I didn't expect it.
The question hit me like a goddamn truck.
I sat there for a moment, staring at the melting ice in my glass, before I even found the words.
"Her name's Aria," I murmured, her name heavy in my mouth like a confession.
And once I started… I couldn't stop.
I told Erin about her laugh, sharp, reckless, unforgettable. About her stubbornness that drove me insane and somehow made me want to kneel at her feet. About the way she hated being vulnerable. About the night I knew I was done for, when she didn't even have to touch me to completely wreck me.
I don't know what came over me.
Maybe it was the drink.
Maybe it was the ghost of Ivan beside me, nodding along silently.
Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't called. Not once.
I missed her so fucking much it made me physically ache.
I wanted to see her. Breathe the same air. Even if she looked away. Even if she said nothing.
I was losing my mind pretending like I was okay. I wasn't.
