YEARN FOR YOU

Crossed paths

Standing before him was a young woman he’d never seen before.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, glancing nervously around. “I think I’ve lost my way. Could you please tell me how to get to the third floor?”

Freddie stared at her for a moment before stepping aside.

“You’re already on the third floor.”

She thanked him and turned to leave. Freddie closed the door, but something about the encounter left him strangely unsettled. For the second time that evening, he’d mistaken a stranger for Lizzy. He exhaled sharply. Why was he thinking about her so much? He barely knew her. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

---

Cherry was scrolling through i********: when a notification popped up. Someone had liked her recent video. She tapped it, curious. The account was unfamiliar—and the stranger had also followed her.

“Wow, okay,” she murmured, raising an eyebrow. She checked the profile briefly before locking her phone, assuming that would be the end of it.

A few minutes later another notification appeared: message request. She hesitated, then opened it. The conversation started casually—random jokes, light questions, the usual getting-to-know-you exchange. By midnight they were still chatting. Cherry finally put her phone down, smiling to herself.

The next morning she couldn’t resist telling Lizzy.

“Guess what?” she said, dropping onto the couch beside her.

Lizzy looked up. “What?”

“Some stranger followed me on i********: yesterday. He liked my video, and somehow we ended up chatting until midnight.”

Lizzy laughed. “Already?”

“Don’t start,” Cherry replied, nudging her. “We’re just friends.”

Neither of them knew how much that simple friendship was about to change.

---

The next morning Freddie opened his door, ready to leave for work, and came face-to-face with the woman from the previous evening.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce myself yesterday,” she said with a polite smile. “My name is Jane. I recently moved in.”

He paused, then nodded. “I’m Freddie.”

“Nice to meet you. I guess we’re neighbors now.”

“Looks like it.”

Jane stepped aside to let him pass. With a brief nod he headed toward his car, unaware their paths would cross far more often than either expected.

“Freddie!” she called, hurrying after him.

He turned. “Yes?”

“I was wondering if you could give me a ride. I’m heading in the same direction and I’m still not familiar with the area.”

He glanced at his watch, then nodded. “Sure. Get in.”

Jane settled into the passenger seat. The drive was quiet at first, only soft music filling the silence. Then Freddie’s phone began to ring. He glanced at the screen—his younger brother. His expression tightened. His brother rarely called this early unless something was important, especially from out of state. He let it ring.

Jane glanced at him. “Aren’t you going to answer?”

“It’s nothing important,” he said, eyes on the road.

The phone stopped, then rang again. Freddie’s grip on the wheel tightened. He still didn’t answer. Jane noticed but chose not to press. What she didn’t know was that Freddie had a complicated relationship with his younger brother—one he wasn’t ready to explain to a stranger.

“You can drop me here,” Jane said when they neared her workplace. “It’s already close to the café.”

She opened the door and waved. Throughout the ride she had been watching his full lips and the hard lines of his body. As she turned away she smiled and, unnoticed, sneakily dropped a folded piece of paper onto the passenger seat.