Someone was watching Hana. No, not one. Three men were watching her. She quickly finished her tea, shoved her notebooks into her purse, and stood. The men didn’t move, and her shoulders sagged in relief. It must have been her overactive imagination. Her mother would tease her about having a mind too active for her age, but it was the price she had to pay for being a writer.An upcoming writer. She wasn’t at the point she wanted to be just yet.The coffee shop was almost empty except for the four of them and the staff on duty. Leah, an old friend, was behind the counter when Hana went to pay. Taking out money from her wallet, she pouted when her friend refused to accept it. This was one reason she hated eating here when Leah was on a shift. She never let Hana pay.“Come on, you have to let me pay,” Hana said.“You can pay when you become a bestseller.”Hana’s smile faded. Her strict father considered her writing a useless hobby and was waiting for the right time to… She shook off those

Someone was kissing Calvin. Not just anyone. The pretty stranger who yelled like a banshee from across the street. He only came out of the restaurant to call Diane. She was supposed to meet him here. Who was this? Why did she call him baby? Wait, what if Diane had sent her to him? No, she wouldn’t. It didn’t make any sense. The strange girl moaned against his lips. She was too loud, too eager. Her reactions felt scripted because he wasn’t kissing her back. Was she okay? Calvin knew he had to end this if he needed answers and also avoid possible issues with Diane, but the girl only wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her embrace like they were lovers catching up. She was wet to the bones, but she smelt nice, and he almost forgot that he should be putting an end to this. Thinking of Diane gave him the courage to peel her off him. His lips were poised to reprimand her, but she shook her head. “Please, play along.” Damn. She sounded like an angel. And Calvin wanted to make

Kyle. Hana rolled the name on her tongue, and a small smile lifted the corners of her lips. She liked the name. She liked the owner of the name. And maybe she even liked this place. If he let her, she would jump over the long couch, watching as the city slept. “Thanks, Kyle.” Kyle’s grey eyes blazed with something intense, and Hana tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. If she had to hazard a guess, she would say his mind was straying to indecent places. But in his case, the thought didn’t disgust her. The only thing that mildly nauseated her was his familiarity with the hotel receptionist and his flimsy excuse afterward. If the young man wanted to sleep around, that was his business, but lying to her would do nobody any good. Someone like him would never lack female attention. “Um, so… you were going to show me to the room.” “Right.” Kyle laughed. They continued to the main bedroom, and a small gasp left her lips when they entered. The curtains

Hana had fast learned that lying was a terrible idea with Kyle. She didn’t know how he found out her tell-tale, but she couldn’t deny the butterflies that exploded in her stomach each time he kissed her. She had agreed for him to stay in the room with her, but the tension was palpable. It also didn’t help that she wasn’t feeling sleepy. Kyle pointed at the flat TV on the cream wall. He had been silent for longer than she thought possible. While she sat, he stood. “Do you want to see a movie? Anything?” “No, thanks.” Running a hand over her dress, she replied, “This is fine. Thanks.” “Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Kyle asked. He had asked more than once, and she had given him the same answer. He backed away from the door to sit on a chair further from the bed. Hana didn’t like the distance between them, but it helped to keep her thoughts clean. “Even a bite?” “You can get something if you’re hungry.” The words were hardly out in the

Hana’s heart galloped like a crazed horse. Kyle was staring at her like he wanted to devour her. The longer he stared at her, the less she thought about her mother. She wet her lips. He was kidding about the kiss, but she wasn’t joking about her reply. Kissing him made her forget about life. She wanted to live in the moment with this man.  She touched the pendant peeking from his collar when he didn’t move or act on his joke.  “What’s this, Kyle?”  Kyle broke out of his trance. His eyes lowered to her object of interest, and he took it off. He moved to a kneeling position, and Hana sat up because it didn’t feel right lying down when he wasn’t. She was shy, confused, and shocked as he hooked the necklace around her neck.  Her fingertips brushed the heart pendant with a green gem in its centre. There were initials engraved into the silver pendant. She couldn’t read the letter, didn’t want to because her attention was only on Kyle.&nb