“Too late!” Hyeri tosses the phone to me. I fumble for it, nearly dropping my cocktail, but manage to catch it just as Alex’s face appears on the screen. He has a five-o’clock shadow on his jaw, but even a rumpled Alex is a very cute Alex.

“Rachel?” he says in surprise. His face splits into a warm grin, his dimple appearing. “Well, hi. I wasn’t expecting you through this number. It’s so loud! Where the hell are you?”

“Um, hi,” I squeak. I clear my throat and try again. “Hello. Hi. I’m—we’re at an after-party. I’m so sorry to be calling so late. Isn’t it like three a.m. in Hong Kong?”

“Cute, she even has the time zones memorized,” Hyeri whispers to Juhyun. “She’s got it bad.”

I shoot them a pointed look and hope Alex didn’t overhear.

“I’m actually traveling for business right now, so don’t worry, you’re not catching me at an ungodly hour,” he says with a laugh. “Hey Juhyun, hey Hyeri,” he calls out. I turn the phone around to face them, and they sheepishly wave at the camera before dissolving into a fit of tipsy giggles.

I turn the phone back to my own face. “So anyway,” I say, “just thought I’d say hi.” Oh my god. This is almost as mortifying as the train incident.

“I’m glad you did,” he says. “Definitely the highlight of my day so far.”

“Oh yeah?” Pretty sure there are too many lights at this party for him to tell I’m blushing.

“Yeah.” He smiles warmly at me, and then his grin grows a little more sly. “Though I did spill wine on myself during dinner, and I had a taxi nabbed from right under my nose earlier today, so don’t get too cocky—you’re not competing with much.”

I giggle, then regret giggling. “Well, I’m glad I could brighten up your day, then.”

Juhyun and Hyeri trade looks with their eyebrows raised and I blush, clearing my throat once more. “Anyway, I actually just wanted to say thank you so much again for the bag. It’s such an amazing gift, I don’t know if I can keep it.”

“Oh, please do,” he says. “If you send it back, I may end up using it myself and I’m not sure robin’s egg is my color.”

I laugh. “Okay. Well. Thank you again. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

He smiles back, his eyes crinkling. “It’s my pleasure.”

We exchange a few more words and then say good night. As soon as I hang up, Juhyun and Hyeri look at me with knowing grins.

“Yeah, yeah,” I say, waving them off, but we all dissolve into giggles.