need to wake up. Evie?" I groan, rolling over on the bed before slowly opening my eyes. Hovering over me is Miles, his hand gently shaking my shoulder. He has a mug in his other hand, placing it on the nightstand when he realizes I'm awake.

I sit up, immediately wincing from the slight throbbing happening in my brain as well as the bright sunlight streaming in through the cracked blinds. Miles is leaning against the wall, a slight smirk on his lips as he watches me take in my surroundings.

"What time is it?" I rasp, patting the bed down for my phone.

"Ten minutes past nine." I look up to see him holding my phone out for me, and I practically lunge for it, turning it back on to see a plethora of texts from my roommates asking me where I am. I groan.

"Shit."

Miles raises his eyebrows at me, pointing his finger at my phone. "That bad, huh?"

I nod my head. "I forgot to tell my roommates I wasn't coming home last night." I quickly tap on the texts, my thumbs moving a million miles a second as I type out an adequate message to calm their nerves. I know once I step foot into the apartment, I'll be hearing their disapproval about me pulling a disappearing act on them.

"You need me to call you an Uber or something?" His voice is so sincere that it catches me off guard. There is nothing but concern in his emerald gaze. I had honestly thought he would come in here, guns blazing, shouting at me to get the hell out of his apartment. I look down at the mug, the smell of fresh coffee hitting my nose.

He's made me coffee.

I let out an awkward cough when I realized I had gone too deep into my thoughts, noticing that Miles is still waiting for an answer. "Uh, no. You've done enough for me already."

He nods a few times, pushing himself off of the wall. "I can put your coffee into a to-go container if you want."

"That'd be great, thank you," I say, watching him take the mug up from the table. He disappears back through the door as I sit on his bed for a minute longer before my phone buzzes again, opening it to look at the incoming texts.

You better have a fucking amazing explanation for why you went all Houdini on us bitch

WE WERE GONNA CALL THE POLICE

I sigh, pushing the comforter back and letting my feet touch the carpeted floor. I quickly gather my dress from last night, folding it up and stuffing it into my purse, glad it isn't too bulky. Looking down at my heels, I realize I have no choice but to put them back on, the blisters on the backs of my feet be damned.

When I finally make it out of Miles' room, he is standing behind his kitchen island, my coffee secured in a styrofoam cup with a lid. He smiles as I enter the room, and I can't help the fluttery feeling in my stomach. He somehow looks even better in the morning.

"I just wanted to say thank you again," I say, picking the coffee cup from the counter. "I don't even know how I can repay you."

"It's fine, Evie," his voice is sincere. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." My voice rises in volume, and I breathe out a sigh. That is one boldfaced lie. The only thought that keeps running through my mind is Sebastian. I know I shouldn't be thinking about him, especially not after last night. But my fingers itch to call him. Just to hear the smooth tone of his voice, and to feel that familiar comfort he used to bring me.

Though I know calling him will be the most desperate thing I can do, I do the next best thing. I suppress the urge.

Miles eyes me, his gaze practically penetrating through my lie as he tries to dissect it by only using the expression on my face. It makes me uncomfortable. He makes me uncomfortable. Just being around him seems to put my senses into overdrive. I'm acutely aware of my posture, how my appearance looks, the way that I talk, all of it. I've never felt that way about Sebastian or any guy for that matter.

I need to get out of this apartment and go home. Now.

"Right, well, I'm gonna head out." Miles doesn't say anything, emerald eyes watching me as I turn to walk towards the front door.

"Wait!" I halt, feeling him walk up behind me, his breath almost tickling my neck. "Will I ever see you again?"

My hand is on the doorknob, the cold metal prickling at my fingertips. I straighten my back, keeping my voice steady as I say, "goodbye Miles."

• • •

My apartment is eerily quiet as I slip inside, kicking off my heels by the front door. I peek my head around the entryway, finding the living room vacant as well as the kitchen.

For a solid moment, I think Veronica and Talia have gone out, maybe giving me time to corroborate my story of last night. But alas, I'm not given such luck, because as I step further into the apartment, Veronica's door flies open, and out comes her and Talia, wearing identical glares on their faces.

I smile sheepishly at them, setting my purse and the coffee Miles had given me, on the counter. "Hi, guys."

"Don't hi guys us. Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?!" Talia shrieks, her voice causing the throbbing in my head to increase.

"Seriously, Eve. We thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere," Veronica adds, her lips set into a firm line.

"I'm sorry. A lot happened and I just forgot to update on where I was," I say earnestly.

"We're still mad," Veronica says pointedly. "But, we're also glad you're okay."

"So, what happened last night? And what the fuck are you wearing?" Talia asks, her blue eyes zeroing in on the clothes I'm wearing. I look down, realizing I hadn't offered Miles his clothes back, although I'm a bit glad, it would've been a bit uncomfortable trying to squeeze back into that dress.

Looking back up at them, I sigh. "Sebastian and I broke up."

"What?!"

"Oh, thank fuck!"

Talia and I look at Veronica in bewilderment as her eyes widen. "My bad, that was just meant to stay in my head." She juts out her bottom lip, forcing a disappointed expression instead. "I meant to say, oh my god, I'm so sorry."

Talia rolls her eyes, turning to look back at me. "Spill it." And so I tell them everything. Starting with meeting Sebastian for dinner, getting drunk, meeting Miles at the bar, though I opt to leave out his name, and finally, going back to his place.

"Wait," Veronica interjects, pointing a finger in my direction. "You went back to a stranger's house . . . and spent the night?" When I sheepishly nod, her frown deepens. "Evie, what the fuck? What were you thinking? That is extremely reckless."

My shoulders drop, already having predicted a scolding from Veronica. "I know. It was idiotic of me, and he honestly could've murdered me. But he didn't. He was nice."

"Wow, a man doing the bare minimum. How nice of him to not murder you," Veronica mocks, fixing me with an annoyed expression as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"Did you sleep with him?" Talia suddenly blurts out.

I wrinkle my nose. "No, he slept on the couch all night."

"He slept on the couch? While you were in his bed?" Talia repeats, her eyebrows furrowed. When I nod, her jaw goes slack. "Was he ugly?"

Veronica shoves her elbow into Talia's side. "Some men can be that respectful, Tal."

"Did you get his number then?" Talia asks instead, rubbing at her side whilst shooting glares in Veronica's direction.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't plan on seeing him ever again," I say matter-of-factly. They both shoot me disapproving looks, but before they can voice their obvious dislike for my answer, Talia's phone starts to buzz.

"You have got to be kidding me?" she mumbles in exasperation, staring down at her phone screen.

Veronica peeks over her shoulder. "What is it?"

"For this stupid elective class I'm taking, we had to pair up and interview each other about what our plans are for after college. My partner and I were supposed to meet up today and work on it, but he just canceled on me." I watch her angrily type away at her phone, blowing a loose strand of blonde hair out of her face.

I take another sip from my coffee, scrunching up my face at the now cold temperature. "That sucks."

"Tell me about it," she rants. "He barely even shows up to class. Like, he's paying all this money to go to Columbia and the dude doesn't even show up to class."

Veronica frowns. "Might as well flush your money down the drain then." Talia threw her hands in the air in an exactly motion.

"I think I'm gonna go shower and try to scrub myself clean. I still reek of tequila," I speak up, gesturing to the baggy clothes on my body.

"Are you doing okay, though? I may not have been Sebastian's number one fan, but I care about you and I know how much you are in love with him," Veronica asks softly. The tone pulls at my heartstrings, and I manage a nod, not trusting my voice to remain steady enough to utter a simple, "yes."

Talia and Veronica immediately step toward me, pulling me in for a three-way hug. I melt into their embrace. It's times like this that I'm grateful for our friendship, and the way we all care about each other, no matter the circumstance.

Talia's phone buzzes again, cutting off our group hug as she pulls back to look down at the screen. Her eyes quickly scan over the text before she looks back up at us, a devious smirk on her face.

"He just invited me to his gig tonight to make up for canceling and he said I could invite whoever I wanted."

Veronica raises her eyebrows. "I don't know. I have a shit ton of homework to do before class tomorrow."

"It's an open bar."

"I mean," Veronica quickly corrects herself. "I could always just do my homework before class tomorrow."

I roll my eyes as they turn to look at me, their expressions earnest. "The last thing I need is to get drunk after last night."

"No, the first thing you need to do is get more drunk," Talia emphasizes.

They look at me expectantly, practically bouncing on their toes. I let out a breath, finding my resolve breaking. I know that sleeping in my bed alone tonight with my sober thoughts will be brutal. If I can potentially put that off for one more night, who am I to pass that up?

"Sure, why not."

the mystery man playing the gig is . . . who?? lmao the answer is so obvious, i wasn't even trying to hide it.