”

“Breathe.”

“I-I am.”

“You’re not. Trust me, I know what it’s like not to breathe.”

And there he was—the boy I once knew.

My heart…

It skipped.

It cracked.

It broke.

It healed.

“I didn’t mean to just show up, but—”

“Jazz.” His voice was low, the nickname sending chills down my spine.

“Yes?”

“Let me kiss you?” He said it in the form of a question.

I nodded. “Yes.”

His mouth crashed against mine as he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around my body, pushing me up against the edge of the booth. He kissed me hard, kissed me deep, kissed me as if it were the last wish he held in his heart. His hands slid under my thighs and he lifted me up, placing me on top of the table, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist—and just like that, I was back in his story. Yet, unlike our younger chapters where our fire flickered, these chapters burned.

His lips…

His touch…

His body…

His world…

Oh, how I longed to return to the world of Elliott, where everything made sense and I never questioned what love meant.

He tasted like whiskey and memories I’d almost forgotten.

I gently moaned into him as he made love to my lips. Our bodies pressed against one another, two people twisting into a fantasy of yesterdays.

He remembered his promise.

He remembered saying he’d kiss me once we met again.

He remembered his words.

But this kiss…

This kiss was even more. It was more than I’d thought I would receive and probably more than he’d known he would give. It was painful, ugly, sad, and somehow still beautiful.

Our kiss was the apology for all we’d missed.

He slowly pulled back, my hands resting against his chest, his hands still wrapped around me. His teeth slowly grazed against my bottom lip as he rested his forehead against mine. Our breaths were uneven, and I wondered if it was his heartbeats or mine that were so wild and free. He licked his lips slowly, and held me so tight.

TJ was wrong.

He was the same. He was the same gentle boy whose touches healed me. He was the same quiet boy who held me when I needed him the most. He was the same sweet light in a world filled with darkness.

I breathed him in and held him so close, feeling like if I let go, he’d vanish into thin air. “I’m so sorry, Elliott.” I cried into his shirt, pulling him closer to me as our lips touched. “I’m so sorry about Katie.”

He let me go.

He stepped backward, and when our eyes met, his stare was filled with confusion. Then each time he blinked, his eyes became duller…tougher…colder.

Hard.

“What?” he asked quietly.

“I… TJ told me what happened. I’m so sorry, I can’t believe she’s—”

“Shut up,” he barked out of nowhere. Every gentle part of him was now gone. My head started swirling, thinking I’d made it all up, as if our embrace, our kiss was simply a mirage in my tired mind.

“What?” I remained baffled, climbing off the table. “El—”

“No,” he ordered and didn’t say another word. He gathered his notebook, and walked away, disappearing up a staircase. My heart was racing in my chest, and confusion filled my head.

Elliott had welcomed me back into his life.

Then, in a flash, he’d vanished into thin air.