— Liz, it's huge, exclaimed Eve once I'd summed up the evening for her. But oh, my God, Elizabeth Pierce, do you realise you've hit the jackpot?
— I can't believe it, I said, gradually recovering from my emotions.
— And what about the guy writing the notes?

I fell back onto my bed.

— That's exactly what's bothering me.
— That bad?
— Yes, it's horrible. I mean, I really like Daniel, and he's lovely and this crush and...
— But what about?
— But I feel I have a connection to the stranger in the notes, and I find it strange to be juggling two people.
— But who is this stranger? Do you know his first name? His age? His face? His tastes? No, absolutely not, but you know all that about Daniel. So what's the problem?
— The fact is that I've become attached to the stranger in the notes because of the way he thinks and I have the feeling that his words soothe me and make me see things more clearly. A bond has formed between us.
— Are you that tormented?

I turned to her.

— Yes, Eve, that much. And that's the problem. How, if Daniel really is the one for me, could I have become attached to the stranger ? If I'm meant to be with Daniel, shouldn't I have felt nothing at all apart from respect or admiration for the stranger? I don't know, but there's something about him that attracts me.

She got up from the mattress.

— Let's recap. On the one hand, we have Daniel, who you fell in love with at first sight, who you get on with wonderfully, who you see, who you know, who you talk to and above all who you like for the person he is. And on the other hand, there's this mysterious stranger  who turns you upside down by the fact that he thinks almost exactly like you, who has managed to read you when you're not in agreement, who can put words in your mouth when you can't, and who has exchanged with you through notes intended for you. And you don't know which to choose between someone who is physical, funny, intelligent, kind, respectful and charismatic and someone who is intelligent, literary and similar to you.
— Yup, I sighed, feeling a weight on my heart. I hadn't expected to experience all this with Daniel either.

She then leaned towards me and put her hands on her hips. If she thought I hadn't realised that by comparing Daniel to the stranger , she wanted me to realise that the former was the one I should choose, she was fooling herself.

— I get it, Eve, but I don't want to choose Daniel just because I'm sure I'll see him and something will happen. And I don't want to leave the mysterioius guy just because I don't know what he looks like or if he's already got someone or what. I like them both. I had a feeling a few weeks ago about the stranger, and I have to take that into account.
— Well, we'll wait and see.
— What do you mean?
— I'm just saying that you can continue to respond to the notes and continue to see Daniel, and then I think that at some point you'll manage to make your choice.
— That's true. I'll do that.

Although I was still anxious about it, I decided to take Eve's advice. I didn't want to rush into making a choice without getting to know them both better.

I went into the kitchen to boil some water for tea. When I returned to my room to offer some to Eve, I saw her sleeping peacefully on my bed. After pulling the blanket over her shoulders, I took my computer, turned off the bedroom light and put it in the living room while I made my tea. I then sat down comfortably in my reading chair, computer on my lap, and spent a few hours improving my novel.

— Liz? Lizzy!
— Hm?
— Wake up, we're going to be late! Eve's voice called out to me.
— For what?
— Our yoga class.

I slowly opened my eyes.

— Which class?
— The course I told you about last week!
— And how much time do we have to get ready?
— Seven minutes if you don't want to be late.

I leapt to my feet.

— Oh no! We got ready quickly and ended up heading downstairs after a few minutes. She had in fact suggested this activity, to give us a change of scenery, and because she thought it would do us good to do something together other than drinking and dancing.
— It was... new, says Eve as we leave the class. Despite my physical fatigue, it was as if my emotional battery had been recharged.
— Yeah I feel the same, it's crazy! Definitely worth doing again.
— What do we do now? she asked happily.

Since that morning, a smile had been hovering on her lips, not that it was unusual, but I could sense that something was different. I waited until we crossed the road before asking her about it.

— Are you going to tell me what's going on?
— What are you talking about?
— Tell me what's really going on.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then jumped up and down, an even bigger smile on her face.

— I'm seeing Guillaume tonight!
— Just like all last week, wasn't it?
— Well, he's coming to my place.
— Wait, what? I thought you never slept with people in your house! I whispered. Unless... oooh!

She frowned.

— What "oooh"?
— You're going to do what two adults usually do when they're attracted to each other. But what time is he coming?
— Yes, I can't wait! And he arrives around eight o'clock. We're still deciding between Italian and Chinese food, so we'll see later. And then we'll do what we want.

I nodded, delighted for her.

— Huh huh, very interesting... You realise I plan on having a phone conversation with you the second he leaves your house? And funny you invited him over for the first time on Halloween evening.
— Oh I hadn't even thought about that.

We ended up walking around Lille. When we reached the cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille, we turned around and went our separate ways, each heading home.

Just after 3p.m., I was getting ready to take out the bins when I received a phone call from an unknown number.

— Yes?
— Elizabeth! How are you, Elizabeth? Why didn't you come yesterday? Are you all right? asked an unfamiliar voice.

My heart began to beat wildly.

— Er, excuse me, who's that?
— It's me, Trevor!

His name didn't ring a bell. Instead of asking him how we knew each other, I thought about it and realised that I'd completely forgotten my cooking class. 

Trevor, that's right! 

He was the man I'd been talking to in my cooking class. I feigned a cheerful tone.

— Oh Trevor! Tell me, how did you get my mobile number?
— Oh! I asked one of the girls and she gave it to me.

My heartbeat quickened again.

— Trevor, I didn't give my number to anyone in the group...

He laughs.

— Oh, I looked it up on the Internet, actually.
— What did you do?
— I'm sorry, Liz, I was worried about you, because you don't usually miss lessons, so I thought something had happened to you.

Since when did he think we were close enough for him to call me Liz?

— I'll be fine. I've got to go, I've got guests at home, I'll see you next week, I said hurriedly to end the conversation.
— I was just wondering if you'd like to get together for a coffee tomorrow.
— Well, I'm busy all day, but maybe next time!

His tone suddenly changed.
— Are you trying to avoid me?
— Absolutely not, I really have to go, I'll call you afterwards.

I was hoping for a goodbye from him, but I didn't get the chance.

— The day after tomorrow then, for coffee?
— All right, see you soon, I said before hanging up.
— See you the day after tomorrow, Elizabeth.

With my heart beating very fast, I sat back in my chair and thought about what had just happened. I hadn't had much conversation with Trevor, apart from a few times when we had the opportunity, and he didn't seem particularly attached to me. He had, however, asked me if Harry was my boyfriend on the day he came with me and I'd simply said he wasn't. Nevertheless, when I thought about it, he had a strange way of looking at me but I thought it was just a little crush, nothing more. But the fact that he'd found out my number when I'd never shared it either on my editor's page or on social media really disturbed me. It was quite frightening.