Becca smiled back and jostled through the crowd until she was by his side. He grinned down at her. “I’d offer to buy you a drink, but a single independent woman like yourself, you’d probably be opposed,” Christian said. She smiled even bigger, remembering what an asshole she had been to him that night.

“Actually, I’m a broke college student so I’ll have a vodka soda,” she told him. He’d bought her a drink and two more after that.

She couldn’t remember much of what they talked about, the evening taking on a glowing sheen, unable to take her eyes off him. Becca hadn’t experienced that kind of instant attraction before. She hadn’t even dated that much. Her life was consumed with school and looking after her parents and trying to survive losing Robbie. That night was the first time in years she’d managed to forget about all of it. She spent the entire evening flirting, deciding after two drinks that she was going home with him. She went to the bathroom with her roommates, who were shocked when she told them. “Since when are you into civil servants?” they teased.

She laughed it off. This was a one-night thing. A fun story to tell about how she celebrated her college graduation. She went back to Christian’s bachelor pad, a sparsely furnished apartment in Koreatown. It was only supposed to be a one night thing. Somehow though, Becca found herself drawn to him. It wasn’t just the physical attraction. He was the most interesting person she’d ever met. It seemed as if he’d read every book, and he seemed to know as much about psychology as she did, something she found moderately annoying. He also appeared truly interested in her, asking so many questions that Becca couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you missed your calling. You should be a therapist.”