Chapter 2 Unspoken Secret

Sophia's heart skipped a beat as her phone buzzed again. She didn't even have time to reply before Adrian's voice cut through the tension, smooth but steady. "You don't like what you're hearing, do you?"

Sophia's eyes jerked up to his. Her fingers still clutched her phone. She blinked, her brain confused. Had he read the text? Had he caught the hesitation in her gaze? There was something about him that made her feel so exposed.

"No, that's not it," she stuttered, composing herself. She let out a nervous laugh and smoothed the piece of hair off her face. "Just something from a friend."

Adrian studied her for a long moment; the silence stretched between them taut, like a slow burn they couldn't quite escape. "I see." He took another sip of his drink, his eyes never veering from hers. "You are not the 'let's talk out our problems' kind, are you?"

Sophia tensed, not knowing how to respond. Most people didn't recognize her walls, at least not so quickly. Yet Adrian seemed to cut through them as though he were reading a book she never meant to open.

"You could say that," she said, her voice a little too sharp. "What about you?"

Adrian's lips curled into a smirk, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Let's just say I'm not much for small talk either."

Before she could say anything else, the bartender appeared, placing their drinks on the counter with a soft clink. Adrian's eyes flicked briefly to the glass before he turned back to her.

You sure you want to keep talking to me?" he asked, his tone light but laced with something more-something darker. "You don't seem the type to waste your time with people like me." Sophia felt a flicker of irritation. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Adrian leaned forward, just a bit, the space between them closing. His eyes stared without blinking. "You're too deliberate, too controlled. I've met enough people to know that when someone's as together as you are, there's something they're hiding. Something they don't want anyone to see."

The hitch in Sophia's chest caught, but she forced herself to remain calm. It was only a conversation, after all, just some guy at the bar. Nothing more, nothing less.

Even so, deep inside, something connected them in a spark not quite safe and entirely real.

"I'm not hiding anything," she said now, her tone cold. "I just don't find the need to tell every stranger I meet my life story."

Adrian's smirk faltered, for a moment, before it was back. "Fair enough," he said softly. "But everyone has a story, Sophia. Even you."

But the words cut deeper than she'd like to admit, for reasons too many and too few. She glanced away sharply, seeking to steady her breathing, but even then, something lay silently between them in what hadn't been spoken.

Adrian was quick to catch the unease in her now. "I didn't mean to make you ill at ease," he said softer. "You're different, though. I can tell that much. You're nothing like any other."

Dizzy, Sophia's head spun. What was he saying? Was it a pickup line or did he really see something in her that no one ever had? She didn't know and that vagueness annoyed her.

Her voice caught in her throat and she couldn't say a thing as Adrian's phone buzzed in his pocket, taking him out of this fragile bubble with them. Adrian looked at the screen before cursing his breath; the jaw clenched.

"Work?", Sophia asked innocently.

"Yes, unfortunately", Adrian nodded in response, deepening his color.

A small pang of disappointment jabbed Sophia. For a moment, she had thought she saw another side of him, something real. But it was the same that had happened with every other moment - they slipped through her fingers just out of grasp.

"I really should be going," she said, rising to her feet. "I shouldn't keep you from whatever it is you need to attend to."

Adrian didn't say anything immediately. His eyes stayed on her, his lips compressing in a thoughtful manner. Finally, he set his drink down and stood also, several inches taller than she was.

"You sure you won't finish your drink first?" he asked, low, nearly coaxing.

She stumbled. "What am I doing?" she silently berated herself. It's just a distraction.

But before she could do anything, her phone buzzed again.

This time it was a call, and the name flashing across the screen stopped her heart dead in its tracks.

Nathan.

She looked into Adrian, and the walls were back up in one second. She reached for her phone to decline the call, pushing it into her bag, already regretting coming here in the first place.

Adrian watched her closely, as if sensing the shift. There was something in his eyes now-a flicker of curiosity, of understanding. "You're not going to answer that?"

The currents of Sophia's mind whirled around her as she forced a smile onto her face, trying to hide the growing unease. "Not right now."

A knowing look crossed over Adrian's face, yet he didn't further the issue. He stepped closer; his voice low, he said, "You know, if you ever want to talk, if you ever need someone to listen, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

In the cavity of Sophia's chest, this need to believe him was an awful tug. That voice in her head-her voice-urged caution.

She edged forward to pick up her purse and decided she'd leave, but Adrian snagged her hand with his, not quite holding, just a grazing touch meant to hold her there.

And in that same moment, he released her.

The void thereafter was palpable to touch. She stepped backwards, her body taut, her mind racing. Something was amiss, and she just could not explain.

"Goodnight, Adrian," she replied calmly, as at war within her soul.

As she turned to go, he spoke.

"You're not running away, are you, Sophia?" he asked softly, the words hanging between them like an unspoken challenge.

And in that moment, she realized-this was just the beginning.