Chapter 12

~Liv~

My phone buzzed sometime past midnight.

Unknown number. But I knew who it was before I even picked up.

I rolled onto my side and smiled into the pillow before answering. “You’re late.”

“Or maybe,” Tariq’s voice came through, smooth but a little tired, “you just sleep too early.”

“I was up,” I said, pretending to yawn dramatically. “Had a date with my thoughts. You interrupted.”

He chuckled, low and easy. “You’re welcome. So… did you at least think about me?”

“Wow, confident much?”

“Just curious,” he said. “It’s not every day I get called fine by someone who clearly meant irresistible.”

I laughed out loud. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And yet, you picked up.”

Touché.

We talked. About everything and nothing.

How he once spilled wine on a model during Fashion Week.

How I once walked into a glass door because I thought it was automatic.

He called me “chaotic elegance.” I told him that wasn’t a real phrase. He said he just made it one.

Then somehow, we started debating whether cereal coun