As I walk back to my apartment, I start to calm down, and the urge to scream fades away.

When I enter my apartment building, I hear a surprised voice calling out, “What are you doing here?”

My heart flutters at those words. In the dim light, I see a tall figure standing on the stairs. Surprisingly, instead of fear, I feel a wave of relief washing over me.

The light above him makes his blond hair glow like a halo. His muscular, tanned body makes him look like a god descended to bless us humble humans with his presence.

I never expected to see someone like him in my rundown building. He appears at ease, as if it’s completely normal for me to see him standing there.

Instead of answering his question, I counter with my own, “Did you stalk me, wonder boy? What are you doing here?”

Shock and horror fill his face. He stumbles to find his words, saying, “Oh, God, no, never. Um, I’m really as surprised to see you here, but in a good way. You see, my parents live in this building.”

Oh, wait. Wonder boy’s parents are the older couple who paid for their son to go through the police academy?

Fuck, this world is truly small.

“So, you’re visiting them?” I ask.

Wonder boy’s face brightens as he replies, “Yes! Is there something wrong with a grown man checking on his parents?”

A longing feeling sweeps over me, but for what? A good relationship with my parents? Yeah, right. I knew that would never happen when I was only a little boy.

“No, there’s nothing wrong with that. Actually, it’s quite refreshing to see in this cold city,” I tell him sincerely. And I truly mean it.

He gives me a bashful look. “Yeah, well, they’re amazing people, and I owe them a lot.”

He honestly is like an angel in this terrible place. Knowing that makes me feel even dirtier, as if my messed-up life could somehow contaminate him by being around him.

After this fucked up day, I kind of want to be selfish.

“Hey, umm, I owe you for earlier today. So, uh, would you like to come up to my place for a drink? But if it’s too late, I understand,” I ask.

I look up at him from the stairs, but I can’t understand his expression. He seems like a cheerful guy, but right now, it’s hard to tell. Maybe he learned to be like that as a cop, or maybe his own life has its own shadows.

He takes a few seconds to reply, but his response surprises me. “Sure, it would be nice to unwind with someone my age, besides coworkers or family.”

At that moment, a couple of things dawned on me. We hadn’t properly introduced ourselves yet. And he genuinely had an innocent side to him. He didn’t realize that it wasn’t the drink I wanted to have with him right then and there.

“I have drinks in my fridge. You can follow me to my apartment,” I say as I walk up the stairs, not giving him much room to step aside and let me pass.

His big body fills up most of the space, leaving no room to avoid touching. But this time, I don’t want to avoid it. So, I move slowly, deliberately pressing against him. And right then, it feels like neither of us can even breathe.

“Sorry, these stairs are narrow,” I say, as I move past him and guide him towards my apartment. “By the way, since you mentioned age, how old are you?”

I walk ahead, but I still feel him nearby. The spots where his body touched mine are tingling.

“I’m 25. Oh, and in case you haven’t looked at the business card I gave you, my name is Hercules Kouris. My friends call me Herc,” he tells me.

The name suits him like that of a warrior or a legendary hero.

“Meg,” I dislike sharing my name, especially more than that, but since he answers my question, I suppose it’s only fair that I do the same. “And I’m 29.”

We walk past wonder boy’s parents’ apartment and soon arrive at my door.

“Wait, do you live next door to my parents?” he asks, sounding surprised.

I nod. “Yeah, I figured that out when you mentioned your parents living here. They like to talk about how proud they are of you.”

Embarrassment flushes his face. “Sorry about that.”

I watch as he rubs his neck, finding it sort of hot in a way that makes me want to tease him some more.

I look at him and say, “Don’t worry. It’s sweet, and that’s rare around here. Never apologize for being close to your parents.”

I open the door and step aside, allowing him to enter. As he does, I can’t help but feel like my apartment has become even smaller.

“Thanks for inviting me,” he says as he enters my apartment. His eyes scan the room, seemingly noticing all the sad details of my life—cop eyes, seeing everything.

I go to the fridge in a small nook off the living area, grab two beers, and meet him in the little sitting area I’ve set up. I joke, “I don’t have any fancy stuff, only my bed in the corner of the room.”

My room is likely one of the smallest in the building. It’s mostly empty except for the bed, a few bags of clothes, and some inexpensive books I bought to read because I can’t afford a TV.

“Just moved in?” Herc asks, still glancing around.

I’m a bit embarrassed about my current lifestyle, but it’s still better than being in prison. “Yeah, I moved in a few weeks ago. I’m still getting settled and in between jobs, so I couldn’t afford to furnish the place.”

He picks up a book and flips it to read the blurb. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not judging you. Hell, I’ve been in my apartment for a couple of years now, and it’s hardly furnished. It’s a small studio, and since I was always training and now working, I don’t spend much time there, so there’s no point in decorating it.”

I give him the cold beer. He takes it, then grabs my hand with his free one. “What happened? Your knuckles are all bloody. Did you get into a fight?”

Of course, the cop notices that. Just my luck.

“No fight, only defending myself against some trash, but everything’s okay,” I explain to him.

He frowns. “This isn’t good. It’s starting to bruise, and you have a cut on your knuckle. Did you get that from the trash’s tooth?”

I hadn’t noticed that some of the blood on my knuckles is mine. That damn asshole still manages to piss me off even when I finally get to punch him.

“This needs to be cleaned, Meg,” Herc says to me, sounding concerned.

I take a sip of my beer and shrug. “I’ll just rinse it with some water.”

He frowns again. “It needs more than that. Do you have a first aid kit?”

I glance around my empty place and shake my head slowly. He sighs and says, “Stay here. I’ll go get something. It won’t take long. You can take a shower while I’m gone.”

I like the idea because I want to wash away the day from my body.

He sets down his beer and extends his hand, asking, “Keys?”

I look at him in confusion.

“Keys. So I can let myself back in if you’re still in the shower,” he explains.

Why even bother locking up? But the look on his face stops me from saying that out loud.

Normally, I wouldn’t trust anyone with my keys, even briefly. However, I feel a strong urge to trust this man, so I give him my keys.

“Thank you. I’ll be back shortly,” he smirks at me, revealing a dimple on his cheek that adds to his charm.