That night, Milos stared at his dark ceiling, willing his phone to vibrate, give him any hint Ramsey would be at work tomorrow. The longer he went without sleep, the angrier he got. At this point, even if Ramsey did show up at the office tomorrow, he would still be furious. He would never do something like this to her.

Grabbing an Ambien from his nightstand and taking a long drink of water, Milos finally felt his body get heavy with sleep.

And as he drifted off, Milos’ entire body gave off a deep orange glow, lighting up his room like a dark corner at dawn. His sheets would be slick with sweat the next morning.

--

He saw her slip into her office as he headed back to his desk, coffee in hand. Looks like a trip to her apartment wouldn’t be necessary.

As tempting as it was to storm her office and demand an explanation, Milos waited and formulated exactly what he wanted to say. He was done playing her game.

--

His plans never worked out, anyways. Something about Ramsey made Milos weak. He certainly wasn’t expecting to be sitting across from her, close to confessing how badly he wanted her.

“...I really just want us to be friends. Is that okay?”

Flames leapt up his neck, down his arms. No, it wasn’t okay. His injured hand throbbed.

“Of course it’s okay. I’ll always be here for you.”

He reached across the small table, laying his free hand over hers. She was so much colder than him.

Her small smile made the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach worth it. God, he loved that smile.

--

It was Monday evening and he knew exactly where she was going. They had been to the bar together before. Of course he knew she was lying. But, she did that sometimes. He didn’t blame her. She had been such a mess since the break-up, things like this could slide. At least he knew where she was. And he’d be there, too.

Milos made sure he arrived before Ramsey, and found the darkest corner in the place, of which there were many. The sun hadn’t yet set, but you’d never know it from inside this cave.

He gave his drink order to someone who, thankfully, wasn’t Deon, and confirmed he hadn’t been spotted. Deon would have walked right over to strike up a conversation. He was endlessly in the way.

A group of men to his left erupted in laughter, tearing his attention from the door. As he looked away, Ramsey walked in and straight to the bar. It would be minutes before he realized he had missed her entrance.

He couldn’t hear their conversation, but he was certain she’d tell Deon about their coffee date. She told him everything. Milos longed for that connection with Ramsey, but watching her laugh from across the room was good enough for now.

When Deon nodded in his direction and Ramsey began to turn around, Milos was sure he was in trouble. Mentally preparing for an excuse as to why he was there alone, his entire body flushed.

But Ramsey wasn’t looking at him. She was looking at one of the guys in the group he noticed earlier. From this angle, Milos could see his profile—sharp, angular, a messy mop of black hair. His temperature rose.

Looking back at Ramsey, Milos audibly gasped. She was blue.

If he didn’t think he was going crazy when his hand had glowed, this confirmed it. There’s no way that bright blue mist around Ramsey was real. Other people would notice, right?

He was pulled out of his racing thoughts when the man stood and began walking towards the bar. Ramsey spun back around. There was no doubt in his mind this guy was going to cause trouble. His injured hand trembled, and he glanced down. There was another burn, this time near his wrist, slightly bigger than a thumbtack. He hadn’t noticed the sweat dripping down his brow until now. All he felt was warmth and fury. His muscles tensed and rolled with aggression. He downed the rest of his drink and rose from his hiding place, not noticing the air of orange emanating from his hands.