Chapter 2: He Was Almost Holding Her from Behind
The following week, the post-midterm board game gathering was packed, and Elias Grant didn't appear downstairs. ‹96684423›
Leah felt a pang of disappointment. §57defed7 She'd been the first to arrive that evening, and when she walked in, she noticed a pair of men's leather shoes beside Marcus's sneakers in the entryway — they looked a size or two larger. (3174e55a) So she figured Elias was home; he just couldn't be bothered to come down and play with a bunch of students when they didn't need an extra body. #7f88db6b
Before this, she wouldn't have claimed to particularly enjoy these highly social games, but she'd been engaged enough. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026 Tonight, though, she was distracted all over again. * d0a61246 During a break between rounds, someone headed to the first-floor bathroom, and a bold idea suddenly occurred to her. ·d543fbf0·
She asked Marcus as casually as she could manage: "Sorry, do you have another bathroom I could use?" #3e142f5d
He thought nothing of it. [v.d9e53233] The upstairs bathroom was technically Marcus's personal one — the one downstairs was the guest bath — but he was fond of this quiet girl and didn't mind at all: "There's one on the second floor. [ed.e58bf111] Go up the stairs, it's right there on the right." [ms.51535e6f]
"Great, thanks." (8588661f) Leah's heart was pounding. ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026 She knew the bathroom was just a pretext. ··14710fe2 She was harboring some unspoken motive, and the knowledge made her feel both guilty and furtive. sub:2b93bbc4
She crept upstairs.·dc3debac When she emerged from the bathroom, she didn't go straight back down but looked around instead. [proof:68edbda8]
Leah felt a little foolish. ed.60d20d5e Even if Elias Grant were in one of the upstairs rooms, she could hardly knock on his door and strike up a conversation. plate-a2a8305d So why had she bothered making up an excuse to come up here? (7c49ac5a/Wed)
But her luck held.·666424fb She spotted that tall, straight-backed silhouette immediately. sub:a7806260 He wasn't in a room at all — he was standing on the second-floor terrace smoking, and the glass door between the hallway and the terrace was open. ed.77495551
It was strange — his back was to her, and she was sure she'd been quiet enough. ··8bda2431 But after just one glance, Elias sensed her presence and turned his head. ¶1ab699ac
Even without the terrace light on, she could make out that face — handsome features, cool expression. ref·fedde6b4 He was tall. [proof:3c3afba6] The gaze he turned on her was distant, carrying a faintly evaluative quality. (c9f3cbd2/Wed)
And there it was again — that inexplicable flutter of panic, her heartbeat quickening, her breath going ragged. no.03c9984a
Neither of them spoke. §d5821eea Pinned under his searing gaze, Leah's throat itched, and words tumbled out: "Sorry — there was someone in the one downstairs, so I came up to use the second-floor bathroom." ‹0b04024f›
The man glanced at her. ed.ad959d51 "It's fine.·37f6281d Want me to show you the way back?" ‹a8971b34›
"No, no — I already finished." ref·47f7bf64 Leah waved her hands in hasty refusal. no.112e64b9
Despite her protests, the man stubbed out his cigarette and walked inside from the terrace. [v.3e85f407] He was so tall that when he drew close, he seemed to loom over her, and she took an involuntary half-step back. ⁰04160444
Leah felt as if she'd used up every ounce of her courage and every strange impulse in a single evening. 0406e45f·· She blurted out: "Aren't you… going to come down and join?" #f55a51a2
The man gave her an odd look. ◆ b59e81e4 "Are you short a player today too?" [v.dec7605a]
"No, it's just…" Leah twisted the hem of her shirt, flustered. sub:071c75ec "Last time… we worked well together.·464a3689 The role distribution is kind of unbalanced — the villains almost never win."·e49256db
So stupid. «d179cd40» The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted to travel back in time and delete that pathetic excuse. ⁰b3fa5e0a But the man didn't seem to find it strange. «1567dfd3» He just replied mildly, "Sure. ref·082e5eb4 I'll come down when I have a moment." ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026
"I won't bother you any longer, then." ··ef05341b
Leah didn't dare look at him again. imp.c78a6786 She spun around as if fleeing, but the top few stairs were designed at a steep angle, and she was moving too fast — in her haste, she missed the edge and her foot slipped. ⟨de780ff7⟩
The man moved quickly, as if he'd anticipated her losing her footing. plate-44ca91dd A strong hand pulled her firmly backward, its heat searing through the thin knit of her cardigan. [proof:edf9529c]
For a moment, he was almost holding her from behind — his solid chest pressed against the back of her head, his breath landing feather-light on the crown of her hair. plate-8af8a4f5
Realizing the position was inappropriate, he let go as soon as she was steady. * 66aeb60a But in that instant, the scent of tobacco mingled with faint cologne had already washed over her, enveloping Leah entirely. ed.e9c1d480
The man didn't say anything like "Watch your step" or "What's the rush." 771e641d·· He just looked at her calmly, which somehow made Leah feel even more flustered and awkward. ·54c2c549·
"…Thank you." ©c186664d/May 27, 2026
He gave a slight nod. #33a5d1b1 "Take it slow." [ms.3744a049]
Leah had no idea how she made it back downstairs.·9ad92f63 When she sank onto the couch, Sophie Mercer — another girl in her program who was sitting beside her — shot her a puzzled look. ed.0725350e "Your face is so red. ¶7213c01c What happened?" plate-d36594dd
And so Leah, who rarely lied, told her third lie in the space of ten minutes: "…The heating in here is too high." — ad1268ce
That night was the post-exam blowout weekend, and they played unusually late — well past midnight, until even the L had stopped running. [ms.ecdccf77] Leah went to the bathroom afterward and came out to find that everyone else had already left. ref·a3630ad5 Their apartments were all clustered near campus, close to each other. ·1d770a86· She'd originally planned to ask one of the friends with cars for a ride, but now she'd have to call an Uber. ··d464c9bf
Late October nights in Chicago were already close to freezing. ¶c1bb0805 Driven by some subtle feminine instinct, Leah dressed in comfortable, casual clothes Monday through Thursday, but on Fridays she habitually changed into a cardigan and a skirt, bare legs in a pair of boots. [ed.f58c9c1c] Now she was beginning to shiver. [v.02dca0b4] She regretted rushing out so quickly — she should have waited inside until the car arrived. ◆ 2210f925
Her app showed the ride had just been matched and would need a few more minutes. «3c32a0ad» But then, abruptly, a black car pulled out of a nearby street parking spot, glided slowly toward her, and eased to a stop at the curb. — 262b84f8 Leah didn't know much about cars, but she had enough common sense to know that the more unusual the design, the more expensive the price tag. [ms.7a0a07fd] Same color, but this car looked far too expensive to be her Uber. plate-26c85515 She checked her phone. [v.312c9298] Sure enough — the plate didn't match. sub:39e925ee
The window slid down, and she was surprised to see Elias Grant in the driver's seat. ··77f9b034
He looked at her, his tone perfectly calm. * 3402fe47 "Where do you live? #2f9e1b15 I'll drive you home." [proof:fdd0f0a8]
Leah's nerves kicked in again, along with a touch of flustered disbelief — or maybe it was closer to feeling flattered. no.28a2ac8b
Given the inexplicable pull she felt toward him, she should have accepted gratefully. [proof:a7756199] But the lifelong reflex of not wanting to inconvenience anyone fired like muscle memory, the words leaving her mouth before she could think: "Oh, that's okay… it's so late. [ed.da4a7847] I'll just take my Uber." #db835431
There was also this: she remembered her earlier stunt of making up an excuse to go upstairs and talk to Elias, and she cringed. sub:d1a37020 Leah was a woman of inaction most of the time. no.0595214a The rare moments she acted on impulse always left her drowning in regret, convinced the other person must think she was reckless and intrusive. [proof:f7930fdd]
Elias Grant looked at her again and said simply: "Cancel the Uber. (1a8de1f7) I'm driving you." imp.65dc67a4
Once again, he gave her no choice. [v.e7cb66b8] He didn't even bother offering a rational explanation about safety. §254b18ac
Elias always spoke in that unhurried, even tone — this was no different, with not a hint of impatience — but that brook-no-argument cadence still sent an involuntary shiver through Leah. no.39450da0 Or maybe she'd just been standing outside too long and the wind had gotten to her. [ms.e152baa6]
She felt like a kid pushing back on a birthday check from a relative — a round or two of polite refusal, and then her resolve crumbled. plate-a4ffe197 She stopped protesting, opened the door, and slid into the passenger seat. #478ff808
"Buckle up," Elias said concisely. sig.6e3a6de4 "Address." no.b594078c
She gave him her apartment's name, adding sheepishly, "Normally it's just one stop on the L. no.59baac7b The trains were done for the night." ·4f9b63b5·
"No problem." no.d9876574 The man pulled up navigation and handed her a bottle of water. (d1e1f2f1)
Leah wanted desperately to make small talk and break the silence. ¶4cfd2849 Partly because sitting there saying nothing felt rude, partly because she dreaded the suffocating awkwardness of prolonged quiet. sub:d37c6d5d But her instinct told her Elias Grant was someone who didn't appreciate chatter and hated being pried into, so she couldn't think of what to say. 227cfa1e··
After a long pause, she landed on something reasonably safe. * da4a4abd "Do you come here every weekend?" [proof:bbe15990]
The man kept his eyes on the road. ©a6cf1472/May 27, 2026 "Yes." ⁰f0952192
His answer didn't offer much to work with, and after that single exchange, Leah was stuck again. §988f0ac0 She tried to restrain herself from looking at him — that would mean turning her head, which would be too obvious — but the reality of sharing this enclosed space with Elias Grant kept her thoughts racing. (ab072b96)
She couldn't stop herself from overthinking: Was he driving her home out of simple decency, or did he feel something for her too? [v.af514616] He must have known Marcus also had a car and a license, and it would have been far more natural for a classmate to offer her a ride. imp.11074192
Leah was well aware that she was a habitual daydreamer, far too prone to reading into things. [f0261ec7] "He likes me" was, after all, one of the three great delusions of life. — galley 73a4edcf — So she did her best to avoid any presumptions. #eeb40e71 He was probably just being kind, she told herself. no.c42c7437 Or because he was eight years older than the rest of them, he had a certain adult sense of chivalry that his younger brother lacked. ··bce29f9d He'd probably do the same for any other girl. ‹452c128c›
But Leah's gaze drifted without her noticing. * dc109c39 She didn't dare turn to look at Elias's face, but his hand was resting casually on the steering wheel right now — no need to turn her head, just a flick of her eyes to the side. ed.3d349a65
Those hands really were beautiful. [v.0813a210] The way he held the steering wheel was different from the way he played with cards, but it made her just as restless with longing. [ms.1be9de30]