“Halloween revelers are in full swing.” Sylvie nodded toward the open window, through which the screeches of passersby on their way home from the bars floated up. “I’m glad we’re safe in here. Students and their cocktails can be a terrible combination.” She frowned in Ade’s direction. “You do feel safe up here now, don’t you?”
Ade pondered the question. “I do. But you’re here with me.”
“You’d be fine without me.”
“I’m not so sure I would be. I’ve never really been left to my own devices much.” A sense of shame washed over her. Was thatreally something to be worried about admitting? She was only twenty-four, and she was well on her way to getting a doctorate. Just because she hadn’t left home at eighteen for the bright lights and hedonism of San Francisco didn’t mean she was any less of an adult. But she didn’t want Sylvie to think she was different. She didn’t want to scare her off. “Sometimes, I think I’m a little out of the ordinary.”
“You are.” Sylvie looked her dead in the eye. “What do you want me to say?”
Ade stiffened. “No one’s ever agreed with me before.” She gripped the arm of the sofa bed, steadying herself.It’s happening.Every time she met a new friend, they drifted away with a throwaway comment like this. Eventually, they’d discover that she wasn’t like everyone else. She orbited social circles, but she wasn’t part of them. She was never going to be anyone’s sun.
“Youareout of the ordinary. You see the world differently to most people.” Sylvie touched her sleeve. “That doesn’t make you inferior to anyone else.”
“You think I’m different, in a good way?”
“Absolutely.” Sylvie said. “You’re you.”
“I feel inadequate. Especially today,” Ade said. “You had to escort me to the police station and come home with me because I couldn’t put my lights on by myself.”
“Nonsense.” Sylvie huffed. “I wanted to help translate the whole baffling situation. You’d still be at the station with your phrase book if I hadn’t been there.”
“And tonight?” Ade wasn’t sure what she wanted from the question.
“Tonight, I’m simply enjoying a glass of wine with a colleague—a colleague whose company I have grown to appreciate.” She nodded with a finality which drew a line under the subject. “Another glass?”
“No, not for me. Alcohol isn’t my friend.” Ade ran through all the times she’d choked back a shot of liquor just to get through thenext conversation. “It gets me through parties, and nights out, and awkward moments. But I feel worse afterward, without fail.”
“I get it. Alcohol is a wonderful lubricant for social situations.”
“I find I don’t need it so much…with you.” Ade froze. Had she said too much?
Sylvie glanced at her watch. “I should be heading home.”
Ade held her breath. Her palms grew clammy, and every nerve stood on end.
Sylvie hesitated. “I could stay for a little longer, if you’d like?”
She’d seen. The panic that Ade struggled to keep inside was clearly visible to Sylvie. And rather than flee the scene, she rested her hand on Ade’s shoulder.
“Will you stay the night?” Ade asked. The words were out before she had the chance to reflect on the question. What must Sylvie think of her?
“I’ll stay for a while longer, and then we’ll see how you feel. How about that?”
It was all she could ask for. They barely knew each other, but she’d embroiled Sylvie in a whole day and night of drama.Don’t leave now.She looked so right in Ade’s space. No one had ever looked so at home.
Ade struggled to peel away from Sylvie’s hand. How could she withdraw from such warmth? Such tenderness? Her fingertips hadn’t tingled like that for a long time. She couldn’t remember an attraction so magnetic that she actually wanted to stay in someone’s company rather than withdraw from it, in need of a break from the conversation or the intensity of the contact. Was it the fear of being alone that rooted her to the spot? Or was it the comforting tone of Sylvie’s voice? Her authority? Or the fact that she was so in control of her speech and movement, as well as the actions of everyone else around her?
She was a force to be reckoned with. But in her presence, everything seemed a little easier on Ade’s soul.
It was peace that Ade realized she’d been craving, giving herthe chance to turn off her mind and relax inside her own body. She rested further into Sylvie’s space, and when she wasn’t rejected, her heart stuttered. Was this real friendship? Was this why people had best friends?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sylvie rubbedthe sleep from her eyes and squinted at the strange ceiling above. At some point the previous evening, she’d refilled her wine glass and abandoned all intentions of going home, not wanting to leave Ade to face her fears alone. She turned, knowing full well Ade would be stretched out, fully dressed, beside her. Sylvie closed her eyes, unwilling to accept the line she’d crossed by staying over last night. Her judgment had been way off, and she couldn’t blame the wine.
Ade stirred.Damn.She should’ve left already. She should be out on the street and far away from Ade’s slumbering body, however clothed they both were. The cadence of Ade’s breath faltered, and Sylvie looked away, cringing inside.
“Hey,” Ade whispered.
