Amara POV
The silence stretched between them, heavy with something Amara couldn't quite name. The noise of the restaurant...the clatter of dishes, the hum of voices, the occasional burst of laughter....seemed to fade into the background. All she could hear was the echo of his last words.
Maybe I don't mind the habit.
Simple, almost careless, yet the weight of it pressed into her chest, stirring questions she wasn't ready to ask out loud.
She shifted slightly in her seat, fingers curling around the edge of her water glass. The air felt charged, awkward in a way that made her throat tighten. Finally, unable to stand the silence, she blurted out, "So… you said you wanted to talk. What did you mean?"
Adrian's gaze flicked to her, steady and unreadable. For a heartbeat, he didn't answer. Instead, he leaned back, exhaled slowly, and rubbed a hand across his jaw as though searching for the right words.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet but deliberate. "I wanted to ask if you'd… have time to meet with me. Just us. Away from..." his eyes darted briefly around the restaurant, "...all of this."
Her brows lifted slightly. "Meet with you?"
He nodded once, the pause between his words almost betraying his own uncertainty. "There are things I want to explain. Things I can't… put into words here. Not with everyone around. It should be somewhere private. Just the two of us."
Her pulse quickened. The way he said it...it wasn't just about their project, wasn't about school. It was something deeper, something he had been holding back.
Still, she tried to keep her tone even, teasing, as though the weight of his words hadn't made her chest tighten. "That sounds… mysterious. Should I be worried?"
For the first time since sitting down, the corner of his mouth curved upward, faint but real. "No. Just curious."
She tilted her head, studying him, trying to decipher the meaning behind his calm exterior. But Adrian, as always, was impossible to read.
"Alright," she said at last, her voice softer than she intended. "Just let me know when."
He nodded again, almost too quickly, as if relieved she hadn't pushed further. "I will."
And just like that, the conversation ended, leaving them both with questions unsaid.
....
Their final project meeting wrapped up with an almost anticlimactic silence. The last notes were written, the final edits typed into the shared document, and just like that, weeks of partnership came to a neat, tidy end.
Amara packed her books into her bag slowly, dragging out the moment, reluctant to leave. Adrian, however, seemed unusually restless....closing his laptop quicker than usual, his movements sharper, more deliberate.
When she finally looked up, he was watching her.
"Amara," he said, his voice low but firm. "Can you follow me somewhere?"
Her brows lifted. "Somewhere? For what?"
There was the faintest pause, his eyes holding hers for a moment longer than necessary. "For what I told you. I figured… we could talk today."
The air shifted. The thing he'd hinted at in the restaurant, the reason for his strange invitation, suddenly sat between them like a live wire.
Amara swallowed, forcing her voice to stay casual. "No problem. Lead the way."
Outside, the late afternoon sun painted the campus in soft orange light. Adrian walked ahead, leading her toward the parking lot, and for the first time she noticed where he stopped.
Beside a sleek black car. Polished, understated, but undeniably expensive.
"That's yours?" she asked, surprised.
He didn't answer with words....just clicked the keys, unlocking the doors with a muted beep. He walked around to the driver's side as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Amara hesitated only a second before sliding into the passenger seat. The leather interior was cool beneath her palms, the faint scent of cedar and something distinctly him lingering in the air.
When he started the engine, the car purred to life, smooth and quiet.
They pulled out of the lot, the silence inside the car both comfortable and charged. She glanced at him once, then quickly away, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag.
Halfway down the road, Adrian's voice broke the quiet. "I'm going to grab something to eat. I don't know how long we'll be out."
Amara blinked. "Alright."
He didn't elaborate, didn't explain. Just turned smoothly into a small drive-thru, ordered with practiced ease, and handed her a bag of food without asking what she wanted—as though he already knew.
She accepted it quietly, heart racing with every mile they put behind them.
The city melted away into quieter streets, and eventually into the soft sprawl of countryside roads. When he finally slowed, turning into a small park tucked away behind a row of trees, Amara felt her pulse quicken.
The place was beautiful....quiet, peaceful, with only a handful of benches scattered beneath the tall oaks. A small lake stretched out at the center, reflecting the fading colors of the evening sky.
Adrian parked the car near the edge, killed the engine, and sat back for a moment. For once, his hands didn't move to open the door. Instead, he just sat there, staring out at the water, his expression unreadable.
Amara glanced at him, the air between them thick with unspoken words. She opened her mouth to ask something...anything....but stopped when he finally spoke.
"This is where I wanted to bring you," he said softly, almost to himself.
Then he turned, meeting her gaze. His eyes were steady, but there was something underneath—a weight, a decision, maybe even fear.
"I think it's time," he added.
Her breath caught.
But before she could ask, before he could say more, the chapter of silence settled again, the park around them waiting.