Eastern Lights (Compass 2)

I laughed. “Pisces over here.”

“Ah, they must be known for beautiful eyes.”

“Stop dropping compliments in.”

“Stop deserving them.” His hands were still on my knees, and he had no clue the sparks he was igniting with the seemingly gentle touch. “How did I do?”

“You did good, but you were wrong about one thing.”

“Oh?”

“I hide under a pillow and a blanket when watching a scary movie, not just a blanket.”

“Close enough.” His playful look shifted a bit as he looked my way and nibbled on his bottom lip. “So there was a recent breakup.”

“He broke up with me about five weeks ago.”

“What an ass.”

“Yeah, but I love him. I wish I could say past tense, but here we are. My roommate Sofia said the best way to get over a man is to get under another one, but I can’t even consider that right now. The last thing I want to do is sleep with someone else.”

“Plus, sex wouldn’t fix a broken heart and—holy shit!” He clapped his hands together and hopped up from the ground to a standing position. The grin on his face was so big, but I didn’t understand what caused his sudden shift. “I got it, Red! I know what we can do to help you.”

I arched an eyebrow and stood. “I’m confused.”

“I know, I know, and you’re going to think I’m crazy—which, maybe I am—but here’s the deal: You can’t bang your way out of a heartbreak. That’s not how love works. Love isn’t a physical connection; it’s an emotional one. Plus, after breakups, people replay the good memories over the bad in their minds and start thinking they somehow failed, when, in reality, the bad probably always outweighed the good. You simply held the good tight in your grip because it was few and far between in the end. Otherwise, the good would’ve been enough to keep you together.”

I hated that he was speaking facts. Over the past weeks, all I’d done was replay all the good times Mario and I had together. My mind was stuck on a loop of moments that meant the world to me in my past relationship.

There were only a handful of good memories, yet I simply played them on repeat, making them feel bigger than they already were. Mario was a master at doing the bare minimum, and I celebrated that fact as if he was a god. It wasn’t his fault he gave me mediocre love. It was my fault for accepting it.

“So what’s your point?” I asked.

“Do you believe in destiny?”

I chuckled. “Don’t tell me you do.”

“I think everything happens for a reason, even if the reasoning isn’t clear as day right away. Maybe that’s why we met tonight, Red, because we were meant to. Maybe I had to get socked in the eye and whipped with a lasso because we were supposed to cross paths so I could help you get over your ex.”

“How?”

“The best way to get over a love is to find a stronger connection with another person. So, I present to you, your Halloween love story.” He took a bow as if he was making any sense at all.

I stood still, confused as ever. “Am I missing something?”

“Clearly, because you’re looking at me as if I’m having a mental breakdown—which, I mean, is probably accurate.” He cleared his throat and stood taller as he smoothed his hands over his chest. “I’m asking you to fall in love with me.”

I snickered. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Give me the chance to make you fall in love with me before the sun comes up in the next”—he glanced down at his phone—“five hours or so. It’s just past midnight. Give me those hours to make you fall in love with me. Then we’ll end the love story on a good note. No tragic heartbreak, no hard moments or relationship struggles. No cheating or scandals. Just two people who fell in love, then life or, in our case, morning made them say their goodbyes.”

“You really think two people can fall in love within five hours?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged and held his hand out toward me. “Want to try?”

I should’ve said no. I should’ve laughed off his crazy idea and ended the night right there on the rooftop, but I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to be alone. But most of all, I wanted more time with Captain, even if only a few more hours. Even if there wasn’t a real chance of me falling in love with him but just a chance of more time to feel happy.

Happy.

I felt happy.

I hadn’t even known how much I’d missed happiness until it found me that night.

So, I did what any insane girl would’ve done. I took his hand and agreed to the idea of falling in love within the next five hours.