hi :) this is a chapter i've been very excited to share. after originally posting this chapter in its full 50K length, i got a huge wave of anxiety and instantly regretted that decision... so it's now split up into 3 chapters! thank you for understanding!

i hope you have fun finding all the easter eggs - there are LOTS! as always, please comment & vote! i love hearing your thoughts!

CHAPTER SONG: FOOLISH ONE (TAYLOR'S VERSION) - TAYLOR SWIFT

//

070. ELEANORA // PART 001

I. MEET CUTE

Eleanora (Ellie to those she was close with, Nora to everyone else) Khan was never one to make stupid decisions.

Everything she did was meticulously calculated, guaranteeing the best and most efficient outcome. Regardless of whether the decision was small (like deciding whether to have a sandwich or soup during her lunch break) or large (like picking out the best career path while ensuring she could still afford rent and a few hours of sleep per night), she always had a process to think through her decisions.

Her mind worked in this manner for as long as she could remember. Which is why Ellie believed from a very young age that her brainpower would help make significant advances in the medical field by the time she reached adulthood.

There always comes a point in life when one realizes childhood dreams may remain just that – a dream. But a lack of funds and a string of unfortunate events didn't stop her from pursuing a career of working in medicine. Instead of the research lab, Ellie found herself working at the hospital. And although it wasn't specifically where she pictured herself as a child, she still kicked ass at her job every single day.

Ellie was always the first one in and the last one out, even on her horrendous night shifts, which she was scheduled for most of the time. It wasn't something she did for praise – in fact, she couldn't remember the last time she heard someone genuinely utter the phrase 'thank you' – but because she loved her job. Ellie loved working in the hospital, and she loved caring for other people.

And so, she welcomed the gruelling late hours with open arms knowing she was making a (small) difference in the world, even when it went completely unnoticed.

The individuals around her didn't always share the same positive outlook. Although they all meant well, sometimes she wished her coworkers would be more courteous to clocking in on time.

Especially since her neighbourhood wasn't the safest and the bus ran on a limited schedule at night, meaning if she missed it, she would have to walk home.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Her eyes went wide, spotting the bus doors close at the end of the long driveway. She ran towards it, flailing her arms like a mad woman, trying to get the driver's attention. Unfortunately, they didn't see the crazed woman (or did see her and decided to protect their own safety) and drove off.

Ellie released a sigh as her feet trotted to a stop at the end of the driveway, missing the bus by mere seconds. She checked her watch, causing her frustration to grow, realizing that it was the last bus for the night and followed after the vehicle with heavy steps.

Sleeping in the breakroom to avoid walking home at these dangerous hours crossed her mind. But then she would have to sleep on a couch she swore was made of concrete and miss out on her only slightly more comfortable mattress. Plus, most importantly, she needed to feed her baby – having someone else's life in your hands meant putting on one's bravest face, keeping their head down, and walking as fast as they could without raising alarm.

And, of course, keeping a hand secured on a bottle of pepper spray.

The walk to her apartment wasn't horribly long. Although, she would have enjoyed something to pass the time, like listening to music, instead of needing to be on high alert for threats. That was the problem being in her position, walking home alone at night. Ellie couldn't enjoy what the city had to offer or let her eyes observe her surroundings. She could only focus on the path home – stay vigilant, keep her head down, and walk at a quick but not attention-drawing pace.

One day, she hoped to have enough money to afford a place closer to work. She didn't need a lot of space. In fact, she found comfort in smaller square footage apartments. However, all the buildings closer to work were far more expensive than she could afford right now – even the tiniest options were out of her budget.

Ellie made decent money at her job. But there wasn't much flexibility after bills, groceries, other necessities, and chipping away at student loans and other incurred debts. And so, to not crumble completely under financial pressure, she had to choose a place that wasn't ideal. At least she had a trusty deadbolt.

With her apartment complex in sight and her aching feet begging for a break, a thankful breath released from the girl's tired lungs. But a sudden loud grunt of pain forced Ellie into a frozen state of shock right as she reached the front steps of the building.

Her brain screamed at her to run, not needing a meticulous calculation to realize she shouldn't be near anyone making that type of noise at this hour. However, for someone who prided herself on her quick and strategic thinking, her feet remained frozen to the ground.

The large shadow approaching the end of the alleyway, near where she stood, finally sprung the girl into action. She pulled on the door handle and silently cursed when it was locked, meaning she had to search her bag to find the key.

"Fucking idiot," a voice grumbled, "Testa di cazzo!"

Clearly, the man assumed no one would be around to hear such colourful language. But as his eyes fell upon the individual standing at the door, his eyes narrowed on the eavesdropper.

He usually wasn't one to stick around and draw attention. But he stopped to observe, noting how she shifted glances to the side, attempting to get a peak. It intrigued him, just like he did to her. Intrigued but not forcing herself to give in and look – not yet, at least. The last thing he needed was a bystander to have possibly overheard everything, run into their apartment in an alarmed, frantic state and call the police.

Unknown to him, Ellie wasn't one to do something like that. She preferred keeping her head down. Not getting involved in someone else's business, like eavesdropping on an argument in an alleyway. With one hand gripping her pepper spray for dear life, the other fumbled with putting the key in the large lock on the door.

Although her key finally turned the lock, the lingering presence of the unknown figure standing only a few feet away weighed heavily. She knew he was watching. Waiting for her next move. Unfortunately, that increased the sweat in her palms, and the silver key slipped from her grasp, dropping to the ground with a loud clink.

Ellie dropped to the ground, trying to find the single key – the one she kept telling herself to put on the keychain with the rest of them but kept putting it off. Even though she knew it was always an annoyance to search for in her bag. In her defence, the front door was rarely properly locked (although that was a different issue), so she rarely needed to use it.

Except for tonight.

God dammit, why did I have to keep putting off that fucking key chain?!

"Are you alright?"

The hands searching the ground suddenly stopped their frantic movements as a pair of expensive Italian leather shoes appeared. Ellie forced her head to remain down as she released a strained laugh and answered, "Yup, just one of those rough nights! But I'm sure you can relate!"

Oh, fuck me! Stupid Ellie! Stupid! Why would you allude to him relating to anything at all, you dumb–

"I think I found what you're looking for."

The sudden interruption of her internal thoughts, mixed with the fact her brain registered the unknown man was bending down, sent Ellie into a panicked, frantic state. The kind of state that he (unknowing to her) was trying to avoid. He should have disappeared back into the shadows and never approached her in the first place. However, a part of him sympathized with her evident fear. Ensuring she got into her apartment was the least he could do.

Ellie, on the other hand, jumped to her feet and extended her item of protection. "I have pepper spray!" she warned, "And I'm not afraid to use it!"

"It's just your key," he said, raising a hand up in defence.

Slowly lowering her protection, she kept it locked and loaded just in case – she still needed to be careful. But as she narrowed her eyes on the man standing before her, she noticed him slowly extending his hand, offering the key. "Oh, thanks," she said, releasing a grateful breath; tonight wasn't the night to add 'missing key' to her list of struggles.

As Ellie reached for the key, she finally took in the man. A silent gasp left her lips. She did not usually find herself swept away by someone's beauty. But there she was, staring up at the ruggedly tall, handsome man. The kind of man that looked like he had to have made a deal with the Devil to be blessed with such genetics. A chiselled jaw, honey-brown eyes, and a beautifully shaped mouth that she was sure held an equally charming smile. Dark hair was perfectly slicked back without a single strand out of place. He was tall – well above six feet – with broad shoulders and an amazingly defined upper body. She could tell by the way his frame hugged the well-fitted suit that–

"Oh my god," the girl cried, suddenly noticing the red pooling on his white button-down shirt. "Let me call you an ambulance!"

"No," the man was quick to order.

"No?" she repeated, utterly dumbfounded. "What do you mean no? You're bleeding!"

"It was just a simple mugging," he shrugged it off as if it were no big deal, "My wallet can be replaced – I'm fine."

"That is not fine! If you won't go to a hospital, at least let me help you myself!"

"I'll put a bandaid over it. Problem solved."

Ellie rolled her eyes. Men. "I bet you ten bucks whatever is under that," she motioned to his shirt, "needs stitches, not a bandaid."

"What are you? A doctor?"

"I'm a nurse." Noting a slight raise of his brow, one she took offence to, Ellie crossed her arms over her chest. "What? Because I'm not a doctor, suddenly I'm incapable of helping you? I'll tell you something, nothing would run efficiently at the hospital without us–"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed as the woman continued to ramble. His eyes did a quick check of their surroundings. The streets were mainly bare, except for the one figure he noted on the opposite side. They were still far from seeing anything, and he didn't believe them to be of any concern. But he couldn't be too sure.

And so, he interrupted his new companion by suddenly asking, "If I let you help me will you stop talking?"

Ellie pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Great. However, I can't go to a hospital – unfortunately, I fear them."

Her mouth formed into a slight form overhearing the revelation – she felt terrible for the unknown man and hoped he didn't feel forced into telling her such a thing. Admitting one's fears was never easy. But she had patients before that experienced similar worries. Although she loved her job, Ellie could admit it wasn't always the most inviting place for someone to visit.

"So, you're willing to help me yourself?"

Ellie nodded.

"You're willing to help a stranger who stumbled out of the alley?"

She should have taken that as her way out, but Ellie never turned down helping someone. So, once again, she nodded.

"And your apartment is close, yes?"

She pointed to the door and nodded.

"Excellent," he drawled, taking a step forward. "So, are we going to head inside then?"

This definitely wasn't a case of Ellie using her thinking skills because, without hesitation, she nodded.

"Then let's go. And what's got you not speaking all of a sudden?"

"You said for me to help you, I had to stop talking."

The man smiled – a sudden action that surprised Ellie and made her stomach flutter at how handsome he looked. "I just wanted you to stop your rant. In fact, I quite like the sound of your voice."

Ellie sucked in a harsh breath. "W-why?"

"It's soothing," he simply answered, "pretty, too." Taking another step to the front door and pushing it open, he turned back to add, "By the way, I didn't think because you weren't a doctor, that meant you would be incapable. I was just surprised by my luck finding such a beautiful woman willing to help me with the knowledge and skill to do so."

"Oh." Ellie cleared her throat, unsure of what to say or do. "Glad we got that cleared up."

Walking inside and brushing past the mystery man holding a hand against his bleeding side, Ellie internally cringed over her remark. She didn't know how to talk or react normally around him. It was evident she had lost her mind, considering she willingly offered to stitch up a stranger she witnessed stumbling out of the alley.

If she was going to get murdered over this, at least it was from her trying to do a good deed. A terrible way of justifying it, but that's what she told herself, nonetheless.

And as they headed up the stairs together, silently walking to her floor, Ellie released a deep breath as they stood outside her door. It wasn't like she could tell him to go away, deal with his bleeding side on his own. She was stuck with fixing him up and hopefully not dying in his hands during it.

Unlocking her apartment door, she pushed it open and flicked on the light.

"Sorry, it's a bit messy. I wasn't expecting company tonight."

"It looks great–" The large man jumped, feeling something snake through his legs. "What the fuck is that?"

"Careful! Don't step on her!" Ellie cried, reaching down to scoop the feline into her arms. "This is my baby!"

"Baby? That is a..." his voice trailed off as he attempted to find the word, "I'm not sure what that partially hairless thing is."

"Pancake is not a thing. She is a beautiful cat that unfairly suffers from hair loss." Ellie held her child up to the man's face. "Now, apologize."

The man pressed against the back of her hand, pushing her arms gently to the side so he could meet her eyes instead of the rodents. "I'm not apologizing to it."

"Then I hope you enjoy bleeding out on my floor."

Ellie stepped into the kitchen that was right by the front door. It was a cramped space with the fridge and oven on one side and the sink on the other. She placed Pancake on the countertop by the sink and filled her bowl with food.

As she returned to her unknown acquaintance for the night, she said, "Pancake is eating. You can apologize to her while I get the supplies."

Ellie meant for her demand to be a joke. Although she took great offence to his remark, she never thought in her wildest dreams that the large, buff man would genuinely apologize to her cat. But to her grand surprise, as she collected items from the bathroom, she overheard his voice say,

"I'm sorry for calling you a... thing or whatever. I didn't realize it was offensive; it wasn't my intention, Flapjack." He sighed heavily, sounding like he was contemplating all his life choices to end up in this situation. "And so, here I am, apologizing to a cat and hopefully well enough so I can receive medical treatment."

Ellie leaned against the bathroom door, biting her cheek to stop herself from falling apart with laughter.

"You know, I'm usually not one to give into demands," he continued, "but I find your mother quite... fascinating. So, I hope we can at least be civil for the time being – oh, well, don't start licking your paws and ignoring me!"

"Did you two make up?" Ellie asked upon her return, arms full of supplies.

"Yes, we are best friends now... isn't that right, Flapjack?"

"Her name is Pancake!"

"Same thing," he waved off dismissively. "Now, could I please get the honour of being stitched back to health by you?"

Dumping the items onto one end of the small round table, she looked at the unnamed man and said, "You'll need to take off your jacket and shirt and anything in your pockets. You can leave your things on the table or counter for now. Whatever works."

As he quickly obliged, Ellie continued to set up by laying out a garbage bag to protect her floors and setting a chair on top. She watched silently as he emptied his pockets onto the counter. He attempted to conceal a silver weapon under his jacket – but that wasn't the item that piqued her interest. The stainless steel didn't cause a reaction. Around these parts of town, one would be foolish to walk around unprotected. Hence, her pepper spray. Instead, an object made from brown leather caused her to question the man bleeding in her apartment.

Ellie froze. And she hated herself for it. But she couldn't help it. Looking at a perfectly sculpted man (apparently) did that to her. There was a first time for everything.

Her mouth ran dry as she looked at him with an unapologetic gaze. His arms were well-defined, clearly proving he either worked out regularly or that deal made with the devil was working in his favour, and he had far more abdominal muscles than she thought were humanly possible. While one side of his body was stained red, the other side sported a tattoo of a large cross, which led her to notice the matching pendant that hung from his neck.

She needed to stop staring.

She really needed to.

This was far from appropriate. Or professional.

She was supposed to be doing her job. Not tracing her eyes over every inch of his exposed skin.

Talk! Say something! The voice in her head screamed. Anything other than staring at him like a freak!

"Are you going to kill me?"

Smooth. Real fucking smooth, Ellie.

The smile crossing his lips made her heart metaphorically skip a beat again. Curse my stupid heart, the voice in her head scolded. The last thing she needed to add to her list of mistakes was swooning for the devil's charm, which she was almost certain was the man standing in front of her with his eyes scanning over her like a target.

"Isn't it a little late to be asking such a thing?" he replied, "I'm already in your apartment, after all. If that's what you're worried about, you probably should have left me in the alley."

"Well, if you do kill me, can you just make sure Pancake has enough food in her bowl to last until they find my body?"

As the smile widened further on his lips, he stepped forward. The voice in her head screamed to retreat, to cower away from him in the corner. Not out of fear but uncertainty. She couldn't read him, which meant, she couldn't calculate her outcome – the results were unfavourably skewed without all the necessary data points.

The man raised a hand to her chin, grasping it with a touch so gentle Ellie wondered if it was even there.

"Where on earth do they make people like you?"

Her brows furrowed. Was that a compliment or an insult? But before she could open her mouth to question him or snap back a remark over what she felt had to be an insult, the sound of his velvet voice stole her attention.

"If I were the type to kill," he began, speaking as if she believed he wasn't already the type, "I wouldn't dare lay a hand on someone innocent. And you, my beautiful nurse," his head dipped forward, "are the kind with the purest soul."

Ellie felt like her heart was about to explode any minute. Was it even possible for it to beat this fast without causing a medical emergency?

"You say that like it's a fact," she said, failing to completely rid her voice of the trembling nerves.

"Because it is."

Ellie released a strained breath, trying to ignore how his gaze intensely locked onto hers. Her senses filled with his cologne, something she may have found far too overpowering on any other man. But he wore the scent with pride – a part of her wanted to bottle it so she could remember what it was like to be around someone that oozed such confidence and power without making her feel weak and small in comparison.

"You sound so sure," she finally replied. "But you don't know me at all. I could be a killer, praying on men that stumble around in the alleyway, bleeding out from getting mugged." Her shoulders shrugged. "How can you possibly assume I'm innocent?"

The corner of his mouth tugged upward. "It's in your eyes." He paused momentarily, distracted by the slight action of her tongue darting across her bottom lip. Quickly regaining his composure, the man continued, "I can learn everything I need to know about someone just by looking into their eyes."

"That sounds like a load of bullshit," she scoffed.

"It's not bullshit," the way he cursed sounded far more pleasant to her ears, "It's true."

"Oh, really?"

"Really."

"What do Pancake's eyes tell you then?"

"Nothing. That thing has no soul."

Ellie narrowed her glance. Total bullshit. "Sit."

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?"

Fashioning her hair into a low bun, she ignored his comment. The last thing she needed to do was get riled up over defending Pancake again and "accidentally" jab his wound with one of her tools. She wanted to do that. But she knew she wouldn't... regardless of how tempting it was.

Putting on a pair of gloves and getting down onto her knees, Ellie observed the area. "It's still bleeding, so I'm going to apply some pressure to the spot," she explained as if he were a real patient at the hospital. Pressing a towel against his skin, she watched it instantly soak with blood and found herself adjusted to a clean spot faster than expected.

"What's with all the textbooks?"

"What?"

"The textbooks," he said, nodding his head to the far wall near her television. "You've got quite a stack going."

"My bookshelf collapsed, and I haven't had the time," or money, "to get a new one."

"Are you still in nursing school?"

Ellie's brows furrowed as she discarded the towel into a garbage bag and reached for another. "No."

"Then what's the point of having those still?"

"I read them for fun."

"Why?"

"Because I enjoy reading... and I like medicine..." she eyed him cautiously, "That's what people do when they have hobbies. They typically have the items to do said hobby."

"So you read medical textbooks for fun?" The man chuckled. "You truly are fascinating."

Ellie didn't know what he meant by that remark. Therefore, she chose to ignore it (and how it caused a swarm of butterflies in her stomach) and focused on her task. Changing her gloves, she tore open a packet and pulled out a wipe to start cleaning off his skin, rolling her eyes when he winced over the initial contact.

"Sit still!"

"It's cold!" he hissed.

"Alright, well, get used to it because you can't move around when it actually gets painful."

"Is this how you talk to your patients?"

"I don't have to because they don't wince over a wipe." Tossing the last one into the garbage bag, she leaned closer to inspect the area. "Stabbing?" she questioned. Catching his raised brow, Ellie sighed. "I'm not asking you who did it. I only want to ensure I properly understand the impact on your body. So... was it a stab wound?"

"Yes."

"Okay. And just the one?" Receiving another suspicious look, Ellie rolled her eyes. "Listen, I'm smart enough to know that you getting mugged isn't the real story, and whatever did happen is probably nothing legal. So, I'm not trying to get information to make myself a target for the future police investigation that I'm sure will be taking place. I'm only trying to do my job."

"Just the one. And a cheap fucking shot at that, too, in case you were wondering."

"I was not," she snapped as she started applying a numbing cream.

He grinned. "You didn't believe that mugging story? Hm. Guess I'm not as good of an actor as I thought."

"Maybe not," she mumbled, "Or maybe you shouldn't put the item you said was stolen in the pile of all your other things." Ellie returned her attention back to his skin. "Just a thought."

"You've got quite the mouth on you, huh?"

"You're not the first person to tell me that. I bet you wish you didn't bring up liking the sound of my voice now, huh?" she mocked his tone, grinning from ear to ear.

"Not at all. In fact, I think I like it more."

Ellie kept her head down to conceal the flush in her cheeks and focused on sanitizing the needle. The last thing she needed was for this man (who she was ninety-nine percent sure was a criminal) to know she blushed over his compliments. How horrendous that would be.

"I'm going to start stitching you up," she warned, "It's probably best if you keep talking so I know you haven't passed out on me."

"Mm, so many topics for us to discuss... What's your name?"

"Can't get that information off me by looking into my eyes?" she teased.

"Unfortunately–" The sudden piercing of a needle through his skin forced the man into painful silence. "Figlio di puttana," he gritted through his teeth, eyes clenching shut, "You could have warned me."

"I did. I told you I was going to start." Ellie peered her eyes up at the man. "If I tell you my name, will you tell me yours?"

"I can't promise that." He looked down, watching as she expertly knotted the first stitch and used her scissors to trim the end.

"Why? Are you famous or something?"

"No, not famous. I'm– Cazzo! I think getting shot hurts less!" he groaned, gripping the table's edge.

Ellie sighed. "Stop looking. You're making it worse," she scolded, "And you didn't finish what you were saying before."

"Private. I'm private."

"Well, Mr. Private, you could have just made up a name. I would have never known."

"I'm not a liar."

"Private and not a liar?" Ellie showed a hint of a smile as she trimmed another stitch. "I bet that makes for an interest combination with your significant other."

A light chuckle escaped her patient.

"What's so funny?" she questioned. "Sorry – Is that too much information about you? Oh, hold on, I know your story," she winked, "You've got like a wife-girlfriend-mistress combination going on."

"You could not be further away from the truth."

"Oh? Some honesty? I'm flattered."

"I'm sure your husband-boyfriend-mistress combination finds you quite flattering," he said, sounding somewhat teasing with his tone, "Tell me your name."

"Only if you tell me yours!" Ellie rolled her eyes as she was met with immediate silence. "Oh, come on. I'd even just accept getting the first letter. The suspense is only making it worse, you know." As his refusal to speak continued, the girl sighed. "Fine. Don't tell me. You're all done anyway," she said, knotting the last stitch and trimming the end. "See? Not so bad when you stopped being a baby."

Walking over to the mirror in her entryway, he turned to his side and scanned over her work in the mirror. "Wow... You're quite good."

"I don't know what's more concerning. The fact that you sound so surprised I'm good at my job... or that you can recognize good stitch work." Noticing his grin, Ellie dropped her eyes and cleaned up the mess.

"S," he said, forcing her gaze to return. As she stared into the reflection with her brows knitted together, the man added, "That's what my name starts with."

"S," she repeated, unable to contain a giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"S as in Stranger?"

The man, now only known as S, shook his head and chuckled. "Charming. Now I believe you owe me a name."

"Nora," Ellie said, "It's nice to meet you, S."

"You as well, Nora."

S insisted on helping Ellie clean up, stating it was only right because it was his mess. While she took the trash bag out, S washed her tools in the kitchen sink. An oddly charming way to end the interesting night. Gathering his things, he remarked that he hoped they might run into each other again in the future, next time he needed expert handiwork. Ellie laughed it off, assuming tonight would be their last encounter. And as she stood alone in her apartment, she wondered how on earth she would recount this story in the future. It seemed crazy enough to her – and she just lived through it.

Far later than she expected, Ellie finally got the chance to unwind for the night. She stopped by the kitchen area to turn off the light when she noted something stuffed under Pancake's food bowl. Ellie didn't know what to expect, but the last thing she ever thought it would be was a handful of hundred dollar bills and a note that read,

Thank you. x S

"Holy shit," she whispered, looking over at the cat sitting on the counter with a wide-eyed glance. "That can't be right... there's no way he left us this money on purpose."

She counted it again. And again. And again. And again. And then again.

He left her a thousand dollars.

Ellie slept with the money under her pillow. She didn't know why she thought that was the safest place and blamed her exhaustion on getting safety confused with the tooth fairy. By morning, it was still there, and that's all that mattered. When she arrived at work, it was securely in her bag. And by the time her shift ended, it was (thankfully) still there.

She didn't know what to do with it - she never kept this much cash on her at one time. There was more money in her purse than she had in her bank account. But the main thing on Ellie's mind was finding S, the man riddled with mystery, so she could return the money. Because there was no way she could accept that much from a complete stranger.

Ellie thought about lingering in the alleyway at night but quickly crossed off that idea. She wondered if she could ask anyone if they knew a tall, handsome guy who she only knew the first letter of his name, but quickly crossed that off too.

With a heavy sigh, she secured her bag to her side and clocked out, knowing she would spend the rest of her night brainstorming ideas. Exiting the hospital through the automatic double doors and stepping outside to the mild night breeze, the last thing Ellie expected to see was the mystery man from the night prior.

Ellie stood with her feet frozen as she blinked a few times to ensure her mind wasn't playing tricks. She wanted to find him. But the fact he was really there was shocking, to say the least. She thought, if anything, it would take weeks and a stroke of pure luck to find him again.

But there he was.

Standing right in front of her.

And Ellie had no idea how to comprehend any of it.

"You shouldn't park here," she uttered the first thing that came to mind, gesturing to the vehicle behind him, "It's a drop-off zone."

"Don't worry. I read the multiple no-parking signs – I am well aware of the rules." S grinned and stepped forward. "That's not my car. I parked in the appropriate lot. I even have the absurdly expensive parking ticket to prove it, don't you worry."

"Oh." Ellie pressed her lips together. "Are you visiting someone?"

"No."

"Are you a fan of hospital parking?"

"No, definitely not."

"Are–"

"I came to see you, Nora."

Ellie's eyes widened as she tried to comprehend his words. "See me? What? Why?"

"I wanted to offer you a ride home... as a thank you for the trouble you went to last night."

"Oh, um," she tried to get her mind straight – and ignore the pressing stares from co-workers she barely interacted with that passed by, "Sure. Yeah. Where's your car?"

"Just over here." Placing his hand on the small of her back as they walked, he glanced down and asked, "How was work?"

"What?" The contact from his hand on her back had momentarily consumed her that she almost missed his question – then she wondered if he had genuinely asked about her day. Ellie blinked, attempting to force herself back into reality. "Oh, good. It was good. How's your... side?"

"It's doing quite well. I've received many compliments on your work."

Ellie laughed, assuming he was joking. "Well, tell them I say thank you for the compliments."

"Here's the car," S said, gesturing to the black sedan.

Ellie didn't know what was more surprising to her at that moment – the fact that his car was easily worth double her annual salary or that he opened the passenger door. Maybe it was the lack of dates she had been on, but she was almost certain this chivalrous act was something only found in movies. Which was either a commentary on how much she worked that it provided little time for her to meet and date someone or how, as a society, basic manners were so few and far between these days.

Sliding into the leather seat, Ellie wondered if this was what it was like to be rich. Her ass had never sat on something so comfortable – it was like sitting on a cloud.

Her head turned to the side, watching as S got into the driver's seat. He wore another expensive suit, except this time, he accessorized with a watch – an expensive one, Ellie assumed. Given the car he drove, the suits made sense. Maybe he was a businessman that worked at a bank... sat at a desk all day, and liked blowing off steam at night in an alleyway to do–

"Nora?"

Ellie blinked. "Yeah?"

"Everything okay?"

Humming a reply, she nodded her head and forced a smile. "It's a good thing I ran into you, actually, because you left something behind," she began to ramble, digging through her purse. Pulling out the roll of hundred dollar bills, Ellie cleared her throat. "I get paid for the work I do at the hospital," she explained, attempting to shove the giant wad of cash into his hands, "I didn't offer to stitch you up with the hopes you would leave me such a generous tip."

"That wasn't a tip. It was a thank you."

"But I thought this ride home was the thank you."

"Can't I thank you more than once?"

"No." She placed the money in his lap. "Thank you, but no. I can't accept it."

S sighed, tapping his fingers against the wheel as he became lost in thought. "Then how about this," he suddenly said, "How about we stop by the supermarket, and I'll pay to restock your groceries."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Trying so hard to get me to accept your money? If you're worried I'll say something about that night, I promise you I won't–"

"Nora," he interrupted, "You did good work, and I wanted to thank you. That's all." S leaned closer. "Should you have offered to do something like that for a random bleeding stranger? Probably not," he grinned, "However, you did it anyway, so I wanted to show my gratitude. Not because I wanted to pay you off over talking about helping an innocent mugging victim. But I am sorry if it made you uncomfortable; it wasn't my intention."

Ellie nodded, looking down at her hands. "I can see why someone would want to mug you if you carry that much cash around."

S chuckled and shook his head over the remark. "Like I said last night, Nurse Nora... you're fascinating."

"I try."

"How about it then?"

"What?"

"My offer to buy you groceries," he said. "Come on, I spotted those cookbooks mixed in with your medical textbooks. I'm sure there's a bunch of recipes you're dying to make."

She was. But Ellie was too proud to go against her word. And so, she just replied with a sheepish smile and kept her gaze fixated on her lap.

"Alright, fine," S sighed, turning the key in the engine and starting up the car, "I just need to make one quick stop on the way home."

Looking out the window, she remained silent so she didn't blurt out the truth. Her eyes watched familiar streets pass as S drove. But when they should have continued straight, he veered the left. She finally glanced to the other side, brows furrowing as she spotted the grin he proudly wore, pulling the car into a parking spot.

"You coming in, or do you want to wait in the car?"

Ellie forced herself not to look ahead. "I don't need anything."

"Alright," he said with a shrug, "In the car, you stay then."

Her mouth opened to protect, but she was too late. S had exited the vehicle and made his way inside, leaving her to sit alone. At least he left the car running and, therefore, the radio. Besides, it's not like she was stranded in a horribly uncomfortable spot – she swore this leather seat was more luxurious than her mattress.

The time alone wasn't too bad. It allowed her to think, resist the urge to snoop through his car, and hum along to songs on the radio that she hadn't heard in quite some time. Before she knew it, S was walking back to the car with two large paper bags.

Opening the passenger door, he grinned. "Have fun?" he asked, securing the bags in the space in front of her feet.

"Yes. Did you?"

"Oh, I had a great time in there. I'm sure you're going to enjoy everything very much."

Ellie pressed her lips together and waited until he returned to the driver's side to say, "Thank you."

"For what?"

It wasn't a leading question. S was genuinely curious about what he was being thanked for – which intrigued Ellie further about the unknown man.

"You're nice," she stated.

S chuckled, turning the key in the ignition. "Did you expect me to be... not nice?"

"I didn't know what to expect at all," she honestly replied, "It's not like I know anything about you."

They discussed simple topics on their way home – mainly the dishes Ellie was excited to make now that she had a few days off from work. Even if she was still confused about his reasoning for buying her groceries, Ellie had to admit that she was thankful (aside from the obvious reasons) that he did. Because now she could finally test out recipes from the cookbook she had flipped through for years but always put off.

As the car rolled to a stop outside her apartment, Ellie looked over at S for what she assumed was the final time. "You know, you could have just gone the easy route and bought me flowers as a thank you."

"I was considering it. But I hate buying them without knowing someone's favourite. So, what are your favourites?"

Ellie grimaced. "I don't actually like flowers."

"Good to know. I guess I'll cross off buying you a hundred dozen roses." S grinned. "I'm only kidding. Goodnight, Nora."

"Goodnight, S." Ellie exited the car with her bags. "Pleasure doing business with you."

II. FLAPJACK

When Ellie opened her apartment door two days later, she was taken aback to see a large gentleman staring down at her like she was lunch. Her frightened lips parted to speak, wanting to ask if he was here to kill her – which apparently was her current go-to question these days. But the second she tried, Ellie spotted the items in his hands and forced herself to change course with her questions.

"Cat... food?"

The large man seemed almost confused as she was. Which made Ellie even more confused, considering he was the one that showed up at her door.

Although, Ellie had to admit it was funny seeing a man with a large scar running down the side of his face and possibly the ability to crush her head with his bare hands hold a giant bag of Kitty Meow-Meow Mix that had a large cartoon cat yelling "it's PURR-fect!" on the front.

"Delivery from the boss," the baritone voice explained, putting it on the ground inside her apartment. "These too."

The man reached behind and grabbed an abundance of bags, placing them next to the food. Shocked by the never-ending number, Ellie hadn't noticed her gift-giver was already down the hall.

"Thank you!" she called out to him.

"Keep the door open," he gruffed, "Got a fucking bookshelf to carry up next."

A bookshelf?

Pancake had become equally curious about the number of gifts at the door and began exploring it all. In addition to the enormous bag of dry kibble, Ellie quickly found out there was an abundance of tins of wet food as well. "Holy shit, Pancake," the girl whispered, scratching her feline's head. "This is the expensive stuff! You're going to be eating well tonight."

Receiving a loud purr in response, Ellie almost missed the sound of a ringing cell phone. Realizing it was coming from one of the bags, she dug through, trying to find the source of the noise. With the device located, she spotted a piece of paper taped to the phone that read NORA, followed by UNKNOWN NUMBER on the screen.

She never answered these calls on her cell phone – let alone on a cell phone that didn't belong to her.

But something told her it would be the gift giver on the other end.

And to her non-surprise, she was right.

"My cat is going to be eating far better than I ever will, thanks to you," she said immediately upon answering the call.

His sinful laughter sent a shiver down Ellie's spine. "Well, I hoped it would keep little Flapjack happy while we went for dinner tonight."

"Her name is Pancake, not Flapjack!" Ellie corrected with a giggle before the sound was replaced by a sudden gasp. "Did you say... dinner?"

"I did. I'll have Frankie come back at seven to pick you up."

"Is this still a part of your apology tour?"

"Not at all," he said, "I would just like to take you out for dinner."

She smiled, feeling her cheeks flush with heat. "What do I wear?"

"Whatever you feel the most beautiful in."

It was just before seven when Ellie stood near the front door and checked over her appearance in the mirror.

Coating her lips with gloss, she leaned forward to inspect her makeup for one final check. She had no explanation for the sweat in her palms or her insistent need to continue fixing her hair and outfit, but she knew this wasn't like her.

"I'm fine," she tried to convince her reflection, "It's only dinner. I go out for many dinners – it won't be any different. Besides, it's not like this is a real date or anything." It's just a pity date, so he feels like the debts for stitching him back up have been paid.

At precisely seven o'clock, Ellie heard a knock. Running her hands down the silk material of her blue ankle-length slip dress and adjusting the silver heart-shaped locket that hung around her neck, Ellie turned away from the mirror and opened the door.

Meeting the glance of the man who delivered her cat food, Ellie smiled. "Frankie?"

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded. "The car is waiting for you downstairs."

"Alright," she said, grabbing her purse from the entryway table. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do I... do I look okay?"

Frankie cleared his throat, not averting his gaze from hers. "Yes."

Assuming that's the best she would get, Ellie forced a smile. "Alright, thanks," she said, stepping out of her apartment and closing the door behind her. "I just have to lock up."

"The boss will like it," the man added in a low voice as if worried he would get caught for speaking, "But I don't think he would approve hearing one of us had a lingering eye on his date."

His date.

That just had to be a throwaway comment, she convinced herself.

But as she walked down the stairs, accompanied by the large gentleman she now knew as Frankie, Ellie couldn't help but get excited over the possibility of a date.

Sliding into the luxury backseat of the all-black SUV, she kept her eyes on the window, watching as the view of her apartment disappeared into the distance.

"Oh, shoot!"

Frankie glanced at the rearview mirror. "Everything alright, Miss?"

"Yes, sorry," she blushed, rummaging through her purse, "Just forgot to call someone. Do you mind?"

"Go right ahead."

Ellie quickly dialled a number and pressed the cell phone to her ear.

"Hey, sorry, lost track of time," she immediately said once her friend picked up.

"Oh, don't worry. I was busy anyway... you know, thinking you had been kidnapped already!" Helen, Ellie's co-worker and sole friend in the city. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out, who took on the self-appointed role of being Ellie's older sister – a role she said she deserved considering she was ten years older. "Just answer me with a yes or no – are you in the car?"

"Yes."

"Did the tall beefcake assistant come pick you up?"

"Y-yes."

"Does he look hot?"

"Len," Ellie hissed, cheeks reddening over the question.

"What! I'm a recently divorced, single woman in my thirties, Ellie. I need to know."

"I'm not answering that."

"Fine," the woman huffed. "Where are you going for dinner?"

"I'm, uh, not sure."

"WHAT?!" Helen yelled in a whisper. "Eleanora Khan, as the mother of Pancake, how did you get in a car with some unknown walking piece of gorgeousness without knowing where you were going? Did you learn nothing after letting a scary, bleeding mystery man into your apartment? What's your child going to do if something happens to you?"

"I-I got distracted!" the girl quietly pleaded her pathetic excuse.

"Oh, distracted? Over what?"

Ellie avoided Frankie's worried glance in the reflection as she cowered towards the car door, shielding her mouth as she replied. "He said I was his date."

"His date," Helen repeated in a scoff. "Of course, you're his date! You're a fucking catch! Scary bleeding mystery man would be stupid to not take you out! But I taught you to be better than that! Isn't that right, El?"

"Isn't you're ex-husband still sleeping on the couch?"

"Not the point!" Helen quickly huffed, pretending to be annoyed about the teasing remark – she had given up on actually getting upset over the reminder long ago. "Ask the hunky man where you are going for dinner."

"I-"

"Now, El! I need somewhere to give the police when your body goes missing!"

"Fine." Ellie lowered her phone. "Um, Frankie?"

The man's eyes met hers. "Yes, Miss?"

"Where are we going for dinner?"

"Angelo's."

"Thanks." Ellie pressed her phone to her ear again and said, "Angelo's."

"Ang– oh. Oh, El. You lucky bitch!"

"What?!"

"That place is amazing. Will you bring me some leftovers?"

Without thinking it through, Ellie laughed and replied, "Oh, so now you're no longer worried about me getting kidnapped because you like the food?" Her eyes widened, suddenly remembering she wasn't alone. "Uh, Len, I should probably go."

"Ok! But don't forget! Bring me something good and–"

Ellie quickly hung up the phone. "I was just joking about that kidnapping thing," she blurted out and continued rambling, "I don't think you're, you know, going to, like, you know–"

"It's alright, Miss." Frankie smiled. "It's good to have friends that care about your safety."

The tension in her shoulders slightly dissipated over the reply. Maybe it was naive of Ellie to trust someone's word so easily, especially when the unknown person was a friend of yet another unidentified person. But Ellie prided herself in the ability to read people – to get a sense of whether their word was genuine or calculated, honest or deceitful. It's how she survived her childhood and made it out alive.

Frankie turned on the radio, and the two sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the drive. It wasn't a long journey, but the busy city traffic at night caused some conjunction along the roads. Ellie had to muffle her giggles with a cough whenever Frankie cursed and angrily waved his hands around over "incompetent drivers."

It wasn't long before the car rolled to a stop. Before Ellie knew it, Frankie appeared at the passenger door, opening it for her to exit and offering his hand. She thanked the man for his kind gesture and the ride. But just as she went to ask if she was supposed to wait inside, Ellie's eyes fell upon her companion for the night.

S stood near the entrance with his hands folded behind his back. Dressed in another expensive suit, Ellie wondered if he owned anything else. Not that it looked bad on him, of course. He just seemed so fancy and proper – she couldn't help but wonder if he ever put on a pair of sweatpants or an old concert t-shirt.

Walking towards where he stood, the sound of her heels clicked along the pavement.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Hi– oh my," he breathed, eyes scanning down the length of her dress. Even S seemed surprised by the apparent action as he quickly blinked and cleared his throat. "I apologize, I just uh," it neared impossible to tear his eyes off that blue silk clinging to her body. "You look amazing."

"Are you sure? I was worried it was too casual."

"It's perfect. I've never seen someone look so stunning in my entire life."

Ellie had to turn her head as her cheeks burned with heat over the remark. She wasn't ready to look back, but feeling his hand touch hers made it impossible not to give in. And was Ellie ever grateful she did. With widened eyes, she watched as the man raised her hand to his lips for a soft kiss. She wished her bar of basic manners was higher, but no one had ever kissed her hand like that – it made her insides tingle.

"Shall we?"

Still trying to calm her mind, Ellie responded with a simple nod. She feared that attempting words right now would be too hard to handle. Thankfully, S didn't stare at her reddened cheeks or observe her nervous posture. And if he had, at least he was gentlemanly enough to not draw attention toward it.

As Ellie followed his lead into the restaurant, she looked down at their connected hands and tried not to blush. The last thing she needed was to have inflamed skin for the entire night over manners and hand-holding – however, she knew that would pose quite a significant challenge. S's hand dropped hers as they headed to the table, but his touch didn't disappear. Moving his hand to the small of her back, they walked side by side, bodies close.

Thankfully inside the restaurant was a wonderful distraction from thinking about how his hand felt on her backside. Ellie tried not to look so starstruck – but it became increasingly difficult as she observed the space they walked through. Large stained glass windows covered the walls, each separated by columns that looked to be made of marble. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, providing a dim, romantic warm glow. Every round table felt intimate without being crowded, covered with a perfectly pressed white tablecloth and styled with candles and a bouquet of flowers.

"It's so beautiful in here," Ellie whispered.

"I'm glad you like it. But hopefully, you'll enjoy our view even more."

Ellie pressed her lips together, not wanting to ruin the surprise by pestering him with questions. However, it wasn't long before they turned away from the restaurant crowd and entered a hallway. They were led outside to the patio area by passing through a set of double doors.

It wasn't the private table set for two that caused Ellie to gasp. It was the view.

Just beyond the exquisite garden was a view of the city bridge that passed over the river, with twinkling lights dancing across the water. It was far enough away where the noise of the busy city did not disturb but still felt like they were right near it. Ellie didn't know how it was possible. In fact, despite always having the itch to discover the unknown, she was willing to let this be. The beauty of the view was enough to dissolve any need for an answer.

"Do you like it?"

"I never thought the city could seem so... peaceful," she said, "I thought you would have to be high up in a building somewhere to feel like this."

S smiled. "That is why I like sitting out here. It serves as a reminder that there can still be peace amongst the chaos."

Ellie turned her head to the side. "Peace amongst the chaos... That's such a nice way of putting it."

"Don't sound too surprised, Nurse Nora," he teased. Pulling out a chair, S gestured for her to sit. "I pride myself on having a way with words."

"You certainly have a way." Ellie giggled, trying not to get overwhelmed again by the chivalrous action. But the nerves started twisting her stomach as S sat beside her. And before major powers could halt the action, Ellie opened her mouth. "Um, so, how is this supposed to work?"

S raised a brow. "Well, typically, one orders drinks and food, and then when it arrives, you–"

"I know how a restaurant works," Ellie quickly interjected, rolling her eyes. "I meant this," she waved her hand between them, "Are we just going to sit in silence?"

"Would you like to sit in silence?"

"Uh, no." She cleared her throat. "But you are clearly a... man of mystery, let's say. So how are we supposed to have a conversation?"

"There are plenty of ways we can still have a conversation, Nurse Nora."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. And if we dive into a topic I cannot speak of, I will simply let you know."

"You wouldn't lie and make something up?"

"I don't lie. And I'm definitely not going to start tonight while enjoying a nice dinner with you." S leaned closer. "How were the recipes you tried?"

Ellie relaxed in her seat – maybe she was overthinking it all. Just because she couldn't know every intricate detail didn't mean conversing was entirely off the table. Following his lead, she mirrored his body language. "Not great," she replied honestly, laughing off her misfortune, "Well, maybe I'm being too harsh on myself. I guess it was okay for being my first attempt."

"What went wrong?"

"The meat was a little too tough, the vegetables were a bit too mushy... and my presentation was horrendous." Ellie laughed again. "Nothing like the pictures."

"I'm sure everything will work out with a bit more practice."

"I guess. But all the recipes make such big servings and, as lame as it sounds, I don't know enough people to feed to ensure it doesn't go to waste." With a small sigh, she tried to push away the thought of her failed cooking attempt and asked, "Do you like to cook?"

"I love it, actually."

"Really? What do you like to make?"

"Well, I have two go-to meals... the first is eggplant parmesan, and it's quite easy to make if you're ever looking to try something else." His voice dropped low, "And the second is what I'm quite famous for..."

"Oh?"

"It's tomato soup with grilled cheese dippers." S grinned. "Have you had it before?"

"Never," she said as her eyebrows raised in interest.

"You must try it, Nurse Nora. I swear it will become your favourite meal after a long shift at the hospital."

"I'll add that to my list."

"Speaking of food..." he glanced down at the menu. "We should probably order. Do you know what you'd like to eat?"

Ellie chewed her bottom lip and tapped her fingers nervously against the menu. "Erm..." was all she uttered, looking over everything. It all looked so good – from what she could understand. Unfortunately, she did brush up on her Italian before coming to dinner.

Shit! Why didn't I ask Helen for a meal suggestion?

"Nora," he spoke quietly, ensuring his words were only for her ears.

Lifting the menu to try and shield her embarrassment, she nervously laughed. "Uh, I mean, there's just so many options."

"May I be of any assistance?" Reaching a hand forward, he lowered her menu. "Do you have any allergies?"

"Not that I know of."

"Do you like spice?"

"Yes."

"Do you eat meat? Chicken? Fish?"

Ellie nodded. "Yes to all three."

"Anything you don't like to eat?"

"Nothing comes to mind off the top of my head. I'll try anything at least once."

S appeared pleased over her remark. "Ah, that is truly my favourite kind of answer," he said. "Would you mind if I take the lead on your behalf then?"

As he motioned for the waiter, she watched silently as S ordered their food while speaking Italian. She tried to seem cool, calm and collected as she replied with a 'yes' – but on the inside, she was squealing. No one had ever ordered for her before... let alone sounded so good while doing so.

"I think you will enjoy it," S said as the waiter collected their menus and scurried inside.

"You speak Italian."

S nodded. "Sì."

"Is your family from Italy?"

"Sì, Nora."

Ellie dramatically gasped. "You just told me a personal detail!"

"Over fifty million people live in Italy – I'll take my chances on exposing that fact to you."

"Still counts," she said, proudly lifting her chin. "Can you teach me something in Italian?"

"Of course. What would you like to know?"

"Mm... surprise me!"

"Sei bellissima," his voice purred smoothly as he leaned forward.

"Sei bell-ee-ssima," Ellie mirrored, cringing over how it sounded from her lips, knowing her pronunciation was off.

S nodded, proudly smiling at his student. "Sei bellissima," he repeated, "Sei piu bella di un angelo."

Ellie found herself entranced by the way his mouth moved and how the sound of his voice uttered every word. Licking her lips, she asked, "W-what does that mean?"

"You're beautiful," he said, "You are more beautiful than an angel... I thought we should at least start with learning the obvious facts."

"Oh," her cheeks flushed, "T-thank you."

Sliding his hand across the table to meet hers, his fingertips gently danced across her skin. "Mi sono perso nei tuoi occhi," he said, "I'm lost in your eyes."

"I... um," she thickly swallowed, feeling butterflies swarm her stomach, "I don't think I'm going to remember how to say any of that."

"Don't worry. Repetition is key... and I'll happily repeat that to you over and over and over again."

If it weren't for the heat radiating off her skin to already signal how flushed she had become, Ellie was confident he could feel it radiating off by the gentle graze of his touch. As the waiter returned with a bottle of wine, the poor girl thanked her lucky stars for the interruption. She needed a second (and a bucket of ice) to calm down.

As the waiter presented the bottle, S nodded, pleased with the choice, before a small amount was poured into the wine glass. Ellie observed silently as S swirled around the glass against the table, then lifted it to his nose to sniff before he finally tasted it.

S furrowed his brows as he intensely focused on the taste and swallowed. "Bene," he said to the waiter, gesturing to both wine glasses, "Grazie." Leaning his body forward, he quietly whispered, "Bene means good, and grazie means thank you."

Although she could have assumed that's what S had said, she appreciated his explanation. If there was one thing Ellie loved, it was learning. And so, she'd soak in anything he taught her like a sponge.

As the waiter poured the wine into both glasses, Ellie looked up and nervously said, "Grazie," to the older man, who replied with a smile and short nod before disappearing.

"Very well done," S complimented.

"Are you sure? It doesn't sound as good when I say it."

"I think it sounds beautiful."

"No! You think it sounds bellissima!"

S felt his smile grow more than he knew it possibly could. "Yes, bellissima, Nora." Raising his glass, he waited for her to do the same. "Salute," he said, "to our health."

"Salute." She brought the glass to her lips and took a small sip.

"How does it taste?"

Ellie thought about it for a moment as she swallowed. "Good, I think," she replied, "It tastes like grapes."

"Grapes?"

"Yeah. But, um, fancy grapes?" She dipped her head and allowed her gaze to fall. "I'm sorry. I'm not good at this. I just–"

"Nora. Stop." He gently squeezed her hand. "Do you like it?"

"I do. It's just... I buy my wine from the grocery store. You know, sometimes, more than not, the kind that comes in a box. This tastes like it flew here on a private jet."

S smiled. "When you decide to have a drink, what do you enjoy?"

"Um. I liked iced tea."

"Iced tea?" he repeated. "Alright."

By the time Ellie could process what was happening, S was already up from the table. She tried to call out for him, but suddenly, it was like her mouth had forgotten how to let words escape. She remained in her seat and watched in pure confusion as he walked to the door and slipped inside.

Oh god, the voice in her head cried. He's embarrassed you don't like his fancy first-class wine! He probably went to find one of those beautiful woman inside to share it with because they understand classy–

"Here we are," S announced, placing two glasses on the table. "What? Is it wrong?"

"No, it's..." Ellie smiled as she looked at the two glasses of iced tea, garnished with a lemon slice wedged onto the brim and a straw. "Why did you get these?"

"Because it's what you like." He raised his glass. "Salute, Nora."

"Salute, S." She raised her glass and sipped. "Oh, yeah. That's the stuff. Do you like it?"

"Yes, I do." Catching her surprised glance, he quickly added, "I've had iced tea before, Nora."

"Well! I don't know! Do you ever wear something other than a suit?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You seem so fancy. The suits, the car, knowing about fancy grape-tasting wine, having a personal assistant and apparently an endless amount of cash you're willing to leave behind for a stranger," she teased, "Do you ever just, like, lounge around and wear sweatpants? Have you had ice cream for dinner? Do you ever binge out on some really good, trashy reality TV?"

S grinned. "Yes, Nora, I wear things other than suits but prefer to look put together when I leave the house. But I'll have you know, I do wear sweatpants and the elastic band on them is quite comfortable. I haven't had ice cream for dinner since I was a child. And I do enjoy that singing competition show occasionally," he explained, "But, did you say something about a personal assistant?"

"Yeah... isn't that what Frankie is?"

S tried to conceal his laughter from hearing the title with a cough. "My personal assistant," he mused over the name, knowing Frankie would be livid over such a thing, "Of sorts... yes."

"Wow. You must have a pretty hectic schedule if you need to hire someone like that."

Humming his response, S took a sip of wine before asking, "How did you and little Pancake become roommates?"

"I adopted her. Want to know how she got her name?"

"More than anything."

"She was rescued as a baby with all her siblings and their mother. And, while all her little brothers and sisters loved running around, Pancake would move for about two seconds and then just curl up into a little flat circle. Then she would jump up, run for another record or two... and then fall to the ground in a little circle. And then she'd do it again. And again. And again!" Ellie giggled. "They think she must have been playing a game. Anyway, she kept doing it so much that they realized she looked liked a little flattened Pancake. And the rest is history."

"That is adorable."

Ellie nodded in agreement. "Do you have any pets?"

"Not currently, no."

"Are you a dog or a cat person?"

"If I say dog, will you storm away from the table because I didn't pick Flapjack's side?"

"Pancake!" she hissed, "But, no, I won't. I like cats and dogs. And cows."

"Cows?"

She giggled, thinking about the animal. "They're so cute! When I get older, I want to live in a small house on a big lot of land and have a whole bunch of animals – like a little farm!"

Intrigued by the woman sitting next to him would have been an understatement. S was genuinely fascinated by her. Every word, look and sound she made caused something indescribable to course through his body. As his lips parted to comment, waiters flooded out through the double doors carrying food trays and stole their attention.

"Oh my," Ellie gasped, watching stands brought out to hold the food. "How much did you order?"

"You can try a bit of everything this way."

S thanked the waiters as they hurried off and, without a word, began to load her plate with different foods. Many different kinds of pasta and salads, dishes with red meat, chicken, fish, duck, veal, and eggplant – the variety of options was endless. He pointed out his favourite ones, pleased when she was willing to try every and anything.

"Holy–" she silenced herself with another bite before a curse could slip through, "This is..."

"Good?"

"Better than good! It's like heaven in my mouth!"

"You should try some of this with it."

S cut a small piece of the food on his plate and collected it onto his fork before bringing it to her lips. Without hesitation, Ellie accepted the food – and once again tried not to go red in the face over him feeding her.

Her eyes widened at the taste coating her mouth. "Oh–"

"It just melts, doesn't it?"

"Like butter."

As they continued to eat, they dove into light conversation – questions that never pushed past the boundaries of possibly getting to know the true mystery behind the man. Ellie took it for what it was. She learned his favourite colour was blue. He liked soccer. Hated the bitter cold of the city but loved watching the first snowfall. He loved listening to music on vinyl. The restaurant they sat in was his favourite. And his mother used to be a nurse.

"She was?"

S nodded. "Very good at her job, too. Mainly because she loved it – you know, helping and caring for others."

Ellie smiled. She knew the feeling but felt it wasn't her place to express how she related to a woman she didn't know – a person who was clearly a sensitive topic for him to talk about, given the way his gaze averted down to the table.

"So... are you a relationship type of guy or just a suave ladies man?"

S lifted his head, brows raised over the question. "A... suave ladies man?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, "Like, is this your thing? Getting," Ellie motioned the shape of an X against her side to avoid saying the word stabbed out loud, "And then taking your caregivers out for dinner?"

"No, this isn't my thing." He would have been insulted by the question if it weren't for hearing her giggle float through his ears. "I can't remember the last time I was in a relationship, to be fair."

"Damn... how old are you?" Ellie meant her words as a tease but played off the remark by keeping a straight face. "Your skincare routine is amazing!"

Taking a sip from his glass, S stifled a laugh. "I was probably a teenager the last time I went on a date."

"What was that? Fifty years ago?" Ellie sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. "Kidding!"

"How old do you think I am?"

"Mm... in all honesty, it's a hard question. You don't look old... but it's hard to image you anywhere near the guys my age because, well, they're all assholes, and you seem way more mature...." Ellie paused for a moment, thinking it over. "I think the maturity is supposed to throw me off, and you're not that much older than me... so I'm going to go with... Twenty-seven! Final answer." She lightly slapped her flattened palm against the table like a gameshow button.

S couldn't shield his surprise. "Interesting guess," was all he remarked.

"Oh my god... did I get it right?!" Ellie grinned, taking his silence as confirmation. "I'm totally right." She was – S was twenty-seven. "Well, since you won't tell me, I'll play your little game too – I'm old enough to drink but younger than you." Ellie has just turned twenty-two.

"And past relationships?"

"Only one. High school, but that wasn't a million years ago for me," she teased. "We dated for, like, four years... and broke before we graduated."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Ellie shrugged off the remark. "I'm not. I think it's amazing that some people can find someone so young and be with them for the rest of their lives, but... I was so young when we met. What I wanted at thirteen wasn't the same at eighteen. He wanted us to get married and have babies right after we received our diplomas. It felt like I didn't have a say suddenly in what my future would look like, and I–" Clearing her throat, she pressed her lips together. "I might still be young and figuring out the shit I do and don't want in life... but I know I never want to feel like that. Like someone else is deciding what's right for me."

"I think it's amazing you recognized that and stepped away," he said, offering her a sincere smile, "Not everyone can always say the same."

As the flood of waiters returned to clear their empty plates, Ellie watched the situation unfold curiously. She noted the way each waiter only spoke when spoken to and otherwise kept their eyes down, moving swiftly and quietly – as if scared to make a sound.

Once they were left alone, Ellie asked, "What's the big deal about you, anyway? Are you a Prince?"

"No."

"Alright, so no royal kingdom to overtake," tapping her finger against her chin, Ellie pondered the thought, "Then are you, like, super-duper rich? As in, the one percent of the one percent, and you're worried I'll try to seduce you so I can get my hands on your fortune? Because if so, you should know that it wasn't just my past relationship where I didn't want to get married or have kids. I don't believe in marriage at all, and the only child I'll ever have is Pancake – and, to be completely transparent, pretending to want either of those things for long enough to get access to your money is way too much work."

His lips parted to speak but just as quickly were pressed back together.

Assuming her remark caused the sudden silence, she tried to ease the tension by saying, "I don't want children because–"

He held up a hand. "You don't have to elaborate."

"But you were curious, weren't you? Had a question on your mind that you forced to swallow down because you thought it might be inappropriate to ask?" she questioned, "It's okay. I don't mind talking about it. In fact, it's easier to lay it all out because I've been here plenty of times... even from the guys who tell me right before that they don't want marriage and kids either. But when I say it, suddenly it's weird."

Reaching for her glass, she took a sip before she continued, "Everyone's go-to is to tell me, 'you'll change your mind in a few years!' but I know I won't. I've never longed for motherhood. I've never thought about what it would be like for a tiny human to have my eyes or nose... or share my love for math and science." Ellie sighed. "I've always been told that having a child is what I should want, but what I actually want is to work at the hospital, take care of my patients, help other mothers get through their pregnancy or their babies when they're sick... save up money so I can afford to go to med school and become the doctor I've already dreamed of... and then spending my future years travelling the world with someone special... That's what I want. And it's a life without having my own children – and that should be okay."

Realizing how long she had been rambling, Ellie pressed her lips into a fine line and looked down at the table. "I'm sure this whole discussion isn't great first date talk. In my defence, I haven't been on many dates in my limited single life, so I'm sorry if what I said was weird."

"I don't think it's weird. Not for one second. Your honesty on the subject is refreshing. I've never heard someone speak so openly about it before." Choosing his words carefully, he continued, "I don't want children either because I can't imagine bringing someone into this world and having them witness a certain environment that is not for young eyes to see. And to shield them from it all would mean I would never be around... but knowing myself, I could never be a partner to someone and force them to take on the sole responsibility of being a parent."

"And you wouldn't walk away from that... environment," she used his wording, "so you could have children?"

"It's not that easy, unfortunately." He wore a soft smile as his thumb grazed across her skin. "Besides, I made the choice a long time ago, and, like yourself, it's not something I've ever found myself wavering over. But, it does cause some contention when looking for a partner. I would never want to hold someone back from the chance at the future... however, I'll never be one to provide that. It's always a sensitive subject because I have been in the position where I'm told what I want to hear, not what they truly believe or feel... so I've struggled with giving my heart to another."

"So, you don't want kids either?"

"No, I don't," S answered truthfully. "But, I have a large family and with that comes lots of nieces and nephews... Sometimes it feels like a new baby is born every day." He chuckled, taking a sip from his glass. "So, I get my fill of children by being the fun Uncle whenever possible."

Ellie smiled. "You said my honesty on the subject is refreshing, but yours is just as much," she said softly. "It's nice to talk about it and not just hear that having children is something I'm supposed to want."

"I mean it when I say that I appreciate your honesty, Nora. I'll never know what it's like to be in your position, to have others telling you what you should want regarding motherhood, but for what it's worth, the strength you have to stand behind your beliefs is admirable." Lacing his fingers through hers, he said, "The decision for your future is yours and yours alone. Don't ever let anyone make you feel differently."

The decision for your future is yours and yours alone. Don't ever let anyone make you feel differently. Hearing him say such a thing made her skin flush. Not due to their conversation; in fact, it had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn't someone who made her feel like a bad person for not wanting to be a mother. Enough of those individuals had passed through her life at one point or another. But because it was one of the nicest things she had ever heard.

A large man dressed in an all-black suit approached the table. Aside from his appearance, Ellie assumed he was one of S's employees, mainly because he spoke. The man leaned down and whispered something. S only replied by nodding and humming in agreement.

"Excuse me, Nora. I apologize, but I must handle something for a few minutes."

"Of course."

As S pushed back his chair and got up, Ellie forced her eyes not to watch him walk off. She didn't want it to seem like she was watching him or trying to discover what was going on – although, her curiosity did scream to turn and take a quick look. Relaxing back into her chair, she released a breath and kept her attention on the view, watching the lights dance across the water.

The sound of faint music found its way to her ears, and as the door opened, Ellie finally gave in and turned to look, thankful to see S had returned. To her surprise, he didn't sit back down. Instead, he went to her side and extended his hand.

"Are we leaving?" she asked, placing her hand in his.

"No," S simply replied as he guided her to stand. "Dance with me."

Ellie laughed. "Are you sure you willingly want to do that? I'll probably step on your feet a thousand times."

"Go right ahead. I can take it."

"Is that what you were off doing?" Placing a hand on his shoulder, Ellie tried ignoring the urge to shiver from his hand on her waist. "Getting someone to turn on the music so I'd be forced to embarrass myself in front of you?"

Guiding them from side to side, S smiled. "You're doing perfectly fine to me. A natural talent."

"Do you like to dance?"

"I love it."

"You know, for someone so guarded, I feel like I've learned more about you than anyone I've ever met."

He released a short laugh. "There is this infectious warmth that you possess. I think it would be nearly impossible to keep my guard up around you, Nora."

'Is that such a bad thing?' Ellie wanted to ask but forced the words down. But even without asking, one look into his eyes told her anyway – a flash of sadness that signalled yes.

With her so close, S learned everything about her features. The way her eyes widened with excitement and joy. He studied the shade of deep blue with flecks of silver and grey – a colour instantly becoming his favourite. He noted the adorable bump on the bridge of her nose and how her cheeks flushed from every compliment and touch. He traced her heart-shaped mouth and memorized the pink shade of her lips. The way she smiled caused something in his chest to clench, made him determined to say and do all the right things so it never faltered.

The feelings that burned inside for a woman he barely knew made the man feel insane and crazy. But in an utterly confusing, mind-scrambling way, it all made sense. When he looked at Nora, a comfortable warmth flooded his body. The compassion and giving side she possessed were noticeable from the moment they met, and her innocence was a beautiful quality – one he hoped she would hold onto forever.

S swore his eyes were staring into the perfect woman.

And Ellie swore her eyes were looking at the perfect man.

Their connection was undeniable. And confusing. Possibly slightly concerning if she thought about it too hard. She never felt like this before – a connection so strong she would willingly throw logic out the door without hesitation. Ellie didn't know what it felt like to be in love. It wasn't something she ever felt or said before. But for some crazy and insane reason, she thought he could be the one to change that.

As he leaned closer, Ellie felt her heart clench. His nose brushing against hers sent a shiver down her spine. Her stomach flipped with excitement while twisting into a bundle of nerves. She waited with bated breath as his lips brushed against hers. Even the slightest touch felt like a spark of electricity. That's how she knew it had to be right, that her sudden feelings and thoughts had to be justified somehow. This wasn't a normal situation, but these weren't normal feelings either.

Ellie couldn't wait to be kissed by him.

But just as she felt the touch of his lips, it was ripped from her without warning.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly whispered, pulling his head back. "I can't."

"Can't what?"

"I can't... I can't let myself kiss you."

"Oh," was all she could utter, her head spinning with a terrible cocktail of confusion and hurt.

"It's not fair to you, Nora. I'm sorry."

The pad of his thumb brushed across her bottom lip. He smiled – a gesture that pained Ellie's heart this time around. And the longer they stood in silence, the more it felt like a knife had been plunged into her chest. It was obviously within his right not to want to kiss her. But hearing such a thing out loud didn't make it any easier.

Ellie stepped back, forcing his hand to fall. She was unsure of what to say or do next. All she wanted was to cower away under the safe covers under her bed. What she did need, at least in the meantime, was a private moment to herself.

"I need a minute," she said, not meeting his glance as she took another step away.

Snatching her purse off the table, Ellie headed toward the door and disappeared inside, only stopping to ask a waiter for directions to the restroom. As she headed down the hallway, she felt a figure following. It wasn't him – evident by the looming shadow and lack of intoxicating cologne.

"You're not coming in here with me," Ellie snapped at Frankie. Her gaze immediately softened, recognizing her undeserving harsh tone. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I just need some time to be alone."

"Understood. I'm only here to do my job, Miss."

As the man stepped past her and pushed open the door, Ellie remained in the entryway. She watched with intrigue and he checked every stall, ensuring they were all empty before making his way to sink and checked underneath the floating surface.

"All clear," Frankie announced.

"What was all that for?" Receiving a raised brow from the man, Ellie clarified, "Why did you check everything?"

"Maintenance," he replied simply. "I'll ensure no one enters so you have complete privacy. But, let me know if you need anything."

Ellie entered the bathroom and watched the door swing shut. She assumed Frankie would remain on the other side, guarding it to block the other patrons from entering, which meant he would be standing nearby and signalled Ellie to be quiet.

Expressing emotion publicly was something she tried to refrain from. She couldn't stop herself from crying – whether due to exhaustion, sadness, or frustration – but she could limit those around to witness it. That's why she preferred running off to a private place, so she could wallow in self-pity alone without having to deal with anyone trying to help or asking questions. Or look at her like she was pathetic and weak.

In all honesty, Ellie didn't know why she needed to cry.

Ellie had only met the man that didn't want to kiss her just a few nights ago when he had been stabbed, and she stitched him up in her apartment... and he picked her up the following night to buy her groceries and drive her home... and then bought her cat (which he consistently called the wrong name) food and toys... and a bookshelf for all her textbooks and cookbooks... and then took her out for dinner... all to say thank you.

No one had ever expressed gratitude for her like that. But then again, who on earth would ever do something like that? Ellie didn't know. She was certain people like him didn't exist in this world.

The only thing she knew for certain was that she felt foolish. It was foolish to go out with him in the first place. Foolish to assume a man like him would take a genuine interest in her. Foolish to think he would want her. Thinking of all the ways she felt foolish all led her back to asking – why did she allow her mind to go to such places to begin with? She didn't know this man at all. For once, she led with her heart and not her head – and all Ellie got for it was feeling royally embarrassed.

Maybe S meant well by what he said. However, just like she didn't know him, she didn't know his word. She didn't know his intentions. All she could go off were the thoughts in her head. And that head of hers thought this was just the romantic, suave way of saying, 'it's not you; it's me.'

Maybe it really had nothing to do with her... because maybe, compared to everyone else, she was nothing. Ellie was nothing like the beautifully dressed woman they passed by on the way to the table. While they looked at Ellie with envy, she looked back at them with desire. Desire to look like they did, with perfectly done up hair and beautiful make-up, dressed in figure-hugging luxury fabrics and dripping in diamonds.

He kept his head down when they walked through the restaurant. At the time, Ellie paid it little mind. But now, she wondered if he didn't want to be seen with her.

If she were in this position with anyone else, Ellie would have marched right back to the table and demanded answers from him. However, that wasn't her reality with S. She was with a man who couldn't even tell her his first name. How was she to know he would tell her the truth about why he didn't want to be seen with her? Or why he didn't want to kiss her?

What would be the point of looking for honest answers from a dishonest man?

Talking it through wouldn't do any justice. Ellie was certain she would only feel worse.

S didn't want to kiss her.

End of story.

So, Ellie did the mature thing.

She escaped by climbing out the bathroom window.

III. BEG

Some would say mature wasn't the best word to describe her decision. But desperate didn't make her feel good and bad, well, sounded bad.

It wasn't like there was much she could do once half her body was hanging out the window. If she called for help to pull herself back in, she would be faced with explaining how she got there in the first place. And if she changed her mind after making her grand escape, she would have to walk back through the restaurant and, once again, explain herself.

Therefore, like the crazy person she already felt like for climbing out of a bathroom window, Ellie continued her escape. Running down the pathway along the side of the restaurant, she ignored the glances she received upon randomly appearing near the entrance, flagged down a cab, and headed home.

If she had realized how expensive the cab ride would be beforehand, she might have put more thought into her great escape plan.

Now safe behind her apartment door, the first thing she did was greet Pancake with a scratch on the head. At least the sound of her child purring helped a smile to appear. The second thing she did was rid her appearance from the night. She moved quickly, changing out of her dress and throwing on some pajamas before heading into her bathroom and scrubbing the makeup off her face.

Ellie thought the speed might help trick her mind into forgetting about the night, acting as if it never happened. But the second her eyes fell upon the blue silk, now lying on the ground in a ball, she was quickly reminded of the beautifully charming man that didn't want to kiss her.

Her heart, along with her entire body, stilled, hearing a knock at the door. But it wasn't until the person on the other side called out, "Miss? Are you in there?" that Ellie could release a breath. It wasn't him.

Opening the door, she asked, "Did he send you?"

"I was already on my way." Frankie extended his hand that held a take-out bag and said, "Leftovers. For you."

"You came all this way just to bring me leftovers?"

"And to make sure you were alive," he said. "Boss's orders."

She nodded slowly, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry if I got you in trouble because I ran off."

"S'alright... he was a bit distracted by how impressive your ability to sneak through that small window was... then demanded I make sure you were safe or he would–" Frankie coughed, "Well, now that I know you're alive, I'll be on my way."

Watching him walk off, she called out, "Thank you for the food."

Ellie went to close the door when the large man's footsteps suddenly stopped. He turned back around, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"He's a good man, ya know," he told her, "Takes care of a lot of people... does every good deed when he can... protects anyone around him... a rare pure heart in this messy world. You learned more about him tonight than anyone ever has... and that says something."

"Did he tell you to say this to me?"

The poor man's eyes widened in fear. "Fuck no," he uttered, releasing a breathy laugh, "And please, for the sake of my life, never tell anyone about this conversation."

"I won't," she promised. "But why are you telling me?"

Frankie shrugged. "Not sure, really. I just... don't want you thinking the boss is a monster, I guess."

"I don't know anything about your boss to pass any judgment."

"That's fair," he hummed in agreement, "I just can't remember the last time I saw him like that."

"Like what?"

"Happy." Frankie scratched the back of his neck. "I know my word means nothing but, uh, for what it's worth, that's how he's been since the night you two met. After all, where he took you tonight... that's a special place. In all my years of knowing him, he's only gone there alone or with family."

Ellie forced a smile, unsure what to make over the recent confession. It didn't answer any of the unknowns running through her mind, nor did it worsen the pain. She just felt... confused. Bidding Frankie goodnight, she closed the door to her apartment. She pressed her back against the wood, closed her eyes and released a deep breath, desperately hoping to halt the racing thoughts that swarmed her mind. But it was difficult to do so when she couldn't make sense of even the smallest sliver.

With the heavy bag of takeout food still in hand, Ellie decided the best way spend the rest of the night was to eat in front of the television and watch whatever reality show she could find. It was her favourite way to unwind, and she silently prayed there would be enough crazy, unnecessary drama to aid as a distraction. She settled on the couch and dug through the bag, taking out every container and placing each one on the coffee table.

But just as Ellie was about to toss the empty bag aside, something near the bottom caught her attention. Her eyes widened at what was in her hand. A paperclip secured a handful of bills and a note, which she regretfully read.

For the cab. I'm sorry. Please call me. x S

A number was scribbled under the message. It was tempting, to say the least. But in her mind, there was nothing to say or talk about. There wasn't a discussion needed over why someone did or didn't want to kiss her.

Therefore, Ellie didn't call.

The first few days were difficult – far more difficult than she cared to admit. Ellie felt foolish for having such an internal struggle over a man she barely knew. A man who couldn't even tell her his real name. It was hard not to think about him, the mysterious, handsome stranger that caused her to throw away all her logical thinking without even realizing it. But whenever his stupid beautiful eyes or heart-clenching smile crossed her mind, Ellie forced herself to find a distraction—working extra hours, cleaning her apartment, watching television, and cuddling Pancake (even when the cat clearly wanted to be alone).

A few days suddenly turned into a few more. Which then turned into an entire week. And then another. Ellie started believing she could move on from this confusing mess without ever thinking about him again.

However, fate had a humorous way of halting one's plans. Ellie learned that many times throughout her life – but it never made the sudden crash any easier.

Getting off the bus and bid the driver a goodnight, her eyes instantly spotted the luxury SUV parked on the opposite side of the street. Her chest tightened as she forced herself to believe it was only a coincidence. When the panicked feeling didn't dissipate like she ordered it to, it (unfortunately) was for a good reason.

Ellie spotted his presence by the alleyway. From the corner of her eye, she could see him step out from the shadows. Ignoring him, she focused on the task and worked the key into the door lock with a trembling hand.

"Nora!" he called after her.

The sound of him calling out did something indescribable to Ellie. She wanted to saviour the pain in his voice, bottle up how each letter slipped past his lips. She wanted to give in to her weakened knees, fall to the ground over all the agony of the past two weeks where she forced herself to forget him. She wanted to act in a way she never did before; wild, free, and uncalculated.

But she didn't give in. Instead of letting curiosity and poor judgement win like it did the first time, Ellie headed straight inside the building.

Hoping her actions would serve as a sign for him to leave, she quickly learned that wasn't the case. Before the front door could close, it creaked open again. Footsteps followed behind hers. Ellie didn't stop, sneak a glance or slow her pace. She headed right up the stairs to her apartment, just like she always did. Except this time, she had to ignore how her senses filled with his mouth-watering cologne and ignore the burning urge to turn around.

As she reached her floor and headed straight for her door, Ellie knew the final stretch was near. She raised the key to the lock, thankful her trembling hand didn't cause much trouble. But what she didn't consider nearly caused her entire operation to crumble.

"Nora, please," he begged.

Begged. He was begging, saying her name and begging.

Ellie squeezed her eyes shut. The sound of his voice forced her movements to a sudden halt, allowing him to minimize the distance between them. He didn't touch her or force her to turn around. He just stood behind her, letting his knowing presence linger.

"Please," his strained voice begged again, "Talk to me."

Hearing those words reminded Ellie to snap out of her trance. Entering her apartment, she quickly reached for the door and slammed it shut. It happened so fast that Ellie thought she had been successful – but she quickly realized that wasn't the case. Before the door could close, his hand pressed against the wood, prying it back open.

"Nora, please... please talk to me."

Without giving him the benefit of a glance, she kept her eyes on the ground and bitterly said, "There is nothing for us to discuss. And unless you need critical medical attention, you have no reason to be here either."

As his hand pulled away from the door, Ellie believed her words finally did the trick. Clearly, he had taken the hint that she didn't want to engage in conversation. But that didn't mean he was listening.

Ellie looked up slightly, taking in his appearance for the first time tonight. S looked similar to how she always saw him, but this time was somewhat different. For starters, he didn't wear a suit jacket. The white button-down shirt wasn't perfectly pressed like usual, with a few evident crease marks and wrinkles, and the top few buttons were left undone. His hair wasn't perfectly in place, and his face wasn't cleanly shaven.

She watched him reach for something in his back pocket and wondered if he was grabbing another note that would tear her apart for the next two weeks. But the item in his hands wasn't a piece of paper. It was a pocket knife.

It all happened so fast. Even minutes after the act, Ellie struggled to comprehend what he had just done.

He pressed the blade against his forearm, slicing through the material of his dress shirt. Ellie was forced into silence as she watched red ink appear.

"I need critical medical attention."

Ellie's eyes widened with horror and amazement over the sight. Surely it had to be a prank – this was all an act he had planned. There was no way he voluntarily carved a knife into his skin. But as the trail of blood continued to stain his shirt, the girl finally found herself convinced that recent events had truly taken place.

"You're insane," was all she managed to utter.

He shrugged. "I've heard worse."

"No! Y-you can't just do that!" Ellie cried. "You can't show up and hurt yourself, so I'm forced to help you!"

"I'm desperate." If it weren't already evident in his admissions or recent actions, his voice sold the tale. "Please, Nora. I just–"

"Stop," she interrupted. Taking a brief moment to collect herself, Ellie released a heavy breath. "I'm going to clean that because you are an idiot and stabbed yourself. While you are in my apartment, you do not speak because I don't want to have a conversation with you. And after I'm done, you are going to leave. Understand?"

All S could do was nod to signal his agreement, so he did just that. It was apparent he was desperate to speak to her, given he recently took a knife to his skin – an act S quickly regretted, not because of the pain, but because he could see that it was only hurting her. If he couldn't speak to her, he would willingly accept being in her presence, at least for a few more minutes.

"I'll go get my medical kit. Put that in the sink," she pointed to his knife, "And then go sit down."

Ellie disappeared into the bathroom without another word. As S entered her apartment, he instantly followed instructions. Disposing the knife into the sink, he sat in the same chair from the first night they met. Guilt washed over the man as Ellie re-entered the room and intentionally avoided his gaze.

"Pull up your sleeve."

S undid the buttons on his cuff and rolled the material up to his elbow. He watched as she pulled up a chair and sat down, maneuvering his arm into her lap. S noted how focused she was on her task. Even when she was angry and hurt, Ellie remained loyal to her passion for caring for others.

Ellie cleaned the spilled blood off his skin and observed the self-inflicted wound. It wasn't that deep nor that long of a cut. And so, she easily concluded that he needed nothing more than for the area to be disinfected and bandaged.

Recalling his comment from the first night about needing a bandaid for his stab wound, Ellie teased, "You should have bet me all you needed for this was a bandaid," without realizing it.

Ellie found herself wanting nothing more than to cry. It was so easy for her to forget all the anger, sadness and confusion from the past week and joke with him. She wanted to force her feelings aside so they could joke together for the last time. She wanted to see him smile and hear his laughter. All things she swore she wouldn't allow the moment he entered her apartment.

Dropping her gaze, she turned her body away. "You're all done."

"Nora," S whispered like he was testing the waters by uttering her name, "Please don't cry."

Ellie brought a hand to her cheek, surprised to feel it wet. How did he know? She hadn't even realized she was crying, and her back was to him. She swore she hadn't made a sound alluding to her crying... so how on earth did he know?

With her vision blurred from the tears, Ellie hadn't realized his movements. Sitting in the chair moments ago, it wasn't that he left that spot that caused her to gasp. It was because he was kneeling in front of her.

"I am so sorry, Nora." S brought his hands to cup her cheeks, grazing the skin with his thumbs to brush away the tears. "Please don't cry. Please."

He was apologizing. On his knees. On his fucking knees.

"I know I don't deserve your time... and I'm not here expecting you to forgive me. I'm sorry if it was too much... or if I did something wrong that night." S sighed. "And I'm very fucking sorry for showing up tonight. It's no excuse, but I've lost my fucking mind, Nora – I've been a shell of a man since you walked out of that restaurant. Well, not walked." His lips tugged into a slight grin. "You're the first date of mine that escaped through a window to get away from me."

"I didn't do it to get away from you. I..." her voice trailed off as she sniffled, "I was embarrassed, I guess."

"Embarrassed?" he repeated, "Over what?"

Her eyes met his briefly before she looked down at her lap. "It's stupid."

"Nora," her name sounded like honey from his lips. Tucking a finger under her chin, he lifted her head, forcing her gaze to return. "Nothing you say, especially about your feelings, will ever be stupid."

Biting her bottom lip, her teeth knawed at the sensitive skin before she muttered, "I was embarrassed you didn't want to kiss me."

"Didn't want to?" His brows furrowed.

"Is there someone else? You can tell me," she sniffled, "I'd rather know the truth."

"Fuck no," he breathed, "there's no one else, Nora. I promise you."

Getting off the ground, S returned to the seat next to hers. "Nora, that's not that I didn't or couldn't kiss you... I want to kiss you. That is the problem."

"Why?"

"Because I know if I kiss you, I'll never be able to stop until I take my last breath."

"W-what's so wrong with that?"

He reached a hand forward and brushed away a fallen tear from her cheek. "Innocent eyes like yours only end up corrupted by devil eyes like mine."

"I can't tell if this is the kindest or cruellest way to be turned down."

A saddened smile tugged on his lips. "The only way I could shower you with affection while keeping you safe is by hiding you away – loving you only during the darkness of the night. And that's far from what you deserve... far from what I'd want."

"Then what do you want?" Sensing his resistance to answering, Ellie placed a hand on his thigh. "Please," she whispered, "At least tell me what you would want, given you could have it."

"I want the chance to tell everyone about you... to brag about how smart and clever you are all damn day long... get them riled up with jealousy over your beauty and pure heart... have them stewing over the lucky bastard I am to get the honour to be chosen by you..." his thumb brushed across her bottom lip, "And then I want to come home to you every night, so I can hear all about what you did when we were apart while I cook you dinner... I want to just sit there and listen to your voice... smile with you over what made you happy... rip apart anyone, limb by limb, that made you upset or angry..." his eyes fixated on her mouth, "Then I want to take you to bed... kiss every inch of your skin that you would allow..." his voice dropped to a whisper, "I want to please you... cherish you... saviour you."

Ellie thickly swallowed, trying to regain her fleeting breath. "Oh," was all she managed to say.

"You see, the problem is, I'm thinking about all of that now without ever having kissed you... which means that although one kiss may seem innocent now, I know it will consume me forever. But I don't live a life where I can be consumed by you without dragging you down with me."

"Down where?" Australia?

"Into my world," he said, "Letting you in means putting your life at risk. Keeping you safe means I can't come home and tell you about my day. I can't introduce you to my coworkers or have you on my arm at public gatherings. I can't tell you about my family or bring you home for the holidays." He paused and released a strained breath. "I'm sorry, Nora. I wish I could be someone that you would want to take a chance on... but I can't risk it."

She had it all wrong. It wasn't the fact he didn't want to kiss her that destroyed their chances. It was because he did. There wasn't another woman more beautiful and fancy like him or fears she wouldn't fit into his lifestyle. There was only an unknown power that loomed over their future – that forced him to stay away and couldn't even allow them the chance to dip ever so slightly into temptation.

A painful smile tugged the corners of her mouth as she nodded. "It's okay. I appreciate your honesty," she assured softly, "I mean... we only went for one dinner... who's to say if we would even last a month dating?"

They would last an eternity together – they both knew it to be true. They were destined to meet that night and be together for the rest of time. It was a feeling that burned deep in their souls for one another. Something truly unexplainable that would sound crazy to anyone else. But they knew. And that made it equally heartbreaking, terrifying, and upsetting that they could not be together.

"I'm sorry," was all he said.

"Me too." Ellie gently squeezed his thigh. "I'm never going to be able to stop thinking about what kissing you would be like."

Those words ignited a burning passion that physically pained him to suppress. "Me too," he whispered.

"It's getting late..."

"Right, I should–"

"–tell Frankie to go home," she blurted out the remark without thinking. Maybe it would be wrong to test their temptation, but Ellie wasn't willing to let him go just yet. And so, she was quick to add, "You should tell him to go home. He deserves a good night's rest."

He raised a brow. "But if Frankie goes home without me..."

"Then I guess you'll just have to stay here."

Ellie bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from giggling over the mastermind of a plan she concocted within seconds and watched as he quickly pulled out his cell phone.

"Go home, Frankie," was all he said into the device before hanging up. "Nothing can happen between us."

"I know," she agreed as she got up. Taking her hand in his, she tugged S's body along. "It's just going to be two people sleeping beside each other."

Stepping into her dimly lit bedroom, he placed both hands on either side of her waist and turned her around to face him. "You're going to be impossible for me to ignore."

"Well, it's too bad you already sent Frankie home."

"You're irresistible... do you know that? Do you know what you do to me?"

Resting her hands against his chest, she whispered, "I'm a big girl. I can handle a bit of secrecy."

"Nora," he groaned in a warning. His hand went to her throat, spreading his fingers across the delicate skin as the pad of his thumb pressed against her pulse. "If only you could read my thoughts... see everything I'm thinking about."

"How many of them involve me naked?"

"Oddio," he breathed, brows furrowing over the thought. "I think you may be more sinful than I expected, Nurse Nora."

"I'm full of surprises."

"Is that so?"

"Want to find out? If it helps, you don't have to kiss me... on the mouth."

Another groan ripped through the back of his throat. But instead of caving into his desires, he rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "You don't know how badly I wish I could give in Nora... but I can't. We can't."

"I know," she admitted, releasing a disappointed sigh. "Can you at least promise me one thing?"

"What is it?"

"If you ever decide that you want to give in... will you tell me your real name?"

"Yes," he promised. Trailing his lips to her ear, he whispered, "Spero che lo farai anche tu."

I hope you will too.

"What does that mean?"

Pulling his head back, a smile crossed his mouth as he lied, "I promise you that I will."

Although it posed quite a challenge, they managed to get into bed and fall asleep without ripping each other's clothes off. Ellie had to admit, his restraint to keep the promise to his word was extremely attractive... and insanely frustrating. But once the decision was made for sex to be permanently off the table, Ellie obliged and limited her teasing remarks, knowing it was all for the best. If they couldn't kiss, surely getting naked wouldn't help things.

Ellie woke up with her head resting against his chest. Warmth radiated off his skin in a way that felt inviting and cozy – not leaving her feeling like she was sweating and needed a shower. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she slept this well. And not wanting to rush the end of their moment together, Ellie did her best not to move a single muscle.

However, they couldn't stay that way forever. At some point, S woke and did what they both regretted. He got out of bed.

"What happened to your locket?"

"What?"

"Your locket," he repeated, "The silver heart-shaped one... You were wearing it the first night we met... and when we went out for dinner."

Ellie blinked. "Oh. The chain broke. I haven't had time to get it fixed."

S hummed acknowledgment over the remark as he stepped toward the door. "Would it be wrong to ask if I could call you?" He cleared his throat. "You know, for medical attention."

"Medical attention," Ellie skeptically repeated with a grin.

"Yes. You never know when a pocket knife may randomly attack you."

"I think that would be alright. But you have to promise me one thing."

"Anything, Nora."

She leaned closer. "If, for whatever reason, you feel the urge to hear from me without it being due to a medical emergency... just call me." Ellie smoothed out the collar of his shirt. "Don't hurt yourself."

"Promesso." I promise.

Sixty seconds. That was how long it took between S leaving the apartment to her cell phone ringing. Sixty seconds.

"Hello?"

"Hi," S said from the other end. "I felt the urge to hear from you without it being due to a medical emergency."

"You barely lasted a minute," Ellie teased. "But I'm glad you called."

"Maybe it is a medical emergency. I think I might be coming down with Nora-itious."