Chapter two: You look familiar
1059 Words
She set the glass on a nearby table, smoothed the fabric of her dress, and made her way toward the back gate, heels silent. Just a clean and unnoticed exit. No goodbyes.
She was close to the exit when she heard it….
“You look so familiar,” a voice said behind her.
Low. Calm. And steady.
She turned slowly, already guessing who it was.
Andrew.
Leaning against the doorframe like a model coming out of a picture. His drink was half-empty, and his eyes were sharp, deep, and steady. His dark ocean eyes locked onto hers.
“For a second,” he added, stepping closer, “I thought you were someone I used to know.”
Sheila swallowed. Her voice barely found its way out.
“Maybe you did.”
Andrew smiled slowly as he took another step forward, casual but deliberate, closing the space between them. The noise of the party faded behind him, muffled through the sliding door.
“I wasn’t sure you remembered me,” he said.
She blinked. “You were ten the last time we talked properly. You had braces and a Buzz Lightyear watch.”
“Hey, that watch was iconic.”
She laughed before she could stop herself. The sound caught her off guard, light, unfamiliar.
“You’re different,” she said softly.
“So are you.”
His tone was not flirty exactly. Just present. Like he was chatting with a close buddy.
“I’m still figuring you out,” he added. “You used to boss me around, remember?”
“You used to stick gum in Ava’s shoes.”
“That was retaliation.”
“For what?”
He smiled wider. “She told my fifth-grade crush I still slept with a nightlight.”
She bit her lip, fighting a laugh. “Okay, that was mean.”
“It was war.”
The banter slipped between them so easily, like picking up an old thread. But the undertone was different now. There was heat in it. Awareness.
Sheila shifted her weight, suddenly too conscious of how close they were. “Why are you out here, anyway?”
Andrew leaned against the railing. “Too many people. I don’t do well with these social things unless there’s food or a dog.”
“You’ve changed.”
He shrugged. “A little.”
“A lot.”
He looked at her, and this time he didn’t smile. “So have you.
Something in his voice made her breath catch.
For a moment, neither of them said anything. A breeze lifted the edge of her dress, cool against her legs. The world felt still, like the whole city had taken one long pause.
“Leaving already?” he asked, glancing toward the gate.
“Yeah, I thought about it.”
“You should stay.”
“I shouldn’t,” she said.
Andrew’s eyes didn’t waver. “Because of Ava?”
“Because of a lot of things.”
He nodded, slow and thoughtful. “Fair.”
But he didn’t move. And neither did she.
“Andrew…” she started, then stopped. Her heartbeat was a little too loud in her chest.
“Yeah?”
She hesitated, then shook her head. “Never mind. It’s late.”
He took a step back, giving her space, but not distance. “I’m glad you came. Glad.”
She nodded, throat dry. “It was... good seeing you.”
“More than good,” he said, quiet but sure.
She turned before she could reply, before she could even think about what that meant. Her heels clicked softly as she crossed the stone path again.
But even as she walked away, she felt it. The weight of his gaze on her back.
********
Later That Night
Sheila didn’t sleep right away.
She lay in bed with the city buzzing outside her window, headlights cutting shadows across her bedroom wall like restless ghosts. Her thoughts kept looping back to Andrew’s voice, the way he looked at her, that brief silence, the growing tension between them.
She’d known him as a kid. Hell, she’d once carried him on her back during a hike in Big Bear when he twisted his ankle.
And now, he was this. A fully grown man with broad shoulders, quiet confidence, and a gaze that unnerved her.
This is nothing, she told herself. You’re tired. You’re lonely. You’re vulnerable. That’s all.
Still, her skin remembered the heat of that moment like it had its own memory.
She turned over, groaning into her pillow. No. This couldn’t happen. She had rules. Boundaries. Ava.
But then again, boundaries never felt like an issue until someone stepped too close to them.
The next morning, the knock on her door came earlier than expected.
Sheila opened it half-dressed, blinking hard in a loose sweatshirt and shorts. Andrew stood there, holding two coffees and wearing a crooked smile that made her heartbeat stumble.
“Figured you’d need caffeine after ghosting your party,” he said.
She raised an eyebrow. “Ghosting my party?”
“Well, Ava said it was partly for you. Said you’ve been in a funk lately and needed a distraction.”
Sheila stepped aside. “Of course she did.”
Andrew entered, glancing around her apartment like he was trying to memorize it. She took the coffee from his hand, hiding her smile behind the lid.
“Thanks. But you didn’t have to”
“I wanted to.”
She sipped and winced. “Hazelnut?”
“I remembered you liked it.”
That stopped her. “You remembered that from years ago?”
Andrew shrugged, suddenly shy. “I remembered a lot of things.”
They stood in silence for a beat……too long.
“So,” she said, trying to shift the air, “med school. That’s intense.”
“Yeah. I’m in my clinical rotations now. Transferred to finish up here. Figured it was time to come back.”
She nodded. “You always wanted to be a doctor, huh?”
“I always wanted to be seen,” he said before he could catch himself.
She looked at him.
And just like that, the air changed again, charged with something quiet but undeniable.
“I should probably,” Sheila began.
“Have breakfast with me,” he said.
- Writer
