Kai had gotten used to Adrian being absent. That was what he told himself, anyway. A week ago, a message from Adrian could turn an ordinary afternoon into something Kai spent the rest of the day thinking about. Now, when his phone remained silent, Kai was supposed to feel relieved. Instead, he kept checking it. It was becoming embarrassing. “Are you expecting a lottery win?” Kai looked up from his phone. Ethan was sitting across from him in the library, staring over the top of his textbook. “No.” “You’ve checked your phone six times.” “I have not.” “Seven.” Kai slowly lowered the phone. “You’re very annoying.” “I’ve been told.” Ethan returned to his notes with a satisfied smile. Kai tried to concentrate on the anatomy textbook in front of him. Tried. Five minutes later, his eyes wandered back to his phone. Nothing. He frowned. Why was he disappointed? He hadn’t even been expecting a message. At least, that was what he told himself. “You’re doing it again,” Ethan said. “Doing what?” “Looking at your phone like it’s going to confess its love to you.” Kai nearly choked. “What?” Ethan grinned. “Relax. I’m joking.” Kai narrowed his eyes. “You should focus on your studies.” “I am focused.” “On my phone?” “On your emotional crisis.” “I don’t have an emotional crisis.” “Then why are you smiling?” Kai immediately stopped smiling. “I wasn’t.” Ethan laughed. Before Kai could respond, Daniel approached their table with two cups of coffee. “Peace offering.” He placed one beside Kai. Kai looked at it. “You remembered my order?” “Of course.” Daniel smiled and pulled out the chair beside Ethan. Ethan immediately stood. “I suddenly remembered I have somewhere else to be.” Kai stared at him. “You were complaining about studying five seconds ago.” “I’ve recovered.” He grabbed his books and disappeared before Kai could stop him. Daniel watched him leave. “Your friend is strange.” “He’s worse than strange.” Kai picked up the coffee. “Thanks.” Daniel nodded. For a moment, the silence between them was comfortable. Then Daniel asked, “Are you free Saturday?” Kai paused. “I work Saturday evening.” “Before that?” Kai looked at him. Daniel’s expression was hopeful but careful. “I thought maybe we could have lunch.” Kai considered it. Daniel was easy to be around. He didn’t demand anything from Kai. He didn’t make him feel like he needed to become someone else. That should have been enough. So why did another man’s face suddenly appear in his mind? A cold expression. Dark eyes. A quiet voice saying, Don’t work too late. Kai looked down at his coffee. “Sure.” Daniel smiled. “Great.” Kai smiled back. But the strange feeling remained. ⸻ Across the city, Adrian Blake was having a very different kind of problem. He was sitting in a conference room surrounded by executives, financial reports, and people waiting for his decision. Normally, Adrian would have noticed every detail. Today, he had read the same paragraph three times. “Mr. Blake?” Adrian looked up. The room went silent. A senior executive cleared his throat. “We were asking whether you approve the revised proposal.” Adrian glanced at the document. “Change the third section.” The executive blinked. “To what?” “Remove the unnecessary restrictions. They’re slowing the project down.” He closed the file. “Anything else?” No one spoke. The meeting continued. But Adrian’s attention kept drifting. It irritated him. He had spent years training himself to separate personal matters from business. Yet somehow, one university student had become capable of appearing in his thoughts at the worst possible times. Marcus noticed. Of course he noticed. He always did. After the meeting, Marcus followed Adrian into his office. “You’ve been distracted.” Adrian removed his watch and placed it on the desk. “No.” “Yes.” Adrian looked at him. Marcus immediately raised both hands. “I’m only stating an observation.” “Then stop observing.” Marcus smiled. “Would you like me to cancel your dinner tonight?” Adrian frowned. “No.” “Why?” “It’s business.” “Of course.” Marcus turned toward the door. Then stopped. “By the way, Professor Carter sent an update about the research team.” Adrian’s eyes lifted. “Go on.” “The students completed the preliminary work. Apparently, Kai Anderson’s proposal was one of the strongest.” Adrian leaned back. “And?” “That’s all.” Marcus watched him for a second. “You looked interested.” “I wasn’t.” “Right.” Marcus left before Adrian could throw anything at him. The office became quiet again. Adrian looked toward the window. He could call Kai. There was no reason not to. He had called before. They had spoken. Nothing about it was unusual. So why did sending a simple message suddenly feel like something he needed to think about? Adrian picked up his phone. Opened Kai’s conversation. The last message was still there. Don’t work too late. Kai’s reply: You don’t get to tell me what to do. Adrian stared at it. A faint smile appeared on his lips. No one spoke to him like that. No one except Kai. His thumb hovered over the keyboard. Then he typed: How was your day? He looked at the message. Deleted it. Too ordinary. He typed again. Have you eaten? Deleted. Too personal. He locked his phone. Then unlocked it again. This time, he simply wrote: Are you free Saturday? He stared at the words. For several seconds, he didn’t send them. Then the phone rang. Adrian answered. “Adrian Blake.” The business call pulled him back into the world he understood. Numbers. Contracts. Decisions. Control. And yet, even while listening to the discussion, part of his mind remained on the unsent message. ⸻ Saturday afternoon arrived quickly. Kai finished his morning lecture and headed toward the hospital library with Daniel. They talked about their upcoming examinations, professors, and the impossible amount of material they were expected to remember. Daniel made him laugh. Kai appreciated that. It was simple. Easy. Then, as they passed the hospital entrance, Kai saw a familiar black sedan parked across the street. He stopped. His heart gave one stupid, hopeful beat. The driver’s door opened. A man stepped out. Not Adrian. Kai looked away immediately. Daniel noticed. “Everything okay?” “Yeah.” “You looked disappointed.” “I wasn’t.” Daniel smiled faintly. “Okay.” They continued walking. But Kai couldn’t stop himself from looking back once. The car was already gone. ⸻ That evening, Kai returned home exhausted. His mother was in the kitchen. “Noah is waiting for you.” Kai frowned. “Why?” “He wants your help with his homework.” Kai sighed. “I’m tired.” His mother smiled. “You’re his favorite person.” “That child has terrible taste.” From the living room, Noah shouted, “I heard that!” Kai laughed. For the next hour, Adrian disappeared completely from his thoughts. There was Noah’s homework. His mother’s cooking. His father’s complaints about the television remote. Ordinary family noise. The kind of life Kai understood. Then, after everyone went to bed, Kai sat alone on the edge of his bed. His phone lit up. He looked at it immediately. A message. From Adrian. Kai’s heart jumped. Adrian: Are you free tomorrow evening? Kai stared at the screen. Tomorrow evening. He read the message twice. Then typed: Kai: Why? The reply came almost immediately. Adrian: Dinner. Kai frowned. Kai: Business? Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again. Finally: Adrian: No. Kai’s heart beat faster. He didn’t know why. He stared at the word. No. Not business. Not research. Not university. Just dinner. With Adrian. Kai slowly typed: Kai: Why me? This time, Adrian took longer. When the answer arrived, it was only four words. Adrian: Because I want to. Kai went completely still. For the first time since meeting Adrian, he had no clever response. No argument. No sarcastic remark. Nothing. Just four simple words sitting on his screen. And somehow, they meant far more than they should have. Kai looked down at the message again. Then smiled. A small, helpless smile. Tomorrow suddenly felt very far away.

The Things We Notice