Ari was in his own apartment; he had just finished running on the treadmill in his home gym. There was nothing like running 7k to clear your mind. As he grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge, he heard the toilet flushing in his bathroom.

He looked toward the door to see who it was. A few seconds later, Rafael came out of the bathroom, smelling like he was at home. It was not unusual for the four of them (Gabi, Ari, Dani, and Rafi) to come and go from each other's homes. Ever since they were little kids living in the same neighborhood, going and playing at each other's houses was second nature to them.

Rafael coming and going as he pleased to Ari’s house, however, was unusual. Rafael's work was nearby, and most of the time he was in his music studio. Between projects, he came to Ari’s to sleep or to steal food.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said, walking up to Ari and caressing his cheek with a wet hand.

“Ugh, at least wipe your hands,” Ari sulked, wiping his cheek.

“Hey, you’re all sweaty and you don’t hear me complain,” Rafi said, opening and closing doors and drawers all over the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Ari asked, a little annoyed.

“Searching for something.”

Ari frowned and followed Rafael to the living room after he finished in the kitchen.

“What the hell are you looking for?!” Ari asked, knowing Rafi wouldn’t stop until he found what he was looking for.

“A little bird told me our little genius broke into some government database, and since then that’s all I can think about,” Rafi said, kneeling and looking between the cushions of the couch. His eyes were full of excitement, and a big smile spread across his face.

“Why the hell would I keep something like that in there?!” Ari asked. Rafi never ceased to surprise him. Ari covered his eyes with his palm and sighed.

“Why don’t you rearrange the couch and sit on it, and I’ll bring what our little bird told you about,” Ari said as he walked to his workroom. “And don’t follow me!”

Rafi jumped to his feet and sat on the couch. Ari came back with a pile of files in his hands. He sat next to Rafael and put them on his knees.

Rafael started to caress the files.

“I’m so excited,” Rafi said and looked down at the first file. Gabriel’s name was on it. He opened the file and began to read, flipping pages.

 “We need to find a way to make them meet up without it looking forced,” Ari said.

“Why, breaking into his car is not classy anymore?” Rafi asked jokingly.

“There could never be a secret between us, ha?” Ari replied with the same tone.

“Not really,” Rafi said, holding up the page about Alex’s personal information that Ari had dug up.

“You know, I could ask my parents to invite him to the ‘Contract and Contact’ ball. It’s next month, I think. That doesn’t look so forced. What do you say?”

Rafi looked at Ari and nodded his head.

“That’s brilliant. I should have come to you sooner. Maybe we should talk about the Dani file.”

Rafi smiled. “Happy to help,” he said, rearranging Gabi’s file.

“Of course, that will give us the option of getting to know him,” Rafi added, wiggling his eyebrows. Ari laughed.

Rafi closed Gabi’s file and put it aside. Now he looked at the file with his own name on it, and a wave of excitement and anxiety swept over him.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Ari.

“I’m so nervous. For a while now, I’ve had a feeling about how it is, but now… I can really know.”

Ari, already knowing what was written in the file, held Rafi’s hand.

“I hope that’s what you’re looking for.”

Rafi opened the file, and soon after, a smile spread across his face.

“Do you need help making a plan?” Ari asked. He loved making plans and putting them into action.

Rafi laughed. “I’ll take that into consideration, but meanwhile, I think I have plenty of material to read.”

He put his file beside him, on top of Gabi’s file. Then he noticed there was only one file left. “Why are there only three files? Where’s yours?”

“I didn’t have one in the database,” Ari said, and Rafi gave him a look of disbelief.

“I swear, I didn’t have a match. But don’t forget that you need to see Daniel’s file—I saved that for last.” Ari tapped his fingers on the file resting on Rafi’s knees.

A different kind of excitement ran through him as he opened the file a little too eagerly. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for, then gasped.

“Unbelievable!” Rafi said, still with his mouth open.

“I know! I’m just as shocked as you are!”

Ari got up from his seat and walked to the kitchen to look for something to eat. He opened the fridge and wrinkled his nose when he didn’t find anything appealing.

He closed the fridge and turned to Rafi. “What do you say we go to Gabi’s for a little snack and go through the plan together?”

Rafi rearranged the files, held them close to his chest, stood up, and smiled. “I thought you’d never ask. What are you in the mood for?”