Familiar in the Darkness | +18 | TEXTING

16 | Old Memories and New Connections

As I stepped out of the office, Chicago's evening air greeted me. The breeze gently blew, and the city's hum provided a distant soundtrack. The weight of the day had settled heavily on my shoulders, but the phone call with Noah left a lingering warmth inside me. His voice, his words... they echoed in my mind. While the comfort of our conversation was still fresh, the troubles at work were also hard to shake.

I took the metro to Lily's apartment. The train was crowded as usual, but this time, I didn't feel alone. Noah's voice still lingered in my ears, and I couldn't stop thinking about what he had said. What would I tell Lily? I hadn't mentioned my conversations with Noah to her, and now I had to explain everything.

I got off the metro and walked toward Lily's building. We worked at the same place, but she had left work earlier than I did. As I knocked on her door, a sense of unease still lingered, but Lily's energy always had a way of putting me at ease. The door opened, and there she was, smiling as usual.

"Emma! I was starting to worry. Where have you been all day?" she asked, ushering me inside. Her cheerful voice lightened the load of the day.

I took a deep breath and followed her to the living room, smiling. "I was on the fire escape, needed some air... and I talked to Noah."

Lily's face lit up with surprise. "What? You talked to Noah? Emma, you never mentioned that! When I encouraged you to message him three weeks ago, I didn't expect it to go this far. Why didn't you tell me?"

I hesitated for a moment, then smiled softly. "Yeah, we kept talking. We actually talk a lot, but I guess I didn't think it would get this serious. Today, we talked on the phone for the first time."

Lily's surprise was still evident. "And you're just now telling me this? Emma, that's huge! So, what do you think of Noah?"

I had anticipated this question, but it was still hard to answer. Expressing what I felt about Noah wasn't easy. I took a deep breath and began. "Noah... he's hard to figure out. He's so mysterious... Every time we talk, I want to learn more about him. On one hand, he's strong, determined, and successful, but on the other hand... he's so kind and thoughtful. He really listened to me today, Lily. Talking to him made me feel better."

Lily gave me a knowing look. "Emma, this guy has really gotten to you. But you need to be careful, because... you know, his world is huge. I'm not sure if you two are in the same world."

Lily's words resonated with me. Noah's world was indeed vast, and it both fascinated and intimidated me. With these thoughts swirling in my mind, we moved to the living room. Lily poured me a glass of wine, and I settled into the comfortable chair. As I took the glass, Noah's words from our conversation suddenly came back to me. He had mentioned having a bad day too, and I had forgotten all about it in the midst of my own problems!

Taking a sip of my wine, I picked up my phone and sent him a message.

Emma: "Noah, you mentioned that your day wasn't great either, but I didn't get to ask you about it. What happened? I hope you're feeling better now."

A few minutes later, a message from Noah appeared on my phone.

Noah: "Yeah, I noticed :) The meeting was really bad. We were negotiating a deal with those Chinese businesspeople I mentioned, but everything fell apart. It was really tough to get them to agree to what we wanted, and it just made things more complicated. I'll be flying back home tomorrow on my private jet."

Reading his message, I realized just how stressed he must have been. Despite being so strong and successful, work was still taking its toll on him. It reminded me that, in many ways, he was just as human as I was. For a moment, I felt even closer to him.