I had never much understood Nik's decision to leave with his parents and younger brother when his father's job had shifted the family to Asia four years ago. Nik had already been 18 then and entirely capable of staying on his own, but when his parents had broken the news that they were moving in six months, Nik had applied to a university there so he could go with them. The group of us had originally planned on going to the local university together, so his sudden defection had come as a shock.

I still remembered the day we'd sent him off – the six of us huddled off to the side of the departure hall, trying to plaster smiles over the gaping hole Nik was leaving in his wake.

"I'll be back," Nik had sworn.

"I wish you didn't have to go," Nadine had lamented.

"C'mere." Nik had spread his arms wide and Nadine had rushed into them, hugging him back fiercely.

Watching their tight embrace had brought a sour taste to my mouth. I had folded my arms across my chest, narrowing my eyes and counting the seconds until they parted.

Lux had been standing beside me and she had thrown an arm over my shoulders. "Calm down," she'd whispered in my ear, standing on her tiptoes to do so because she was shorter than I was.

I had faked a smile. "What are you talking about? I'm perfectly calm."

Lux had eyed me knowingly. Then she'd bounded up to the pair and demanded, "Stop hogging him, Nadi! It's my turn to say goodbye."

Nadine had rolled her eyes at Lux's antics. "You're such a brat, Lux," she'd said, but she had stepped away from Nik. Lux had stuck out her tongue at Nadine before turning to Nik, who had been watching their exchange with an amused look.

"No need to fight over me, girls," he'd drawled, causing Lux to kick him in the shin. "Ow!"

"That's for being a creep," Lux had proclaimed haughtily.

Nadine had laughed and Lux had smirked at Nik. Then she had jabbed him in the chest with a finger, "Don't you dare forget about us over there, okay?"

"I'm pretty sure you wouldn't let me even if I wanted to," Nik had replied drily.

"Will you be coming back during the holidays?" Lux had wanted to know, already distracted. "I want souvenirs!"

Nik had laughed, ruffling her hair. She'd shoved his hand away in response, glaring at him. "I'll try," he had promised then. Satisfied with that answer, Lux had skipped back towards me. Now that she had done her job, she had turned her attention back onto fixing her hair. She had run her fingers through her hair repeatedly to straighten out the mess Nik had made of it.

"How's my hair?" she'd asked me.

I had reached out and helped to smooth down a remaining stray lock. "Looks fine now."

"That stupid Nik," Lux had muttered.

After Lux, it had been the guys' turn to bid Nik farewell.

Ansel and Nik had done one of their complicated handshakes ending in a fist bump. Then they had stared at each other for a moment before laughing, both simultaneously moving in for a hug. Ansel had slapped Nik on the back, saying, "We're going to miss you, man."

"I know," Nik had said, grinning cockily as they'd pulled apart. "How could you not? I'm the one that holds everyone together, no?" This had been said jokingly, but none of us had had any idea back then how true his words would turn out to be.

Nadine, still standing next to Nik, had reached out and slapped him on the bicep. "Don't be so cocky!" she'd scoffed, but she had been smiling – the first sliver of a smile I had seen on her since we had come to see Nik off.

"Admit it!" Nik had slung his arm across Nadine's shoulders and grinned down at her lopsidedly. "You'll miss me like crazy."

She had stared up at him with big watery eyes that had made me want to scratch her eyes out. "You know I will," she had said, before turning away. She had cast me a quick glance then. I'd had my eyes fixed on her, unable to keep my scowl to myself. Beside me, I had felt Lux grab my hand warningly. I had known what she had been trying to convey to me without words. The words had, after all, been what she had been telling me all along. Calm down. You're his girlfriend, not her.

Wolf had noticed as well. In a swift move, he had stepped towards Nadine and Nik in a way that forced the other two to move away from each other. Nik had let go of Nadine with an easy laugh, not noticing the downward turn of Nadine's lips. He had turned to give Wolf his full attention. "It's your turn, is it?" he'd asked.

Wolf's farewell had included a handshake and a more reserved one-armed hug. "Stay in touch," he had said quietly.

"I will," Nik had replied, serious for the first time since we had arrived at the airport. It had perhaps only then begun to dawn on him that he was about to leave his homeland and everything – and everyone – he had ever known.

His gaze had travelled over all the others to come to a slow stop when it had met mine. I had been the only one who hadn't yet said a word to him, and all the others had known it.

"We'll give you some time alone," Lux had announced, far from subtly.

"Take your time," Ansel had added, raising his eyebrows suggestively at Nik. Nik had smiled back, but said nothing in return.

After watching them file away, Nadine more reluctantly than the rest, I had turned to Nik.

He had been watching me with suddenly hooded eyes. His reaction towards me had been so different to how he had behaved with the others that it had scared me.

I had clung to the hem of his shirt like a petulant child. "Why do you have to go?" I had whined, looking up at him with a pleading look.

He had untangled my fingers from his shirt and held my hand loosely in his. "It'll be fine, Tamy," he had said. "It's just four years. We'll both be busy with uni... I'll be back before you know it."

I had gripped his hand tightly. He had been particularly distant in the past few months leading up to his departure, and I had worried that I had been losing him. Seeing the way he had interacted with the other girls earlier had brought those fears sharply back to the forefront. "I love you, Nik," I had said then, wanting to hear the reassuring words from him.

He had looked into my eyes from a long moment, then sighed and cupped my cheek, absently stroking my cheekbone with his thumb. "I love you too." But there had been a sullen edge to his words, like he hadn't been happy about it. He had hesitated a split second before leaning down to peck me lightly on the lips. "We'll be okay, Tamy."

I had wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned into him. It had taken a while longer for his arms to come up around me, but when they had, he had squeezed me tightly against himself like he hadn't wanted to let me go – a direct contrast to all his other actions thus far. It had been something he had been doing a lot over the past few months. He would act mostly cold, before suddenly gazing at me, or hugging me, or kissing me, so passionately that it had made me feel like he had been as desperately in love with me as I had been him.

"I'll die without you here," I had whispered, clutching onto him tightly and wishing our physical nearness right then could last forever.

That had been back when I hadn't yet realised that emotional distance was the one that mattered more.

"It'll be okay," he had repeated in a stronger voice, his arms falling away from me. He hadn't responded to my childish declaration.

I had believed in his words wholeheartedly at the time. But platitudes were easy to spout. It had just taken me nine months apart to realise that. And when we had broken up, I had looked back on that last farewell and wondered – had he left with the knowledge that we weren't going to last?

That memory made Wolf's warning to me seem all the more ridiculous now. What right did he have – what right did any of them have – to warn me off Nik? If anything, I was the victim here.

Nik had gotten sick of me long before our actual break-up.

I liked to think that I had grown, or at least changed a little, over the past few years, but that reminder still had the power to bring all the old insecurity rushing back. Three years had passed, but it hadn't felt like it last night. All the old, dusty boxes I had sealed the past up in and stowed away at the very periphery of my mind were in danger of being brought out and ripped open all over again.

This was all Nik's fault. His return – and the group reunion – had brought us all back to an earlier time. For me, seeing Nik again meant being reminded of every embarrassing act of clinginess I had ever indulged in during the span of our relationship, all to try to keep his attention. On hindsight, all of that had only served to push him further away.

But things were different now. I was no longer that pathetic, insecure eighteen-year-old who had seen her romantic relationship as the fast track to happiness. I was fine with who I was, and although not exactly sure of where my life was heading yet, I was slowly moving in towards happiness – or at least I hoped I was. All that drama was in the past now – had been in the past for a long time. Just because Nik was back didn't mean I had to go back to who I had been when I'd last seen him. And that meant that I definitely needed to stay far, far away from any of them – particularly Nik.

Wolf had been wrong. I had moved on, created a new life for myself. They were the ones, with their petty squabbles and obsession with living in the past, who were trying to pull me back in.

All this was on my mind for the whole of Saturday morning. I went for the consultation but was so distracted that my professor had to ask me, twice, if I was all right. I assured her that I was. She hadn't believed me, but had probably assumed that it was the stress from writing the thesis that was bothering me. Much of the rest of the consultation passed by in a blur of her encouraging comments that I was right on track. By the time I got out of her office, it was an hour later and I was armed with a brand new revision plan for my draft.

I meandered through the campus, past the grand building that was the library and the half-wall outside it – on which someone had spray-painted "EVERY DAY" in large black letters – then down the little path with stone statues on both sides before finally exiting through the open metal gates leading out of the compound. Once outside, I shoved my hands into my coat and stood there for a while, just thinking.

There was still so much to do for my thesis, but something in me strongly resisted returning to my dorm room to work on it right then. I needed a break. I wondered if Ansel would be up for lunch together.

I had just fished out my phone to text him when it conveniently started buzzing. Swiping at the screen on auto-pilot, I accepted the call without first checking who the caller was, "Hello?"

"Tamy," Ansel's voice sounded in my ear, "I need a huge favour."

Speak of the devil.

"Ask away," I said, stopping as I came to a pedestrian crossing. I punched the button on the signal lights twice out of sheer impatience.

"There's a file that I need to finish up this report before our meeting later, but I left it at home. Can you bring it over for me? I really can't leave the office right now."

"You're in the office on a Saturday, again?" I asked in disbelief. "There are laws against that kind of thing."

He sighed. "The client's only free to meet today. And he gets to call the shots because, well – he's the CEO of Daimler."

"Wait," I said, impressed to death. "You're part of the Daimler case? It's all over the news."

"Not as exciting as it sounds," Ansel said tiredly, in a way that sounded like he had already repeated that line several times to several different people.

I laughed. "Anyway... You work way too much. They're going to start taking you for granted."

"Better than getting fired for screwing up a big case like this," Ansel answered wryly, before steering the conversation back on course. "Tamy, the file? Please?"

I opened my mouth to agree, then bit back my words as the memory of the events from the previous night hit me again. Nik was back, and he was living in Ansel's apartment.

"But..." I knew he could hear the reluctance in my voice. "Your apartment...?"

His voice softened. "You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

"Okay, okay," I grumbled. He was right. He rarely ever asked for anything; I was usually the one who called in favours. "How do I know which file it is?"

"It's a green folder with a title printed on the front."

He reeled off a long name and I interrupted to say, "Wait, wait. I need to write it down." I fumbled in my bag for a pen and tore a strip out of my thesis draft. I was going to have to reprint that anyway.

"Okay, shoot," I said, pen poised over that tiny strip of paper, which I was balancing on the palm of my left hand.

Ansel repeated the name of the document, slower this time, and added, "It should be on my table. I was looking through it just last night."

"Got it."

"Thanks, Tamy," he replied. "I owe you one. And please don't look in it, okay? It's supposed to be confidential."

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see. "I know. I won't peek, I promise."

"Thank you so much, Tamy. I'll buy dinner the next time, all right?"

I hesitated. "You're really, really sure I won't run into Nik?"

I heard the rustling of papers on Ansel's end. There was a long pause that made me suspect his attention had already shifted elsewhere.

"Ansel."

"I can't promise anything, Tamy. But he's probably asleep by now. The others only left at seven." His annoyance bled through on the last statement. He probably hadn't gotten any sleep.

"So what's the meeting about?" I asked, "More people suing each other for money?"

He laughed, albeit distractedly. "What else?"

"I don't suppose you have time for lunch together?" I asked hopefully, remembering my original plan.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "Not today."

"Okay," I conceded. "I'll drop by your office with the file around lunchtime." I would drop the papers off, then have a nice relaxing lunch by myself at a café near the city centre. There was a nice, cosy place near the city hall that I hadn't eaten at in a while.

"You're a lifesaver, Tamy," he said, in a voice filled with a heavy dose of relief.

After hanging up the phone, I stared sulkily at the screen for a long moment.

"Not crossing?" A male voice spoke next to me and I looked up to see that the light had changed. The guy who had spoken looked to be in his early twenties and was carrying a messenger bag – probably another student from the university.

"Oh," I said, laughing a little, embarrassed. "I didn't notice. Thanks."

He smiled in response and crossed the road ahead of me. I crossed at a slower pace, thinking about the route I would have to take to get to Ansel's place. Since I had just left the university campus, it was surprisingly near. It was ironic how much closer his apartment was to the university than my own dorms were. It would take me barely ten minutes on foot to get to the university from his apartment. It took sixteen minutes from my dorms.

I took a shortcut, cutting through some business buildings to end up on Palace Street before turning left at the junction where the concert hall stood. From there, High Street was just down the street and a left-turn away from the clothing shop named Gemini. This route had become my usual route to school over the past two months, whenever I stayed over at Ansel's. I had taken it so much that I was pretty certain I could walk from the apartment to the university and back, even blindfolded and fast asleep.

The journey took less time than what I spent hovering in the corridor outside Ansel's unit, not wanting to enter because I knew Nik was inside. Just earlier this morning had seen me determined to avoid the entire group of them, with an emphasis on avoiding Nik in particular. Now I was about to enter the same apartment that he was in, while he was in.

How had this happened?

Finally, I decided that the best way to deal with this was to just get it over with. Who knew? Maybe I wouldn't even have to see him and all this time I had spent fretting would have been for nothing. Crossing my fingers in hopes that Nik would be fast asleep in his room, I unlocked the front door with the key Ansel had given me and stepped in.

I had almost made it into Ansel's room when Nik stumbled out into the hallway. He had obviously just gotten out of bed, because his hair was sticking straight up in all directions and he was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

I stopped in my tracks. My gaze ran, involuntarily, down the length of his body. The last time I had seen him shirtless in person had been over four years ago, before he had left for Asia. He had looked good back then, but he looked even better now – a little more tanned, a little more toned... and a lot more grown up. Sometime over the course of four years, he had made the transition from teenage boy to full-grown man.

Somewhere inside my rib cage, I felt my heart clench, then start to flutter anew. There was an old warmth – one I hadn't felt in four years – starting to spread over my body.

Shit.

"You're awake," I mumbled, stating the obvious even though I hadn't meant to speak at all. My mind had gone blank upon seeing him.

He took a few more steps in my direction, like his brain hadn't yet caught up with the progression of events, then stopped about an arm's length away. At my question, he shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

He appeared to be as thrown off by my sudden appearance as I was by his. Now that it was just the two of us, all his confidence from the previous night seemed to have melted away. He ran a self-conscious hand through his messy hair and cleared his throat. "Looking for Ansel?"

"No," I said, gesturing feebly to the door of Ansel's room, "I'm just, uh, getting something for him."

"Oh." He was looking me over, in much the same way I had just done him. Then his gaze sharpened as it landed on the keys I was still holding in my hand. "You have a key to the apartment."

I closed my fist over my key ring more tightly, as if trying to hide it from his view. A split second later, I realised what I was doing and forced myself to loosen my grip.

I had done nothing wrong. My friendship with Ansel was nothing to be ashamed of. Even so, I couldn't find any energy within myself to conjure up the defiance I had been brimming full of just the previous night.

"Yeah," I said awkwardly. "Ansel gave me his spare... You know, in case he ever got locked out."

"You two are close," he commented.

"Yeah," I repeated, turning towards the door. "Um... I have to pick up a file for him. Do you mind?"

"Ah, no," he said, waving his hand in a 'go ahead' gesture. "I'll just... be around." He moved past me, walking somewhat stiffly towards the kitchen.

"Damn it," I heard him sigh in self-reproach, when he thought he was out of earshot.

I stood staring after him for a long moment, even after he had turned into the kitchen and out of sight. Then I gave my head a quick shake and stepped into Ansel's room. I was here for a reason. I turned my attention to where Ansel had said the documents would be and realised that my original get-in-get-out plan wasn't going to work.

"On his table, right," I muttered, glaring at the mess on Ansel's work table. There must've been a million sheets of paper strewn all over the surface. He was so disorganised – how was he even supposed to be a lawyer? Weren't organisation skills part of the pre-requisites for a career in law? How disastrous would it be, if a lawyer had to, in the middle of a trial, say, "Your Honour, please hold on while I look for my notes," and rummaged through a pile of papers with everyone else looking on?

Of course, that probably wouldn't happen to Ansel. I'd never seen him at work, but I was certain he'd be a lot more professional than that – he was such a perfectionist when it came to work – but I would bet money that his disorganised habit was going to come back to haunt him one day.

Shaking my head, I got to work hunting down the folder Ansel had wanted. Fifteen minutes later, I emerged from the messy pile, documents in hand. Ansel owed me a drink after all that, I decided. I'd even seen some silverfish while rummaging through the stacks of files shoved against the wall. Then I dug unceremoniously through Ansel's drawers and found a large envelope that looked somewhat clean. I stuffed the papers into it and left the room, shutting the door behind me.

Now I was faced with a problem of another sort. Did I seek out Nik to let him know I was leaving? Would high-tailing it out of the apartment without a word be a tad too rude?

I hesitated at the entranceway to the kitchen and looked in. Nik was inside, opening the cupboards overhead to examine their contents. I tried not to look when he reached up to swing the cupboard doors shut and the hem of his shirt lifted to reveal the barest sliver of skin.

He had done something to himself in the last fifteen minutes since I'd seen him. His dark blond hair was now arranged in a more presentable style and he had thrown on a pair of pants, as well as a dark grey button-down shirt. Even his gait seemed more confident, more purposeful – more like the Nik from last night. The shirt, though, looked a little rumpled, as if he had just dug it out from the bottom of his suitcase.

My mouth had dried up at the sight of him. I had always had a weakness for guys in button-down shirts. It didn't help that the particular shirt he had on was one I had bought for him back when we had been dating, before he had left for Asia. He had probably forgotten about it. I'd heard from some of my girl friends that guys didn't remember things like that. To them, a shirt was just a shirt.

As if feeling my gaze on him, he turned around. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

I had to swallow twice before venturing a response. "Oh, uh, yeah." I waved the folder of papers lamely. "It's all in here."

He stood staring at me, obviously waiting for me to elaborate, but all I could think of was that I needed to get myself out of this situation. "Uh," I pointed vaguely in the direction of the front door, "guess I'll be going now, then."

"You're leaving already?" he asked, like he hadn't been expecting it. He was watching me steadily with those damned blue eyes that always got me all flustered.

"I'm meeting Ansel at lunchtime," I offered this information without meaning to, then wondered why I had. "Um, but yeah, I should probably go."

"I made coffee," he said, holding out a mug. It was one I had gotten from the Starbucks from Amsterdam, with the city name printed over it in large letters. I had left it at Ansel's because I was over so often, especially in the mornings. Considering how much closer Ansel lived to the university, I usually ended up sleeping over a lot. And since mornings weren't exactly my best friend, coffee was a must-have on those days. It did occur to me to wonder, though, how Nik had known the mug was mine. "I made you some too."

It would be churlish to refuse, especially when he was already holding it out to me.

"Um, sure," I said, even though I made no move to take the mug from him. It was filled with steaming coffee and the only way I wasn't going to get burnt was to reach for the handle – which he was already holding onto.

He noticed my discomfort but said nothing. I stepped back to clear the way between him and the dining table.

"You could put it on the table," I suggested, when it looked like he wasn't going to do anything except stand there.

"You're closer. Why don't you just take it?" Nik asked. His face was impassive but there was a glint in his eye.

I opened my mouth, then clamped my jaw shut in the same motion. If he could be so cavalier about it, then so could I. "Fine," I said instead.

I took a step towards him, then took a deep breath and moved closer. I could feel his eyes on me as I reached out and wrapped my thumb and forefinger over the small space on the handle that he wasn't touching. We were standing so close together that I could feel his body heat through the little gap between us. I had to exert unnatural force on my fingers to try to stop them from trembling. "Let go."

"You're going to drop it if I let go," he said, but loosened his grip on the handle. His left hand came up to lightly prop up the base of the mug as I curled more fingers around the handle. My pinky brushed against his index finger before he pulled fully away. It was just the ghost of a touch, but there was a matching ghost of a smile on Nik's lips when he stepped away.

I slid into the chair at the dining table, blowing lightly at the hot beverage and resolutely not looking at him. My heart was pounding away in my chest. What had he been trying to accomplish with that tedious exercise?

He vanished deeper into the kitchen, presumably to fetch his own cup of coffee. In the time he was gone, I re-evaluated the situation I had found myself in. I hadn't expected to find myself alone with Nik so soon – or even at all – but I could handle this. It was just coffee. If I left now, he would think I was afraid of being alone with him. My pride refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. I hadn't done anything wrong. What did I have to be afraid of?

Then Nik was back and I was pulled out of my thoughts by the clatter of the chair as he sat down beside me. I had thought he would say something – anything – so I was naturally a little discomfited when the silence dragged on. I glanced furtively at him and saw that he was staring thoughtfully into his coffee cup as if it contained all the answers to the secrets of the universe.

I sat fidgeting with the handle of my mug for a moment. "So... How did last night go?"

He looked surprised that I was speaking to him of my own volition. I could understand – I had surprised myself too. I almost wished I hadn't spoken when he put down the coffee cup and fixed the full force of his attention on me. "Awkward," he said, shrugging. "Is it just me or is everyone usually that tense when you all hang out?"

I pursed my lips and stared into the distance, avoiding his eyes. Just like the night before, I was a little reluctant to expose Nadine's little farce despite having had the chance, once again, offered to me on a silver platter.

Before I could answer, however, he changed the subject on his own. "Can I ask you something?"

"Would you listen if I said no?" I asked ironically.

He chuckled lightly. "No."

"Then ask away." Nervous for some reason I couldn't fathom, I lowered my head to take a sip of my coffee as a method of distraction. It was black but sweet – just the way I liked it. Milk in coffee always made me nauseous, so I usually made up for the lack of it with more than enough sugar. He had remembered that about me.

"Why did you come last night?" he asked now.

I swallowed wrong and came up coughing.

"Are you all right?" he asked in concern. He shifted in his seat as if thinking of reaching out towards me, but changed his mind before stretching out his hand.

"I'm fine," I reassured him, when the coughing had stopped. My eyes were watery from all that exertion. I stared back into my cup, wondering if I could get away with not answering his question, when he repeated it.

"Why did you come last night? Not that I didn't want you to," he added hastily, "I just thought..." As if feeling like he'd spoken too much, he fell silent but kept his gaze directed at me.

It was too early for a conversation like this, I thought to myself. "I don't know," I said.

He picked up his coffee mug again and took a drink from it. Even though I had expected him to, he didn't press when I said nothing else. "I'm glad you came," he said finally, parroting what he had said the night before.

"Yeah, well..." I raised the cup to my lips again to mask the uncomfortable look I was sure was on my face.

Silence dawned.

He was back to looking into his coffee cup, this time with a slight frown on his face. I couldn't understand why he wasn't saying anything else – hadn't he been the one who had orchestrated the entire situation? Why bother if he was going to just sit there wordlessly?

All these years, and I still had no idea what he was thinking. He blew hot and cold so fast that I could never keep up.

After a while, the silence started to get to me again. "So," I trailed off, casting around for another safer conversation topic, "what's next?"

Nik stared at me. "What's next?" I knew the words that he'd left out but were obviously thinking. With us?

"I mean," I cleared my throat, a little flustered. "What are you going to do next? Now that you're back, I mean."

He shrugged, looking away for a brief moment. By the time he looked back, he had schooled his features into a more casual expression. "First thing is to get a job, I guess. Then an apartment. I can't crash here forever."

"Right," I said flatly, inwardly rolling my eyes at myself for the stupid question. "A job. Where at?"

"I have an interview with Commerzbank on Monday," he said, smiling a little when I visibly flinched.

"Sounds... wonderful." Wonderfully boring, that was.

He chuckled. "You don't have to be nice. I know you hate anything to do with banking and finance."

"I don't hate it, per se," I defended myself, but couldn't be bothered to put too much sincerity into it. There was no point in arguing with someone who had once been privy to all my thoughts and secrets. "Well, on the bright side, you'll get lots of days off from work." When he looked blankly at me, I clarified, "It's a bit of a joke that the banks are never open around here. You don't remember that?"

"Ah," he said, drawing out the sound, before breaking off with a laugh. "I'd forgotten."

I mulled this over, wondering what it would be like to see all these familiar sights with fresh eyes. "Everything must feel so new."

"It's like I'm seeing some things again for the first time," he said quietly, eyes fixed on mine.

Immediately, the mood of the atmosphere shifted.

Instinct made me leap out of the chair in an effort to distance myself from him. "Yeah," I said, not even caring if I was acting obvious, "Look... I have to go."

Nik got to his feet slowly. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he did so, shifting into a defensive posture. "I thought you were only meeting Ansel at lunchtime. It's barely ten."

"Getting to his workplace from here takes a while," I mumbled. That was a lie. Nik had to know I was lying, especially if he remembered where the CBM International Lawyers' building was located. It stood along New Bridge, two streets away from the city hall. Getting there from the apartment would take a mere five minutes by tram. Ten minutes at most, if I walked very slowly.

"At least finish your coffee first," Nik advised. He wasn't looking at me, but I saw through his lowered eyelashes that some dark emotion had crept into his eyes.

I sat back down and picked up my mug again. He did the same. There was a long silence as we both worked on emptying our coffee mugs.

At least, I did. He was mostly just staring moodily into his.

When I had drained every drop of the coffee, I stood up with the mug in my hands, intending to head to the kitchen.

"Leave it," Nik said quietly, looking up for the first time since the awkward silence had descended. "I'll take care of it later."

"It's fine," I reassured him, moving to the sink to wash up. I needed a few moments away from him. To my relief, he didn't follow me into the kitchen.

When I made it back out, he had parked himself in the living room, by the front door. In order to get through the door, I would have to ask him to move. I took my time putting on my coat, racking my brains for a way to leave without having to talk to him again.

Eventually, I could put it off no longer. I came to stand awkwardly in front of him. "So," I said, waving the envelope in my hand, not exactly looking him in the eye, "I should really go. Ansel's waiting for these."

He eyed me for a few seconds, gaze pensive. "It's Sunday tomorrow," he said suddenly, apropos of nothing. He must have been thinking about this while I had been washing up in the kitchen. "We should get together, do something. As a group."

"Right," I said, even though that idea had my mouth twisting in displeasure. "I don't think I can make it tomorrow."

He raised his eyebrows. "It's Sunday. All the shops will be closed. What do you have to do?"

"I have to work on my thesis," I fibbed.

"Bring it along, then."

I stared at him. "What?"

"Or we could hang out in your room while you do your work," he suggested.

That idea sounded like my personal version of hell. Having not only Nik, but Nadine and the rest, poking around in my room? "I can't concentrate with people around," I said.

"We'll be real quiet, I promise." He grinned cheekily, the grin that always got to me. His previous awkwardness had miraculously vanished. Now he was resolute, pushing ruthlessly for what he wanted. The determined look in his eyes told me that he wasn't going to let it go.

"On second thought, I could probably take a break tomorrow," I said reluctantly.

"So we can go over?" Nik asked, so innocently that I would've taken him at face value had I not known any better.

I blanched. "That's not a... I mean, not this time. My room is a mess right now." He looked like he was about to argue, so I added hurriedly, "Why don't we go somewhere else?"

"We could just stay here," he suggested.

"What? That's..." I grimaced my disagreement, my horror almost showing. In the apartment, we'd have to sit around and stare at each other and... talk. It would be a repeat of last night. "What about somewhere else? Like..." I racked my brains for a noisy, public place, "Palace Square. I'm sure you've missed it." There would also be a million tourists swarming around the area on a Sunday, making it the perfect place for a short meeting that would discourage another unwanted heart-to-heart.

He flashed me an oddly satisfied smile. "Great. Palace Square it is. We'll meet at the statue in front of the palace as usual. Is ten a good time?"

"Ten's fine," I said, a little sulkily. He had tricked me into yet another meet-up, and just when I had resolved to never see them again too. How had that happened?

Nik's expression had settled into an amused half-smile. He probably knew exactly what I was thinking. "I'll let the others know."

***