Luce had always been a wild woman. She fucked whoever she wanted and never took anyone she was with too seriously. She just played. But as soon as she met Moe, she knew. When she first told me about them, she sounded so certain about what she felt. I couldn’t help thinking that I felt that same certainty about Elias, even if it was fucking self-destructive and idiotic.

“So what’s this SOS about?” Now that I had all her attention on me, for the first time in our friendship, I paused. I didn’t want to share too much. The moments I’d had with Elias already felt precious, like they’d shatter if I didn’t handle them with care.

I realized I’d been quiet for a while, and when I glanced at the monitor I saw Luce staring at me with a funny look. “Babe, you look pretty serious right now.”

I covered my face with my hands and groaned. “I could fall in love with this guy, Luce.”

At this point she would usually make a joke about how my need to be “involved” was pathological. She didn’t this time, though. She looked at me carefully and asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s Elias, the logistics coordinator for the project I told you about when we talked after I got here.” I sighed. “He’s amazing. I want him so much, and not just because he’s gorgeous and turns me inside out just from saying my name. He’s so noble and passionate about everything.”

“Okay, hon.” She put her hands up, and I could tell she was trying hard not to lecture me. “I don’t want to sound like I don’t take your feelings seriously, but you do this. You meet a guy, decide you want him and you make it your mission to have him fall for you. Sounds like Elias is a great guy, so be careful with your heart and his, all right? You’re only there for a few more weeks, and when you get like this, hell-bent on getting that connection…you make promises.”

I looked at her, feeling something heavy in my chest. It hurt to hear her say it. But she was right. I always did this, went in too fast and too hard. Convinced myself it was what I needed, and ended up either disappointed or heartbroken. But that didn’t mean I didn’t know what I was feeling right now. That I couldn’t recognize that the things I felt for Elias were totally different than anything else I had before.