When I met you

8:00 pm

Adam Melchior



I keep my eyes closed, a cigarette resting lazily against my lower lip. The morning light filtered through the reddish curtains warms the room and makes the soft blonde hair of the naked girl lying beside me glow.

Who was she?

The hot girl from the hallway the other day. She had been at the post-game party, and one thing led to another. Just like I said, sooner or later she’d end up with me.

And guess what?

She did.

Many times, to be more precise.

My phone rings, and I have to stretch to reach the cell phone charging on the desk. One of my arms is trapped beneath the body of the girl sleeping face down, so I end up having to shove her lightly before finally reaching the device and making it stop ringing.

“My favorite brother.”

I maintain a fake cheerfulness when I answer Kalon’s call. I know exactly what it means for my older brother to be calling this early in the morning, so I don’t waste time pretending to care about his manufactured concern.

— Cut the brother act, Adam. — he says sharply, because this is the Kalon I know: cold and insensitive. — What’s this story about you beating a guy so badly that you sent him to the hospital? Can’t you control yourself?

I sit up in bed with a jolt that makes the girl beside me grumble and shift. Nervous because of my controlling brother on the other end of the line, I get to my feet and walk toward the window while extinguishing the cigarette.

— How did you find out?

— That doesn’t matter, Adam. What the hell is wrong with you? It’s our family’s name that’s on the line every time you decide to pull one of your stunts, you know that? I had to make sure the kid’s parents understood it was all an accident and that any expenses would be covered as an apology to keep you from getting reported. You were lucky the information reached me first, Adam. If our father had found out...

— But he won’t, because you always clean up the mess, right?

I take a deep breath, trying not to lose my temper.

— I never asked you to interfere, so don’t come at me with stories about how you saved my ass when all you really did was save your own. I’ve got better things to do, Kalon. We’ll finish this conversation when I come home.

I hang up, tossing the phone somewhere and pulling on my pants and shirt before grabbing a jacket.

I was hungry and had zero patience to deal with the woman in my bed when she woke up.

So I leave the university residence building and head toward my car, driving to the nearest diner without giving a second thought to what she might think when she realizes I’m gone.

I had more serious problems to deal with than that.

I had my family name haunting me.

And my brother as a bonus.

When I open the door to the modest diner, I’m immediately greeted by the smell of eggs, biscuits, and toast. The place is immaculate, with the aroma of coffee lingering in the air.

I set my jacket on the counter and sit down, glancing briefly at the menu, still slightly rattled from the call with Kalon.

Our parents are always traveling for business, so my older brother runs the company in Austin.

And me.

There’s so much pressure involved in our family. The Melchiors are the Melchiors, and I’m no exception, even if I wish I were.

Ever since I was four years old, I’ve been trained for the day I would take over the company alongside my father and brother. My life was mapped out by someone else, carefully designed so that I would have no choices or options beyond those imposed on me.

I know exactly where I’ll be ten years from now.

Because my father will never let me become anything other than what he planned for me.

I’m so absorbed in my thoughts that I don’t even notice someone sitting beside me.

I turn slowly and realize how much fate enjoys playing games with me.

Because the girl from the party is there.

Not a hallucination or a dream, but a real girl, far too focused on her laptop to notice me staring at her.

For sixty seconds, this girl manages to leave me enchanted.

And then completely curious.

The combination of those feelings is not good for a body running without caffeine.

The moment I stop observing her and our eyes meet, just as they did at the stadium, she removes her hand from her neck and props her head against her wrist.

— What are you looking at? — she fires back in a deep voice, carrying an authoritative tone.

She’s still focused on the screen, but I can see her eyes shining. She’s bold. And she knows it.

— Tell me, who comes to a place like this to study? — I gesture toward the laptop, and she finally looks at me, confused.

— Is there a problem with that?

— No problem at all. — I shrug, noticing one of her dimples appear.

She pulls the sleeves of her gray shirt down over her fingers.

She’s somehow even more beautiful up close.

— Thank you for the coffee. — the girl thanks the waitress, who smiles before coming over to take my order.

— My name is Adam. — I say once the waitress walks away with my order, turning my attention back to her as she focuses on the computer again.

— I know. — she says simply.

— And your name?

She rolls her eyes lazily.

— Why do you want to know? — she says dryly. — It won’t make any difference in your life, Adam.

I remain silent for a few seconds before allowing the thought that has been bothering me since the moment I saw her to finally take shape and leave my lips.

— What do you think about eight o’clock?

Now she’s expressionless and serious. She studies me, waiting for more. But I simply take the coffee from the waitress and the plate of eggs, bacon, and sausages, beginning to satisfy my hunger while casually letting her interpret my question however she wants.

— What did you say?

— The time. For me to pick you up. — I shrug.

She turns quickly, looking me up and down.

— Do you really think there’s any possibility that I’d go out with you? Just because you hit that guy? — Her eyebrows lift in disbelief.

— I do.

— Well, I won’t.

— Of course you will. — I say with a smile.

— I’m not one of your girls, Melchior, so go back to your little playground and leave me out of it. — she repeats, emphasizing the point.

— I like that playground. — I explain, looking at her so intensely that I catch her blushing for a moment.

Whether from anger or embarrassment, I can’t tell. She straightens herself, swallowing hard, closing her laptop and looking at me calmly, though her brow remains furrowed.

Damn.

I love how clever she is.

— Goodbye, Adam.

She jerks her head away and rises to her feet before turning around.

— Goodbye, Akermísia. — I call over the noise of the diner.

I don’t turn to look, but I know she’s standing at the door right now, far too surprised that I know her name.

After the party, I contacted a few people to find out the identity of that girl.

I’ll admit it was difficult. Akermísia Miller.

Journalism student. And a born antisocial.

— Eight o’clock. — I repeat.

And finally the door slams shut.

Angrily.

Good God.

That girl’s temperament leaves me completely and absolutely fascinated.

✶

When I return to my room on campus, I find the bed empty but the room full. Rick, Elliot, and Leo are scattered around the place. I open the door but apparently don’t look like one of the owners of the dorm.

The three of them are too busy drinking and talking nonsense to notice me walk in.

— Hey, man, Vanessa asked you to call her later.

Elliot interrupts his conversation with the guys when he notices me two minutes later. His feet are stretched out and his back reclined against my armchair.

— Who? — I’m slightly distracted as I open the mini-fridge.

— The girl you spent last night with, i***t.

— Oh.

I wasn’t going to call.

I grab a beer and realize they’ve demolished my stock.

— Damn it! What’s wrong with you people? Buy your own beer.

— The entire process, really.

Rick says casually. He’s lying on Leo’s bed while typing something on his phone and holding a bottle of my beer.

— You’re unbelievable, Rick.

He is. But he’s also an excellent player. And from what he’s told us about his life before college, he was already the star of his high school football team.

Still, his favorite sport, without question, is chasing women.

And, of course, being a colossal pain in the ass.

Leonardo Coleman, on the other hand, is the calmest and most responsible among us.

He’s the guy who reminds us to do important things, like grocery shopping or laundry.

Honestly, we’d be lost without him. Girls fall at his feet too, because he’s so understanding and kind. Deep down, I think all of that sweetness is tactical. It has to be.

— Don’t you two have rooms of your own? — I throw the remark at Elliot and Rick, who remain completely unaffected.

— There’s a girl in mine. — Rick shrugs, crossing his feet on the bed.

— Izabel’s roommate didn’t let her sleep last night, so I kind of got kicked out this morning when she said she needed privacy and silence.

Maybe I would have been annoyed that they were there.

If I hadn’t been too busy laughing at the situation.

— I’m ordering pizza. — Leo announces after we finally stop laughing.

Without wasting time, he pulls his phone from his pocket.

— For lunch? — Elliot questions our friend’s culinary decision.

— What’s wrong with that? — Coleman shoots back while continuing his order.

For a second, everything becomes too quiet.

— Where were you? — Rick breaks the silence, raising an eyebrow curiously.

— I ran into that girl from the party.

The three of them exchange looks.

— Oh no.

— What’s the problem?

— Wasn’t beating a guy up because of her already enough of a problem? — Coleman interrupts his order to offer his opinion.

Elliot clicks his tongue before I can respond.

— Girls like her aren’t right for guys like you. If you get involved, it’ll end badly. It isn’t fair to her. Either you’ll leave her heartbroken, or you’ll be crying into your beer like Leo over there...

Elliot explains.

He’s the oldest in the group, and although he has this mysterious bad-boy vibe, he thinks he’s the wisest of all of us.

— Elliot’s right. I kind of talked to her redheaded friend... — Leo says.

— Crazy.

— You’re all so dramatic. I’m not going to cry over any woman. She’s just a girl I’m attracted to, and I’m not going to let that pass. — I shrug.

I didn’t see what was wrong with wanting to unravel the mysteries surrounding Akermísia.

She was attractive in a different way. She was brave. And difficult. Miller was a challenge. One I was dying to solve.

— Later on, — Elliot takes a swallow of beer, — don’t come telling me I didn’t warn you.