My breath quickened, and I froze in ce.


    Josh didn’t move or speak, but his gaze was glued to me.


    More precisely, we were locked in a stare.


    We just stood there, neither of us making a move-no advance, no retreat.


    In that stillness, I could feel both our heartbeats racing…


    Until a neighbor’s voice broke the moment. “That youngdy’s boyfriend seems great. Look how he cleaned up the stairs.”


    The spell was broken. I shoved Josh away gently and hastily fled to the living room.


    But once I was there, I was lost, unsure of what to do next. My thoughts were all over the ce, tangled and confused.


    Josh walked in, effortlessly breaking the tension. “Is this your parents’ old house?”


    I blinked, surprised. How did he know that? He walked over to the wall covered with photos and continued, “You still look the same as when you were little.”


    The wall was lined with my awards, and a family portrait-Mom and Dad nking me, all of us smiling gently.


    But looking at their smiling faces now, my chest tightened.


    “You were a top student,” Josh remarked, ncing at the awards. There were numerous des: Outstanding Star, Model Student, Excellence Award.


    “I’m still outstanding,” I replied, not at all shy.


    Josh looked at me. “You are.”


    He paused, then added, “In every way.”


    His words made it hard to meet his gaze. He was so straightforward—his eyes, his words, everything about him so direct.


    I didn’t want to linger on it, so I quickly shifted the conversation. “You’ve worked hard today. Let me treat you to dinner, and then I’ll help you find a ce.”


    I’d gone from reluctant to proactive, because I owed him that much.


    “Alright,” Josh agreed without hesitation, but then added, “I need to wash my face. Do you have a towel?”


    I hadn’t noticed before, but his face and clothes were covered in dirt. “Wait, I’ll go get you a shirt.”


    There was a small, affordable supermarket nearby, so I knew I could get something easily.


    “No need,” Josh interrupted. “Just give me a towel. I’ll be fine with that.”


    I wanted to protest, but his unyielding gaze made me drop it. I walked to the bathroom, grabbed a towel, and handed it to him. “Here, you can use this. I don’t have a clean one.”


    He nodded, turning on the faucet and sshing his face with water.


    For some reason, I didn’t leave. I just stood there, watching him wash up in a rough, almost careless manner-water sshing everywhere, even running through his hair.


    It wasn’t cold, but it was still water from the tap, and as he rubbed his face and hair with the towel, I almost spoke up. But he finished before I had the chance.


    When he lifted his head, his eyes met mine in the mirror.


    In that moment, I felt heat rush to my face. It was like being caught-like he’d seen through me, catching me staring.


    I couldn’t remember how many times I’d been flustered around him like this. It felt like I had no idea how to act-like a shy girl who had never been in a rtionship.


    Though Alvin and I had been talking about marriage, there was none of this sweetness between us.


    As Oscar once said, with Alvin, it was more like being siblings-sharing everything, but never that electric feeling between lovers.


    “You don’t mind the cold water?” I finally asked, unable to keep my curiosity in check.


    “I’ve been using cold water for years. Got used to it in the army,” Josh replied, his words both admirable and a little heartbreaking.


    Was it really necessary to use cold water in the army?


    “Do you have any wet wipes at home?” he asked, rubbing the towel over his face. “Or another towel to wipe down with?”


    He was holding my towel, but didn’t seem inclined to use it on his clothes.


    “We have face wipes. You can just wet them and use those,” I offered, pulling out two wipes.


    He looked confused, as if he didn’t know what they were.


    I couldn’t help butugh. “Josh, you don’t know what these are?”


    “First time seeing them,” he said, his blunt honesty endearing.


    It made sense. He’d never had a girlfriend, never been around women much, so he wouldn’t know about these little things. After all, face wipes were a fairly recent invention.


    “They’re for women to wash their faces, single-use,” I exined, wetting the wipes and handing them to him.


    Josh took them and began wiping off the dirt on his clothes. But when I noticed some dirt on his shoulder, I instinctively grabbed another wipe and began cleaning it for him.


    As soon as my hand touched his shoulder, I felt him stiffen. I pretended not to notice and kept wiping, feeling the heat of the moment build.


    That’s when my gazended on a small mole on the back of his neck. For a moment, my mind wandered, and I couldn’t help but think of the dream I’d had-the little boy on my back, the mole on his neck.


    I froze, momentarily lost in thought, until Josh’s voice snapped me back to reality.


    I quickly pulled my hand back, noticing that the wet wipe had left a damp spot on his shirt. “Uh, yeah. All done.”


    I looked at the mole on his neck again, and without thinking, I asked, “Josh, did you have that mole when you were little?”


    GD


    He touched it absently and nodded. “Yeah, it’s been there since I was a kid.”


    My heart skipped a beat. Oh no… Could the little boy in my dream have been Josh?


    This was crazy. I barely knew Josh, and here I was, dreaming about him as a child, carrying me on his back.


    Dreams were just fragments of the mind, but this one felt too close to reality to be a coincidence.


    Before today, I hadn’t even known Josh had a mole there.


    “I’m done. Let’s go,” Josh said, turning to leave, effectively pulling me out of my tangled thoughts.


    We made our way downstairs, and as we reached the bottom, we bumped into an olderdy who was heading up. She stopped topliment Josh again, “That young man is really something. Hees over often, huh? Helps out with cleaning


    too.”


    Josh smiled, answering politely, “Sure, anytime.”


    But I could tell his response was half-hearted. How often would he really be back here?


    We stepped out of the building, and Josh looked around. “Your neighborhood’s old, but the environment’s not bad.”


    “It used to be better. Now it’s all renters, so it’s gone downhill,” I replied casually.


    He nodded thoughtfully, and as we got into the car, he asked, “Is the rent here expensive?”


    I nced at him. “Hmm?”


    He shrugged, pulling on his seatbelt. “Just curious. I’ll be renting soon, so I want to know the going rates.”


    It sounded harmless enough, but something about it felt off.


    “So, what do you want to eat?” he asked, changing the subject.


    “You choose. I’ll go wherever,” I said as I drove out of the neighborhood.


    “I’m not picky,” he replied easily. He really was aid-back guy.


    But when we walked into the restaurant, I immediately spotted someone I didn’t want to see.


    And of course, that person saw me first. They froze for a moment, and then began walking straight toward me.


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